日本の雨とその備えーーーマーレン先生

It’s the start of rainy season here in Tokyo and I still can’t believe how different the rain is here. I grew up in Washington state, which is known for its high amount of rainy days. In fact, a lot of people call my state the “Rainy State.” Back home, however, the rain is very light. It often feels more like a mist or gentle sprinkle. Very rarely do you see Washingtonians (people from Washington State) using an umbrella when it is raining, only a light jacket. When I moved here, I assumed that it would be similar.

 

My first typhoon quickly proved me wrong. I walked out and saw the familiar dark clouds that mean rain and thought, “It’s ok. I’m from Washington. I can handle a little rain.” Within seconds, a little rain turned into a solid wall of water. Tokyo rain feels like taking a shower it is so heavy! I quickly found myself running to the nearest store and buying my first ever umbrella! This time, when I heard it was rainy season, I was prepared. Now, I never leave the house without a portable umbrella securely in my purse.

中学の英語劇：シンデレラ ーーーエマ先生

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to watch the junior high first year class’ performance of Cinderella. It was so much fun to watch! I loved all of the fun costumes and sound effects. At the end, the girls even sang a song in English. I was really impressed. The play was really good practice for the students for “EP Days,” which is coming up soon in the beginning of July. During EP Days, all of the middle school students will write, rehearse, and preform a play in English. Now, I am focusing my first year classes around getting the students ready for EP days. The students are working on writing and giving speeches in pairs. This is excellent practice for them to be able to write and preform a play in English during EP days. I’m very excited to see what the girls will come up with at EP Days!

スポーツ大会 ーーーマーレン先生

Last week was the Fujimura Sports Festival and it was so fun and interesting! I loved seeing all my students competing together. I have never seen a lot of the events that were played there. In particular, I thought ‘Eye of the Typhoon” and the game where students had to find people with certain characteristics game show style were the most fun to watch. I was on the red team and cheered on my students from the stands. It was a fun day, even if we ended up taking last place.

  In America, we have Field Days that are a similar idea, but not nearly as well executed. Games typically played in the US are more everyday games like basketball, volleyball, and soccer mixed with a few special attractions. My favorite American field game is the capture the flag. We would get two scarves and go out to a huge field that usually had some trees and obstacles on it. Each team could hide their flag anywhere they wanted to on their side. Then, the goal was to find the other teams flag without getting tagged. It is always an action[f1] -packed event. I also love the dunk tank, where teachers and staff get dunked in water if students hit a target with a ball.

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