Some Japanese names are interchangeable between genders, such as Chihiro, as it depends more on the kanji than the pronunciation. A coworker of mine told me how her high school teacher often called out “Chihiro-kun” instead of “Chihiro-chan” when calling…
A lot of Americans say that Asians all look alike. Japanese, too, say that all Americans look a like–despite black, blond, or blue-eyed. Neither culture is correct, although people do share similar traits and characteristics. But I do teach about…
Teaching in Japan can be very interesting at times, especially regarding scheduling. The eigo shunin at one school gave me a schedule with no classes on Friday. On Thursday, at a meeting, she told me that a teacher wanted a…
Context is important for both conversation and learning. Once, a girl asked me if I had gone to Shanghai. At that time, I had never gone to Shanghai, but she insisted that I did. It was more than a little…
Japanese girls, or any girl, for that matter, can be very silly. A girl asked me if I had ever kissed someone, and when I said that I had kissed many times before, she said it was very eroi and…
With kids, it’s best to be careful what you say. A boy and I were having some fun at lunch, and I tried to make his vegetables seem more delicious by smiling widely, sticking both thumbs up, and saying, “yasai!”…
When eating lunch with students, I am often bored just eating or doing nothing. I, and many of the other teachers, love to have fun with kids. One day, I started telling a young kid not to laugh just when…
One day, I was riding my motorcycle to school and I stopped to talk to a student. When I reached the school, a teacher told me that another teacher had seen a bosozoku talking to a student on the way…
Looking for a cheap wireless router in Japan that also supports English operation? Many Japanese brands will not have built-in English support, even though some of these routers are sold worldwide. Don’t expect routers from Buffalo, Logitec, or NEC to…