Teaching English as a Foreign Language is often both rewarding and frustrating, for the teacher and the students. Some days the learning can go so well, with key learning points being embedded and easily recalled by students. On these days the atmosphere is high and the engagement even higher! Yet in other days, the activities…
Refugee Youth Symposium: 2nd June 2019
In June, Dan and I were fortunate enough to attend an event in Tokyo, held by World Vision Japan. The focus of the event was looking at the global refugee situation and how individuals, specifically the youth, can get more involved in spreading awareness of refugee issues. The most significant take aways from the conversation…
Four Years
27th May 2019 saw Dan and I celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. However, perhaps even more significantly, 2019 marks our tipping point. We have known each other for half of our life times this year, and so from here on in we have spent more time together than apart. That feels pretty special. Of course,…
Reading Group For Local Children
Dan and I recently met with the wonderful group, Glocal Mitaka. Glocal Mitaka are a volunteering group in the area of Mitaka (which will be our new home from August), who bring together international students from Mitaka and the wider community, with local people. One of the volunteering opportunities that really appealed to Dan and…
Golden Week 2019: Waterfalls, New Friends, and Animals
After our big hike on the Monday of Golden Week, Dan and I decided to chill for the rest of the week. This was partially encouraged by the very typical bank holiday weather – the world over it seems to rain on bank holidays – but also because we truly had exhausted ourselves with the…
Spotlight: Kalika Kastein, Class of XVI Rotary Peace Fellow
Each year, The Rotary Foundation awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and 50 for certificate studies at premier universities in six locations around the world. In the summer of 2019, Kalika Kastein, an outgoing Class of XVI Rotary Peace Fellow from International Christian University (ICU), Tokyo, will graduate from her master’s degree. Kalika…
Golden Week 2019: Agano Hikes
Golden Week of 2019 was a pretty special one. This year it was ten days in a row, to celebrate the abdication of the Emperor Akihito, with his son, Naruhito, taking up the position. This is the first abdication in Japan since 1817, so it is a unique chance to be able to experience it. Ten…
United Nations University: Conversation Series
Dan and I recently attended an event at the United Nations University in Tokyo. Every couple of weeks the university hosts a speaker in their conversation series. The week we attended it was the turn of Izumi Nakamitsu, the United Nations Under Secretary General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. She was talking about “Threats…
Actual Gyoza Gorging: For Dan
The final 24 hours in Ustunomiya were not quite as relaxing as the first two. The main reason for this is the significant lack of vegetarian gyozas. Whilst Dan was able to gorge himself on these delicious Japanese treats, I had to stick to Western avocado salads and chips. Don’t get me wrong, as a…
Gyoza Gorging: Utsunomiya
I recently learned about a place in Tochigi Prefecture, which is about two hours north of Tokyo on a local train or one hour north if you splurge for a Shinkansen. It is infamous in the local area for having an abundance of gyozas to gorge on. After hearing about the area I came home…