Author Archives: SJ

Smith’s School of English Lesson for Two Students at Kyobashi, 5-12-07 SJ

May 15, 2007 – 4:48 am

ET: When it rains, I~
This first student today is very adamant over learning English. Despite the fact that her Golden Week was non-existent due to overtime, she still manages to come in every Saturday afternoon with a smile. So when I ask her about the previous [One Point] she eagerly recites the sentence [...]

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Entertainment in Japan

May 9, 2007 – 9:57 pm

Entertainment in Japan
In most Western countries there is an unspoken age limit inside the arcade world, where only young teenagers (mainly males) spend most of their free change. Although there aren’t any signs outside in bold demanding that “NO ADULTS!” enter, there still remains a foreboding atmosphere that prevents us from moving past the [...]

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Smith’s School of English Lesson for One Student at Kyobashi, 5-8-07 SJ

May 8, 2007 – 5:06 am

ET: B33 – I sometimes (A) while (B) - From Smith’s School of English One Point Series
Seeing as how the students are returning from a 2 week holiday – Golden Week – it’s probably safe to assume that some of them will have forgotten the previous [One Point]. After some friendly chit-chat to warm [...]

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Back to Nature

April 23, 2007 – 9:32 pm

Living in Osaka - a congested city filled with people, buildings, cars, and bursting with activity 24/7 - it’s difficult to picture Japan as anything other than an artificial manmade beehive.
Where are the trees? The animals? Sure, there are beautiful cherry blossom trees in full bloom, harboring festive picnickers as I [...]

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Smith’s School of English Lesson for Two Students at Kyobashi, 4-21-07 SJ

April 21, 2007 – 1:33 am

April 21, 2007
Smith’s School of English Kyobashi
It’s hotter today that it has been of late, which is pretty surprising and unfortunate for those of us who are wearing itchy, woolly socks. Many of the students coming in are in high spirits thanks to the wonderful weather.
ET: B18 – I’m sick of (A) because [...]

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Smith’s School of English Lesson for One Student at Kyobashi, 4-7-07

April 14, 2007 – 1:21 am

April 7, 2007 (SJ)
Today is a miserable rainy day. The students seem to trickle in as stray raindrops after abandoning their umbrellas at the front door.
My next student is taking a man-to-man lesson. Before she even looks up from the depths of her coffee mug, I can tell that she is probably still [...]

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Impressions of a New Arrival

March 30, 2007 – 11:01 pm

Arriving in a foreign land.

When I first came to Japan 3 years ago, I fretted over whether or not I`d be able to adapt to an environment that had been rumored to be completely alien in contrast to that of North America. From the moment I exited an airport filled with signs and voices, [...]

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