Monday, May 22, 2006

"My bags are packed and I'm ready to go...."


Big Apple
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.
Finally after a year of saving,working extra shifts and planning I'm going on holiday.Two weeks.New York.Depart Sunday morning.
Hoping the weather is less temperamental than here in Nagoya.
Thanks to the financial fluctuations of the U.S dollar I got a little extra when I exchanged currencies.This is offset by the unnecessarily high gouging charges banks force one to pay to change money.Cant get over how small and dull the bank notes are compared with the local Japanese notes or even the ones back home in New Zealand.

Not sure if I can blog from New York.Not even sure if anyone reads this regularly.I'll try to update but apologies in advance for any hiatus.I'll go armed with a camera,memory sticks and my travelling companion Eddie the marmot to record events.
I'm more than ready for a break in my routine.A chance not to speak English eight classes a day,forty minutes a lesson five days a week.
I'm overdue for a change of scenery and a chance to experience some new things,places and food.

I was thinking about some of the recent things I've discussed with students and why I need a vacation became obvivous...
Exhibit number 1,a fifteen minute discussion about dog ear wax.I learned that dogs with floppy ears which cover the auditory canal tend to produce more ear wax than dogs who have small pointed erect ears.In addition there is a distinction that can be made about the density and smell of canine ear wax.Toy dogs produce thicker and smellier ear wax than their bigger counterparts.Go figure...
Exhibit 2..The comical discussion that arose due to a student confusing the words "bowels " and "vowels".As most teachers know Japanese students frequently mishear or confuse "b" and "v" for example "banana" and "vanilla".
Anyways the students reply to the question "Whats the difference between vowels and consonants?" was "I have bad bowels" which led to much hilarity and discussion...

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