DearScotty

sipping on hot apple wine in Frankfurt

here and gone.

 has too many Kenny Rogers Roasters.

has a Carl’s Jr.!

This city is magical.

Theresa’s aunt passed away today so I thought I’d post a picture from when they first met. I’ve never seen anyone filled with such pure joy.

Last week I wanted to share an American summer with the “special” kids so I rounded up some A&W Root beer, some vanilla ice cream, and a home-ec teacher. Here are some photos from this eventful secret class on American culture.

At first these kids were mostly excited about the ice cream. One of the teachers was worried the rootbeer was alcoholic and that worry trickled down to the kids. I tried to explain to them it was like soda but then they called it coke. So I tried to say it was in the same sub family of soda pop that Dr. Pepper resides.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve given my last listening quiz, role played my final dialogue, danced from my head to my toes, and received my last gut wrenching kancho. My influence on the Japanese youth has finally come to an end. I gave my last goodbye speech today and decided to throw out the script and go off the cuff. It was pretty enjoyable to watch my fellow departing teacher try to translate for me. After I said that I met most of these kids when they were quiet elementary students and now they are junior high school students who never shutup, he paused, looking a bit nervous, so I encouraged him, “Go on, you can do it.”

Read the rest of this entry »

You may remember last summer’s soda sensation Pepsi Ice Cucumber, well, this year Japan has moved away from the chilled pickles and have brought us Blue Hawaii.

Blue Hawaii would seem like an awesome fruity drink, but sadly, it leaves a lot to be desired.  But, it smells great!   As you twist the lid off, the fizz turns into the sound of your local ice cream trunk coming around the corner.  You sense that this will taste similar to a snow cone.  How wrong your senses are.  It tastes a bit like a balloon with a little kick of fruity wax.  All you end up having is a blue tongue.
Bummer.

PS
I just got to watch an English teacher attempting to record a listening quiz by speaking directly into the stereo speaker.

“Do you smell that?”

I inhaled deeply but found no mysterious smells. The teacher next to me was on to something. He was quite positive that something funny was going on. So, I gave it another shot and nearly singed my nose hairs trying to detect the hiding aroma.

“Nope, I don’t smell anything”

“I think it’s the toilet.”

“Thanks man… thanks a lot.”

Instead of getting upset that he brought the smell of a filthy bathroom to my attention I decided to play detective with him. Was it something burning? Were kids burning toilet paper? By now the smell was getting stronger and I was genuinely curious about its origins. Is there a leak in the pipes?

“Maybe you should close the doors?” I propositioned to the teacher. He didn’t really care for that solution and decided to ask the teacher across from us if he knew what that smell was. The teacher solved the riddle.

Read the rest of this entry »