Dog sledding day out :-) 02/22/2012
                   Add Comment Dog sledding. 02/18/2012
 It IS me! Yesterday I went dog sledding at Moonlight Ladies Dog Sledding at Takasu, near Asahikawa. OH! Fun! and SCARY! The weather was great and we did a 7 km course across the fields. I went with Masami, who used to be a student at Imagine, and her husband and a friend. Moonlight Ladies owner Kyoko Murakami gave us a lesson in dog sledding first - important information about how to bend your legs round a corner, how to jump on the brake...and what to do if the dogs stop for the toilet... 6 dogs pulled the sled (designed by Kyoko's husband Dan) and the non-sledders rode on the snow mobile and sled up front. Everyone looking back at the dog sled and cheering. :-) Dan has specially designed the sled so that novice drivers can control it. So we took turns driving - about 10-15 minutes each. Oh! At first a little scary as the dogs set off with a jump, and then a huge thrill as they race and race thru the snow. The dogs really enjoy the work. My hands got cold, despite 3 pairs of gloves (it was minus 10 C?) and my glasses got steamy....but OH! FUN!!!!! I went this on activity with Takarajima tour company. They have many exciting things to do in Hokkaido. Even if you have lived here all your life there are maybe experiences you have never had. Why not check out their website and go dog sledding? This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar. Still here! 02/16/2012
 HERE I am! Trying tubing at Takino Suzuran Park earlier this week. VERY good fun. And free. You only have to pay for the parking charge at the park. Sorry, I haven't been able to blog for a week or more. I was busy with Snow Festival guests and Couch Surfing guests ( from Korea and America), and then my family all became sick so I was busy, busy and busy again. And Imagine is welcoming new students: all three live within sight of the Tokou Store here in Hiragishi, so they have no excuse about coming to class late. ;-) And: CONGRATULATIONS to "TH" for passing the Japan Tour Guide test recently. I hope you can get work as a tour guide in Hokkaido. Tomorrow I am going to Takasu, near Asahikawa to try Dog Sledding with Masami (one of Imagine's first students) her husband and friend. I've always wanted to try this activity and tomorrow in the coooold of central Hokkaido we will meet the dogs. It is a Hokkaido tour experience organised by Hokkaido Takarajima.com website and you can see Dog Sledding video on their website. Will you marry me????? 02/08/2012
Last year I got an email from a man called Luke in England. I don't know him. He found me through the Couch Surfing website. He asked me to help propose to his girlfriend Shelly. I went to TenjinYama Park near my house and held up a sign... I sent him the photo.... and HERE is the video he made! He showed this to Shelly at Christmas. She said..."Yes!" (I am at 16 mins. 40 seconds) Weather Madness 02/07/2012
WeatherCrazy weather isn't it? Monday and Tuesday this week were unseasonably warm for February and a lot of snow thawed/melted so the roads were slushy and had large pools of water. Yesterday at the Snow Festival, a statue collapsed and the snow injured a woman. Luckily it was one of the smaller statues, and not the huge constructions. I haven't been to the festival yet - too busy with Couch Surfing guests and work, but later this week or at the weekend I hope to go. If you go to the Tsudome site you may spot my partner and his bike-taxi...usually in summer he is working in Odori area, but this week is a special bike-taxi promotion inside Tsudome. Sapporo Snow Festival 01/31/2012
This is an interesting 20 minute documentary about the origins of the Sapporo Snow Festival, which includes interviews with the high school students who created the original statues in Odori Park! The video is in Japanese, but with English subtitles - so very useful for English study. I suggest watching it first in Japanese, and then covering up the subtitles on your computer screen and listening to the Japanese - Pause the voice and try to change the words into English! Then you can compare your interpretation with the subtitles. Good luck! Bye bye Yu! 01/24/2012
 Did you watch the Yu Darvish press conference at Sapporo Dome yesterday? One of my students was planning to go early morning and wait in line outside! I watched it in the warmth of my living room. It was a strange event: half press conference and half meet-the-fans event. And very short. By the time the team owner had made a speech, and Darvish had said a few words....the journalists didn't have much time to ask anything interesting. And Darvish is VERY good at wasting time by making one journalist ask his long question again.....Japanese journalists questions seem so LOOOOONG! If you had had a chance to ask Darvish a question, what would it have been? I would have asked: "Should Texas ladies be worried or excited that you are coming their way?" * P.S. When Darvish left the event and walked through the door - was that his wife Saeko and one of the children just inside the door? A short woman with long hair was standing there holding a child in a Darvish sweat shirt. Was it Saeko ready to get the money? This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar. Exams for university entrance 01/17/2012
University exams Yes. Me! On the left at school and on the right on university graduation day... Last weekend in Japan many high school students took the Center Tests (and one Imagine student was a test staff!), and it made me remember my own university application days. In England 30 years ago, the system was different. We used a central university application system called UCAS, and we filled out forms and could "apply" for up to five different universities on one form. We could visit the universities and have informal, short meetings with staff. Then, in January of our final year at school, we did "mock A levels" - tests in our three or four subjects. Theses were practice tests, which we did at school and it gave us and our teachers an idea how we might do in the national exams in the summer. In Japan students go to a central testing place - In England we just take the test in our school classroom. The test papers are sent to the schools. The universities offered us places based on these practice test results and our teachers' reports. British universities did not have their own entrance tests. I applied to three universities, and was offered a place at Reading University if I got Grades A, A and B. The University of Kent said I could come if I got A, B and B. In June/July AT school I took the A level tests. The results came by post FROM THE SCHOOL in August, and I got A, B and B. So I went to Kent University in October that year. There are plans now to change the system, and already UK students do four or more core subject tests. My last two years of school I only studied English, History and Geography. And here is my A Level tests results paper - actually sent to my home by the head teacher of my school. My family and I could open it in private. I think in Japan, test results are put on noticeboards that everyone can see? I got A in English Literature!!!!  Moving day. 01/11/2012
Moving DayToday I am helping a friend who is moving from Tokyo to Sapporo - on the coldest day of this winter! Thankyou to the Thursday students who agreed to move their classes to other days so I can be free to help my friend. Moving day is always hard and I hope I can help her family unpack boxes and clean and set up their new home. They don't have a car in Sapporo, so I can also take them to HOMAC etc if they suddenly need shopping. In England it is very common for friends and family to help someone move. People come with their own cars, or rent a truck and drive it themselves. Pack the boxes, carry the boxes and move. I think in Japan it is more common to ask a moving company to do it for you. Until I was 47 years old I had NEVER used a moving company! I'd always moved home with the help of friends. My friend, her husband and 3 month old baby will be moving into an apartment in Minami Hiragishi, so they will be my neighbors. I am looking forward to that. :-)) Now: off to work.... London Olympic Park 01/09/2012
London Olympic Park preview It's coming! The 2012 Olympics in MY home city - London. I was born in Putney, south west London and went to journalism school in London too. So, of course I am excited to see the Olympics come to my city. Here is the link to the 2012 London Olympic website - with an interesting video at the moment showing how all the sports facilities are being finished ON TIME. As students know (because I talk about it a lot!!), I have tickets to see the gymnastics and the athletics, so I am looking forward to going here this summer. |  Me.....
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