Sweet lovers love the spring

Posted by Luna (Osaka, Japan) on 11 February 2009 in Plant & Nature and Portfolio.

I have one of Shakespeare's sonnets in my head, thus the title. :)

In Japan (well, at least in the Kansai region) flowers bloom pretty early around here compared to the snowy frosty region of my hometown in Minnesota. So sometimes it's rather strange to walk around to see things budding and/or blossoming to life in early February.

The end of the school year is starting to approach here (the school year begins in April and ends in March) so I've become quite busy marking papers, coaching for English speech contests, and preparing exams. In the last two weeks, however, I've also had the pleasure of teaching English to two students in two Osaka City hospitals - one at Osaka City National Hospital, and one at Osaka City University Hospital. One student was a first-year junior high student, while another was a second-year junior high student. The former's English was extraordinary (he's attending a prestigious private school in Nara) and we had conversations about forms of energy and ways we could save energy. (!) An amazing lesson, at that. The boy just had one of his lungs surgically removed a week before I came to teach him, and goodness, I had to admire his motivation to learn and most especially his strength.

Other than that, lessons and classes at my high school are running smoothly as usual - and I wonder what Valentine's Day will be like? I don't remember what happened last year, but I do know that girls tend to give chocolates to boys they like, or even their male teachers.

The second year students are currently learning how to express their opinions and about the format of a debate. The topic? "Cats are better than dogs." Haha, it took a bit, but it seems like they're getting the hang of it. (Currently the third year students are preparing for final exams, so they don't have to attend classes as much.)

I need to write more about what goes on, here. Will do that! In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful photo of some plum blossoms at the plum garden in Osaka-jo Kooen. ^_^

snippet about this photoblog

This photoblog is mostly to cover my experiences and adventures on the JET Programme as an Osaka City ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) through photographs, from beginning to end. Check out the "about" section on the bottom of this page to find out more.

For my written blog, check out: http://little-chotto.blogspot.com

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