We had our NEO New Year’s Party for the first time since 2020. Because of the COVID pandemic, we didn’t have a party previous three years.

This year is the “Year of the Dragon”, so we decided that it would be appropriate to have Chinese food. The party was on February 10th, which was actually the day of Chinese New Year, but that was just a coincidence that we didn’t realize when we scheduled the party.

27 students and staff got together and enjoyed a delicious 9 course meal. The food was good and the company was even better. There was a mix of English and Japanese conversation and a lot of students were able to meet a few new people as well as enjoy spending time with familiar faces.

After the meal, about half of the members carried on to a second party at a bar downtown, where the drinks and chatting continued until the wee hours of the night.

Thanks for coming out everybody, we hope that you had as much fun as we did!

I recently learned about an antique furniture shop in Okayama called Kimidori. It’s in Bancho, near the big Tomato Bank. I’m usually not one to go antique hunting, but last Monday I had a chance to stop by and explore (actually, I was searching for a new computer desk, but that’s a whole other story).

The inside is divided into two different buildings, and one of them is an old, traditional warehouse. It’s surprisingly large inside, and absolutely packed with Showa-era furniture, dishes and silverware, and decorative trinkets.

It’s well worth a visit, even if you don’t want to buy anything. They even have a sign encouraging people to take pictures – so that’s exactly what I did.

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Happy February!

もう2月です。

寒さがだんだん厳しくなり、寒さに弱い私は週末は週末は引きこもっています…
そして2024年が始まり早1か月が経ちました。

20歳を超えてから1年があっという間に過ぎていきます。

今年もあっという間に過ぎて行くんだろうな〜と思うと1日1日大切に過ごしていかなければと感じます。

12月中にAyumi先生に「テニスはいいよ〜」とおすすめをされました。

「テニスなあ…運動音痴なのにテニスなんて出来るかなあ…」と思っていました。

スポーツのお話をクラス内ですると、皆さん羨むほどの抜群な運動神経をお持ちでした。

私の運動音痴は誰譲り？？

23歳を境に体調を崩すことが多くなってしまいました。

ボールスポーツはどれも苦手で、ボールが予期していない方向に飛んでいくタイプの運動音痴です。

個人スポーツの方が周りに迷惑をかけなくてすむ、という理由から今までは走ったり歩いたりという運動をしていました。

が、せっかくAyumi先生がおすすめしてくださったんだから行ってみようと思いました。

体験レッスンに申し込みをしました。

まさかの既存のレッスンに入ることになりました。

どれほど運動神経が悪くなっているのか、多少ましになっているのか！

新年1回目のレッスンでお話をさせていただこうと思います！

we'll see!!

Do you like playing any ball sports?

Did you belong to a sport club when you were a student?

Let’s share your experience in class with me!

＜おまけ＞

One of our students baked a very tasty muffin for me 涙

She is well-known for her exceptional baked sweets.

Her great muffin brought so much happiness!

Thank you a lot, S さん！

Dave-sensei was on "Let's Enjoy English!" on Radio MOMO (79.0 FM). Dave and D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu talk in English and Japanese about the the Year of the Dragon and winter sports. Click the button below to listen.

Dave-sensei will be on Radio MOMO (79.0FM) with D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu on Thursday, January 25th (today!), at about 5:40 pm. They will talk in English and Japanese about the new year and winter sports.

1月25日（木）5時40分ごろにDave先生がRadio MOMO (79.0FM) に出演します（DJは上別府千晶さん）。英語と日本語の両方で辰年と冬スポーツについて話します。

http://www.fm790.co.jp/

Just before New Year I went on a trip to Tokyo for a few days. I had not been to Tokyo for a long time, and the last time I only passed through for an international flight. While I only spent a few days there, my trip ended up being an interesting mix of new and nostalgic experiences.

The first day we did not arrive until after three in the afternoon. We immediately went to our hotel. After that we headed over to Odaiba. The last time I went to Odaiba was about 15 years ago when I came on a trip to Japan with my high school class. It was nostalgic to go back there again, some of my memories of the area were familiar, particularly the miniature statue of liberty by the bayside, and the mall next to it. I also had some first-time experiences. I went to Team Lab Tokyo. I had heard so much about it, so I was very curious. It is a unique art experience you feel through your body’s senses such as sight, touch, hearing and so on. There are rooms where you walk through knee-high water, and others where you can jump against the walls. It is a hard experience to explain in words and it is best to go and check it out yourself.

The next day my high school memories continued. We went to Disneyland. Some areas had not changed at all, while others had become entirely new areas. The entrance, castle, and so on were the same as I remembered them. But I was excited to go on the rides I had never experienced; Monsters Inc., Big Hero 6, Toy Story and Beauty and the Beast. Monsters Inc. is one of my favorite animated movies, so I was very interested in checking out the ride. Some rides I went on again for the nostalgic experience, though they sometimes surprised me. The Star Wars ride for example had the same queue area, however once the ride started, characters from the newer trilogy of Star Wars movies appeared in the video. I had no idea they had redone the ride experience and changed it from the original trilogy to the most recent one. It is a strange feeling that places can change so much yet also still be the same in so many ways.

The last full day I experienced different kinds of nostalgic memories. We spent several hours of the day in Yokohama. I went there with some of my friends about 7 years ago. We revisited the China town, Yamashita Park, and the Red Brick Warehouses. Later that night, I had plans to meet a friend of mine who lived in the same town as me for many years. Before that, however, I had a very sudden meeting with another old friend who I had also not seen for about 7 years. I had no idea he was in Japan, but an acquaintance of ours saw my posts on social media and told me he was currently in Tokyo. I did not think I had enough time to meet up, so I did not reach out, then suddenly when we were thinking of leaving Yokohama to head over to Shibuya, he sent me a message. I had to organize a very spontaneous and short meeting with him. It is amazing that even if you do not meet or talk much with someone for many years, you can meet them again and it will feel the same as it used to. I have experienced this a few times in the past few years now. But while it may be a little strange, it is a nice feeling when you know someone is a friend forever.