A Year of Concerts

Starting 2024 I did not really have any plan in mind of how I wanted to spend the next year, but one thing that quickly became clear is that it may end up being the year I go to the most live concerts in my life. While I did go to several concerts over the past few years, the pandemic made it harder and more expensive than it used to be.

I do not belong to any fan clubs; despite this I tried my chances at ticket lotteries for some of the biggest musicians in the country right now. I thought my chances of getting any tickets were low, but so far this year I have already managed to get chosen for a few. At the start of this month, I went to Fukuoka and saw King Gnu live at the PayPay Dome. I usually go to live houses, but it was my first dome concert. While I was very far from the stage, I still had a great time. And we had a perfect view of the entire stage, screen, and lighting setup as we were almost exactly in the center. Soon I will be going to see my favorite band FLOW here in Okayama, and they even have a special guest band Frederic who I am also a big fan of. And in April I will go to Tokyo to see Ado live at the Japan National Stadium. I did not expect to have so many concerts lined up in just the first few months of this year.

 

It is shaping up to be a lucky year for me, and I’m already interested in trying my luck at some other concerts and maybe even a music festival later this year. I can only hope this luck continues.

Jules WhiteComment
2024 NEO New Year's Party

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!

David FulvioComment
Antiques

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.

Nick VastaComment
Something I would never do


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!





MarinaComment
Radio MOMO「Let's Enjoy English!」第97 - 辰年 - Year of the Dragon

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/

David FulvioComment