Second and third weeks of my first year teaching at a Japanese High School, and it was time to get real. As easy as it was to create an introductory lesson, once it’s time to get down to teaching grammar, vocab and topics, suddenly BANG you are in a different world. In Georgia I had …
Continue reading The Interac Experience Part Four – Lesson Planning
After all was set up for life in Ichinoseki, I had to get ready for school. Except, as I said, there were nearly three weeks before I started, and three weeks before I’d be earning regular money. Coupled with the fact that Interac pays the end of the following month (i.e. march pay comes on …
Continue reading The Interac Experience Part Three- School Begins!
It was a strange day when I arrived in Tokyo – well Narita Airport, actually in Chiba, in 2012. My wife and I had had to drop our honeymoon plans because I had been told that training for Interac would begin in April, but in fact started on the 20th of March. We’d got married …
Continue reading The Interac Experience Part One – Arrival and Orientation
Howdy all again. Today and for the next month or so there is no podcast. The podcast will be returning mid-July with a new batch of seven episodes. HOWEVER - today I thought I would give everyone the chance to listen to the first seven episodes again, or perhaps for the first time …
We are almost at the end of this marathon theme that started a couple of months back and has been dominating Saturdays on this blog for half that when I decided to give it its own dedicated day. If you are coming to Japan, you are going to want to find a job, probably first. …
Continue reading Japanese Survival Guide Point 9 – Finding Work!
Winding down my Japanese Survival Guide now, with principally the third last post unless something else springs to mind, folks it’s time to prepare for the red tape that awaits the foreigner when you come to work in Japan as an ESL Teacher. The irony of it all is that Japan is a principally capitalistic …
Continue reading Japanese Survival Guide Point 7 – City Hall and Bureaucracy
Recorded in Ueno Park, Ueno, Tokyo, the sixth episode of the World Journeys Podcast includes not one but TWO Andrews! Fighting off crows and temple gongs, this podcast is a great listen. Andrew Higgins talks to me (Andrew Boland) about his two years thus far in Japan. Andrew loves Akihabara, he's even visited a Maid …
Continue reading World Journeys Podcast Episode Six – with Andrew Higgins.
I thought I'd have a little fun today and show you some of the more interesting signs that I've seen in Japan. Remembering that English is not the first language in Japan, or indeed China (I've included a few from there from my 2011 visit) it seems obvious that 'Google Translate' is used a little …
On my final full day in Yokohama I went to an exhibition (I guess that’s the right word for it) in a shopping mall opposite the Yokohama Museum of Art called ‘Orbi’. Although I had never heard of it before, my wife had said it would be an interesting thing to go to (although she …
I’m continuing for a few more weeks my regular Saturday spot – ‘The Japanese Survival Guide’, and today I wanted to look a bit at the Japanese language, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, if you are headed to Japan it will help to know a couple of useful phrases, but also, to someone who’s …
A Scottish island girl exploring the world on a budget
exposing the inner-world of my brain
My second blog page
Put pictures on your travel dreams
The beautiful picture of angels makes you happy.
inspiring journeys and friendly advice
A Scottish island girl exploring the world on a budget
exposing the inner-world of my brain
My second blog page
Put pictures on your travel dreams
The beautiful picture of angels makes you happy.
inspiring journeys and friendly advice
Andy's World Journeys 