Pub Talk （バーでは話そう）

Welcome to our pub! Pull up a seat and get ready for some conversations, stories, and snippets of our lives. Maybe grab a beer (or a cider, if one is available) and a snack. And now relax, and jump right into whichever conversation suits your fancy.

Set Loose on Obon, Part 1

That One Student

That Word- Faithfulness

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That One Student (OR: Sexual Harassment is NOT Okay)

Every teacher has that one student-- and you know exactly  the one I'm talking about-- who they just cannot seem to like. Maybe they have poor hygiene, and everyone in the class knows it but them. Maybe they just can't stop trying to say profanities (though in my experience teaching English some students will use a profanity without realizing it's a bad word... or they're trying to say a different word. Take 'sit' for example). But for whatever reason it may be, you just can't seem to get along with them. Unfortunately, sometimes these students can end up making us incredibly uncomfortable. And in my situation, they can lead to figuring out what to do when your student behaves inappropriately. I'm just going to say it now: it is not  okay that your ESL/EFL student is hitting on you repeatedly. Ever.  *ahem* But I digress. And this is where we get into my one student , hereafter known as K-san (I teach English in Japan, hence the suffix). I have to ...
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That Word - Faithfulness 忠実

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'That Word - Faithfulness 忠実' Scene:   We’re sitting at a table in the corner. We’ve found a London pub in the middle of Hamamatsu and are taking advantage of the availability of cider. It’s a Sunday night so the bar is quiet. Sometimes, we’re the only customers there. After I take a sip, I put my glass on the scarred plastic table covering. Behind us, the bartender is finding something else to wipe down. B.D: You know how you’ll have that moment where you’re like – wow. So that’s how you say it in Japanese? Ashley: Yeah? Ashley puts her glass down next to her tiny pink purse. She waits. I elaborate. B.D: You know. Like, you’re just reading along and then you come across this word and it’s like – if this was in English, I know exactly like it would sound? Or even like a whole paragraph or something. And it’s just the biggest epiphany? Ashley turns a little in her seat.  Ashley: Oh my god, yes! I totally know what you’re saying. That just hap...
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Set loose on Obon

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"Set loose on Obon" Part 1 - Fuji in the Clouds Scene: Ashley and B.D. are sitting in their room at the Minshuku after a hot bath downstairs. It’s dark outside their window, the air-conditioning is on, and they're both in complementary yukata. Ashley pulls the curtain back from the window and tries to see Fuji in the darkness. Ashley: Who'd have thought we'd come all the way to Fuji just to have the mountain hide from us. I'd say it seems like our luck...but we still got a good view of it. She looks over at B.D. and sees her quickly drinking the remainder of a water bottle. Even if it was hot. B.D.: Yeah. I like what you said about Fuji giving us a ‘strip tease’ though :P B.D. flops down on the futon. She stares up at the pictures on the wall. Not gonna lie, I’m a little bummed about not seeing the whole thing but, the moment we were able to see the peak was definitely magical. She turns her head to Ashley who is now...
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