Hello

Hello!

My name is Paul, so now there are two teachers called Paul at this school. I think this might become quite confusing, so let me introduce myself to you.

I come from England and was born in Manchester, which is famous for cotton and football. You are probably familiar with the football team Manchester United, but please don't mention them to me because I like the other team from Manchester: Manchester City! Incidentally, Manchester City beat Manchester United earlier this year (although only by a narrow margin)!

When I was very young I moved to a place called Cornwall in the south of England. Cornwall is popular with tourists as it is very beautiful, with lots of beaches and countryside. There are no cities in Cornwall, so if I wanted to go shopping I had to travel for two hours to the nearest shopping centre. By the time I was 20, despite the beauty of Cornwall, I was very tired of this lifestyle – it got very boring living in such a rural area.

I am a new teacher at Global Communications, but I am not new to teaching. Neither am I new to Japan. The first time I came here was back in 2001 to play some small live concerts in Tokyo. I was here for three weeks and loved every second of it. I met lots of nice people and had some amazing experiences. I was also introduced to Japanese and Korean food for the first time (I spent some time in the Korean village in Shin-Okubo). I was quite surprised by some of the food at first, particularly shishamo! However, with time I have got used to it and love (most) Japanese food now! I then came to live in Japan in 2003 and stayed here, teaching English, until 2006. After that I returned home and studied teaching for a year before coming back to Japan recently!

I love food (especially spicy food like curry), reading, music, studying Japanese and traveling. I have been to most of Europe (in particular I love Croatia) and some Asian countries (Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and, of course, Japan). In Japan, I love Ishigaki island and Tokyo!

If you have any questions you want to ask me, or if you just want to say hello, then please feel free to do so!

Speak to you soon!

California Wildfires

I’m sure you’ve all heard of the devastating wildfires that scorched much of Southern California. News reports said that nearly 1,200 houses and other structures were burned to the ground, forcing nearly a million people in San Diego County alone to evacuate.

Southern California is one of the most densely populated areas of the United States, so the fires wreaked havoc among the population and caused many businesses to temporarily close as their employees were forced to quite literally run for their lives as the flames came closer and closer.

Shockingly, fire investigation officials stated that at least one of the fires was an act of arson. In another case, the fire was caused by a little boy who was playing with matches. In that case, over three hundred houses were burned to the ground! All because of a little boy playing with matches—can you believe it?

What about in Japan? Has this country ever seen such devastation due to wildfires like the ones in Southern California? I have read that much of Tokyo was destroyed by the huge earthquake that rocked this city way back in 1923. Japanese call it 関東大震災。 In the United States, two cities, namely Chicago and San Francisco, have been partly destroyed by huge fires. But these latest wildfires were thankfully far from the city. However, that made them all the more difficult to fight.

Hopefully, Californians will see more rain this winter season. The area suffers from constant drought, so they could really use it! It will come as no surprise to anyone if next summer sees even more devastation. Even so, millions of people still prefer to live and work there, making California their home sweet home. Strange, isn’t it?

Aurelio (^_^)
Global Communications

Where Can We Find Pure Natto?

Where Can We Find "Pure" Natto?

Natto is a traditional Japanese food that is very healthy. It is made of soybeans which contain many different kinds of nutrients such as protein.

Recently while at the supermarket, I found that it is very difficult to determine which natto contains soy beans that were grown in Japan. The food-product label of most natto lists soybeans imported from the U.S., Canada and China.

As you may know, most soybeans from the U.S., Canada and China are genetically modified. The Japanese government allows natto to be labeled as non-genetically modified as long as no more than 5% of the soybeans used are genetically modified.

It might be wise to read food-product labels with more scrutiny.

My Trip to Kansai

Hello Everyone!

As many of you know I visited the Kansai region over the weekend.

Thanks for all of your great tips and suggestions.

I truly enjoyed the time I spent in Osaka, Kyoto, Nishinomiya and Yamazaki.

Osaka castle was stunning. The Yamazaki distillery tour was fabulous. The shojin ryori lunch I had in Kyoto was memorable. I could go on and on.

I look forward to my next visit to the Kansai region. Perhaps I will have the chance to go again next year.

Does anyone have any suggestions for my next trip?