Chris’s Blog

So, a while back we were lucky enough to get a car from my wife’s parents. They bought a new car (Toyota Prius) and were planning on disposing of the old one. Luckily they offered it to us first.

It’s a 1995 Volkswagen Jetta (Vento in Japan). Done around 45,000kms and is in relatively good condition. We flew all the way from Chiba to Wakayama to pick it up and drive it home. The drive was about 8 hours long.

A few days afterwards I noticed the front passenger footwell was soaking wet. Upon removal of the foot mat I was surprised to discover a  large mold patch.

Not sure where the water was coming from I spent the next few days researching the problem online.  The forum at vwvortex was pretty helpful. It seemed to come down to three possible causes. One: The heater core was leaking, Two: Rainwater was leaking in through the drain for the windscreen or Three: The air conditioner drain pipe was blocked.

Long story short, I never did figure out which one was causing the problem, but I did double check the air conditioner pipe was clean, then sealed the area where the pipe goes through the firewall. I also ran sealant along the base of the windscreen. Hasn’t leaked since. The heater core is most likely fine as the water level in the radiator hasn’t dropped.

So after ‘fixing’ the problem, we spend a weekend removing the seats and carpet from the car, replacing the base mat where there was mold, shampooing the carpet and replacing it. Obviously it would have been better to replace the carpet entirely, but for an older car that we will only use for three or so years, its not really worth the effort.

What is worth the effort though is the sound system. I will write about what I have installed in a future post.

Oh, and for those of you who own Volkswagen cars in Chiba – The Chiba-Kita Volkswagen people are really nice. They have reset the car computer, shown me where the air conditioning drain is and checked a few other things for me for free.

The last and final visit for my term as a J.E.T A.L.T. Only three weeks this time (only about 3 visits for each class) as I will be off for the wedding, trip to New Zealand, Paperwork with name changes and visa status, and moving into a new apartment.

Finally I get a school within biking distance and it’s bloody summer. Still, might be one last chance to try and loose some weight before the wedding.

First impressions. There are 15 classes. Self-introductions once again! The first years are a fairly rowdy bunch but seem nice enough to be quiet when you need them to. The third year class I had today (which I was told was the nicest of the lot) wouldn’t shut up for the entire class and are a pain to teach. Haven’t had a second year class yet but have been told they are a nice bunch.

The Principal is very kind and I also know three of the teachers from previous schools. They seem like a nice enough bunch.

Another sports day this Saturday too!

For those of you who are A.L.T’s – you know how sometimes the kids ask you how the class went (今日の評価は？) and what to bring next time e.t.c? For a couple of my classes, I joke around and ask them to bring things like cake and gifts for me (as a joke!) – but one of my students said she would make a cake and wanted to know what cake I wanted.

Naturally I asked for the only cake I have never found in Japan (It’s also my favorite) – carrot cake. Of course, she had never heard of it so it was up to me to find a recipe, of which did not seem to exist in Japanese. So my only option left was to translate one for her.

Let me tell you how much of a pain it is translating a recipe into Japanese – especially from an American recipe (stupid Imperial system). Most of the ingredients do not translate directly into Japanese and others are not readily available (i.e pecan nuts). Then there are the directions – something as simple as “Let the cake sit until cool, then turn over onto a cake rack” in Japanese becomes impossible to directly translate.

Anyhoo, with the help of the other teachers at school, I was able to complete the recipe and give it to Non-Chan (her nickname) in anticipation of eating a cake I haven’t had for three years.
Luckily she managed to bake the cake and have it ready on the last day of school (For me). It was just as I remembered, my favorite being the icing – sooo gooood. So below I present to you the cake, and the translated recipe. Feel free to distribute it in any way you want – unless you intend to make money from it, in which case – give me some too!

The Reciepe : 人参ケーキ

Had another sports day with the school on Saturday. Weather was good. I was in Shirogumi – we lost

Another term, another school. The teachers here seem really nice. The school is about a 10 minute walk from the station and its in a really rural area. I will finally be able to breathe without inhaling metallic fumes (Sanno JHS).

Luckily there are only six classes, meaning only six self introductions. Defiantly much more fun when most of the time is not self intros.

Made a milk tower while waiting for lunch too!