1. Do the companies that provide you with water sell you the actual water, or just the service? I would assume it would be the water itself, as they charge per liter. Therefore, any recycling of said water, and then charging again for it would be, in a sense – illegal. They are taking the water we paid for, cleaning it and then selling it again. We should get a cut for the water that goes down our drains – if it ends back up at the shower-head.

2. Tests in Japanese high schools are stupid. This may only apply to the school I teach at, but the way students are prepared for tests (English anyway) is ridiculous. Again, this is based upon my personal experience so your opinion may differ. What I remember about tests in ‘High School’ or ‘College’ (that’s what we call it in New Zealand) is that the teacher would tell you that: 1. There is a test and 2. Everything you have learnt in class so far may or may not be in it.

This makes sense, as the purpose of a test is to see how much you have learnt. Now compare it to the tests at my Japanese high school. First, the teacher will tell the students there is a test. Second, what particular section of related textbooks will be covered in the test. The teacher, under the assumption the students are semi-retarded may or may not provide the exact page numbers and/or actual test questions to ensure all of them pass the test.

To be fair to the teachers, the entire education system over here is messed up, so it’s not entirely their fault. They are expected to have an average class score of around 65% to keep people happy. Students in Japan aren’t allowed to fail no matter how stupid they are.

Thats enough ranting for today.

http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/product/X/09wi/#x06ht

Sweet! Definitely getting this phone as soon as it comes out.

So Happy!

30/03 UPDATE

The Softbank website says that you can place your order/reserve the phone at stores from the 1st April.

As always, the size is just a little small (L size) but I have little choice living in Japan. It is however, much bigger than my last Jacket – as my wrists would be exposed all the time.

The jacket is really warm, and fairly comfortable.  The only issue I had was with the underarm zips, they would be almost impossible to zip close without taking the jacket off. The zips would always get stuck in the netting. It also gets dirty very easily, obviously because it is white, but there were no other colors available in the store.

I now look like a zebra, everything I wear is black and white.

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.

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!

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