Airports

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will go to Kansai airport because I am taking a little domestic trip. I am going to Okinawa.
I know you are wondering, "Where in Okinawa?"
Well, don't forget to ask me when I get back and I will tell you!
Anyway, I will take the airport bus which takes a little over an hour, about 75 minutes to be exact. It is very convenient, and if I am going to KIX, that's how I got. If I am using Itami Airport, then I usually take a taxi from my house because it is the most convenient and fastest way. What do you think about Kansai Airport? How about Itami? and also, I almost forgot, Kobe Airport?

I don't know so much about the airports in Tokyo, but until now, when I fly to America, I always flew out of Narita Airport. However, from last week Haneda Airport also became international, so now I have one more option which is good! What do you think about Haneda Airport? How about Narita airport?
Below is an article about the opening of Haneda International Airport
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20101025a1.html

Take care while I am away, and look forward to talk to you all when I get back!

These are photos and a small description of Ms. R's "little vacation".
"I had a little summer vacation.I stayed at a laxurious hotel hyattregencyosaka in Nanko Port。
My friend had a 50% off coupen, So we paid about 10,000円 (which included breakfast and dinner) I offen walk by the hotel. But it was my first time to stay there."

Has anyone ever stayed here? If yes, what did you think?

It looks really delicious!!!

11:20 pm

That is the time I was born. I was born in Albert Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia on October 23rd, 1974. It has been 36 years since that moment.
Well, not officially. Because of the time difference between Osaka and Philly, actually I am a little early. But I don't care. From now I am going to go home, pop open a beer, and celebrate just a little. Here's to me! :)

p.s. I would really like to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday or who gave me a gift on this day. I really appreciate all of you!!! I think I am a lucky guy.

The oldest University...and Krispy Kreme

First, did you read the blog Luis wrote the other day, his self-introduction? In it, he mentioned that the University he went to was the oldest Uni in Portugal. Then in class I asked a few people, "What is the oldest University in Japan?" One person said "Keio University," and another person said "I think it's Waseda University." But neither of them were too confident. So I asked Mr. K to check it out. And, like he always does(Mr. K is very good at finding out things..), he emailed me the next day:
"Hi Glenn. The oldest university in Japan is Shuchiin university in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto.It was established in 828 by Kukai, he is Buddhist monk. http://www.shuchiin.ac.jp/enkaku.html "
So, for all of you trivia nuts, that's the answer.
And on a side note, Kukai is my favorite Buddhist monk.

Then, I decided to find out what was the oldest University in America. So, I surfed the net, but I learned that actually there is not officially "the first" or "the oldest" University in America. It is complicated and difficult to explain why, but if you are interested please check out wikipedia: "first University in the United States"

While on the topic of Universities, let me ask you all:
Did you go to University? If yes:
Where did you go?
What did you major in? (What was your major?)
Did you like University?
What is your best memory from University?
If you could do it all over again, would you go to the same University? major in the same subject?
Why or why not?

And to change the subject, I read Ms. R's blog yesterday and I laughed. The title was: "" Are Osakans sick of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts?!"
She went on to explain that when she bought these donuts last week she only had to wait in line for about 15 minutes. But when the shop first opened, she saw on the news that some people waited up to 7 hours! (I know that is ridiculous, but it is true!! When I walked by that shop at that time, I saw the incredibly long line! I was flabbergasted!!)
Anyway, have you ever tried these donuts?
Did you wait in line for a long time?
Was it worth the wait?

Is the fad over? Are Osakans tired of these donuts? What do you think?

This is Ms. R's actual blog:
"At last , I got some krispy kreme doughnuts!! According to the TV news, this shop was awaiting 7 hours while the GW in tokyo. But I waited for 15 minutes. Because I was box buying."

"Check Mufflers and More"

Good morning. Today I would like to hype Rie's exhibit because I really think her work is great. And I know how hard she tries and respect how much effort she makes. Also, since the temperature is dropping day by day, the timing is perfect for mufflers. Plus I read in the newspaper the other day that this winter is going to be brutally cold. Freezing like Siberia!! In order to stay warm, we are all gonna have to bundle up. Thus, I recommend you all check out the beautiful, hand-made, warm, special mufflers made by Rie and her friends.



The below message and photos are directly from Rie.
"Hi, I'm Rie.
My friends and I will hold a "Check Mufflers and More"exhibition.
The exhibition will be held from Oct. 29th to Nov. 4th.
The theme of the exhibition is checked mufflers.
In addition, there will be some handicrafts and patchwork on display.
If you are interested in weaving and handicrafts, please come to our exhibition.
http://rie707weav.exblog.jp/

Kind regards,
Rie "

"Triumph of faith and will"

The above is the title of an article I found while surfing the net the other day. It is from The Japan Times. Please refer to the below link for the entire article.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20101016a1.html

Last week I was mesmorized by the story about rescue of the Chilean miners. Over and over, I found myself watching the rescue scenes of all 33 miners. It was unbelievable. I was truly moved. Tears came to my eyes.

This miracle was not only a triumph of faith and will, but also the victory of modern technology. Can you imagine?! They were trapped over 600 meters underground...since August 5th. That's more than two months. 33 guys. I should rephrase myself, 33 men. And the people above the ground, with the aid of modern technology, found a way to get all of those guys up safely. What a feat! Truly amazing! Here's to all of those guys who were in that hole, and also to all thos guys who helped them get out of that hole!! Great job fellas!

Let's all give a warm welcome to Luis Vieira

Good morning everyone.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you all to Luis. He will be joining my secretary and I as the newest member of the EZ English Team. During his time here, he will be helping out with the teaching. I will explain more later about how I met Luis and stuff like that. But for now, please read Luis's self-introduction for yourselves. I am sure all of you will enjoy studying with him!

Hello! My name is Luis Vieira and I am 30 years old, born on 21st of August 1980. I was born and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri in the USA. Once I finished high-school I moved to Portugal (my parents home country), where I got my degree in Economics at Univ. Coimbra (one of the oldest universities in the world). Just before graduating I started working at Volkswagen in Lisbon, Portugal. About 2 years later (2007) I decided to get a Masters in Finance so I moved to England.Immediately after (2008) I moved again, this time Paris in France and I started working at BNP Paribas in investment banking.Last November I quit my "dream job", left my family and most of my friends in Europe, and moved to Osaka following my heart! I am now engaged and will get married this next November 11 to my 'princess' Sachiko.Over the last year in Japan I taught English to both children and adults for over 6 months. In July I decided to learn Japanese at a school full-time, and now I would like to teach again in the evenings.As a person, I am optimistic, open-minded and easy-going.I have a passion about travelling. I have lived in America, Portugal, England, New Zealand, France and Japan, where I expect to settle down. In total I have been to 27 countries and visited over 300 cities.Besides English and Portuguese native language skills, I am fluent in French and Spanish. I also have basic knowledge of Italian and Japanese.In my free time I often do sports (volleyball, cycling, running) or hang out with friends. I also enjoy watching movies and listening to music.Now that you know me better, I hope to see you soon at EZ English so we can improve your English quickly while having fun at the same time :)

Below is Luis in New Tork, Times Square. And under that is a more formal photo of him in his bets suit.

Hope everyone is having a good 3-day weekend!

Easy Cruising!!

Beware of Spam mail!!!

First of all, the other day many people I know received mail came from my ezeglishhotmail. However, I never sent that mail!!! In my mail box, I received 18 mails with the following title:
"This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification."

"Delivery Status Notification (Failure)‏"

This type of mail is called spam mail. In the past few months I have gotten three of the same types of mail from two people I know, Ms. M and Mr. T. There was a very small message and then a link attached. But when I opened the mail, I felt something was up, something was strange, because the message was not like messages which Ms. M and Mr. T often send me. Also, there was no opening like "Hello Glenn. How are you doing?" And, there was no ending like "Take it easy and talk to you later. Regards, Mr. T" So of course I didn't click on the link, and I just ignored the emails and erased them immediately. If any of you received such email from me the other day, I am very sorry for the inconvenience. But I do not know the reason, the cause, for this spam mail. So, in the future, if you get such an email, please just ignore it and delete it right away!!

Below are some photos from Ms. I and Ms. J's trip to Canada. These photos were taken in the town of Victoria.

October

Welcome to October. I like October for a few reasons. One is, there is a lot of good baseball in October. The playoffs, the World Series, and the Japan Series. Because of these sports events, I am sure I will be glued to the tube during the month of October. Speaking of televisions, I really should get a brand new 46 inch tv soon! Another reason is that two of my favorite fruits, persimmon and Japanese pears, are in season in October. And last but not least, my birthday is in October.

Today I will write about some things that happened to me last week. First, I broke my glasses. I stepped on them by mistake. It was a stupid mistake, but things happen. No big deal. So I went to the glasses shop just around the corner, the "3000 yen shop," and got myself a new pair of glasses. I chose them because they are super light, crazy light!! They are as light as a feather!! I have used them for about a week now, and I really like them. When I wear them, I can barely tell they are on my face.
Also, last week, something embarrassing happened to me. I didn't have a penny in my pocket so I went to the bank to take out some money. When I went to the bank, I withdrew 1000 yen from my bank account. And then I went to a convenient store to get some lunch. But when I went to the register to pay, they 1000yen bill was gone. I looked in my side bag and my pants, but nothing. It vanished!! Disappeared!! And then I thought..."I didn't leave the money in the ATM machine at the bank, did I?" So I dashed back to the bank, and the bank teller was waiting for me. She said "Did you leave money in the machine?" I said, "Yes, ma'am, I did." Then she gave me the 1000yen back. I was very embarrassed.

Below are pictures from my favorite park, Nara Park!