2008/04/15

2008 April 7 Monday thru April 13 Sunday.



It is the START of the New School Year, over here in Japan.

Everybody is busy with this and that, getting ready to congregate at the schools, and await summer vacation.

On Tuesday morning, I drove out to Asahikawa University to conduct a class with some of the new freshman students.


Using the computer lab again this year, I am accustomed to the random manner of interactivity with the students.


A lot of them will be surfing the internet, and not following my lesson plan for the day.


Others will complete the planned lesson for that day, and make progress.
Different strokes for different folks.

On Wednesday, I went out to the Kosei Nursing School (JA北海道厚生連旭川厚生看護専門学校), for a class of about 40 new freshman students.

This class is always held in a rather large classroom, will all students sitting in their own little desk-chair combination units.

Therefore, it is very easy to move the seats around and form groups for pair work, and other such activities.

On Friday, I went out to the Dokan Nursing School 北海道立旭川高等看護学院 for a class with one half of the 2nd year students.

There are more boys in the class this year.

No problem there, in fact sometimes it makes things more lively and interesting.

I had a private lesson on Saturday morning, and after that it was time to play the folk guitar for a few hours.

Something I haven't done for a while.

On Sunday evening, I was able to take a nice long walk along the cycling roads that run along the Biei and Chubetsu Rivers.

No snow on the trail anymore.

I was smart enough to wear running shoes, but I refused to wear socks.

My feet stayed toasty warm, and I walked around for more than 90 minutes.

During that time, I saw light in the sky, grow suddenly brilliant white and then fade back into dull white, as it moved along it's path.

My first thought was that it is another "spook light", but it was too small and to far away to be confirmed as that.

My second thought was that it is a man-made satellite that had somehow caught a momentary direct hit of sunlight, and merely reflected it back to earth.

Exactly how this would work at night, I am not sure.

But I did see, the momentary glowing up to brilliance, of a celestial object, again tonight.

First one for the 2008 walking year.