KansaiBlogger

Genie in Japan has moved to LegalGenie.
As she physically makes the jump from Japan to law school, so does the blog.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to check out the new site!

So, the Moon family is just about everywhere this summer: Younger Brother is “studying” in Nanjing, China; Older Brother left for Paraguay with a stopover in Brazil to help the less fortunate; Mother and Father will spend time in Jejudo w/Grandmama; Then Mother and Father plus Grandmama will go to Japan to visit Genie; Then Mother [...]

Yesterday I found myself babysitting a classroom full of 3rd years, while my co-teacher tested their reading ability one-by-one in a separate room next door. I guess after almost a year of having had me as their ALT, they felt comfortable enough to start asking me more personal questions.  Things like: “How old are you?” “Do you have [...]

Two little boys asked for my autograph today—they came scrambling up to me after class with permanent markers and plastic folders in hand, pointing and shouting “Sign!!! Sign!!!”

So precious.

Countdown: 66 days In 66 days, I will be starting the 3-year marathon that is law school.  As anyone would before running a real marathon, I’ve been training for this sucker so that I can do what everyone says you should do your first year: “Hit the ground running.” Law school (to me, at least) is serious [...]

At a sweltering 87 degrees Fahrenheit today, summer has officially hit this part of Japan. Lots of changes are going to be taking place this summer—moving halfway across the world back to Los Angeles, living at home with my parents again, starting law school, signing away on a $100,000+ loan, and reverting back to a long-distance [...]

Ohhhh, man.   I had to bite my tongue and purse my lips so hard just to keep myself from laughing out loud at this one: The kids were being a little chatty/noisy/rambunctious/unruly today, but that was expected—I was teaching 5th period which is right after lunch, just when the kids have each consumed 800 calories worth of a [...]

I tagged along on a mini-field trip to the bank with my special class yesterday.  It’s only a 10 minute walk from the school, so the five kids and three of us teachers took advantage of the beautiful weather, stepping out of the classroom for a pleasant stroll through town. Once we arrived at the bank, [...]

…the clean, fresh air…

…the beautiful scenery…

…the soothing sound of nature…

…and the cloud of gnats ready to be inhaled…

*cough, cough*

A regular feature in Japanese classrooms is rote memorization.  The memorization monster rears its ugly face for the last 15 minutes of all of my first-year classes in the form of writing standards—the students must copy lines from their textbook, word-for-word, into their notebook silently while I am forced to pace around their desks, making sure [...]

Here’s a story from my Golden Week vacation: Waiting in line to check in at the Korean Air desk, my grandmother reprimands me for waiting at a polite distance behind the traveler in front of me.  There was an open counter to the left without any waiting customers, but the attendant there seemed busy clacking away [...]

In Japan, there is a 5-day national holiday that the entire country gets off—airfare soars, all domestic tourist destinations will be packed, and that’s about all I know concerning Golden Week in Japan because I’ve always spent it on Jeju, an island south of the peninsula of Korea. Most people know Jeju as a resort destination, [...]

We are only into Week 2 of junior high, but the first-years are already settling into what their social mantles will be over the course of the next three years—the Quiet & Shy Girls who never speak above a whisper, the Rambunctious But Good-Natured Boys who recite the ABC’s at the top of their lungs, and [...]

The new school year starts in April here in Japan, just as the sakura is blooming and weather is (supposed to be) warming up.   Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting the new 1st years for the first time.  I was really excited to finally have something to do at work,  especially to have a shot [...]

A milkman (or more accurately, milkboy—he had a bright orange faux-hawk and the voice of a preteen) rang my doorbell this evening.  I was in the middle of dinner (which included a glass of wine) and was severely red in the face so I didn’t really feel like talking to any strangers at the moment.  He [...]

Received e-mail today from former student/secret admirer: “Because I just graduated and won’t be able to see you anymore, shall we have one last meal together?” (slightly vomits, now gagging) Boy, first of all, how many times do I have to shut you down?!?! Second of all, when did we EVER have a meal together? I have deliberately been eating [...]

My JTE was trying to reiterate to our students the importance of learning English.  He told a story to illustrate: Prime Minister Mori was given some basic English conversation training before his visit to Washington and meeting with President Clinton. The instructor told Mori “Prime Minister, when you shake hands with President Clinton, please say ‘How are you’. Then [...]

No, it’s not Yuya (praise the Lord). It’s Haruka, my teacup-sized special student who accompanies me on my walk/bike ride to work in the mornings! A few weeks ago, she began meeting me halfway on my route to work.   A week later, she started meeting me closer to my home, waiting at the signal light for me [...]