Your Japanese word of the week is...

"erai". Y'know how I used to pick two words that sounded really similar but had totally different meanings?? Well "erai", according to the dictionary, can mean an "eminent (person)" or "(something) awful"......... I'm not joking, it's written in there. I can understand two different sounding similar and meaning two things, but how can ONE word have two completely different meanings??

What I think is happening is that different dialects have different uses for the word erai but it seems, in Tokyo anyway, erai is usually desribes how great a person is.

Great people such as my English students, who've been so kindly giving me small cards or presents as they count down their last few classes with me. Cards like this one.......


Ok, I admit that, at first, it doesn't bode well for me as an English teacher but, if I may be honest, this student (Haruka) is 6 years old and I've never actually told her or her mother how my name is spelled. So they've just worked off the pronunciation and gave it their best shot. I actually think it's rather endearing =).......

At any rate, this is the last week I'll be teaching English (aside from the odd class here and there in the high school) which is good timing because I've got a lot in store for the next month and a half.

There'll be the Shiramizu Summer Camp where I'll be helping out as staff, then the school is hosting a two week homestay so I'll be taking foreign kids around Tokyo, then I move (actually I move during the homestay), and then I'm in Vancouver.

And then it's Sept and there'll only be 6 months left before my contract is over........ freaky how time flies........

But check back soon for pics of all the stuff I'll be doing!...