Find out all the
LATEST news!
The following are some regular installments as to what Itsuka and
myself
have been doing lately.
They are listed in descending chronological order ...
27th December, 2003
A BRAND NEW JAPAN SECTION LAUNCHED TODAY!!!!
To celebrate our one year anniversary of being in Japan, we have created a section entitled IN JAPAN. Please check it out. It contains over 300 photos, news and information from Japan, after a very busy year.
FINALLY SOME UPDATES FROM JAPAN!!!!!
At last I have been able to sit down and update our website. It now includes two new photo sections (in the Photo Gallery):
Each section contains some information -the Australia Holiday Photos sections also contains a written journal. So check it out either by clicking on the words above or by vitising the Photo Gallery.
As for Japan, Itsuka and I both now have jobs here. I am working for NOVA (the largest English tuition organisation in Japan) as well as doing some private tuition. Itsuka is working in the marketing department of another English tuition organisation. Of course since the last update there has been so many things happening -meeting most of Itsuka's family and friends over the new year, travelling to Kyushu and adjusting to a new culture....
However, the technology over here is different and so is my access time, so updating the site is not as easy as it once used to be. Yet, I am now in possession of a new digital video camera (after visiting a most interesting part of Tokyo known as the Electric Town). In fact, since I don't have a scanner or printer anymore, the photos in the two new galleries listed above we in fact taken using the digital video camera by simply taking a digital photo of the photograph itself. The camera of course takes it own digital photographs and also can take short MPEG movies (one of which I have already tried out and sent to the parental units including a congratulatory wedding anniversary message). So hopefully this video camera can come in much more useful for this website as well. Nonetheless, the quality of the digital photos it takes is a little diminished depending on lighting conditions etc.
So look out for some updates on Japan coming soon...
WE ARE OFF TO JAPAN!!!!!!!
We are now in the process of moving to Japan. Departure from New Zealand will take place December 16, 2002 and after a ten day stopover in Australia we will finally arrive in Japan on December 27, 2002.
It is our endeavour to regularly update our website and to always ensure that there are correct contact details via the 'e-mail us' link. We now have a new e-mail address in preparation for our transistion to Japan:
[email protected]
Additionally, our website now contains a new "photo gallery" section including photos from Ash and Corrina's wedding and material from our time in Palmerston North.
If you would like our Japan address and telephone contact details, please send us an e-mail. Look out for more updates as we continue
'the voyage'... and please keep in contact!Sayornara!
AFTER MONTHS OF UPDATING AND IRONING OUT PROBLEM LINKS AND BAD HTML ETC, ETC... THE SITE HAS BEEN COMPLETELY RENEWNED. YOU CAN NOW SEE THE MULTIMEDIA WEDDING EXPERIENCE BY CLICKING HERE:
OUR WEDDING: A MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE
Please remember to make any comments, suggestions, corrections, problems, bad links etc or just a friendly hello in the guestbook!
Well, its bedlam at the moment... I have five exams this week and then two big ones the week after (plus a 1000 word Japanese essay to hand in tomorrow), so things are really happening here! Itsuka and I have finally started getting over our colds which has meant catching up on a lot of housework. But have made some updates to website....
Tonight I took Itsuka to a concert that was on at the Regent: "Queen"!!!! It was a replica band from the UK. It was a packed house and when we got the tickets a few days ago we could only get the cheapest seats right at the back. We thought that was OK and were sitting waiting for it to start when one of the staff came up to us and said that there was somebody from the front who was in a wheelchair and wanted to be at the back and if we wanted to swap! Of course we said yes and found ourselves right up at the front (ie the real expensive seats!), and not only that but to the right side (which is where Brian May the guitarist normally is -the main reason for going!).
It was quite a good concert, with a lot of lighting effects and all the awesome Queen hits ("It'a Kinda magic," "We are the champions" "Bohemian Rapsody" etc). The vocalist was not quite as good as the late Freddie Mercury but close, the rest of the band quite good -drum solo and guitar solo. Itsuka really enjoyed herself and we were both up dancing and singing most of the time (which I don't usually do!). Afterwards we waited around a little and I was able to get Itsuka to met the man who was imitating Brian May -a nice Englishman from Manchester and got his autograph and had a quite chat about Itsuka's guitar thesis. He was quite friendly (although Itsuka was quickly able to identify when he was not so accurate in his solo guitar rendition!).
Tonight we had the first screening in PN of the wedding video to a very enthusiastic audience.... Itsuka's friends from college who were eager to see it. They all thoroughly enjoyed it and we all had a very good evening. The Japanese girls especially said some very nice things about Dad: (in Japanese...) "He is so cute and funny and entertaining'!!!!!
Ash and Corrina's wedding was real nice... very romantic with some nice touches. Corrina looked beautiful, the weather was nice and sunny and it was good to meet up with heaps of rellies and friends... I was one of the 'video' guys and saw most of the wedding in 'black and white,' but also took some photos (which I will be putting on the website shortly). Itsuka and I stayed with the parental units, and also spent some time with Uncle Don (from Sydney) and Stephen my cousin (from Christchurch). Itsuka also did some busking on the Sunday (and earned $14.25!).
Yesterday was the Cherry Blossom Festival at IPC (the Cherry Blossoms looked beautiful). Itsuka dressed up in a komono and looked more beautiful than ever -and did a WONDERFUL job of teaching some children basic Japanese. I took some photos...also Itsuka and Hideya performed as "Unplugged Algorythm" -hopefully get the film developed this week so we can bring the photos next weekend!!!
Today someone drew our attention to the latest issue of the magazine, New Zealand Woman's Weekly in the IPC library!!!!!!! Quite a surprise to see a photo of Itsuka and I on the wedding page.... quite a few people coming up to tell us they saw it! Apparently Mum (Tina) submitted the photo just after we left Oamaru.
Itssie and I had a really busy weekend as usual. On Friday night, we both played some music at the Palmerston North public library as part of their 'Library Week" -we played in the sound and vision departtment -Itsuka playing guitar with Japanese student Hideya singing, and I played some of my compositions on the piano towards the end.... well all received some vouchers for free CD and video hire!!!!! Also on Sunday night I treated Itsuka to an evening at a Thai restaurant which was extremely enjoyable -we walked about twenty minutes there and back (which was just as well!).
Tomorrow I am teaching some mainly Asian adults English for an hour which is a daunting challenge as I am working with the top group and they are inclined to question some of the more complex areas of grammar and are not satisified with an explanation that English is sometimes just inexplicable (which you find the more you teach it!).
We have booked our flights to Japan (December) and the stopover means we are going to have a bit of a holiday in Aussie -hopefully including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane -we intend to relax on a beach on the Sunshine Coast or something over Christmas before heading into the thick of winter in Japan and a lot of hard work (more for me culture and language-wise!).
Our home computer is temporarily off-line due to repairs which were proceeding well until the discovery that an essential code which makes the whole thing work is missing! All going well, it should be back to normal by next week.... d'oh!!!
Had an amazing trip around the middle part of the North Island! Spent one day in beautiful Taupo and two days in Rotorua -went to many attractions, ther boiling mud, Maori dance, gysers, luge etc... and had a mud bath and also a hot mineral spa!! Afterwards, on the east coast, Gisborne was very interesting with the history (Young Nicks Head and Poverty Bay -where Captain James Cook first sightedd land), plus we both really loved Napier - very sunny and Art Deco -except the beach is made of gravel. I took Itsuka to a restaurant there and we went on a wine tour -free tastings, and learned the art of tasting wine properly (refused to spit though)! Itsuka and I are now planning the end of this year... it looks like we will likely be leaving NZ for Japan late December
(after graduation) hopefully travelling via Australia as a holiday stopover, to then spend next year in Japan, working
and earning money to create a basis for the future -will have to visit a travel agent to confirm how it will work.
We've had a pretty awesome last few days...... on Friday I finally completed all my assignments that are due over the break, and so did Itsuka except she also has her interdisciplinary project (final assignment for degree) to continue researching. But to celebrate we did some really hard work and also some fun things: doing a lot of housework, washing and cleaning, and also cleaning the car! This continued Sunday afternoon where we had a big sort out of our things and tied up the entire flat. But secondly, we also 'celebrated' by having a nice romantic meal last night...... cooking some nice steak, candlelight, romantic music etc..... plus we also hired a whole lot of videos (Mr Holland's Opus, Immortal Beloved....) we have wanted to see for a while. Itsuka also made an amazing chocolate cake, plus we bought a Cadbury king size chocolate bar, and some chips...... hehehehe.... (and we ARE still running every day!).
Actually, in the last few days we have been at the receiving end of a lot of generosity.... our German neighbour next door, when we were washing the car,came over and said she had some curtains that would fit our flat and asked if we wanted them! They are heaps better than the old 70s style curtains we had before and the flat looks so much nicer! (who said Germans are unfriendly... everybody I think!). Then at the meeting yesterday Sister Birtles came up to me and said she had picked up some interesting 'learning Japanese' books from a garage sale and she gave them to me -and they are quite good! Actually, the week before she also gave us a copy of a photo she took of us at Richard and Georgie's wedding -and it is a very nice photo (will be scanning it shortly for the website).
Plus I am rebuilding my computer and seriously looking at getting some part-time work... we hope to take a day
trip to Wellington maybe on Wednesday, and next week we are planning on taking a short holiday, Taupo, Rotorua and East Coast (Napier, Hastings).
Well we're into our holiday break now and more busy than normal!.... we have quite a few assignments to do so we are working hard on those to get them out of the way.
Last weekend was pretty amazing.... on Friday night our band "Algorythm" performed live for the first time at IPC -went quite well except, because we were the first item on, the sound guy was still tweaking the sound system... then on Saturday Itsuka was a Japanese teacher for several hours at a secondary school Japanese camp being held at IPC for two days. There were classes of kiwi students - from Form 3 to Form 7 - all learning Japanese. They were typical NZ students -rowdy and disobedient but Itsuka was an amazing teacher and handled it really well -I was so impressed! And I learned a few things too....
For previous installments, click on the links below:
