hiredtongue.blogspot.com
The Hired Tongue: Unhired
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Feb 18, 2009. As I write this, I am no longer an English teacher, no longer a Hired Tongue, no longer in Japan. I'm uhired now, cut loose to pursue other things, and presently in the familiar setting that is Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. My time in Japan ended with fireworks and music, a fitting ending. Posted by Joe Streckert. When you say mexico, you mean, like, tijuana, or are you going deep? Anyhoo. rock and roll? 3: Rock and Roll! It would seem w...
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The Hired Tongue: September 2008
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Sep 26, 2008. The DMZ: Standoff Tourism. To that I say: Korea. After the monuments we made a stop at the Reunification Park near, but still outside, the DMZ. (This, by the way, was where J and I downed a few silkworm larvae. We got on the bus, followed their gaze, and entered the DMZ. The Demilitarized Zone is, oddly, beautiful. The place has been untouched for fifty years, and the vast greenery of it all is sort of odd when one considers...The t...
hiredtongue.blogspot.com
The Hired Tongue: June 2008
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Jun 27, 2008. I've often mentioned Tokyo in my posts. I do love Tokyo, but really, it's where I spend my weekends. My work week is spent out in Narita, a bit over an hour away from downtown Tokyo. The area around my apartment looks less like a neon labyrinth from the future, and more like this:. The train looks sort of otherworldly, technology speeding through the green. Posted by Joe Streckert. Jun 13, 2008. The Other Side of the Classroom.
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The Hired Tongue: The Next Part
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Feb 7, 2009. I studied engineering at university," he said, "and now I'm an engineer. Every day, I make machines, I do what I love, and I'm happy. I understand why you're leaving." He smiled at me, said "see you next week! Posted by Joe Streckert. Good luck on your test, Joe! I appreciate your feeling of "jarring relief." Thank you for putting so succinctly what I have been feeling since the moment I got into NYU. Everything was changing,...Survi...
hiredtongue.blogspot.com
The Hired Tongue: At Yasukuni
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Feb 6, 2009. Last weekend, I finally made my way to the Yasukuni Shrine, the Shinto shrine dedicated to memorializing and deifying those who have died in the name of the Emperor. It was an absolutely pleasant day in Tokyo, and I met up with two of my friends for a fine day of gallivanting around town. Our first stop was Yasukuni, the most controversial place in Japan. It's quite nice seeing smart people get excited about their areas of expertise.
hiredtongue.blogspot.com
The Hired Tongue: January 2009
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Jan 28, 2009. Things I'll Miss, Part Two. A few more parts of the landscape that I'll miss. An intuitive, user-friendly and global set of standards, and the U.S. would do well to abandon it's clunky and ill-conceived proprietary set. I'll miss you, metric system. Maybe one day you can come to America. The View From My School. Posted by Joe Streckert. Things I'll Miss, Part One. Sure, a lot of them look alike. But I like them anyways, especial...
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The Hired Tongue: November 2008
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Nov 21, 2008. Book Rant: Samuel Huntington is Wrong. Given that I'm taking the U.S. Foreign Service Exam in February, I've been devouring political science books for the past two months. Recently, I held my nose and picked up The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. By Samuel P. Huntington. I read Huntington's original article in Foreign Affairs. To be fair, Huntington does have a point when he says that culture matters. Cu...
hiredtongue.blogspot.com
The Hired Tongue: April 2008
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Apr 26, 2008. Here are a few pictures from a recent day trip up to Nikko. The series of temples and shrines was built by the Tokugawa Shogunate as a show of wealth and power, and is the burial place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Shogun of that line. Posted by Joe Streckert. Apr 19, 2008. Never call a native speaker a 'skinhead.'". Anyway, informing them of the connotations of the word is a nasty little culture lesson. But, I weirdly like it&#...
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The Hired Tongue: Tested
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Being a description of an English teacher's time in Japan. Feb 10, 2009. Mainly, though, it was great to finally do something that I'd been preparing for for so long, and its completion has helped me mentally sever myself from my current situation. Goals and such seem less amorphous and hypothetical, and the possibilities are moving me towards activity. As I said in my last post, it's a very nice feeling. Despite the morbid predictions on the economy, I'm sure there's something. There always is.
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