Davo

When I was a kid I seem to remember Vegemite being viewed as a kind of Marmite for softies who couldn't hack the kick of the real thing. I like both but prefer Vegimite these days and if that make me a softie then so be it. I have heard similar amusing stories from japanese friends of their first encounter with these delicious foods. Both mistook it for a kind of nuttella chocholate thingy-spread it on thick & UUMMM chotto chigau ne! Right-I'm off to have some Vegimite on rye crackers then.

Perhaps I'm wrong about 47-they may even get less zelous due to the pressure of numbers. Some of those trees are as tracked as the courses. I just got caught out at Goryu and they were pretty serious about the whole thing. But I'm just guessing-the more people who do it, the more likely there will be some sort of response one way or another.

Just a guess-but I think 47/Goryu are going to be more and more uptight about out of bounds fun and games this season.

I've been there for one day only-it was awesome and it's pretty huge. Superfriendly for boarders-it was snowing when I was there so I found it difficult to get orientated. Has a section of lifts named Crap and I had a drink at the Crap bar at the end of the day waiting for my bus back to Zurich. Depite the funny names it is far from crap IMO. You'll love it.

Usually fairly unstressed. Am trying to work as much as I can-study as hard as possible to get it out of the way before winter when stress seems to miraculously dissapear. I need to start running again-that's a guaranteed stress killer.

It seems that resort and ski town work is poorly paid and often not much fun. Imagine being one of the Nescafe cowgirls or whatever they are at Hakuba 47-the ones who wave at everyone when they leave. Anyway what's the best ski town job you have had or have in Japan? This includes any job where you are super close (1hr or so) to good riding. I like my work and where I live but wish I was closer to the Mts come wintertime.Go on-make me jealous!

I'll jump on the nabe bandwagon-lots of oysters and fresh fish yummmmmmm. I'm kinda partial to good oden, not that conbeni rubbish-the real thing.

Well I got a nice surprise today when I started a new class at the seimongako. There were several students in the class who I taught when they were fresh out of high school at the start of last year. Anyway they couldn't/wouldn't speak English well and were a pain in the arse back then. They have mysteriously grown up and can now happily chat away in English-given the right direction. Anyway I think this change can partly be attributed to becoming more mature and partly due to the fact that they have been taught communicative English by different teachers once a week for almost 2 years. Sur

Doesn't make any sense to me at all, I'm more than happy to share the slopes with skiers. I'm sure most boarders would agree. It wouldn't be a selling point for me and the only resorts that would try it are likely to be non-event kind of places looking for a gimmick anyway. Freedom to hit the slopes for all I reckon.

Ocean11-you left that one out of the crap jobs thread a while back. Did you have to wear a uniform and ask "Would you like any extra..hic!...hic!..mozzerella with that Sir...burp..?". I was a waiter for a while "And todays specials are..." great work. Anyway back to the original-the love of my life is Japanese and I think coming from different cultures makes us get on better. She is a very considerate person like many Japanese and I have a lot to learn from that angle. I think she can similarly gain a different perspective from being with me in some ways. But at the end of the day we are ver

Does anyone know the details about the Nagano ski pass which includes Happone and several other fields? Does it include Tsugaike? I'm being a lazy arse & should look it up myself I know. How much does it cost?

Halloween-gotta love Michael Myers with his weird mask and 10 cent haircut. He's always just plodding along with a carving knife-if he gets shot he kind of dances around a bit and then keeps coming. Everytime you think he's had it he suddenly lurches back into life-he's a hard man to put down. I tend to find scary movies funny more than anything else.

Don't screw the crew! It just can't be helped sometimes, but it's wise advice.

I can't comment on whether JET teaching is good/bad or achieves anything in terms of actual language aquisition. I have the impression that many JET teachers do not teach at all but rather function as a side-kick to the Japanese teacher. I guess it depends on the teacher (native & Japanese) and the system at the particular school. I do feel qualified to take a meaty swipe however at the Ministry of Educations efforts at teaching communicative English conversation. Only a Japanese bureacracy could invest so many resources and take up so much of the learners time to produce such patheti

Not sure about that one-I guess if you had a barking dog something would be done about it. My dog barks very rarely-usually whens she's excited and playing with her toys so it's never a problem. However she has become a flea carrier over the weekend, and she puked on the floor this morning- so she's far from perfect!

I'll be sticking with the same old gear this year apart from a new beanie to replace my 70's number and some new goggles. They were the cheapest ones 4 years ago and they certainly look the part-never fog unless I do a faceplant though.

Switzerland can be very pricey but we got a nice double room in Verbier for 10000 yen a night maybe? the week before Xmas. There is also a backpackers there called The Bunker which charged around 3000 yen if I remember. I suppose prices are similar in other areas-saw some cheaper places in Davos. Do a web search and book now for sure while you can. Shouldn't be any more pricey than here. Better still get a crew together and rent a chalet for the week. Enjoy.

Yeah-it looks like me after I ate an anko doughnut thingy that I'd assumed was a jam doughnut thingy when I first came to Japan.

Officially they're not allowed in mine either, but loads of people have dogs so I guess they don't really care.

Funny-just before I clicked in here my dog came up to me with her favorite toy. I'm now typing one handed as I try to get it out of her mouth. She gets quite aggressive for a little Shizu so much fun with real character Having a dog is the best.

A long big toke would possibly put a smile on the face of some of the grim commuters I see when I'm forced to catch the train. Have to agree that alcohol is a far more harmful drug. Anyway why do they test for weed in the first place-it's hardly a performance enhancing substance, actually that's debateable I suppose. Yes it is a shame about the mogul dudes-had they been caught driving drunk it would probably not be news. Now I know the secret of how they can turn their legs into natural shock absobers and fearlessly cane it down those mogul runs.

Definately Nagano but Gifu can be good for a day trip. Fatwins-could you please give us more info on those chep places to stay in Nagano?

My favorite chu-hi experience happened just tonight when I found the shop across the road had added 2 new flavours-grape & orange to their selection. Now I have five delicious flavors to choose from at 88yen a can. Life is good.

Sorry Echiniko... was that a typo? Perhaps you're really after a good spanking!

Totally Rach. As soon as the weather gets cooler like it has been my mood starts to improve. Actually I've got nothing against summer but the heat is unbearable in August here. We went camping down in Wakayama last weekend and the temps were perfect-just like good summer weather should be. It makes me laugh how a lot of my students are astonished to hear that I went swimming.