英会話　Jon's English page

Yes, today I became 39 years young. I noticed a few more grey hairs after getting up this morning (just joking). My wife and I enjoyed a lovely day today as we were entertained by our friend, Lourens. He treated us to some traditional South African cooking. He prepared a dish called "Boboti" and it was beautiful! After lunch we relaxed by watching a thrilling/epic Australian Open tennis semi-final. Finally we took a long stroll around the Nassim area of Jeddah (where my friend lives). All in all, a day to remember!
  

However, all is not "roses and sunshine" when it comes to motoring in Saudi Arabia. Apparently there are more car accidents here than in any country on the planet. You can see wrecked cars everywhere. At times there almost seems to be no road rules whatsoever. you really do need "nerves of steel" to drive here. And just in case you are wondering, no, I have decided not to "get behind the wheel" here.

  

Going to the petrol station here is like stepping back in time. Why? Well, because the price of petrol is so unbelievably cheap. The other day my South African friend filled up his tank for the equivalent of £5! My step-father is always complaing about the price of fuel in the UK, so if he were to come over here I think he would have a heart attack!
  

　Wow, seven weeks has absolutely flown by. Most of the time the best way to describe life at NIT is "organized chaos". This is quite a modern term in English and one that is commonly used these days. Unlike working in Japan, where usually everybody knows what is going on, life working outside of Japan often involves having to be much more flexible. Another accurate way of describing NIT is a "hotchpotch". It certainly isn't everybody's cup of tea, but I like to think (without blowing my own trumpet) I thrive on it. Saying that the chaos does wear you out and now that we have a week off I think it has been well-earned.



  

My lunch boxes are often a topic of conversation at work. Everday, in typical Japanese style, my wife prepares something special for my lunch. Most of this semester I've hardly had time to do anything outside of teaching my class, marking tests and prepaing grade sheets. That's why my lunchbox always comes as a "welcome distraction". It is always one of the highlights of my day as I unpack all my bits and pieces to peek inside to see what she has prepared. Quite often my lunchbox is the "talk of the office".






  

As another stunning sunstes here in Jeddah, my thoughts turn to my father-in-law. It is a case of "many happy returns" as it is his birthday today. I have to be honest in saying I'm not exactly sure how many years "young" he is today. However, I would like him to know that he is in both our thoughts tonight and that he should be extremely proud of his youngest daughter. I know some people doubted whether she could bear/stand living in a country like Saudi Arabia. Well, I have to tell you she has proved a lot of people wrong and adapted amazingly well to life here and supports me to the hilt. To both of my prtents in Japan I have to tell you your "second-born" is a credit to both you and you are extremely fortunate to have her as a daughter. We both look forward to hearing from you again very soon. Happy birthday, papa!  

Being in Saudi, of course, there were no new year celebrations. For me it was "just another day at the office", as we often like to say. That being said, some of my students did wish me "happy new year". I also had a bit of good news today. My mail and newspapers/magazines finally arrived. Saudi is notoriously slow for receiving mail and I had been waiting over a month for mine to arrive. I had developed a routine of popping my head into the photocopy/mail room only for Mr Reda (an Egyptian) to simply shake his head and say, "tomorrow inshallah".
Anyway, I want to wish all of my family (looking forward to hearing from you soon) and friends all the best for the coming year. I look forward to catching up with many of you sometime later in 2012. Also, recently, my thoughts have turned to my first visit to a hot springs on my return. But which one will it be.....?
  

I am the "core" teacher for Section 19 at NIT. There are 31 students in my class, aged around 20. I am currently teaching them for six 50-minute periods a day. I feel I have struck up a good affinity with them already and I really enjoying working with them. All being well I will stay with them until they graduate from the English program. That means I will hopefully be their teacher until May. If so it will be my pleasure
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This is the first time in many years that I have spent Christmas in temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius. Also, unlike Japan, where you can see at least some outward signs of Xmas, here in Saudi you see pretty much nothing. Tomorrow will be a regular workday, however, tomorrow night NIT is going to treat it's native staff to a meal at a Thai restaurant. I know it isn't a traditional Christmas fare of roast turkey and cranberry sauce, but I for one am not complaining!
  

This morning Rob, my colleague, and his wife (here for a three-week trip) took myself and my wife to the National Institute of Technology. Ai was "dying" to see where I work and she looked thrilled to have a quick tour around the building. Friday, of course, is the latter part of the weekend here, and the most important because of Friday praters. So there were very few cars on the road for a change-usually it's chaos!!  

Getting the ingredients from my mother-in-law was only half the story. As I mentioned we held a birthday party for our south African friend, Lourens. Well, little were we to know but it also turned into an early Christmas for us. Out of sheer kindness he decided to buy us a new microwave oven! We certainly didn't ask for one but he had noticed that we were "eying up"one earlier in the day when we did some grocery shopping at Carrefour. Thus, it became a double celebration and my wife was able to prepare her exquisite meal.  

Some of the credit for the wonderful meal my wife prepared for our friends the other day must also go to my mother-in-law. When coming to Jeddah my "better half" brought lots of Japanese foodstuffs with her. The result? Well, I have already gone back a notch on my belt which means I'm "heading in the right direction". Typical for me I am always "on the go" at work, with students already commenting when they see me running down the long corridoors. Slowly but surely I'm getting back into shape!  

Last night we celebrated the birthday of one of coworkers from the National Institute of Technology, here in Jeddah. My wife (as always) prepared a fantastic meal for Lourens as well as myself and Rob', another colleague. Lourens and Rob are both from South Africa. One of the great things I love about working at NIT is working with people from different countries and religions. Lourens himself (pictured on the right) has been an invaluable friend to both myself and my wife. When we were having trouble getting visas to get back into Saudi Arabia, he offered valuable moral support. As they say it not important where you go in the world because "people make places".   

　The last few months have been tough for myself, my wife but especially my parents. My step-father has lost several family members during that time. However, they have shown love, understanding and support to us and for that we rae eternally grateful. In particular my step-dad always showers my wife with great affection and I overheard him a few months ago that as "a part of the family" he and my mother worry about her and want her to be happy. Those close to me back in Japan know my feelings regarding the amount of support and encouragement we received before leaving, often from unexpected sources and, conversely, the disappointment we felt at being "frozen out" by others. That is why, the way in which my parents have stood by our side, even in their moments of unhappines, means so very much.





  

No, it is not the name of a film. And, no, I am not being eaten alive! I am "enjoying" a fish spa. These have become very popular in the UK over the last year or two. Basically, you put your feet into tha tank and these small fish nibble away at all the dead skin on your feet. The fish themselves have no teeth so it isn't painful at all. If anything you feel a tickleish sensation. My wife wasn't tempted to try it but all I can say is that my feet felt very refreshed!

  

The answer to my question is the historical city of York. I know some of you already read my wife's blog so you may already know this. "As the crow flies" it takes only about 50 minutes from my parents' home to York. It is a city I would highly recommend to anyone planning to visit the UK.

This photo was taken when we first arrived in York on saturday morning. We stopped off for a quick coffee at an "oldy-worldy" pub called "The Golden Slipper". What a great name and a great view as we could sit and "watch the world go by".  

Here in the UK we have been enjoying an "Indian Summer". Both yesterday and today new records were set for the highest temperature ever recorded. Yesterday, in the south of Englan the mercury touched 29.9 degrees celsius. Again today the temperature soared to 29.2!! Quite incredible! Apparently though things are going to come "crashing to a halt" on Tuesday, with the remnants of a hurricane said to hitting parts of the UK on Wednesday. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted!

Today's photo (expertly taken by my wife) was taken wher do you think??  

  

Last Friday my wife and I headed back to my "old stomping ground", Manchester, to drop in on some old (and some new) friends from Japan. It was something that wasn't planned but things worked out perfectly. Even the notoriously bad weather in Manchester was a pleasant surprise. I'd just like to say "thanks" to those lovely ladies and I hope you enjoyed your week in the UK and had a safe journey back. It was a very special day for both my wife and myself.

This picture was taken in the Manchester Museum.