Friday, January 29, 2010

JCC/GTS dinner went well and got cheerful!

About 15 GTS comrades gathered and enjoyed reunion! Rather small group but very cheerful group! Some got the opportunity of JET interview but some not. No matter what they do the next, I hope everything goes well. All classes will have the first chapter test and I may lose some students after that. Study abroad deadline is coming up and about a dozen students are planning to join the summer Japan program! I want to have some more participants in Spring break Kyoto trip, so you or your friend hopefully join the trip! Next JCC/GTS dinner will be on Friday 3/5/2010!

Monday, January 25, 2010

GTS voice goes into National Japanese Exam for high schoolers!

GTS often works as a voice actor for Japanese male voice making and dubbing. This tme GTS's voice has been used for National Japanese Exam ready for high school Japanese learners. Not completely recovered from Jet lag but the recording was well done and many high schoolers in the U.S. will hear GTS voice during the exam. Sounds fun, right? January is soon ended so the JCC/GTS dinner is coming up on Friday this week (1/29)! New Year and GTS birthday greeting at the same time!

Friday, January 22, 2010

First week passed and GTS/JCC dinner approaches!

I am glad to see rather many continuing students in 1102. 47 began facing a new challenge in 1102 and I hope everyone could survive! 2202 got shrunk to 8 excellent and cheerful students and of those 8 students 4 are also attending 2252 with 3 other students. For those 4 students, Tuesday is the Super duper Japanese day! JCC/GTS dinner is coming up Friday next week (1/29) Let's celebrate a year of the Tiger as well as GTS birthday (2/4). No dinner is planned in February but the next one is on the first Friday of March (3/5).

Monday, January 18, 2010

Reunion with GTS' student of 1988!

One of the first students of GTS' life in America found GTS through Facebook and yesterday drove up with his friend from Cincinnati to downtown Chicago! It was amazing! He was 18 at that time and is now 40! We went to Kerryman (at the corner of Erie and Clark), then Fleming for steak dinner, then Big Bowl for Qingdao Beer, and then Mother's Hubbard (Sports Bar) where we played pool! Certainly I stayed at Embassy Suite where we played poker! Oh, what we have done really reminded me of the life in 1988-89! My Jet lag and sore throat got worsen a bit but it was worth meeting with him! I was glad to hear that he is a father of three daughters yet his young habit of checking out gals around was still in place! Oh, well I tried to forget about being a college teacher but he kept introducing me as a best professor of America to everyone he met for the first time! Am I embarrassed? Not at all. I am proud of him and his successful life especially he paid everything and even gave a drink to everyone in the bar! I will visit him next time!

Friday, January 15, 2010

The first day of the Spring semester!

IC Building of COD now is like a huge maze because of renovation project! There are too few classrooms in the building now and GTS must teach 1102 at M-Building in the morning! 24 students are in the morning class to be ready for GTS challenge though the atmosphere of the class seems to be cheerful like a big family and I like it! I hope everyone can survive in the class! The night class will begin next Wednesday with probably 20+ students! 2202 on the other hand shrank quite a bit and only 7 students left but we can do more stuff with a few people so it is also a cheerful family! Of these 7 students, 4 students are also taking 2252 with a couple more students. So these 4 students are devoting themselves into Japanese language study and I love it! The Spring Break Japan trip seems to have about 5 students now and hope some more join us! I am also looking forward to the application deadline of COD summer study abroad program on 2/1/2010!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Spring Semester begins tomorrow!

GTS is now struggling with Jet lag! I have just flew into Chicago on Monday morning just in time for all faculty gathering at COD. I haven't seen that snowy scene for a while so I was re-confirmed that I am in CHICAGO! Those who will return to COD this semester must have fun with COD IC Building (BIC) Maize! I even got lost at very near my office and hit (No Entry) wall! So far total of 40 students are ready to 1102 and this number should rise a bit before the first night class on 1/20. Spring Field Trip has 3 now and I am trying to recruit more to realize the trip so please encourage your friends to join the trip! The first GTS/JCC dinner will be on Friday 1/29! See you all soon!