New Year’s Resolution

Today is the 31st of December. The year of 2013 is about to end in some hours. I want to think back to this year to make a resolution for the year of 2014.

2012, it was the year of a big decision. I quit the company I had been working for three and a half years in Japan to change myself and learn something new. This idea came up suddenly in July 2012 and it led me to make a decision soon. 

2013, it was the year of a new experience coming from this decision. Everything I have done in New Zealand this year was a stimulating experience I had never done before. That includes going to school, homestay, flat share, backpackers, travelling and working. Even though my English skills are not well enough to keep a conversation and I am still poor at communicating with others, I could spend absolutely precious time in New Zealand. All the experiences with my friends or done by myself are the important memory I will never forget. 

2014, it will be the year of a new challenge. Needless to say, 2013 was also challenging year, though, 2014 will be harder year for me. Even though life in New Zealand was a new experience, I was just a student. I always had something to do to graduate from the school. I hardly arranged what to do by myself. However, in 2014, I have got a working holiday visa so that I can work as much as I want in Australia. I need to arrange everything by myself. I have to get a job for the next career. As of now, I already got a little depressed because the situation was much harder here than I expected. It must be tough but at the same time, I was kind of exited because I can choose whatever I want to do next. I am no longer a student and I don’t have to be careful about the school schedule. As long as I have firm intention, it will be really interesting and valuable.

My new year’s resolution is not to focus on what I should do but what I want to do. If I choose what I should do, it will be a duty, not a challenge. The most important thing is to follow my intention. I want to keep this resolution in my mind all the time to make 2014 a great year.

Life in Waikerie

Since I arrived in Waikerie which is 2 and a half hours far from Adelaide by bus, I spent extraordinary boring time for a week. Picking work hasn't started yet because of Christmas and New year's holidays. I really have nothing to do now. I could be sick if I spend more time as same as how I spend at the moment. 

The name of backpackers where I am staying is Murray River Queen. This used to be a real boat and is actually floating on the river. It is interesting and unique. All the people staying at this backpackers are workers of orange picking who are trying to get a proof of working seasonal job for 3 months which leads them to have a right to apply for the second working holiday visa in the future. Although they are basically friendly, I can't communicate with them well because of the lack of my English skills. As there are no Asians here, I am the only one who can't speak English well. It is very tough situation.

Since this is a temporary job, I may work here for just a month or less. I am not a city boy or someone but I can't stand spending long time here. One month would be enough for me and I will move to the next city which might be Melbourne. I hope I will make enough money for the next step.   

The last day in Adelaide

Today is the last day in Adelaide. I stayed just a week here. There is nothing special. What I am doing is to go to the state library in order to use internet and walk around the city with listening to English podcast as usual. I really have nothing to do now. 

Even though Christmas is coming soon, I don't feel like welcoming Christmas. Last year I spent Christmas day in Motueka near Abel Tasman National Park in South Island, New Zealand. I was travelling by a coach tour. There were around 25 people together and we shared the South Island trip for two weeks. I don't believe one year has already passed since that time. I am supposed to spend this Christmas day and New Year in Murray River Queen which is the only boat hostel floating on the river. I don't expect so much there, and I guess nothing will happen and I will spend usual time alone.

I don't think something will happen in New Year as well as Christmas. I will probably do nothing...

North Adelaide

It rained today in Adelaide. I feel kind of strange because I already connected the strongly shiny sun to this city due to the weather it has been. Since I don't need to have my skins burnt, rainy days are totally welcome!! 

The day after tomorrow, I am leaving Adelaide, I just wanted to walk around where I have never been to. In Adelaide almost all the big shopping malls, public facilities or accommodations are located in the city centre. The streets in this city centre follow a grid pattern and it is really well organized. There are lots of buildings like European which I am sometimes greatly attracted to. But at the same time, I feel stuffy because of a number of tall buildings.

By the way I went to North Adelaide, which is located 1 to 1.5km far from the city centre crossing the river. It was much smaller than the city centre. I thought the town looks like the main street in the small town in New Zealand. For this reason I felt familiar with the town when I was walking. 

At the moment, though, I have nothing to do. It is so boring to stay here that I would be a little depressed. On Monday I finally can go to the place I will work. This would be the start of my decent life in Australia. I feel both excited and anxious but I know the start is always tough. When I get used to the situation, I am sure I will be fine. 

State Library of South Australia

State Library of South Australia is the most quiet, spacious and comfortable library I have ever seen. As there are lots of tables, chairs and sofas, I never needed to mind where I should sit. I can find the space to read a book or use internet with my laptop without any problems. Of course you can use public computers if you want. More importantly Wi-Fi is completely free in this library. This is different from the Auckland Library where Wi-Fi is limited to use up to 200MB per day.

I go to the library everyday because I have nothing else to do until I go to the Waikerie where I am supposed to do an orange picking. The only thing I sometimes hesitate to go to the library is the distance from YHA and it takes approximately 15 minutes. It is not bad if the city has a mild climate. But unfortunately it is extremely hot and I can't help but get sweaty easily. I always bring my laptop which is larger and heavier than usual, it is natural I get tired after coming back from library. I wish the library would be located much nearer or I should have chosen the other hostel near the library.

Anyway I have only three days left to stay in Adelaide. I might keep moving and I want to see this Australia as much as possible.

Sunny days in Adelaide

Since I arrived, it has been really sunny and extremely hot in Adelaide. I can't imagine there is the time when it rains. I haven't seen such an extraordinarily clear sky. There is no clouds. For this reason, I feel my skins really burnt. It actually hurts. I know the summer in Japan is also tough, but it is different kind of toughness between Japan and Australia. 

The most different thing is sunlight. The strength of ultraviolet radiation is about five to seven times as strong as Japanese one. Can you believe it? I think the strength of ultraviolet radiation in Australia is similar to New Zealand's one. However I feel more burnt and hurt by sunshine than when I was in New Zealand. 

I am going to do fruit picking that I have to be outside all the time. I must be careful about my skins not to get a skin cancer in the future. I am always lazy about these kinds of things like health. But seriously I need a sunscreen in order to protect my skins from absolutely strong ultraviolet radiation.

  

Life in Adelaide

Three days have already passed since I arrived in Adelaide, which is located in South Australia. This city is really beautiful and quiet. I can't believe more than a million people live here. 

As Adelaide is not a popular city for working holiday makers, there are much less Asian people than Auckland. When I walk around the city, those who I can see are almost Australian and a few of Chinese. When I first arrived in YHA where I am staying, I was disappointed because a Japanese couple was checking-in in front of me and another Japanese couple was waiting for checking in behind me. The reason I came to Adelaide is that I wanted to avoid this situation! But nothing wrong with that. It is natural that some Japanese are in YHA. I shouldn't feel bad about that. I shouldn't think about avoiding Japanese too much. Funny enough, though, I haven't seen Japanese here after that time. As I wrote above, the city is full of Australian and Chinese. 

This should have been what I desired. I wanted to be surrounded by native English speakers so that I can improve my English skills. But now, no matter how many Australian are there, I can't communicate with them because they speak so fast, maybe faster than New Zealanders. I strongly feel being away from them. In addition to that, I have no one I can rely on. I need to arrange everything all by myself. Moreover it is too hot here to think calmly. This climate is nothing like Auckland. It was so hard that I was kind of depressed these days. I became to think that it is very difficult to find a job here due to a lack of my English skills and these tough situations.

In line with this, I finally decided to do fruits picking job which will allow me to have a right to apply for a second working holiday visa as long as I do it for more than three months. Since I don't plan to get a second visa, I may not do it for more than three months. I just wanted to experience a seasonal job because I haven't done fruit picking before. This will be the first experience for me. I've heard that this job is not good for money even though it is tough. But at least I can make some money. What I need the most is to experience something new and get a opportunity to communicate with some people. I get really nervous when I think about following months, but I hope it will be all right. I am supposed to leave Adelaide on 24th December. It seems to be too fast to decide to go to another place, but I have no choices other than that. I don't want to waste time and money. 

I will probably change my next plan. I was planning to go to Perth after staying Adelaide, but because of this situation, I may need to go to Melbourne or Sydney to get a decent job I can be satisfied. If I go to Perth I am totally not sure whether or not I can get a job. On the other hand, there must be lots of possibilities to find a job in the big cities I mentioned above. Either Cairns or Gold Coast would be good as well because these cities are popular places where a number of travelers visit.

Anyway my life in Australia has just started. Don't think too much. Be more optimistic. 

No sense of solid

I can't believe I am going to Australia the day after tomorrow. I have even been getting unknown that I am in New Zealand now. I feel no sense of solid. Am I really going to Australia? The world is sometimes strange. I just do usual tasks even though only two days left. It is very weird like a dream. I guess I can feel some sense of solid after the arrival but now I can't feel anything. I am just not sure where I am standing. Weird....

Need to focus on what I do

I have been constantly disappointed in a number of mistakes I had stacked up. What I need to do is to concentrate on each task not to make mistakes, isn't it? I always can't help but focus on how fast to do tasks to finish it early. I already got used to work in this place and I haven't been careful of what I did so much because I believed I could do it perfectly. That's why I have been making a lot of mistakes. I'd better reset myself otherwise I will make mistakes one after another.

Anyway I need to work only twice more. I have to focus on everything I do. Since I am one of the senior staff members, I should take responsibility for what I am doing.   

Ten more days

It has been raining strongly since yesterday and I feel a lack of energy. Something is different. I have no eagerness to do anything now. I have one and a half weeks until I leave Auckland. However, I can't do anything because I already finish my school and I can only work sixteen hours per week due to my visa condition. I currently think I need to do something exciting that I can use my full of energy. What a shame! What on earth am I doing?

Whenever I think about what my friends are doing now in Japan, I always feel a kind of inferiority. They must work hard and grow up day by day. How about myself? I don't think I grew up in New Zealand compared to how much they did. I considered coming to New Zealand as a "challenge" or "restart", but it seems to be a sort of "run away from the real world". I still have no clue what to do next. I don't have any specific interests or special qualifications. What I am doing is to just do a thing I already can do. No challenge, no growing up.

Oh, that is a bad sign... Everytime I got a long holiday, I turned into depressed because of too much thinking. I am always anxious about my future.

Ten more days, the situation will change. I need to remind myself not to forget "challenge" thing.

Tokyo Podcast

I found an interesting podcast which is called "Tokyo Podcast". This podcast is hosted by Joh Anthony who was born and grown in Canada, USA and eventually settled in Japan. He talks about Japanese life style, latest news or his experience etc in this podcast. As I am familiar with the article he talks about, it is very easy for me to listen to. I can sometimes hear him using Japanese and it sounds nice and interesting.

Whatever nationality you have, it would be great to listen to this podcast if you are interested in actual Japanese life style, especially Tokyo. Please refer to the link below if you want to know more about "Tokyo Podcast"!

http://www.tokyo-podcast.com/

What a bad way to start the day

I've so depressed this morning. While I was having breakfast, I was told that I made a mistake for the reservation. I checked the account after breakfast and it was undoubtedly my mistake. I booked a wrong room for a customer. Since our hostel was fully booked yesterday the customers seemed to get angry because they couldn't move to another room. I felt so sorry for the customers and the stuff who delt with them.

I was not supposed to work this morning, but when I was checking the system the customers who want to check out kept coming. For this reason, I worked for approximately one and a half hours with another stuff. What I got depressed more was that I couldn't deal with customers well. Firstly, I got a call from a customer who I guess is Kiwi and I couldn't get her words. Because of my lack of listening skill, she got angry and she said she wanted to talk to someone who can understand her. Secondly I was asked by a customer about a tour around Auckland. I should have been familiar with this thing because I am a receptionist and a travel consultant at the same time. However I couldn't explain to her well and she seemed to be irritated. After all she's gone to another place.

I was so terrible this morning. If I had been a customer, I would have got irritated as well. My customer service was terrible and horrible. What I could do was only a basic thing like check-in and check-out procedure. I should have learned more about Auckland or other general knowledge.

This must be a good lesson from my mistake. I need to keep it in my mind and make use of it to the next step.

Finished studying

I finally finished my course in the school. I finished the roll play which was the final assessment of this course. I passed all the assessments and completed the 100% attendance!! I am proud of myself. To be honest, it was not that difficult since this course was just a national certificate level 4. However, learning travel & tourism was my first experience and I think I did well. I hope this experience would be usefull for my next career.

What is left is the lunch with my classmates next Friday, and the graduation on 13th December. As there was a huge difference between my classmates and me, I can't say I got along with them well. My English skill was not good enough to keep up with them. In addition, they are so young that I felt the generation gap, even though I felt culture gap at the same time. I wish I could have talk to them a lot more. This must have been a great opportunity for me to make friend, have new experience, and improve my English skills. But I couldn't. What a shame! I should have tried harder. I could have done that. This is the biggest regret in my New Zealand life.

Since I finished studying I have to think about my next career. I need a job hunting in Australia at first. If I am asked what the most important thing is to get a job overseas, I would have to say "English skills". No matter how good qualification I have, no matter how hard I can work, I can't get a job in a foreign country unless I have English skills. To improve English skills is the most important objective in Australia.

The preparation for the journey to Australia has almost done. What I need to do is just to wait time comes.

Running situation

I haven't run last four months. I just started again to run two weeks ago. I was not in mood for running after moving to the backpackers hostel I am staying now. Accoriding to my negligence, I didn't run Auckland Marathon even though I had already registered to participate in this event and I had paid about $100!! I felt self-loathing. I should have motivated myself to run. I wish I could have taken part in this marathon because it is the biggest marathon event in New Zealand and must have been a tremendous experience for me. But it is meaningless to think about the past. What happened happened. What I need to do is to motivate myself again to get my objectives.

Recently I finally managed to keep running constantly. My favourite running course is Victoria Park which is located near Sky Tower. I run in this park three or four times a week. When it's sunny, the park is really nice place to run and I can feel very comfortable.

Running is one of my important lifestyle. I want to keep this custom. 

About Adelaide

As I mentioned before, my next destination is Adelaide, South Australia. I want to write about Adelaide here.

First of all, Adelaide is the capital city of the state of South Australia where approximately 1.2 million people live and which is the fifth biggest city in Australia. Since this city is not so big compared to Sydney or Melbourne and not so popular destination for tourists compared to Cairns or Goldcoast, lots of people say "where is it?" or "I have heard the name..." though there is not much difference between Adelaide and Auckland in population-wise.

Second of all, Adelaide is known for lots of great food or wine which means there are lots of nice restaurants and wineries. It seems that there are lots of opportunities to work as a waiter or work in a factory of wine and so on although I am not really keen on these kinds of jobs.

As of I have thought in my mind, I plan to stay in Adelaide for 3 or 4 months. However if I get a job which is really good and valuable for me, I may stay there longer. Nevertheless it would be up to 6 months to work in a same place because of the visa condition. Anyway I want to visit as many places as possible since I will go to Australia which is much bigger country than New Zealand or Japan. There must be a number of places I can enjoy or have new experiences.

I feel nervous when I think about going to Australia though I feel exited at the same time. The biggest thing which makes me nervous is whether or not I can get a job and whether or not I can keep it. It must be tough for me to work in English-speaking environment, but I don't want to work in the place related to Japanese such as Japanese restaurant. I hopefully will find a place Australian owe. Anyway it is useless to think about that even though I have't been there yet. I will realize everything when I get there.

Industry day

My visa was approved and I have got a flight ticket to Adelaide which is the capital city of Southern Australia. What I need to do more to go to Australia is to purchase a travel insurance policy. My preparation for the working holiday in Australia is alomst done.

After an arrival in Australia, I may apply for a full time job or just a part-time job. Whichever I will choose, I need to make money anyway. No matter how hard I will make an effort, it would be difficult to get a full time job due to my English skills. But I don't want to work in Japanese restaurant or Japanese supermarket. What I want about work place is a native speakers environment and hopefully it would relate to travel and tourism. I will try to find such a job. Never give up.

Yesterday was an industry day in our school, and some companies related to travel, tourism or buisness came to our school. I could talk to them and got some information about the companies I was interested in. They were so friendly I could be relaxed during talking and listening to them. It was a good opportunity to make some networks and learn what positions are available or how to apply for a job. To get a job in overseas is very different from Japan. And I like these cultures because the more experience I have, the easier I can get a job. In Japan, however, quitting job is to be considered as negative thing, isn't it? The more companies we work in, the more difficult it is to get a job.

Anyway, if I experience a lot of jobs in Australia, I guess would get better job in New Zealand in the future more easily.

One more month

One more month to stay in Auckland. My new journey is almost there. I have been thinking what I learnt in this year. A year ago I quit a company I had worked for more than three years. It was a big dicision and it changed my life a lot. I didn't expect such a thought came up to me. But now, my living situation has already become usual and I don't consider it special.

I met many kinds of people I have never seen. They were always kind, cheerful and positive. They can speak English much more fluently than me and it sometimes brought me a feeling of inferiority. To be honest I still have such a feeling because my speaking skill is not well enough to keep conversation. However, I think I could improve English skills at least much better than before I came here. For example, I brought DVDs of American drama, titled "FRIENDS" which is famous for those who study English through drama. When I was in Japan, I couldn't understand what the actors/ actresses were talking about at all because they speak so fast thouth it is needless to say. At the moment, however, I can understand more than 90%. It was a huge improvement. Of course I watched for many times and I got used to know their speaking. But even if I count this fact, I am sure my listening skill must be at much higher level now. At the same time, I feel it is still not enough. If I want to get a job which is not related to Japanese speakers, I need to learn more.

Other than English, I have many things I could learn here. The diversity of cultures, the way of thinking or the way to behave was one of many things I experienced here. It was sometimes irritating and sometimes I couldn't accept it. But understanding differnt cultures is very important to be with them. In the future I want to work in a global field and I can't avoid the situation which I have to communicate with various nationalities. Considering it, staying in Auckland was very valuable for me because there are a number of immigrants. There are countless opportunities to meet them. I think I chose the best way.

I can write more about what I learnt in New Zealand, but what I mentioned above is what is important for me. I guess just a month will go by so faster than I can expect. I would like to do as many experiences as I can in the rest of time.

Harry Potter

I have been reading Harry Potter which is one of the most famous stories for kids in the world. To be honest, I was not interested in this book at first, and I only have seen the movie of the first story, "Harry Potter and the philisopher's stone". However, after I started to read the first one in English, it was really interesting and very easy to read. I already started to read the second story, "Harry Potter and the chamber of Secret".

At the same time, I have watched the movies of several Harry Potter series. I am totally into this stories now. Being interested in these series is quite useful to learn English because there are lots of same words in these books. Moreover there are similar expressions as well since the author tends to use same phrase repeatedly.

If I complete watching movies and reading books of Harry Potter series, my listening and reading skills must be at higher level than before I got intersted in them. At least I believe so. As I still have more one month to stay in Auckland, I will try to read all the series.

Working holiday in Australia

I finally applied for the working holiday visa in Australia. It was so easy to complete because I didn't need to print out the form and write down. We can apply for the working holiday visa online. All I have to do is put the persnonal information and my intention about what to do in Australia.

What I need more is to arrange the insurance and flight ticket. At first I was planning to go to Australia on the top of January, but I am wondering when I should go because it would be so expensive if I fly on the end or the start of a year. I wanted to exchange in backpackers wherever in New Zealand except for Auckland before going to Australia. However, as the reason above, I may have to change my plan and I may go to Australia as soon as I graduate from the school in the first week of December.

Anyway, I can't wait for my new journey. I am so excited, though I am so anxious at the same time. I need to be more serious and more positive, but I'd better be careful not to be too serious. Having fun is the most important thing in the life. I really want to go all over Australia at this time. I have at most one year to stay in Australia, but if I do a seasonal job for more than three months, I could get a second working holiday visa which allows me to stay one more year in Australia with the same condition. I haven't decided what to do there but I want new experiences I have never done and I want to lead my career to the next step.

Next destination

My class at Crown will end in more 5 weeks. Time flies away and I am not sure whether I could learn much enough to lead my career to the next step.

I was planning to look for a job in New Zealand with working holiday visa, but I changed my mind and I am heading for Australia from next year. First of all, I really want to see another country. Second of all, I need to improve my English skills because it is not well enough to get a good job I can be satisfied. Lastly, I want to travel around in Australia. I haven't decided yet which city to go and what to do there. I need to collect information about Australia as much as I can, but  at the same time, I don't want to be botherd with too much information. Since my objective to go to Australia at this time is to experience a lot of things I have never done and to improve my English skills, I would like to move around several cities or towns.

According to the reasons above, I have a number of things I have to decide and to deal with. I need to decide which city I am going to at first, or how I can find a job, etc. I need to apply for working holiday visa online. I need to pack my luggage in order to move around more easily.

I feel both anxious and excited. I don't have the clue what exactly I want to do and what I can do. On the other hand, I am not restricted by anything that means I can do anything I want.

There is a little time to think about the next journey. I have to more concentrate on that.

Time to think about myself

There is no way to keep my blog constantly at the moment. I don't have my own time to think about what I write. As I am going to stay at this hostel for the time being, I don't think I can keep my blog unless I leave here and live in a flat or an apartment.

Recently I have been thinking about my future after the graduation from the school. I was going to get the working holiday visa and look for a full-time job in New Zealand. However, I am really wondering whether I should keep staying here because I want to see other countries like Canada or Australia and I don't think my English is not enought to get a good job. Since I guess getting a job in New Zealand is slightly easier than in other countries, I want to improve my English skills in other countries at first and I want to get better job in New Zealand in the future.

I have lots of things I have to decide soon and I need time to think about myself more than before. Whatever I decide to do next, I believe everything will be going well.

If I have time to write something, I will make an effort to keep this blog either.

Strong in the rain

“Ame ni mo makezu / kaze ni mo makezu / Yuki ni mo Natsu no atsusa ni mo makenu / Joubu na karada wo mochi / Yoku wa naku / Kessite ikarazu / itsumo shizukani waratteiru / ... / so iu mono ni / watashi wa naritai”

This is the Japanese poem wrote by Kenji Miyazawa, who was the famous poet and fairy story author in Japan, discovered after he died. In this poem, he describes how he wants to be ideally. “Strong in the rain / Strong in the wind / Strong against the snow and summer’s heat / With a strong body / Unfettered by desire / Never losing temper / Always quietly smiling / … / That is the kind of person / I want to be”

Why I introduce this poem here is because I’ve found the book titled “Strong in the rain”, telling about the big earthquake, tsunami, and the meltdown of nuclear plant occurred in the east of Japan on 11 March, 2011. This book was written by Lucy Birmingham and David McNeill. They try to describe what exactly was happening and what the survivors was thinking and acting.

When the earthquake occurred, I didn’t feel the shake because I was in Hiroshima prefecture located in the west part of Japan, far from the seismic centre. I just watched the TV news, and I was really shocked when I saw the tsunami devastating a number of buildings or sweeping up cars and all kinds of stuffs.

No matter how hard I think about this disaster, I can never understand the survivors’ feeling precisely because it must be beyond imagination. Fortunately I haven’t been near the seismic centre when catastrophic earthquakes occurred, though I have experienced several small and middle earthquakes. However, as long as I live in Japan, I cannot avoid the risk of encountering earthquakes and other natural disasters. The most important part is to take measures to lessen the damage to the minimum. We need to learn from the history.

Individually, when I encounter the natural disaster, I want to be the kind of person Kenji Miyazawa described in his poem. To be honest, I am not that kind of person at the moment. I am weak, I don’t have a strong body, I feel difficulty to be quietly smiling and I often lose my temper.

I haven’t seen and being conscious about his poem for a long time but I am impressed again when I read this book. “Strong in the rain, strong in the wind, … that is the kind of person I want to be.”

100 times

I finally completed 100-times uploading. In fact, I didn’t expect I could keep my English blog such a long time. I’ve been writing about the school, my daily life, trips, and running etc. I sometimes couldn’t write well when I have nothing to tell about. Even now I sometimes feel difficult what I should write. I have lots of things I want to express but it is really hard to write in English. My vocabularies and grammars are absolutely limited. I want to learn more ways to express using several beautiful English. I believe the more I keep my blog, the better my writing skill will be. Whether or not I can improve my English skills depends on how long I keep practice. There is a Japanese proverb "Keizoku wa chikara nari", which means if you stack up efforts bit by bit, you will be better at doing it.

 

At the same time, however, I have to learn more vocabularies and a lot of ways to write because I feel my writing style hasn’t changed recently. I always use same expressions and that’s the problem. If I didn’t learn new things, I wouldn’t be better at English any more. I have focused on quantity so far, but what I need is to focus on the quality.

Coromandel trip 2

On 16th Aug, what we did was bone carving which is Maori’s traditional art craft. The workshop centre was located in Whitianga and we were explained how to carve bone there. Maori has many shapes of carved bone and every one of them has different meanings. There were three types of patterns we could choose from at that time. I chose Koru, which has spiral shape and it seems to be a symbol of peace, growth, new life and tranquility.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The carving itself was not that difficult and everyone can do easily because the carving equipment were already prepared and the three of staffs were very kind and taught us how to do that and check how we did in every stages. It took approximately two and a half hours to complete, though it would take much less time if there were a few people.

It was really nice experience and I was glad when I completed and picked up the bone pendant I carved. It must be a great souvenir.  

After the bone carving, we had fish & chips on the beach near the workshop centre. The rest of the plan of the trip was just going back to Auckland. I thought it was so early that I was a little bit unsatisfied. I wanted to go to hot water beach and we had enough time to visit there. I don’t know why the tour guide set off to Auckland as soon as finished bone carving, but I have to thank them to drive safely during the trip. Anyway, we arrived in Auckland around 3.00pm and we went home then.

That was pretty much about our school trip. Time went so fast and I could have a wonderful experience. The graduation from the school is coming soon. I want to go through a more variety of things not to regret.

School trip – Coromandel Peninsula 1

On 15th and 16th August, I went to Coromandel Peninsula, which is one of the best sightseeing places in North Island, New Zealand, with my classmates as a school trip. It's still winter and I didn’t expect that this trip would be fine. To be honest, I didn’t want to go there at first because I was not excited at all. However, the weather was almost perfect to travel and it was not colder than I expected. I have already been to Coromandel before with my friends, but at this time the places we went was different from the previous trip.

When we went to Coromandel for the first time we haven’t done any activities, although we could really enjoy walking to Cathedral Cove or relaxing in the beach. At this time, we focused on doing activities to experience because we are studying travel & tourism! What we did in this trip was kayaking and bone carving.

Around 8.15 on 15th Aug, we set off to Coromandel from Auckland. It took approximately two and a half hours to get there. At first we went to water works, which is the theme park with using some water tricks. There was nothing attractive in the water works because the tricks were all made for kids and I think only the families can enjoy in this place. I am old enough not to enjoy this kind of thing, so I just drank a cup of coffee and had lunch in the café located in the entrance of the park.

After visiting the water works, we headed for the beach in Hehai to do the Cathedral Cove Kayak Tour. This tour started from the beach in Hehai and kayaking to the beach in Cathedral Cove, exploring the beautiful coast line. In addition to kayaking, the tour guide offered us a cup of hot chocolate in the beach and it was really nice. As the duration of the tour was approximately three hours, we could enjoy enough looking around the odd rocks, small islands and of course kayaking itself.

I think kayaking is harder than the people usually expect. I have done kayaking in Japan and I got an arm sore at that time. And this time, my partner said to me “Faster, faster!” to go faster than others and I used my muscles uneconomically. In the result of that, I got sore again. But strangely enough, I got a leg sore this time. I guess why I got a leg sore was I couldn’t set my leg in right position from the beginning and my posture was strange all the time. Other than that, anyway, I could really have a good experience because I had wanted to try marine activity in New Zealand.

After Kayaking, we went to the backpackers’ hostel named “Turtle Cove Backpackers” to spend a night. This backpackers’ hostel was amazing. Although I had had stayed a number of backpackers before, this “Turtle Cove Backpackers” was one of the best place I had ever stayed. The room was clean and tidy. The kitchen was also clean and tidy enough to be relaxed and to have dinner and breakfast. Moreover the atmosphere was peaceful, I felt really comfortable. If you have opportunity to visit Coromandel, I recommend you to use this backpackers’ hostel.

The plan of the second day was to experience bone carving. I will update the details later.

Keep working or not

Actually I am really wondering whether or not I should quit the job. At first I thought I had to get a work experience for the next step, and I got it. But the job I got, which is receptionist in the backpackers’ hostel, was so boring. Because of the winter season, not so many customers come to our hostel. Recently, by the way, it has been getting a little bit busy and it would contribute to improve my speaking skills and customer service skills, although I still have much free time. On the other hand, I want to study for IELTS to prepare for job hunting next year. In addition, my health is getting worse because living situation, especially the bed condition and the air in the room, is undoubtedly bad.

I can’t decide whether I should keep the receptionist job or quit and concentrate on studying and be healthy. If I quit I can’t do any part-time jobs after that because I don’t have enough time to keep working until my graduation from the school. However I can work as much as I want after that.

My mind is leaning to quit the job at the moment.

Anyway I have to decide during two weeks’ holidays from next week.

School trip

I am going to go to Coromandel Peninsula, which is famous for beaches and some water activities, with my classmates this week. This trip is a part of the classes and we are going to experience some activities. I am kind of excited a little bit, but there is a problem. It is still winter and too cold to go to the beach! We are also supposed to do kayaking there, so I hope it would be warm enough to do it.

I have been to Coromandel Peninsula before and it was really amazing. As I went there in May, it was not too cold and luckily it was sunny. However I haven’t done any activities at that time because we didn’t have much time and money. In the result of that, I am looking forward to doing kayaking this time. I just hope it wouldn’t be rainy otherwise I will miss the great experience.

The school curriculum will end in three and a half months. Time really flies away and I can’t believe that I will graduate from the school soon. I don’t seem to be ready for getting a job, but it’s time to consider about that. Not only do I need to improve my English skills, but also to make really attractive CV as well. I should have time to think and take action. I should gradually change my mind from being a student.

Meaning of running

“Why are you running?” “What’s so interesting to run for you for such a long distance?”

How many times have I been asked these kinds of questions? – I would have to say "uncountable". And whenever I was asked why I ran, I couldn’t answer well enough to make someone who asked me understand. I always had to take it consider again and I couldn’t figure it out after all. As I want to be able to answer this question well, I will write down my thoughts about running in this article to figure out why I keep running.

Recently, though I guess it has already been a long time, running is getting quite popular in Japan (probably not only in Japan but also in many countries including New Zealand). For instance, the number of those who applied to Tokyo Marathon, which is the biggest running race started in 2007 in Japan, was more than 300,000 and the entry rate was 10.3 in 2013. What a surprising number it is! I don’t know how many people applied to this marathon seriously, but undoubtedly there are quite a lot of runners who habitually run every day or several days a week. Some runners run seriously to break his/her own or others’ records, some run for a diet, and some join in a community and just have fun. They all have their own purpose to keep running and the reason they started running is also different from each other. 

For me, though, I haven’t thought that running itself is interesting or funny. In my opinion, the value of running is to make my life more rich or satisfied. To be stronger both physically and mentally by running changes my attitude to be more positive and active. And stresses never build up while I am running. Running makes my thoughts clear and tidied up. Indirectly speaking, running might be interesting because these benefits of running possibly lead to be fun.

/// Expectation and Satisfaction ///

As I mentioned above, I don’t think running itself is interesting. Depends on the distance and the place to run, or the condition of myself, running always includes more or less suffering. If I felt only suffering during running, however, I would never keep it for more than four years. Fortunately or unfortunately, I am not the person who feels happy or pleased for continuously suffering. Then, what exists except for suffering in running? I think it is a kind of expectation. “If I finish running today, can I go one step ahead?” “If I keep running every day, how much stronger will I be?” I often have these kinds of thinking. In other words, I can expect better myself after running.

In addition to that, I can definitely get satisfaction after running. I think the fact I have just run gives me a solid sense that at least it changed myself to some extent or a feeling that it is equal to accomplishing something in value. As I mentioned before, running always includes suffering. The fact I got it over may become a satisfaction after running, such as “I’ve done very well today!” Fatigue I get after running is basically comfortable unless I run too much or in bad condition. This comfortable fatigue gives me a solid sense that I am gradually growing up. I actually don’t need to participate in the competition to get this solid sense. 

These facts may be acquired knowledge. Only those who have kept running know that running can give them feelings of expectation and satisfaction. I also didn’t like running at first. When I started running, I wanted to exercise to improve my body and I was just running without any specific thoughts. In the result of keeping running, however, I realized that I am getting more positive and active. Moreover, I have been trying some competitions. But I sometimes hesitate to start running because I can run comfortably only after running for more than 30 minutes. 10 or 20 minutes’ running is not enough to be the running mode. That means I can’t get any satisfactions when I run for less than 30 minutes. Many people may feel as same way as me. I guess that is why there are a number of people who don’t understand the reason to run. After all, those who have run just a little never realize the meaning of running. If you want to understand it, you need to keep running for ages until you feel changes.

As these are my opinions, some people would be in different side. I guess everyone who habitually runs has their own meaning of running. I am still in beginner level as a runner and I run much slowly than average. I want to run a lot more and I want to improve myself. The important thing is I believe I can do that. I undoubtedly tell you that I will keep running and I will improve myself for running as much as I want.

If you have different opinions, please let me know. I would like to know how other runners think.

Getting warm

It has been getting warm in Auckland. Only two months are left until summer time starts. In New Zealand they use summer time from October to March instead of the standard time from April to September. They change the time one hour forward in summer time, so the time difference between New Zealand and Japan will be four hours.

As I didn't bring the jacket for winter, I am so glad that winter will end soon. It was colder than I expected and I had to be patient when I was in outside.

Moreover, there is only one public holiday in winter season which is Queen's birthday on 1st July, although there are a lot of public holidays from December to March. Basically people in New Zealand work hard in winter season and save money to enjoy a lot in summer season. I think skiing and snowboarding are the only entertainments in winter season in New Zealand, especialy very popular in South Island.

I am going to have two weeks holidays in August, but I am not planning to do anything. I probably save money because I want to travel in summer season.

If you are interested in traveling around New Zealand, please make sure to choose from December to March. This period is the best time to visit. You would be amazed with stunning scenery. 

Underground

I have been reading "Underground" written by Haruki Murakami in English. This book is the collection of interviews of the victims in the Tokyo Gas Attack which happened on 20 March, 1995 in Japan. More than 18 years ago, this catastrophe shocked us because we did not expected that kind of terrorism had happened in Japan. And also this was just two months after the Great Hanshin Earthquake.

When the Tokyo Gas Attack happened, I was 10 years old. To be honest, I did not understand exactlly what was happening and how serious it was, though I knew something wrong was happening to some extent. And now as almost 19 years have passed since then, I didn't remember the details before reading this book at this time. It reminded me what a stupid and serious thing the Tokyo Gas Attack was. The important thing is to make this kind of terrorism never be happened.

From the point of English, it is quite nice to remember some vocabularies because this book is the collection of interviews and these are very similar stories. Therefore, I often came across same words.

It was useful for me though I haven't finished this book yet.

Reminder

I have not been in good condition for more than a week. I caught a cold and a cough didn't stop at all. I have been taken medicine which I borrowd from my friend because mine was finally used up. I guess the room condition was not good enough to recover from sick. At the moment five people live in the same room and our room hasn't been cleaned for the time being. I always cough when I sleep in the room. I want the room to be cleaned more often and I never want to catch a cold during the stay in this backpackers hostel.

The work is still boring because only a few customers come in a day. I have nothing to do while I am working. But if the more customers come, I won't prefer this job. The receptionist has to be at the desk except for showing the customers the room or going on patrol. I want to move more actively. I don't like to sit down all the time. It was good to know that at least a receptionist doesn't suit me.

I should experiense better job in New Zealand after the graduation from the school. Actually I am anxious when I think about the future, but I want to try my best. Though I have a problem with speaking English fluently, I believe in myself I can get it over.

I always write same thing because it is important to remind me to do a right thing.

Planning to take IELTS

I am planning to take IELTS which is the English test including reading, listening, writing, speaking. IELTS is the most popular English test in New Zealand and those who want to get NZ permanent regidency must get 6.5 score in IELTS. As I have not taken this test, I can't imagine how difficult it is. I don't need to get 6.5 at the moment,  but at least I want to get 6.0 to prove my English skill to the company I would work for after the graduation from the school.

I need to set up my objective. I haven't STUDIED Engish so much nowadays, and I realized my English grammer level is getting worse and worse. I have concentrated on listening to natural conversation because I wanted to learn not systematically but naturally. However, I had come to think that I have to study English more systematically. After all learning naturally is that difficult and it probably doesn't suit me. I can improve my English skill through studying hard.

I will take IELTS in this year to test my English level and to feedback.

Sherlock Holmes

I have read some Sherlock Holmes series lately. This series are so famous that I guess I don't need to explain and I know many people love them. In my first impression, however, I couldn't understand why many people love Sherlock Holmes. What I read up to now was "Sign of Four" and "The Speckled Band". These were exactlly easy to read and understand the story, but I thought they were nothing but just usual mystery novels. I should have read in chronological order, but I am not sure whether or not it can be more interesting than when I read in random chronological order.

I hope someone would explain to me what made Sherlock Holmes so attractive.

Working in Backpackers' hostel

Lately I started to work as a receptionist in backpackers' hostel in the city centre. I work there and I can get free accommodation which means that I work and stay in the backpackers' hostel at the moment. It is not busy because it is off season now, more specifically I don't have anything to do during working. I usually work for five or six hours a day (twenty hours a week), but only a couple of customers come to our hostel while I am working. I don't know what to do in my time. I want to do more practice to deal with customers. For this reason, I can't still do check-in process very well.

Only a good thing is that I can save money for the time being. What I have to pay for is just a food. Probably I am going to work for two or three months because it would be tough to stay for a long time in backpackers' hostel and it might be waste of time to work here because of the reason I mentioned above.

I hope I can get more useful job in the future anyhow.

The half of the course passed

I am majoring in Travel & Tourism, Airline (National Certificate Level 3 & 4). The whole term of the school is ten months and the half term has already passed. Then, I want to take a look back on the first half of the school. Actually what I learnt so far was not that difficult though it was completely new for me. Only the problem was English. I can understand what the teacher says because she is swiss and she speaks relatively slowly so that we can understand easily. However, I can't understand what the other students say. All of them are native English speakers and they speak so fast. To be honest I can't keep up with their conversation even although I have already been with them for five months. Hopefully I want to have natural conversation with them because I am planning to work in New Zealand and I must understand native English speakers to deal with them as customers or cowokers. I am a little rushed. I need more practice. Having a willing to learn English more positively is my duty of the latter half of the term. Be confident and believe in myself.

Northland trip - Day 2

On 2nd of July, the destination of the day was Cape Reinga which is located in the northern-most in North Island. I woke up in the early morning because I was tired and I went to bed so early. I just had hamburger at McDonald and I drove to the way SH10. SH10 and SH1 are crossing in the root of the Aupouri Penisula. From the point of crossing, it took about one and a half hours to the cape. After I arrived the cape, I could see the stunning view. Regardless of the exhaustion of the drive, it was worth seeing.

After I finished seeing the Cape Reinga, all I had to do was to go back to Auckland. Actually it was the toughest thing of this trip. I stopped by Kaitaia which is a small town just 20 or 30km from the root of the peninsula. I had lunch there and I took my way to Auckland. It took approximately six hours.

I like travelling alone, but it was too hard to drive this time. I hope I can go by bus or go with someone by rental car next time.

 

Northland trip - Day 1

On 1st of July, I set off to the Northland which is located in the northern part in the North Island. I rent a car with Ace Rental Car. It was slightly cheaper than the major company like Avis or Budget, but it cost a lot because I was alone and I couldn’t share the fee with anyone. I realized that going by rental car alone is quite bad option in the point of money.
 
Anyway, my plan of the first day was to go to Waipoua Forest which is famous for the Kauri Tree. As it is winter now and I avoided a weekend, it was really quiet in the forest. Moreover it was amazingly sunny, so I could spend really great time there. The Kauri Tree was so big that I was overwhelmed. It was mysterious and fantastic.
 
After walking in the forest, I went to Bay of Islands. Many tourists usually seem to do marine activities there, but I just ended up looking around the town of Paihia and Waitangi because I didn’t want to spend so much money on these activities.

In the end, I went to Kerikeri to stay a night. It was very small town and there were only a few backpackers hostel. Actually I could find only one and it was not good for the price. I didn’t have other options, however, I stayed at the backpackers hostel.

 
The biggest problem was that I had to drive alone and it was really hard. I think I drove more than five hours in a single day. But other than that it was good and I could do quite a nice experience.

Four Sisters

Te Matua Ngahere

Tane Mahuta

A week off

I am off next week. My school has a catch-up week after every six weeks term and the week is for the students who haven't been competent for the previous subjects. Basically I pass all the assessments without problem in regular weeks, so I always have a week off every term. I haven't used this catch-up weeks for substantial way. I have often wasted time ever. As such, I want to use the week to enjoy myself. Actually I have a lot of things I really want to do, but I couldn't have done them because I didn't have enough money or I was not just in mood for doing something. At this time, though, I decided to travel. I am planning to go to North Land which is located in the northermost of North Island. I am going to rent a car and I will cordinate the travel plans all by myself. That would be exciting. I actually like to travel with my friends, however, I sometimes want to go alone because it would be free to go here and there. I don't need to be in other person's timetable. It is the biggest advantage to travel alone.

I need to book a rental car and an accommodation. Although it will cost a lot, I can afford to go there and I should go now. There is no time like the present. I don't know what happens to me in the future, so I should do the things I want when I can do.

By the way, what I am worried about the most is the weather. It has been cloudy and rainy everywhere in New Zealand lately. I hope it will be fine when I go there.

Spoiling myself

I am spoiling myself. My life at the present is definitely dull. I haven't found any part-time job. I don't try to make an opportunity to talk to native speakers. I don't put myself in the pressure. I just go to school. That's it. Although I listen to English in podcast and reading books in English, I can do such things in Japan. I should do what I can do only in foreign country. Needless to say, this country is full of native English speakers and there should be a plenty of chances to hang out with them. I have to create the ways to live more earnestly. I must change the present situation. I have to move out to other flat to live with kiwi people or backpackers hostel. I have to make an opportunity to talk to native English speakers. I have to be more positive and active. Time went by much faster than I expected. I need to have a think about the ways to live more seriously. I am going to graduate from the school in December. There are still five months. I can change myself to spend time ahead more effectively and earnestly.

New Blog

I started new blog in Japanese. At first I wanted to improve my English writing skills and I started this blog. However, I have been feeling that I want to write more precisely and naturaly. My expression in English is absolutely limited. I can write only 50 or 60 % of what I want to express indeed. It sometimes made me irritated. Needless to say, to keep writing in English is very important for me, but at the same time, to express my real feeling is also important. And how I can do it is to write in Japanese. It is the only way at the moment. In the future I want to express more freely in English, but now, I have to use Japanese. That's why I started new blog in Japanese. I guess I can upload more often than this English blog. Of course I will try to keep uploading this blog as well at least once a week.

My new blog's URL is here. If you are Japanese, please check it.
http://very-good-man.blogspot.co.nz/

Adidas Auckland Marathon

I registered to Adidas Auckland Marathon which will be held on 3 Nov 2013. Actually I was not planning to participate in this marathon because I had already run Rotorua Marathon and I was satisfied with the fact that I experienced marathon in New Zealand. What made me to register to Auckland Marathon is that I lost the objective. I had barely run since Rotorua Marathon. Of cource I like to run and I want to practice everyday even if there is not a race. But I realized that it is so difficult to motivate myself to keep running without the goal. I definitely need to decide where I am going for. I want running to be a part of my life. I never want to give up running because basically I like it and I need it. Recently I have been making excuses not to run as it has been cold enough to make me stop running. But I dared to start running again and it was so easy. Just to be cold can't be an excuse. I could get it over. I believe I can keep running from now on.

Anyway I have four months to prepare for the marathon. My objective is as same as ones in Rotorua Marathon - finish within 4:30 and never walk - and I think I can do it. Yes, I must achieve it. I have repeated same mistakes for a long time, i.e. the lack of practice. Although I know it is difficult to keep running everyday for a couple of months, I really break this bad habit.

Now I am just excited that I can try marathon here again. I hope everything will go well.

1,000 pageviews

I noticed that the pageviews of this blog have finally exceeded 1,000. I am so glad to see this number. According to my experience, I always fail to keep doing something for a long time. It could be sometimes very hard for me to do that. But I did it. I set up this blog in last October and it means I kept bloging for more than six months. The total number of the posts are 81 so far. Actually the access in each day is not that big, though, the most important thing is that I could continue it without giving up. The more the access increases, the higher my motivation will be. I want to keep my effort not to let this blog broken off.

I really want to thank everyone all over the world who came to this blog and read the articles.

Running habit

I haven't run since I finished Rotorua Marathon. I don't want to excuse, though, I have been tired and I couldn't start to run again. Moreover, it has been getting cold here and it makes me hesitate to do something active. Did I lose enthusiasm? - No, it must be incorrect. I still have enthusiasm for running. What I should do to restart running is to make an objective. When I registered to participate in Rotorua Marathon, I started to practice a lot. I totally headed for completing the Marathon. When I was in Japan, I also kept running by resistering several running races. To make an objective makes me be enthusiastic. So, I should try marathon or half marathon again. Fortunately as there are many running races in New Zealand, it is not difficult to find suitable race. I haven't decided which race I choose yet. Hopefully I want to try the race as near to Auckland as possible.

Talk to myself

As I told before, I am recording the time I spend on learning English. So far so good. I have been able to spend more than five hours everyday. Meanwhile, I would like to spend time more effectively because I realized that I am wasting much time in using internet and taking nap and so on. Moreover I also realized that I always use Japanese to think about this and that. This is the most ineffective way, isn't it? As I have much time to think, I should do in English. I feel stressful when I think about everything in English, but I have to do that. That should improve my speaking skills. I have to be aware that understanding by reading and listening is totaly different from speaking and writing as a practical matter.

Keeping this blog is also important to express in my own words. I hopefully want to increase the number of uploading the article.

Believe in myself. Just do it. Talk to myself in English!

What I want

I still keep learning English. Just doing again and again everyday. But recently, I got bored. I can't take it any more in the way I am. I have to change something. What can I do indeed? I guess I need to be more active to change myself, but I don't know exactly what I should do. I have no idea. It's too difficult to be positive. My feeling have been absolutely unstable and I often get me down. After that I get better sometimes, then I am discouraged again. And this kind of things repeat over and over.

I definitely need new stimulation. I must have some objectives. I need to not only learn English but also do something else which I really want.

Short Trip - Tauranga & Coromandel

Two weeks ago, I had a short trip with my friends on Saturday and Sunday. The destination was Tauranga & Coromandel in North Island. The both are not so far from Auckland and it took approximately 3.5 hours from Auckland to Tauranga by car. We left Auckland on Saturday morning and the weather was quite nice. To tell the truth, I didn't expect that the weather would be fine because it had been rainy in Auckland and especially on Friday, the day before the leaving, it was raining a lot. Fortunately, however, it was sunny on the day. Although it rained sometimes on the way to Tauranga, we could spend really good time in the main beach with really great weather. Moreover the next day in Cormandel was as fine weather as the day in Tauranga. We were really lucky. I realized how amazing the nature in New Zealand is once again.

By the way, I drove a car on the way back to Auckland on Sunday. It was the first time for me to drive in New Zealand. Actually the traffic rule is almost same as Japan, so I could do relatively easily. The only problem was that it was raining a lot and I didn't know the way. (Although we had GPS and I could manage to get to Auckland, I wish I should have known the way to some extent.)

Needless to say, our trip was absolutely fantastic. I can't help but being thankful for all my friends who attended the trip. It was really great experience and I will never forget it.