It's been a long time! -Ben Sensei

Hey K&F! How are you?

I just finished hiking the Pacific Crest Trail on November 3rd, 2016. It is 2650 miles long and it stretches from Canada to Mexico. It goes through 3 U.S. States; Washington, Oregon, and California. I had a wonderful time, but I am happy to be home in Ohio. I miss you all, and hope you are well! Much love to the students at K&F!!!
-Kuma Sensei


                                           

At the Northern Monument (Canada/US border)

                                                 Snow on the Trail!!

                                                 Snow covered ridge

                                                    Yummy Japanese backpacking food!!

Beautiful green of Washington

                                                       Lots of rivers!!

                                                         SO MUCH SNOW!!!!

                                                          My hair is growing back!

                                                           Trail Blaze

                                                              Lifelong Friends

                                                       HUGE PINE CONE in Oregon

                                                              Halfway point in California
                                             
                                                     KUMA TEACHER (Big beard, neh?)

                                      Finished the trail. Clean shave. Southern Monument (Cali/Mexico)

Just to let everybody know. All 8.5 kilos of  K&F's candy is on the way. 

Surprise!

Surprise!

Can you believe I'm back? I can't believe I'm back. And I can't believe how everyone has grown so much. Makes me feel old!

The month of June is going by quickly and I've had a blast seeing all the students and parents so much. Even though everyone's taller it's like nothing has even changed.

I've been teaching in Korea the past year and a bit. Nick and I finally got married and are still enjoying the honeymoon phase.

Last summer we took a train trip from Fukuoka to Hokkaido, what an amazing place!

Here are some random pictures from my time in Busan, Korea:



There is a restaurant street several blocks long that is pedestrianised - even in winter it's busy. 
After Nick and I got married there was a super moon and we had a picnic.



Thanks for welcoming me back this month, I've been really happy to help out while I can.

Laura

Hey K&F,

It's Ben Sensei! I recently moved back to the United States and I have been living with my sister. I am living in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is so beautiful here and the mountains are so close. I will be out hiking and rock climbing very soon. I wanted to write here and let everyone know I am doing well. I hope you are well and studying English!! I miss you, and good luck!!
-Ben Sensei

put on & take off ☆

今日の幼稚園のクラスではお家でもお母さん、お父さんと一緒に使える英語を勉強しました♪

洋服を着るときは put on!
"put on your hat." "put on your jacket."～帽子をかぶってね。ジャケットを着てね。

洋服を脱ぐときは　take off!
"take off your hat." "take off your jacket."～帽子を脱いでね。ジャケットを脱いでね。

レッスンでは大好きなお母さん、お父さんから借りた服を使ってput on, take offの練習をしました☆

みんなとっても楽しそうに大きな声で練習できました！

Christmas in Germany!

It's been a while, but I went back to Germany over Christmas and New Year's and wanted to share a few impressions from back home. I was very happy to be able to see my family and friends, visited to many different places and ate lots of delicious food. Christmas is the most important holiday in Germany and traditionally spent with family, whereas New Year's Eve is a time to go out, watch fireworks and have fun with friends. Kind of the opposite of Japan, isn't it!

Flight to Germany!

Traditional German Christmas decoration

Traditional German Christmas dish--Potato dumplings, red cabbage and goose. Super delicious!

My hometown :)

With my mum and aunt

三段峡－かまくらイルミネーション♪♪

広島県内初のかまくらイルミネーションを三段峡に観に行ってきました！とても幻想的で綺麗でした！聞くところによると、スノーパーク恐羅漢ではイグルー（雪のブロックで作るかまくら）選手権もあり、スキーが出来なくても楽しめるイベントもあるそうです。竹原では雪に触れることが少ないので、雪遊びも楽しみ、はしゃいできました～♪♪♪

　　

神明まつりの飾り

今日は仕事前に神明まつりの飾りを作りに公民館へ！大阪にはない風習で、ダニエルだけではなく、私にとっても初めての体験となりました。色々、教えて頂きながら、楽しいひとときを過ごしました。ご指導下さった皆さん、有難うございました～！

鬼は外！福は内！

節分！皆さん、恵方巻き食べましたか～？今年は南南東でしたね。
昨日は、仕事を終えて、楽しみにしていた豆まきをしました！
元気で幸せに過ごせますように・・・『鬼は外！福は内！』と願いを込めて豆まきをする横で、『鬼は外！鳥さん、どうぞ～』と誰かさんの声。ダニエルも願いを込めて（？）豆まきしました。最後は年の数以上の豆を食べて終了！
インフルエンザが流行ってきていますが、手洗いうがいをしっかりして予防を心がけて、かからないように元気で過ごしたいですね。

Christmas Vacation

For my Christmas and New Year's vacation I went to Thailand. It was great fun! I was able to indulge in my favorite hobbies; rock climbing, eating, cooking, traveling, and swimming. Everyday I spent climbing the tall cliffs over the crystal blue water. It was incredibly beautiful and the weather was spectacular.


Here is one of the incredible views from 100 meters up!


Cooking class where I learned how to make green curry :)