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ook

ook

has 9 followers and is following 9 people

In possession of an Asian Studies degree, working towards another in Archaeology. A dabbler in astronomy and pursuer of dreams impossible. A skeptic at heart but a lover of all things mythological. Although writing is a longtime passion, there's no satisfaction in constant inaction. Love for mah jongg, one bag packing, daibutsu, and trains. Life... more »
  • Atlanta, GA, USA
  • member since January 5, 2008

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Public Notes

  • elisa

    elisa says

    What a cool profile picture you have! Are you into photography?

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    :) Well, I would love to talk to you again sometime, at your convenience of course.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    Hi ook,

    have you watched Avatar: The Last Airbender? I think it's right up your alley...

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    I'm glad the move was a good and safe one. Things are a bit up in the air over here but all in all, no complaints to be made.

    I've read some of Diana Wynne Jones books but not this one, I'll have to check it out.
    I just came out of a read-o-thon of sort jumping from Reading Lolita in Tehran to the Persepolis series to The Bluest Eyes to The Handmaid's Tale to Bridge to Terabithia and now As I Lay Dying back to back without realy taking a breath. It's been an interesting journey. Some I would recomende, some I could have done without.

    Anyway, hope all stay well for you,
    Take care,

    ~e

    posted 2 years ago. ( send a note )
  • Rea-rea

    Rea-rea says

    Yes, it is very beautiful here. I live by the atlantic ocean and the Arian Islands. Very green. The mead's not all that bad either... I've been to america before. It's very busy there. Here it's much more open. I couldn't stand living in a city as big as New York, but I enjoyed visiting.

    posted 2 years ago. ( send a note )
  • Rea-rea

    Rea-rea says

    Wow! You've lived in Japan? That's so cool!

    posted 2 years ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    hey Ook!
    I hadn't realized you were back from Japan, hope all is well with you :)
    Just noticed your new picture, I like it. Is it from a manga?
    All the best,
    ~e

    posted 2 years ago. ( send a note )
  • SAM

    SAM says

    Oh, you lived in Japan! I just started taking Japanese classes (I want to become fluent at some point). Hajimemashite.

    posted 2 years ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    By the way! I just remembered. I wanted to ask, could you speak and write Japanese? Because I'm quite ready to bow down before your feet if you could! :)

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    Haha, thank you. Any plans on when you're gonna publish that novel? Drop me a note when you do, because I'll be reading it..

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    Happy New Year to you as well! I hope it'll be a good one for you.

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    Ook! Merry Christmas (in Japan or Taiwan or Atlanta or wherever you are)! Hope you have a fruitful year :) in all ways.

    Lord M

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    Don't worry, Ook, life happens and that's a good thing :)

    What grade (or age-group) do you teach?
    Well, the learning english part, for me, was the connection to imagery for the diffent words... the fact that french and english are very similar (they share a lot of words in common whitch is probably a diffrent story for japanese) was also a big part of it, but mostely, making it fun and applicable in real life, for exemple learning the words for the diffrent objects in the kitchen and then applying a feeling or a consequence to each (pot- boil- burn)... plus everyone tells my I have a gift for languange... I wonder why I still only know two if that's the case! :D
    Anyway, I'm not a teacher so I'm not sure how aplicable this is but hope this helps.

    Yeah, sounds like the standards of work are very diffrent from the states... must be a chalenge to live with that.

    I don't mind connecting and being in eachother's friends list, I think it's a good idea :)

    Yessss!! I still enjoy reading Tintin (I'm hoping to teach my children to appreciate the french written language with that series! heehee), it's always an adventure reading this series, I love it!

    Well, I wish you much luck with the move back home (i'm assuming it's home) and the last 36 days will be memorable and that your time in Japan was fruitful and interesting.

    Take care till next time,
    Daisy~

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    I guess for me, learning english realy fast was a life-saver, it helped me ajust faster but it seems, somehow, as if it also unlocked a part of my brain...? I don't know how to explain it but it's true! And now I love english lit as much as french.

    What do you teach in Japan? Heve you been there a while? I wonder in what way arestandards diffrent than the US? It seems like it's an ajustment for you to be there... I wish you much luck.

    Well, Mansfield Park can't realy be compared to P&P even if it is the same author, the feel is very diffrent. It is a good read, I enjoyed the development of Edmund's character especialy, but Fanny
    Price was not as good a main character as Elizabeth Bennet :)

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    So sorry to hear about your sickness! I hope you feel much, much better. I definitely missed the correspondence. It's not everyday that I meet an enthusiastic exchange-teacher from Japan, after all :)

    Thanks a lot for that wonderful advice. It certainly seems drab and dull to devote one's life towards one single career end. And if there's one phase I want to try, it certainly would be to become a cross-cultural teacher!

    But anyways, pray don't be offended, I've arrived at a conundrum about your age! I'd always taken it for granted that you must be in your early twenties, give or take a day above the twentieth. But now I think you mus be younger--? If so, wow. What a colorful and productive life you must lead, if you're teaching at the other side of the globe already. :)

    Yeah, I totally forgot, the Japanese have every opportunity to be familiar with Diana Wynne Jones and her books, because of the Howl's movie! It's amazing, isn't it? Out of the millions of authors in the world, it is her work that gets the chance to be exposed better to the Japanese audience. I suppose that's a testament to her creativity, that even in a country filled already with unequaled talent and their own ways of artistry she could still carve out her niche. Good luck familiarizing her to your students! I must be making huge leaps of inferences here, but am I right to assume that your students must be very young, still? I got that impression when you said they were only beginning to tackle the book version of Howl's.

    I really hope you feel better. Are you sure it's not the pressure you are in? Japanese people are known for terrible workloads and rushed hours. I hope you don't fall ill again.

    Take care,
    Lord M

    P.S. I spot the manga-account you mentioned, and I'll be looking it up. :) I might even carry some fresh reading ideas :)

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    Dear Ook,

    First of all, thank you for taking the time and trouble to make lengthy replies! I will make sure I deserve them :)Japanese education sounds- well- normal enough :) I'm starting college within months, and though I will try to keep faithfully to your advice, I doubt i could get over all the nervousness and the eternal urge to scrounge for the grades. As to your question- well, you phrased it rather definitely, so I'd answer it rather definitely, too. :) What I want to study is History, for I prefer the scholarly life, but unfortunately, the opportunities for such a course are limited, and when one is young one's ambition should see endless opportunities. I'm really not sure about what direction my life should take right now. I mostly yearn for nothing more than for the way I am now to continue, for the summer vacation to stretch towards the end, reading Diana Wynne Jones and what not. :)

    On another note, I see your shelf has some manga. I'm curious. When did you start reading manga- since forever, or since you came to Japan?

    Anyways, take care :) I wonder if you're students know about Diana Wynne Jones! Are their English getting good enough? I hope you have a great time teaching in Japan.

    Regards
    Lord M

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    A friend had lent me Edge of Reason (I hadn't seen the movies or read the first book yet at that point) and I just couldn't get into it... I did enjoy the movies when I saw them though, both of them very funny!! And of course, Colin Firth... Did you like the Last P&P movie that came out in '05?

    I see you're a teacher in Japan, how did you ajust to moving to a diffrent country with a very diffrent language and culture? I'm curious because I'm a French-speaking Canadien who moved to the States and knew very little English when I came here. Of cours the cultural shock wasn't so big, but still.
    Till next time,
    Griet J

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    wow, I wish we had tetrapod structures here too.. I'll make a mental note of seeing them if and when I get to visit Japan. But that's in the far future still, unfortunately, since I could very well be one of your students. I'm just entering college this year. What made you leave the States to teach in Japan, in particular? You must have a thorough knowledge of their language, then! What are Japanese students like? They have a reputation for being the toughest and most-driven students in Asia. How are you doing there, and do you find it easy to adjust to their culture? It's also quite amazing to hear of teachers reading Diana Wynne Jones, perhaps I had better introduce her books to mine also :)

    Anyways, take care..

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • elisa

    elisa says

    Hi Ook,
    I see in your review of the Bridget Jones' books, you mantion it being based on Jane Austen's P&P, did you see any similarity in the stories? I've never read the Bridget Jones books but have seen the movies... Yes, Colin Firth... :)

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )
  • M

    M says

    Oh, it sounds so wonderful! I hope I get to read it soon. Thank you so much for replying, you can't imagine how excited I was to receive a response so early :) Which alternate universe do you prefer, though, Chrestomanci's or Howl's? Or the Derkholm series perhaps? I bet this is a difficult question to ask :) But I'd love to hear from you soon.

    Btw, I hope I am not becoming intrusive, but are you Japanese? I can see that you're from "Murakami, Ni, Japan", but from what I gather from your book reviews (yes, I read them) you seem not to be from Japan originally. In any case, Japan-born or not, I am so very glad to have met you.

    Your picture is great, too, by the way. I am still trying to figure out what those crisscrossing things are :)

    Take care,
    Lord M

    posted 3 years ago. ( send a note )

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