by Mike Costanzo | Feb 16, 2009 | Graphic Design, Mike, School
Whew! This has been a busy season for both of us! Not only was Jen blessed with a wonderful new job, but Mike had been super-busy with school these days. Not only have his classes been a lot of work but he (and all of his crazy counseling cohorts) have officially...
by Mike Costanzo | Aug 29, 2008 | Graphic Design, Mike, School
Those of you who have been following this blog for a while know that I (Mike) am an artist at heart, and that over the last several years I’ve been growing in both my artistic sensitivity and technical ability. (And I cite Bring It On Down To The Downtown as...
by Mike Costanzo | Aug 21, 2008 | School
Okay, I don’t usually do this, but here’s a flash-in-the-pan blog for ya: Yesterday and today, I had off of school thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, and while I was initially disappointed about missing out on all the good stuff going on at RTS, the extra time...
by Mike Costanzo | Aug 10, 2008 | Friends, Graphic Design, School
It’s been a very full month for me (Mike), but yesterday was officially my last day of summer classes at RTS this semester!!! Whoohooo!!! I still have some schoolwork that I have to do (rather a lot, actually), but it still feels good to be “done”...
by Mike Costanzo | Dec 15, 2007 | Holidays/Special Events, Missions, Teaching
For the most part, opportunities to talk about God or share one’s faith are rare in the job of an ALT. The reason has less to do with religion in public schools (many students have Shinto charms on their bags or pencases) than it does with the fact that everyone...
by Mike Costanzo | Oct 28, 2007 | Teaching, Video
Last year, Jen and I attended Takine Junior High School’s school festival . Even though it was on a Sunday, we decided to go, partially because that was the expectation, and partially because we kept hearing about how important this event is to the students. But...
by Mike Costanzo | Jul 20, 2007 | Day-to-Day, Teaching
Today was the last day of classes before Tamura City’s summer break, which goes until August 26th or so. Thus, I (Mike) am officially on vacation, but Jen’s Wakakusa classes will run for another week, and resume on the 15th–bummer! 🙁 Over summer...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 30, 2007 | Jen, Teaching, Wakakusa
Although junior high classes have been over since last Friday, Jen’s Wakakusa English School classes went through this past Tuesday. This made for a crazy few days for our Jen; not only did she have end-of-the-school-year reports to write, but she also had to...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 16, 2007 | Holidays/Special Events, Teaching
As we mentioned in our last entry, April is the month of new beginnings, and March is the month of conclusions and endings. Well, it’s also the month for graduation ceremonies, and for us English teachers that means a lot of sad goodbyes. You see, in Japan, you...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 16, 2007 | Mike, Teaching
Yes, as many of you already know (and the rest of you have already figured out by reading the title line), the Japanese school year is finally drawing to a close. It will resume again in April, the month of new beginnings (and the month where the sakura (cherry...
by Mike Costanzo | Mar 3, 2007 | Mike, Teaching
When I (Mike) first arrived at Takine Junior High School (my primary school), I have to admit that I had a hard time fitting in. In fact, for the first couple of months, I didn’t really feel like I connected with anyone (teachers or students), and when I would...
by Mike Costanzo | Feb 18, 2007 | Scenery, Teaching
So far, Jen and I have been pretty lucky weather-wise this winter–this has been an unusually warm season. All the locals have been going on and on about how much warmer it’s been than it last year (which was one of the coldest winters for years). So our...
by Mike Costanzo | Jan 24, 2007 | Japanese Food, Teaching
One of the perks of working at a public Junior High School is the school lunch. In America, from what I remember, public school lunches were nothing special, just the same old mass-produced, high-fat content stuff over and over again (pizza, corn dogs, fries,...
by Mike Costanzo | Dec 8, 2006 | Missions, Teaching
Today I (Mike) taught at Hirose Elementary School, and before I went into work, I prayed–a lot. Today was a wonderful and perhaps unique opportunity to share a little bit about Jesus– in school . This week’s syllabus requested that I ” talk...
by Mike Costanzo | Nov 11, 2006 | Music
After we posted our first blog entry about Mike and the Sugaya P.T.A. Band, we got more than a few incredulous replys. And in fact, there was even one who postulated that the whole thing was an elaborate fabrication on our part! So to set the record straight, we want...
by Mike Costanzo | Oct 28, 2006 | Holidays/Special Events, Teaching
Last Sunday was Takine Jr. High’s school festival. Apparently, every Japanese school has one of these, and they’re big deals. So we were excited to be able to see what all the hype was about. Jen was allowed to come both days, and got to meet the principal...
by Jen Costanzo | Oct 6, 2006 | Jen, Teaching, Wakakusa
Hey there! It’s Jen — I’m finally getting a chance to write a little bit about my new job here in Japan! I teach 10 English classes to kids of all different ages. Shown here is one of my second grade classes. They are a fun bunch! I use a...
by Mike Costanzo | Sep 7, 2006 | Mike, Teaching
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Japan? NO? Well, regardless, I’d like to share a few pictures from my job, in case there’s anyone who WAS wondering… Me at my desk at Takine Jr. High School (my...
