Hit by a BUS

The other day, I had the unfortunate position to be a teacher (who cares a lot about their students) and see one of their students sprawled out on the concrete. They were hit by a bus. I was about five minutes to late to witness the incident. How the student was hit by the bus, was broken down rather quickly in the course of a few hours. A flier was distributed to all the schools in the area. I broke it down in my head and was fairly close to how the situation occurred. I was there, I saw the damage on the bus, and the student on the ground.

The student was traveling with traffic. They decided to cross the street but not at an intersection. This is fairly common in Japan. The problem was their view was obstructed by a large truck. As they went into oncoming traffic, a LARGE BUS came into view and they were stuck. No time for either to react.

I came along just a few minutes after the incident. I felt sick to my stomach and couldn't stay for long. I asked one of my students who it was and they told me. The sad thing is, I have the hardest time trying to remember everyone I work with. I know most people by their face only. I can't read everyone's name because it's all Kanji and kanji can differ considerably with the Kanji it follows.

Luckily the student didn't die. They wound up with a broken back. Which is going to take forever to recover from. I know from personal experience that hospital life is NOT FUN (Although I do enjoy hospital food). I'll see if there is anything I can do to get the student in higher spirits.

-jerry

HUGE PET TURTLE!!! BTS 31

I have never seen a pet turtle that is this large. He must have weighed 50 pounds!

Never been to Canada?

Well, I have but this question isn't so much about if I've been or not but people I've met who haven't.

Growing up on a boarder state ( you know, one that boarders another country) it would only seem to make sense for me to have gone to Canada. Last time I went was around eight years ago. I'm sure plenty has changed and with the Olympics approaching in 2010, I'm considering going up; just to get the Olympic vibe.

Like I've said, I've encountered people who have never been, who have grown up in the same state as myself. I'm not trying to speak as I'm some superior person but this issue was brought up a few months ago and I just recently thought about it last night.

I was hanging out with a friend and his girlfriend (now fiance) brought up the issue "I've met people who've never been to Canada!!!" She later mentioned how this seemed odd by stating something along these lines; "it's just right there! Wouldn't you be curious to see what's in Canada? I would say the same if you lived in California or Arizona and have never been to Mexico!" I couldn't agree with her sentiment more.

Although, now it requires a passport to go to Canada (unless you live in New York, Vermont, Michigan, or Washington and carry an 'Enhanced Drivers License') its relatively cheap, maybe even a tank of gas, to get to the 'Great White North' (or round trip train ride on AmTrak for $70)

If you're under the age of 18 and your parents don't have the money afford a family trip to Canada, I understand but if you can afford an xBox360 or a Ps3, you can surely afford a trip to Canada.

Maybe the issue is what she stated, 'wouldn't you be curious?' Perhaps people aren't curious. Sometimes I really think they would rather fill themselves with meaningless materialistic garbage rather than seek any sort of adventure. Its a shame really because Canada is awesome. I think this can be best summed up with the following quote:

"Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken." — Frank Herbert

----------