I recently moved to Asakusa. It's a great part of Tokyo: friendly locals, Sensoji, the Sumida River, and lots of interesting foreigners. I've managed to find some family-run fish shops, grocers, etc. Even my apartment, after 3 weeks, is starting to feel familiar. I know where stuff is located. My body is starting to remember its way around the kitchen, so when I'm cooking it's become more like a meditation (once again) and less like the confusion it was only a couple weeks ago.


I've moved about 30 times, 20 since I started university. Even when in the same city, there's a lot to get used to. I believe every time we move house, our brain is put in a state of (hopefully mild) shock, that serves to jolt us into being, offering a refreshed perspective. I'd like to examine this 'shock' in detail by looking at these three changes: new living space, new neighborhood, new transportation lines.


A new living space challenges our minds to become active and creative. At first we must decide where to put furniture, electronics, etc., by considering room dimensions, window locations, power supply needs, feng shui, and whatever else. Once we've done so, our living space evolves quickly as we grow accustomed to where we've put simple things like our keys, our mail, and our cups (hopefully near the fridge.) We make changes to increase efficiency and organization, and soon enough the space becomes ours. It's an external reflection of how a human, you in particular, uses a space to live life. As we get used to it, our body starts to remember the distances, and we comfortably do things without thinking, like our previous living quarters. This acclimatizing process is very cognitively stimulating, and I think it's really good to wake up our brains and start thinking a little differently. The space itself looks different, which is totally refreshing.


Ever think back to a memory, in university maybe, and wonder what year it was? Could you figure out the approximate date? I can almost always do this. I remember my context visually. This means I can envision where I was living at the time and, since I moved on average every 6 months, remembering the context allows me to pinpoint my memories to that 6 month period.


Ever found that you can't study at home? It's partly because there are too many distractions. It's harder to form memories as well, because the surroundings are too familiar. Go to a strange place, and you may remember every minute of it, even if you were just sitting around. I solved this problem by studying in my university's library. When that stopped being effective, I started studying in a different (nearby) uni's library, and then later a café. My brain needed, and still needs change to function optimally.


Our functioning is also greatly affected by the neighborhood we move to. We have to experiment again with different supermarkets, restaurants, pharmacies, comparing quality and price and location from our home. Then there's leisure: parks, temples, galleries. The first couple weeks of a new neighborhood are way stimulating. Every outing can be a cultural experience*.


Finally, let's not ignore the fact that Tokyo is a sprawling metropolis. Our social life can completely change, just based on our home's proximity to particular areas. Would your social life really be the same if you moved to Odaiba or Shibuya? I find myself going to Ueno a lot, because it's better connected to the rest of Tokyo by train, and there are lots of things I can buy there like chick peas, aka chana, aka garbanzo, aka hyoko mame. Even knowing four names, most grocery store employees still have no idea. But in Ueno they know, they've got hella large imports.


I also work in Ginza once or twice a week. Now I can cycle there from Asakusa! Moving was a lot of trouble, but that passed so quickly; I'm glad I went through with it. While I know it's not really possible for everyone to just 'move', I want to stress that just a change of scenery in general can refresh your mind and boost your mood and memory. Thanks for reading.

* In Asakusa, anyway.


▼▽▼▼【講師】Sandy先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【MIWA (Memory Improves With Age)】2009.07.08 (Wed)

Today I was preparing for a class discussion, and the topic was "In Japan, It's Raining Tadpoles". Pretty strange, but it was also interesting because we can use it to encourage all sorts of discussions and learn new vocabulary. A wider range of discussion topics keeps thing interesting, not only for the students, but for the teachers as well!


When preparing for tests like the TOEFL, it's a good idea to read a wide range of material on your own. Not only is this more interesting, you'll be able to practice our methods and pick up the rhythm and structures of English faster. You should read things that interest you, not just "difficult" or academic writing. This is a key to improving your overall command of English.


▼▽▼▼【講師】Kurt先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【Preparing for High School Abroad】2009.07.01 (Wed)

One of my friends just recently passed the first actuarial test. I think there is a total of somewhere between 3 and 9 tests. Yes, I know, that's not very specific. These actuarial tests are taken to become an actuary scientist. By the way, an actuary scientist is not really a scientist in the traditional sense of the word. They work in insurance and need to have a good grasp on business and math. These tests are apparently pretty tough. I've never taken them, so I'm giving you second hand information, but people can spend years trying to pass them all. Do you know how long my friend spent trying to pass the FIRST one? Guess. I'll wait... She spent four years. Four stinking years. That's a long time.
Taking it and failing. Taking it and failing. Taking it and failing. And when you fail an actuarial test, I don't think they give you your score. They just say "FAIL," so you don't even know if you're getting any better! But you know what? She never gave up. And I think that's really wonderful.


So I understand that some of you are under some time constraints (however if you'll look back to my last blog you might realize those constraints might not be as necessary as you think), but I want to encourage you not to give up. Most people don't set out to take a test beyond their mental capabilities, like I would not set out to take the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination). The test you're studying for might be at the edge of your current mental capabilities, but it's probably not that far off. So you just have to keep going, consistently, but not insanely so that you get burnt out. But just keep going. Be patient. If the goal for which you're taking the test isn't worth the time, then maybe you should reevaluate your goals. But be flexible. And still enjoy life in the meantime. Life is not about succeeding and then succeeding more and then succeeding more. It's about living, and being a decent person, and having good friends, and helping others out, and not pushing people on the train. So make sure you're still living life while you study. And then celebrate when you pass the test. Easy, right?


By the way, something pretty funny happened to me the other day. I was talking to a friend and he said, "Sometimes I think life is like a book that someone else has written and you're the main character." I was utterly shocked and snapped my face around and alert and said, "REALLY?! I'm the main character in your life?!?" He said, "No, no, no, I'M the main character." I had simply misheard him. But if you want to make someone feel good, maybe you could tell them that they're the main character in your life which is a book that someone else has written, because for that brief moment, I felt pretty good.


▼▽▼▼【講師】Amberly先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【Why your brain might not be working as well as you'd like it to.】2009.06.17 (Wed)

Can you believe it? The title statement is not based on any scientific research; it's based on my personal observations, and a kind of optimism that I inherited from my mother's side of the family. This conclusion seems in opposition with the ubiquitous research in the field, so where am I coming from?

When I was a child, I felt like adults around me were somewhere between being a little slow to just downright hopeless at remembering the details of an event: where, when, how, etc. Any numbers involved were especially elusive, it seemed. In contrast, I had memorized all my friends' phone numbers (at least 8 or 9.) Later, though, I remember being unable to recite some friends' phone numbers, although I could still dial them very quickly, based on visual memory of the pattern of numbers on the telephone. So is my memory in fact deteriorating?

Consider this: I remember at least 20 birthdays, even more significant historical dates, and lots of faces and music albums (including where I bought the album and often even how much I paid.) Then there're all the mental maps of cities I've visited, areas in Tokyo, even layouts of stores or supermarkets I've frequented. The bottom line is, when we're young, our heads are pretty empty. We can access things quickly, rather like searching for your favourite CD in your collection of 23 CD's. We get older, acquire more CD's, and they're harder to manage. So really, I might say my memory is much better than any child's, because I have so many more memories than a child. It's just a matter of locating that memory that may take time. Or maybe not. These days our iPod's and computers index all our music alphabetically for us, expediting the process.

Technology can be used as a tool to support our memory, and extend it beyond its 'normal' capacity, whatever that is. But, in fact, we've been using mnemonic devices as memory tools since time immemorial. When we're children, our mnemonic techniques are limited because we haven't learned much. One of the first ones I learned was the acronym 'Roy G. Biv' which represents the colours of the rainbow. For the rest of this article, I'd like to explain some other useful mnemonic devices to help your memory.

An Acrostic is a short phrase in which the first letter of every word is a cue to some idea you want to remember. Eg. 'Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge' ~ E, G, B, D, F represent the notes on the lines of the treble clef when reading music.

The Loci Method involves imagining placing the items you want to remember in specific locations in a familiar room. You can make your own example and see how it works for you...it doesn't work for me so well.

Creating a story about the items or details you need to remember is said to be one of the best ways of remembering those items. Imagine writing a story about some vegetables you need to buy! Let's try: Mr. Eggplant had a long day of work, and sought out his friend, Old Onion Head, to go to the izakaya. When he found him at the Park, Old Onion Head said 'Let's invite Carrot-Top too!' They went by his apartment (here imagine a tall eggplant with legs, and onion strutting down the street,) and found Carrot-Top hanging with his girl, Juicy Tomato, and so on. This way's fun!

Imagine-Name technique involves imagining a relationship between a person's name, and their physical characteristics. For example, Sandy is like a beach: relaxing and fresh, like a cool Caribbean breeze;) Heheh. Thank you for reading, and hope some of these techniques help you improve your memory as you age.


▼▽▼▼【講師】Sandy先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【Mind Mapping】2009.06.10 (Wed)

Recently we had an intensive course for a group of kids who will be going abroad for school this year and needed to brush up on their English. We had a lot of fun with them, and miss having them around even if they were a little noisy. They'll be going to a lot of interesting places such as the USA, the UK and Switzerland. When it gets hot and humid in Tokyo, I wouldn't mind visiting Switzerland myself.

Here at Kaplan we work with people of all ages, not only to help them enter top schools, but to achieve success once they arrive. Come join us - we have a lot of fun!


▼▽▼▼【講師】Kurt先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・ 【Netbooks】2009.06.03 (Wed)