Hello from Smith’s Nagaokakyo; スミス英会話長岡京校からの自己紹介

Where to begin?  That question has been tossing around my mind the past couple of days, as much–come to think of it–as I’ve been flopping around in bed these hot summer nights.  A day in my Nagaokakyo life?  Another beat the heat post?  Some favourite Kyoto spots?  So many good examples precede me, it’s enough, well, to make me want to jump back in bed for a go at more restless sleep.  I think it was Buddha who said there were two mistakes one could make on the road to truth–not going all the way and not starting–so here goes.

For those of you who’ve been around SSE for a while, you might recognize a face or two in this picture. Fourth from the right is Tim, owner of SSE Nagaokakyo…and yes, the man of the hour is his former partner, Yves.  If you haven’t had the adventure of speaking with him, Yves is the embodiment of “my pace”.  They are old Kyoto friends and we had the pleasure of celebrating Yves’ wedding in Vancouver. Highlights were the groom’s speech–of course–and traipsing in wedding garb through sunny Gastown for these shots. Almost forgot; that’s me in the glasses, second from the left.

So here I am operating SSE Nagaokakyo for Tim.  I look forward to the challenge, the learning entailed therein and the opportunity to collaborate with all of  you here and someday in person as well. Thank you for the wealth of information you’ve taken the time to share.  Hopefully I can make some useful contributions (stay tuned for those posts mentioned at the outset), and If any nearby schools wish to team up for events or marketing, drop me a line.

Don, how’s life in Katsura?  Anything changed in the fours years I’ve been away?  I’ve given up squash so you won’t have the (dis)pleasure of watching me chase down your shots anymore….

Cheers,

Rick