Articles written by Marama Carmichael

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About me - Marama Carmichael

Since I was a child ideas have flown into my brain and whizzed and buzzed around in there till I let them out. Crazy ideas about plastic kangaroos and soccer playing elephants, freaky aliens, and brussel sprout monsters. Somedays I just have to put pen to

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Travel > Asia Travel Diaries Cultural experiences in Japan: 2 of 16

Any foreigner (or gaijin as we're called in Japan) who has visited or lived in Japan will know about slippers. In fact you might go so far as to say that every gaijin who has ever visited Japan has made some sort of slipper error. You see slipper etiquette in Japan is complicated. The rules for the removing of, the plac...
Arts & Humanities > Languages (Other) Worst foreign language mistakes you have made while traveling outside your home country: 4 of 24

I JUST ATE MY GRANDMOTHER Blundering around in a language that you barely speak is bound to cause some hilarity, or should I say insanity - well in my case I guess it could be either. My first mistake occured after I had been in the country approximately two and a half hours. Walking into a convenience store I was astounded ...
Education > Standardized Tests Scoring better on the IELTS: 1 of 5

IELTS, standing for the International English Language Testing System, is used to measure English ability in four main areas - listening, reading, speaking, and writing. There are two different types of paper - academic and general, and why you are taking the IELTS exam will define which paper you need to take. If you want t...
Arts & Humanities > English Language Teaching English to non-English speaking children: 1 of 5

Teaching English to non-English speaking children can be a challenge, but it can also be very rewarding. Children are said to be like sponges, soaking up language and knowledge from all sources around them. And it is for this reason that some children seem to improve their English skills at an incredible rate, especially in ...
Health & Fitness > Nicotine Dependence How to quit smoking with hypnosis: 1 of 5

Once you've made the decision to stop smoking, you have to start thinking about your options. Whether you are stopping for health, financial or for another reason, quitting smoking is one of the most difficult things that you will ever do, but the benefits are endless. Firstly, you have to really want to stop - it can't be b...
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Humorous: 96 of 440

Greedy Gran's Ginormous Gooseberry Flan You've never met anyone like my nan, She's not like anyone else's gran, She eats and she eats lorry loads of flan. Mounds of pizza, and buckets of chips, Towers of cakes, and lakes full of dips, Mountains of burgers, and icebergs of whips. One day she decided to make gooseberry flan, S...
Travel > Asia Travel Diaries Travel experiences: First impressions of Japan: 1 of 4

You think you know what to expect on your trip to Japan. You've prepared as well as you can, you've reserached on the internet and looked into all the places you're going to visit, you've studied the Lonley Planet and Rough Guides, and you've even learnt a few useful word and phrases - Konnichiwa (hello), arigato (thank you)...
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Losing weight: 14 of 55

I've recently come to the conclusion that all diets work. You'll always lose something on a diet - though it may not just be weight. Money, willpower, and sanity often disappear just as fast as the weight. And they often take longer to come back. Looking for a diet is like a single person looking for their soul mate. It's ou...
Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Children's stories: 77 of 300

RACHAEL SMITH'S REVENGE Rachael Smith had a little problem. Actually, it was a rather large problem. Her hair! Her hair was huge, crazy and out of control. It was like a big fluffy animal that lived on top of her head. It did what it wanted, when it wanted. If it wanted to be curly, it would be curly. If it wanted to be stra...
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Skiing: 7 of 24

Just about as soon as I could walk my parents strapped on a pair of skis and pushed me down a hill. I'm glad they did. There are so many benefits of learning to ski as a child. For a start, walking around with a wet bottom from sitting in all that snow is much less embarrassing when you're four than when you're forty. Also c...