今年のスケジュール

4月末までの目標：第13回日美絵画展に出展する

5月末までにすること：ハワイの安いアコモを予約する

6月からすること：新しい仕事を探す

7月にしたいこと：休みの日に浴衣を着て日本の夏を満喫

8月の夢：日美絵画展で自分の絵を見てニヤニヤする

9月に考えていること：満月の夜に月見で一杯

10月に行きたい場所：神戸（灘）。酒蔵を巡って冷やおろしを飲み歩き

11月に買いたいもの：湯たんぽ

12月に楽しみなこと：新年のお祝い用に家族にお土産を買って帰る

The first posting in Japan

How fast the time runs... It's been a year since I post on my blog last time. I've tested how RSS Graffiti works on Facebook, bacause my boss ordered me to advertise our work! 突然ですが、広告。 「マイカーで行く！現地集合1泊2日　馬と星空の旅　カーボンオフセット型ツアー【２０１１．１１．１２（土）－１３（日）】」 乗馬体験や天文台での木星観察会など、北海道の雄大な自然を満喫してみませんか？ただ今モニター募集中（応募締切11月7日）！！ http://www.scenicbyway.jp/topics/topics.cgi?sosax=&eno=699

What the tasle like?

What I enjoy the most in life is eating and drinking.
Many people don't seem to be very pleased to eat something they've never eaten or something sounds exotic, but isn't that losing an opportunity to try a new dish that could become a favourite?

I worked as a selesperson two years ago.
The shop was proud of its various high quality imported products, there were many customers who came from other countries, looking for ingredients to make their local dish (I would often be asked by Australians; "Where's VEGEMITE?") There were also lots of local customers who came to buy something interesting.

Due to their curiocity, the staff had to know everything;
For example, if a product contains GLUTEN, the difference between PEPPERMINT and SPEARMINT, what cheese would match Spanish red wine, and so on.

Every day was like an exam to me! In fact, some of our old customers didn't come to shop but to talk to the staff to test their knowledge.
However, I enjoyed talking to them, because we had something in common; we loved eating very mush, and their questions were challenging.
Furthermore, they asked me for advice whenever they wanted once they admitted I became mature enough to ask.

My relationship with customers was up and down yet I was grateful to them for expanding my range of knowledge.
By the way, my most recent favourite dish is haggis. I'm going to Scotland to eat a local version of haggis with a pint of Guiness on December!!

Why are Japanese a quite quiet?

Last week, my class was absorbed into other class due to a shortage of students.
There are many strong students who came from France, Israel, Spain, and so on.
I always talk to them with the full extent of power to catch up with their quick talking; otherwise, I would be quiet.
There are also some Japanese students in the classroom. One day, I listened to the conversation of an Italian a French and a Japanese during the brake time.

Japanese: Hi. How are you today?
Italian : Yeah. I'm fine. I went shopping after school yesterday and...(5min)
...But I think that's...(3min)...And you?
Japanese: Ah, well, yeah, I think so.
French : I don't think so, because...(3min)... Anyway, do you usually...
Italian : Weit. In my country, many people are doing...(2min)...
French : I don't know but...(5min)...

What I realized was the Japanese customs.
Japanese people are normally taught by teacher and parents:
1. You shouldn't interrupt people's talking as it could be offensive.
2. You should start talking after a person has finished.
3. You should carefully listen to a person's talking until the end.

From my point of view, this is why Japanede are so quiet in that they say almost nothing but smile while in a group in class. In fact, it's a bit tough for Japanese, while overseas, to find 'the end' of a person's talking.
But I must change those rules as long as I talk to them.

As a conclusion, I must talk clearly and louder than I used to do in Japan.
And what I think I must more learn is how to quickly gently interrupt.

何て偶然・・・ What a coincidence!

授業中、突然学校のスタッフが教室に駆け込んで来て「火事だ！早く外に出て！！」と叫んだ。
最初は避難訓練かと思ったが、廊下に出ると煙の匂いが充満していて、逃げる最中、受付の窓から黒い煙がモクモクと出ているのが見えた。
幸い一人の怪我人も出ず、皆無事に避難した。担任の先生は誰か見失っていないか確認。
その間に消防車・パトカーが数台到着。隣のビルのカフェからも煙が出ていた。

驚いたことにカフェの店員達は消防隊員が駆けつけるまで事態に気付かなかった。先生の話によると、店内に煙が立ち込めているのには気付いていたが、タバコのだと勘違いしたらしい。何て呑気な。

そして更にこの日はクラスメイトの一人の授業最終日だった。
スウェーデン出身の彼女の名前はオグナ…彼女の母国語で「炎」という意味らしい。
色んな意味で記憶に残る１日となった。


Jul 20th 2010
It happened when I was taking an English class this morning.
Suddenly a school staff member came into my classroom, shouted 'FIRE!! Go outside!!'
At first, I thought it was the evacuation training exercise but I soon found it wasn't. I smelled smoke as it filled up in the building and saw dark grey smoke rising from the backside of our building from the window near the reception.

Fortunately, nobody was injured. My teacher confirmed wheather anyone was misseing from his class. Then fire engines and police cars arrived there.
The smoke was raising from the entrance of the cafe which is next to our school too.

Surprisingly, the cafe's staff didn't realize what had happened until the firemen came into their shop, despite the fact the smoke was coming from the inside!!
According to my teacher, they had misunderstood, and thought the smoke from a cigarett.

Coincidentally, this was the last day of one of our classmates who came from Sweden. Her name was Ogna which means 'FIRE' in her country!!

合格 I passed it!

昨日、６月に受けたケンブリッジ検定（ＰＥＴ）の結果が出たのでＨＰで確認。
無事合格（１００点中８０点）！９月末までには合格証書が郵送される予定。

ケンブリッジ検定というと何だか大層な試験のように聞こえるが、レベルはピンキリ。今回のＰＥＴは下から２番目なので、あまり威張れたもんでもない。
とはいえ、この合格証書はＴＯＥＩＣ等と違って生涯有効。そして今回この検定を受けたことで、次回もう一つ上のＦＣＥを受ける為の自分の直すべき点もわかった（読み書きのスピードアップ、聞き取りと話す能力の向上等）。

まずは一安心。

Last night, I checked my result that I had took the Cambridge exam(PET) in June, on the website. There was written "PASS"(80 in 100points)!!
The certificate is going to be sent to my flat by the end of September.

The exam sounds somehow very hard but it has several levels for person's skill. And PET(Preliminary English Test) is second level from the bottom so that I shouldn't boast of my success very much.
Whereas, the certificate is valid for my whole lifetime(that's different from other exam such as TOEIC).
What the exam has shown me is my recent English level and what I must revise for FCE that the next level exam: to improve my speed for reading and writing, to improve my skill for listening and speaking, etc.

Anyway, I sighed with reliaf...

Let's KARAOKE!

先週、クラスの担任の先生（ピーター）がパブでイギリスのサッカーチームを応援している姿がBBCニュースで放映された。しかしドイツに負けた次の日、授業を始める前、彼は「今日はサッカーの話はしないでね」と、しょんぼりと告げた。
それはともかく今回はカラオケの話。

今朝、授業の初めにピーターはクラスの皆でカラオケに行くことを提案した。
カラオケ…実は友達と２人で５時間歌うくらい好きなのだが、イギリスでとなると話が違う。
ロンドンのカラオケは２０年前の日本同様、パブのミラーボールの下、店内の一角に設置された専用ステージで歌わなければならない。そして当然、選べる曲は洋楽のみ。

とりあえず何曲かYouTubeからダウンロードしてみた。
"Bad romance(Lady Gaga)", "Breaking the habit(Linkin Park)", "Dance Dance(Fall out boy)"　等ゝ。好きな曲なら覚えやすいかと思ったが、どれもこれもそれなりに練習を要する上にカラオケで歌うには一般的ではない内容の曲だった。
仮にマスターしたとしても歌う前にウォッカの１杯くらいは必要だと思われる。

Last week, BBC news shown my teacher, Peter had been yelling at the England football team in the pub. But this morning, he sadly said not to talk anything about football before he starts class, because England lost to Germany the previous day.
Anyway, the topic of this time is KARAOKE.

Peter suggested challanging KARAOKE at somewhere with all of our classmates in this month, at the biggining of the class in this morning.

Humm... Actually, I love singing at the KARAOKE BOX as much as I could sing with one of my friends for five hours.
But I've known we have to do in the same way: We Japanese used to sing on the stage under a shining mirror ball or colourful lights in the pub twenty years ago. To scare of me, that's very common in London today.

There would be no problem if the song was japanese one, but I must sing in English.
Anyway, I chose some songs and downloaded them from YouTube.
"Bad romance(Lady Gaga)", "Breaking the habit(Linkin Park)", "Dance Dance(Fall out boy)", and so on.
I love not only the genre such as Jazz or classical music but also Rock, Death metal and Euro beat... so all songs I've chosen were popular but may be minorities among KARAOKE songs.

Somehow I always choose a tough way... I'll break my shyness with a glass of Vodka before I sing.