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.
2010年10月17日日曜日
2010年7月21日水曜日
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!!
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!!
2010年7月10日土曜日
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...
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...
2010年6月29日火曜日
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.
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.
2010年6月16日水曜日
今でも覚えているあの一場面～ an unforgetable scene of a movie
何だか急に思い出した、子供の時にテレビ（夜８～９時頃放映）で観た映画「おろしや国酔夢譚」の、言葉の通じないロシアでの麻酔なしの足切断シーン。
「あいつら何て言ってるんだ？大丈夫だよな？なぁ？」と仲間に必死の形相で尋ねる彼、ちらりと見える手術用ノコギリ、何も言えない仲間の顔、その直後の絶叫はあまりに強烈すぎて２０年以上たった今でも鮮明に覚えている。具合が悪くなる映画ランキング第３位。
Somehow something suddenly reminds me a scene of "Oroshiya-kokusui-mutann": a movie made in Japan, I saw it when I was a child. A man was cut his leg by Russian surgeons without anesthesia at that scene, but he didn't know their language.
The man desperately asked his friend,frightening,"What are these surgeouns speaking? It's all right? Say something!!", glanced at a saw for the surgeon. His freind could say nothing for him, and next moment, he cried out for the agonies of death.
It was too strong to sleep after watching the movie, so that I vividly remember the scene even now, after over 20 years.
It's the third of my movie ranking which I feel disgusting after watching.
「あいつら何て言ってるんだ？大丈夫だよな？なぁ？」と仲間に必死の形相で尋ねる彼、ちらりと見える手術用ノコギリ、何も言えない仲間の顔、その直後の絶叫はあまりに強烈すぎて２０年以上たった今でも鮮明に覚えている。具合が悪くなる映画ランキング第３位。
Somehow something suddenly reminds me a scene of "Oroshiya-kokusui-mutann": a movie made in Japan, I saw it when I was a child. A man was cut his leg by Russian surgeons without anesthesia at that scene, but he didn't know their language.
The man desperately asked his friend,frightening,"What are these surgeouns speaking? It's all right? Say something!!", glanced at a saw for the surgeon. His freind could say nothing for him, and next moment, he cried out for the agonies of death.
It was too strong to sleep after watching the movie, so that I vividly remember the scene even now, after over 20 years.
It's the third of my movie ranking which I feel disgusting after watching.
2010年4月12日月曜日
近況報告・A report of recent things
5.4.2010.
フラットに引越してからインターネットが２４時間使い放題なので、友人や家族とのやり取りが大分楽になった。
４月１～５日までイースターホリデーで学校が休みだった為、ついうっかり自分で禁止していたYou Tubeを観てしまい、止まらなくなる。でも長いこと探していた歌手（一度フィジーのテレビで見たっきり）とか日本のアニメの英語版とかも発見できたので良しとする。もう図書館にDVDやCDを有料で借りにいかなくてもいいのがうれしい。何よりマリリン・マンソンのCDは図書館で探してもない。
この休み中、何をしていたかというとYou Tubeで好きな曲を聴くかテレビを観るかスーパーに買い物に行くだけの生活。外出すると出費がかさむので部屋に篭っていたのだが、不健康なことこのうえない。
せっかくのイースターなので４日、ウエストミンスター大修道院に行ってイースターサンデーのミサに参加してみた。満員の教会内で１時間程パイプオルガンと賛美歌を堪能する。本来なら仏教徒なので８日の降誕会（ごうたんえ）にでも参加すべきなのだが、あいにく近所には教会しかないので致し方ない。
その後、教会近辺の店で今月の姪っ子の誕生日用と今月末フランス（パリ）で会う予定の日本の友達にそれぞれプレゼントを買う。友達からは「何かイギリスっぽいものがほしい」とのリクエストを受けていたので、新発売のマーマイトのシリアルバー１箱とマーマイトの為だけの料理本をセットにしたものを渡すつもりだが、気に入ってくれるかは五分五分。
Since I moved to flat, I could use Internet whenever so it became smoother that communication with my friends and my family too.
And I’ve got Easter holiday from 1st to 5th of April, therefore I carelessly watched ‘ You Tube’ ; I’ve made a rule to not watch it for keeping study time, and then I couldn’t stop to watch it because too interesting to.
Yet I found out what I’ve been looking for long time; a singer who I had saw her on TV once in Fiji or a Japanese animation of English version, so… Which means it’s going to be all right. Anyway I’m fine because I need not to go to library for pay DVD or CD any more. Need less to say, they haven’t any CD of Marilyn Manson, of course. But I chose a little maniac thing for my friend with my type.
What I’ve been doing during the holiday were just listening to my favorite music in You Tube, watching TV or going to shopping to the supermarket.
Because of the lack of cost for going out so that I’ve stayed my room but it’s too unhealthy for me.
I thought its waste of time so I visited Westminster cathedral and, attended Mass of Easter Sunday on 4th. I enjoyed hymn with pipe organ music in the full of cathedral for an hour.
After that, I bought some presents for my niece’s birthday and also for one of my Japanese friends who is going to France and we’re going to meet at Paris in the end of this month. I’ve got a request from her; she said ‘Please give me something English.’
So I’m going to present her-a set of MARMITE; a box of cereal bars which is a new product and a cook book for only MARMITE. I’m not sure if she likes them… It’s half and half probability.
2010年4月7日水曜日
初取引への挑戦・Challange
26th, Mar, 2010,
ロンドンにいるな、と感じる時；
１．パブで飲んでいる時
２．ダブルデッカーに乗っている時
３．フェラーリやポルシェを日常的に見る時
４．マーマイトおよび商品のポスター等をスーパーで見た時
５．大量のガーデニング関連の本を本屋で見た時
６．ＢＢＣニュースをテレビで観ている時
試験をＡグレードで合格した為、心底くつろいでいる…ので、上記のような下らないことをつらつらと書いている。こんなことをしているもう一つの理由は、荷物を無事送り届けたからだ。
数日前、日本の友達の一人（輸入服屋をやっている）が、イギリスで服を買って送ってくれないかと尋ねてきた。つまり、彼女の店の商品の仕入れをしないか、ということだった。ちょうど適当な仕事はないもんかと探していたので、渡りに舟と引き受けてみた。
彼女の依頼は
１．まず買い物の一覧表をチェックする
２．次にそれらの商品をオンラインショップで買い、一旦自分の部屋宛に送る
３．それから再度それらを日本の彼女の住所に送る
４．その後、彼女から買い物代金及び手数料が自分の口座に振り込まれる
こういうことをするのはお互い初めての試みだった上にイギリスと日本の時差は９時間…連絡をとるのにかなり手間取った。ともかく、１０日後にようやく初取引は終了。
結論として、もう少しパソコン（Windows）に慣れなければいけないということがわかった（今まではMacのみ愛用）。しかしながら、どうしたらより円滑に仕事が進むかという勉強にもなった。
今回の改善策を練る必要がありそうだ。
I know I'm in London when;
1. I'm drinking at the pub
2. I'm getting on a DOUBLE DECKER
3. I see cars such as Ferrarri or Porsche daily
4. I see MARMITE products or a poster of them in the supermarket
5. I see lots of books of gardening in the book store
6. I'm watching BBC news on TV
I'm really relaxed, because I passed the exam an A grade... So I'm writing some unimportant things such as the sentences above.
And the reason that I'm so relaxed is that I've sent the parcels.
A few days ago, one of my Japanese friends, who runs a selected-clothes shop, asked me to buy some English brand clothes and send them to her, which means, she wants me to be supplier for her shop.
At the time, I had been looking for a job so I accepted her offer.
Her offer was;
1. First, check her shopping list
2. Next, buy them at an online shop, and get them sent to my flat
3. Then, send them again to her in Japan
4. After that, she will pay me for them with a commission my account.
It was the first time we had done something like this and the time difference between England and Japan is 9 hours! It therefore, took a long time to complete a deal.
Anyway, we finally completed our first transaction after 10 days.
As a conclusion, I have to get used to use my laptop. Yet I studied, how to our transaction smoother.
I’m going to sort out the problems we had this time.
ロンドンにいるな、と感じる時；
１．パブで飲んでいる時
２．ダブルデッカーに乗っている時
３．フェラーリやポルシェを日常的に見る時
４．マーマイトおよび商品のポスター等をスーパーで見た時
５．大量のガーデニング関連の本を本屋で見た時
６．ＢＢＣニュースをテレビで観ている時
試験をＡグレードで合格した為、心底くつろいでいる…ので、上記のような下らないことをつらつらと書いている。こんなことをしているもう一つの理由は、荷物を無事送り届けたからだ。
数日前、日本の友達の一人（輸入服屋をやっている）が、イギリスで服を買って送ってくれないかと尋ねてきた。つまり、彼女の店の商品の仕入れをしないか、ということだった。ちょうど適当な仕事はないもんかと探していたので、渡りに舟と引き受けてみた。
彼女の依頼は
１．まず買い物の一覧表をチェックする
２．次にそれらの商品をオンラインショップで買い、一旦自分の部屋宛に送る
３．それから再度それらを日本の彼女の住所に送る
４．その後、彼女から買い物代金及び手数料が自分の口座に振り込まれる
こういうことをするのはお互い初めての試みだった上にイギリスと日本の時差は９時間…連絡をとるのにかなり手間取った。ともかく、１０日後にようやく初取引は終了。
結論として、もう少しパソコン（Windows）に慣れなければいけないということがわかった（今まではMacのみ愛用）。しかしながら、どうしたらより円滑に仕事が進むかという勉強にもなった。
今回の改善策を練る必要がありそうだ。
I know I'm in London when;
1. I'm drinking at the pub
2. I'm getting on a DOUBLE DECKER
3. I see cars such as Ferrarri or Porsche daily
4. I see MARMITE products or a poster of them in the supermarket
5. I see lots of books of gardening in the book store
6. I'm watching BBC news on TV
I'm really relaxed, because I passed the exam an A grade... So I'm writing some unimportant things such as the sentences above.
And the reason that I'm so relaxed is that I've sent the parcels.
A few days ago, one of my Japanese friends, who runs a selected-clothes shop, asked me to buy some English brand clothes and send them to her, which means, she wants me to be supplier for her shop.
At the time, I had been looking for a job so I accepted her offer.
Her offer was;
1. First, check her shopping list
2. Next, buy them at an online shop, and get them sent to my flat
3. Then, send them again to her in Japan
4. After that, she will pay me for them with a commission my account.
It was the first time we had done something like this and the time difference between England and Japan is 9 hours! It therefore, took a long time to complete a deal.
Anyway, we finally completed our first transaction after 10 days.
As a conclusion, I have to get used to use my laptop. Yet I studied, how to our transaction smoother.
I’m going to sort out the problems we had this time.
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