Alex In Taiwan

皆さんこんにちは、アレックスです！日本に2年間住んでいる私ですが、西日本を中心に多くの場所を訪れてきました。

ですが今回は、去年12月に行ってきた台湾のお話をします！おいしい料理をたくさん食べたり、

面白いものをたくさん見たりして初めての台湾を満喫してきました！

Hello everyone! I’m Alex. I’ve been Japan for almost 2 years now. I’ve been to many places in Japan, especially Western Japan, and I’m sure you have too. So, I won’t talk about Japan. Instead, in December of 2018 I went to Taiwan. It was my first time to Taiwan, and I ate so many delicious foods and saw many interesting things. I loved it!

ここが私の泊まった台北グランドホテルです。豪華な建築で、居心地も良く素晴らしいホテルでした。

Here is the hotel I stayed at. The Taipei Grand Hotel. It was a magnificent hotel. Gorgeous architecture and very comfortable.

ジォウフェンという台湾で人気のある場所にも行ってきました。ここはスタジオジブリの映画「千と千尋の神隠し」のモデルになった場所だったと思います。しかし、たくさんの人が通りを埋め尽くしていて、小さな山間の町をなかなか楽しめませんでした。

One day in Taiwan I visited the popular area of Jiufen. I guess it was a place where the famous Studio Ghibli movie, Spirited Away, had some inspiration from.  However there were many, many, many people. It was really hard to enjoy the small mountain town with its crowded, small streets with so many people, so I didn't really like it in Jiufen.

ここで、食べ物を紹介します！

Now for the most important part: food!

Famous "stinky tofu". It was very stinky but the taste was not bad.
臭豆腐です。臭いが強烈ですが、味は悪くありません。

Famous Taiwanese dumplings. They were absolutely delicious.

台湾風餃子です。こちらはとてもおいしかったです。

Some delicious duck and tofu I had at a very nice restaurant.

レストランではおいしいアヒルや豆腐もいただきました。

台湾はとても楽しかったので、またおいしい台湾料理を食べに戻ってきたいです！

Overall I really liked my time in Taiwan, and I look forward to going back and eating more delicious Taiwanese food!

A VISIT TO MEXICO

皆さんはメキシコと聞いて何をイメージしますか？一番最初に「タコス」を思い浮かべる人がほとんどでしょう。

確かにタコスはメキシコで有名ですが、メキシコでできることはまだまだたくさんあります！

What do you think about when you hear the country, Mexico? I bet you think of “tacos” first! It is true that tacos are a large part of Mexican food, but there is a lot more to do in Mexico than eating tacos!

REAL TACOS IN MEXICO
本場メキシコのタコス

最近、カリフォルニアから移住した家族に会いにメキシコを訪れました。両親は退職後に新しい場所で新しい生活を始めたがっていましたが、

メキシコは文句なしの場所でした。

Recently, I went to Mexico to visit my family. They recently moved there from California. Both my parents are retired and wanted to start a new life in a new place. Mexico was perfect.

A SUNSET AT MY PARENTS' HOME
両親の家から見た夕焼け

 

メキシコはとても大きい国です。地図上ではアメリカやカナダと比べると大きくはないですが、かなり広いです。

カリフォルニアのサンディエゴからサン・フェリペまで車で6時間もかかりました！

First of all, the country is very big. I know it does not look big on the map, compared to The United States and Canada, but it is very large. We drove from San Diego, California, to San Felipe, Mexico, and it took six hours! We were not even halfway down Baja California!

NATURE OF BAJA CALIFORNIA
バハ・カリフォルニアの自然

両親はメキシコのバハ・カリフォルニア州に住んでいて、アメリカのカリフォルニア州によく似ています。自然がとても素晴らしくて、

砂漠や海があります！山々は素敵で、サボテンも大きいです。海側も美しくて、水は澄んだ青色です。

釣りをするとイカやマグロなど多くの魚が簡単に釣れます。

My parents live in Baja California, which is a state in Mexico, just like California is a state in America. The nature of Baja California is amazing! The environment is desert and ocean. The mountains look so cool and the cactus are very large. The ocean side areas are beautiful. The water is clear and blue. There is amazing fishing in the ocean as well. Squid, tuna and many other fish can be caught easily.

THE DESERT LANDSCAPE IS INTERESTING
砂漠の景色は私の興味を引いてくれます

食べ物もおいしいです。サン・フェリペにあるレストランに何軒か行ってきました。「カマロネス」というエビ料理が甘くてとても柔らかいです。メキシコ風ビーフタコスやチュロスも食べました。

The food was also very good. We tried a few restaurants in San Felipe that were delicious and fresh. The special food from San Felipe is called “camarones”, they are shrimp! They taste sweet and very tender. We also ate Mexican-style beef tacos and churros.

JUICY SHRIMP
ジューシーなエビ

メキシコでの一番の思い出は2年ぶりに両親に会ってきたことです。飼っている猫や犬に会えたこともうれしかったです。とてもかわいくて、

私にとてもなついてくれています。メキシコ旅行は全体的に素晴らしいものでした。忘れることはないでしょう。

The best part about visiting Mexico was visiting my parents. It had been two years since I saw them. I was very happy to see my cat and dog also. They were very cute and friendly to me. Overall, it was a great trip and I will always remember Mexico as a nice place to visit.

FERGUS PUP
愛犬　ファーガス

WRITTEN BY DAVID PRESS-DAWSON

Jamaican in Japan

こんにちは、シェリー・アンです！ジャマイカから来ました！アメリカから日本までは13時間45分、ジャマイカから日本までは24時間以上飛行機の旅をします。

Hello, My name is Shelly-Ann, I am thirteen hours and forty-five mins by plane from the USA and over 24 hrs from home. JAMAICA .

日本の土を踏みしめることは今までありませんでした！末武川ダムにも訪れましたが、想像以上でした。

I am walking on soil that I never thought possible. I am in Japan!

The visit to the Suetakegawa Damp was also not what I expected.

ダムの周りを歩くのは心地よさそうと思ってましたが、大きさと歩く道のりを知った時には衝撃を受けました。

I thought a walk around the damp would be very relaxing.  I got the shock of my life when I realized the size of the damp and distance I had to walk and to make matters worse...

こんな標識も見てきました。

 I saw signs like this …

 

昔見たドキュメンタリーでは、クマに会ったら死んだふりをするか、たくさん音をたてろと言っていましたが、

クマからは逃げられそうにありません！

岩が落ちてきたらどう対処すればいいんでしょう・・・

I cannot out run a bear !… The documentaries I have watched suggested you should 'play dead' …or make a lot of noise!.
BUT a rock-fall was a whole other story.

秋吉台ではバナナの木を初めて見てきました。毎日見るのは慣れてます！

I saw a banana tree for the first time in two months at Akiyoshidai.
I am used to seeing these plants EVERYDAY!

それではまた次回お会いしましょう！

See you soon!   More to come...
Shelly-Ann.

Travels Around Yamaguchi and Hiroshima

皆さんこんにちは！ＳＥＳに新たに加わりましたライアンです。周南に来て2ヶ月程たちましたが、

その間に近くの素晴らしい場所を旅してきました。今日はそれを紹介していきます！

Hello everyone! My name is Ryan, one of the new teachers at SES. I've been living in Shunan for about 2 months now, and I've done a lot of traveling to some beautiful places near Shunan. I want to share a few of my experiences with you! Thanks for reading!

最初は岩国です！岩国と言えば錦帯橋ですね！そして山を登ったところには岩国城もあります。そこからの眺めは絶景です。

紅葉の時期に行ってきたので、素晴らしいドライブになりました。

The first place I visited was Iwakuni! Iwakuni is very famous for the 5 arch bridge, Kintaikyou! This bridge was very beautiful. Also, you can see Iwakuni Castle if you take a short tram ride up a mountain. This mountain is very small, but it has great views. I went to Iwakuni when the leaves were starting to turn red and yellow, so it was a very beautiful drive as well.

Iwakuni  Castle
岩国城

5 Arch Bridge
錦帯橋

翌週は広島の宮島に行ってきました。観光にはもってこいの場所ですね！特にシカを見たり有名な鳥居を見たりして楽しみました。

The next weekend, I went to visit Miyajima Island, near Hiroshima. This was a very great place for sightseeing! Miyajima is a beautiful island, with many fun places to see, and delicious food. I especially loved seeing the deer, and seeing the famous Tori gate.

Miyajima at sunset
夕日に映える宮島

その次は秋吉台に行ってきました。洞窟の中を歩いて回ったのですが、素晴らしい岩の造形を見ることができました。

でも中は寒いので気を付けて！

Next I went to Akiyoshidai, the famous cave in northern Yamaguchi. This place was very beautiful! It is a long cave that you can hike through, and in this cave you can see some amazing rock formations. Be careful though, it is very cold inside the cave!

Entrance to the cave
洞窟の入り口

その後は広島の平和記念公園に行きましたが、とても力強く感動しました。広島に来たらここに来ることをお勧めします。

After that, I went to visit Hiroshima, to see the famous Peace Park. This place was very powerful and very moving. I think that everyone should go see Peace Park. You cannot support war after you have been to Peace Park.

Atomic Bomb Dome
原爆ドーム

最後は山口市です。昼食と地ビールをいただきました。瑠璃光寺にも行きましたがここのお寺が大好きです。現在、冬に向けて「雪吊り」の準備をしています。雪吊りを見るとかつて暮らしていた石川県の金沢を思い出しますね。

Finally, I went to see Yamaguchi City. In Yamaguchi City, I ate lunch and Jibiru, which is a delicious craft beer brewery and restaurant. If you like beer and good food, I recommend that you go to this place. After that, I went to see Rurikoji temple. I love temples, so this place was very fun for me. Right now, near the pond, they have Yukizuri set up on the trees in preparation for the winter. It's very beautiful, and the yukizuri reminded me of Kanazawa.

Yukizuri on the trees at Rurikoji
瑠璃光寺の「雪吊り」

以上が観光したところです。何かおすすめの観光スポットがありましたらぜひ教えてください！

That's all of the sightseeing so far. If you have any recommendations of other places I should go to, please tell me! Thanks!

Ryan Myers

LIFE LESSONS IN JAPAN

今回はデイビッド先生が日本で学んだ「３つの教訓」についてお話しします！

As an American staying in Japan, there are many small details we don't know about living here.

In this post I will talk about the "Top 3 Lessons" I have learned while living in Japan.

第3位　いつも「ごめんなさい、すみません」と言うこと

アメリカではこのことがよく知られていますが、全くその通りだと思います。「謙虚になること」や、

「その場にふさわしい最善のことをする」ということ、「自分にとって最善になることはしない」ということを学びました。

No.3 ALWAYS SAY SORRY. It is well known in America, but it is really true. The Japanese culture of bowing and apologizing is something that I have really picked up on. I always make sure to be the last one to apologize if I do something wrong. Throughout my time in Japan, I have learned to humble myself and do what is best for the situation and not do what is best for me.

第2位　「友好的であれ」ということ

アメリカでは知らない人に対して失礼なときがあるにもかかわらず、日本では知らない人に対しても

思いやりの心を見せることが多いのです。私はハイキング中、道行く人に“Hello!”と声掛けをしますが、

そのおかげで日本の人とふれあうことができています。

No.2 BE FRIENDLY Similar to the previous lesson, I have learned to always be friendly to others. In America, we often are rude to strangers, but in Japan, it seems people are a lot nicer to each other, even if they do not mean it. While I am on hikes, I always try to say, "Hello!" to people I meet on the trail. Also, it helps me interact with Japanese people if I am friendly towards them, instead of frustrated because I can't speak Japanese well.

第1位　「ご飯の中に箸を刺さない」こと

アメリカでも「スプーンやフォークを食べ物に刺してはいけない」と言われてはいますが、日本で箸をご飯に刺すことは

より「失礼」にあたります。私がアメリカに帰っても、このようなことは2度としないでしょう。

No.3 NEVER REST CHOPSTICKS IN RICE This lesson is less known to Americans, but it is very important to be a considerate person in Japan. In America, it is common to leave our spoons or forks "stuck" in our food. But in Japan, it is a much more serious "faux pas" to leave your chopsticks in your rice. I won't go into detail because you already know, but it is something I probably will never do again, even when I go back to America.




Written By David Press-Dawson.

Shunan Fun Times

こんにちは！チャールズです！日本に来てはや5ヶ月。今日はこれまで体験したことをお話しします。

Hello,

This is Charles again. I have been here for nearly 5 months now and time has flew by. It has been lots of fun living in Shunan City. I have been able to experience the local life here and meet many different people. Here are some adventures that I have had.

Getting Ready for Fun times with Alex
アレックス先生と

青空公園で行われた「酒祭り」に参加しました！「山縣」、「東洋美人」、「獺祭」などに挑戦して、

なかでも「毛利」というお酒が気に入りました。

I went to a local sake festival in Aozora Park about two months ago. It was amazing because there were 16 different sake breweries from Yamaguchi Prefecture. One of my students owns a brewery and he invited me to enjoy the festival. We tried 13 different types of sake from Yamagata in Shunan, Toyobijin in Hagi, and even Dassai in Iwakuni. My favorite sake was Mori from Yamagata's Brewery. I liked Mori because it tasted much different than the other sake. I also said goodbye to one of my students since he was moving to Singapore for his job.

Cheers with one of my students

一緒に乾杯！

27歳の誕生日をマット先生やＳＥＳの生徒の皆さんがお祝いしてくれました。居酒屋で飲んだり食べたり話したりして、

忘れられない日になりました。

I also celebrated my 27th Birthday here in Shunan. My birthday is on November 23rd. We went to an izakaya near Tokuyama Station. My friend Matt invited some of his company students to come celebrate with me.  They got me a happy birthday sash, a birthday hat, and a fan with lots of Yen on it. It was the best birthday gift. We ate, drank, and laugh throughout the night. I even spoke some Japanese and Chinese.

Quality Fun for Quality People

仲間たちと楽しいひと時

年末もいろんなところに行くのが待ち遠しいなあ・・・

I can't wait for the Christmas Break to go on more adventures. Until next time.

ITSUKUSHIMA - BEAUTIFUL AND FAMOUS

広島の厳島神社に行ってきました！アナゴで有名なところですね。

Recently, I traveled to Itsukushima. You must know it because it is probably the most famous shrine-island in the area. The island is right next to Miyajima and is famous for the saltwater eel.

まずは何と言っても鳥居！私が行ったときは海に少し浸かっていました。

The first thing I enjoy about Itsukushima is the beautiful "gate". It is probably the most famous thing on the island. When I went, it was cover partially by the sea.

奈良と同じように、シカが自由に走り回っていました。

Similar to Nara, Itsukushima also has many deer that run free. It is nice to see them walking around, but I noticed that many of them had ticks on their ears.

厳島にはほかにも小さな神社がありました。皆さんも探してみては？

Itsukushima also has many smaller shrines on the island. I really enjoyed finding them as many of them are hidden and must be sought out.

五重塔も見てきました。赤色がステキですね。

The five story pagoda is also magnificent to see. I really enjoy its red color.

最後につけ麺を食べて帰りました。かつおぶし風味でおいしかったです！

Lastly, I went to the new Hiroshima Outlets to try some tsukemen. It was really good. It had a very smoky flavor. Like "katsuo-bushi". It was a really nice day.




Written by David Press-Dawson