Winter is Coming!

～ウインタースポーツにお薦めの場所は？（エイドリアン講師）～

　冬休みが近づいて来ましたが、エイドリアン講師はこの休みを、雪を楽しむことの出来る日本国内で過ごす予定です。冬季五輪が開催された長野県白馬村の積雪にビックリ、長野にウィンタースポーツをしに行きたいそうです。皆さんも良いスキー場をご存知でしたら、是非エイドリアン講師に教えてあげて下さい。

Aloha,

There is a chance I will stay in Japan for the New Year's Holiday!  

More than 7 years have passed since my last New Year's snow vacation. And while it DOES snow in Hawai'i:

View of Snowy Mauna Kea from Hilo Bay



Click here to learn about the the Subaru Telescope:

http://www.naoj.org/Gallery/tele_dome.html







... if I save my money maybe I can go to one of Japan's great Winter Sports Areas!


The 2020 Summer Olympics will be hosted in Tokyo, but it won't be the first time. Japan has hosted three other times: 

1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo

and most recently,

1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano

Wow! Hakuba, Nagano

Two Winter Olympics!

I don't have much money to fly to Sapporo, so I may go to Nagano. 

Luckily, I learned even Kyushu has Winter Sports areas!



Can you recommend your favorite Winter Sports area?


Adrienne

Ninja Sensei Trash Art and Rock Climbing.

～忍者先生からのメッセージでリスニング練習！（マイケル講師）～

　忍者先生ことマイケル講師の動画で楽しみながら英語のリスニングをしてみませんか？忍者先生がどんなことを話しているのか考えながら聞いてみましょう。Transcript(読まれた英文原稿)は、Vocabulary(語彙)の解説と共に載っていますので、気軽にチャレンジしてみて下さいね。そして、彼が忍者先生と呼ばれる所以は、ある物にありました。詳しくは以下でご覧下さい。

Hello everyone, Its Michael. Here is a video of my weekend which I hope you enjoy. Also, read below to see why I am called Ninja Sensei. Also, I recommend using this as a listening exercise. After you try to understand my sentences, you can look at the transcript below.


Transcript:

Ninja Sensei Here,

I’m making this video while hanging upside down from a tree.

I had a very adventurous weekend.

The first activity was hanging up Art in N3 Gallery.

The second activity was going for a 10-mile bike ride.

And the last activity was going rock climbing behind Seminar Park

Ninja Sensei Out


Vocabulary:
Upside down: This means that the upside (head and upper body) is facing down and your feet are facing up.
     -Example: John was hanging upside down from the jungle gym.

Adventurous: This describes something that is exciting and you enjoy doing.
     -Example: Mikes likes adventurous activities very much.

Hang up: This usually means to put something on a wall (like a picture).
     -Example: I will hang the picture on the wall tomorrow morning.

Ninja Sensei: My students gave me the name “Ninja Sensei” when I first came to Japan because of the shoes I wore. The shoes area called Vibram FiveFingers Shoes in America but my Japanese students have never seen them before. They asked what they were and I told them they were Ninja shoes. After that, I was called Ninja Sensei.

Roman Holiday Listening Exercise

～「ローマの休日」でリスニング！（マイケル講師）～



Hello Everyone,

Today we will try a listening and vocabulary exercise with Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn.

1) Please click HERE to download (put on your computer) the question and answer sheet.

2) There are three parts to the paper (Summary, Fill in the blank, and the Subtitles).

3) Summary Exercise: Watch the video two or three times and try to write some words you hear. It is okay if it is very very very hard. Native speed listening exercises are very hard.

4) Fill in the Blank: Watch the video one or two times and try to fill in the blanks.

5) Subtitles: read the subtitles of Roman Holiday and look at your answers on the Fill in the Blank exercise. How did you do?

6) Pronunciation and Summary: Now listen to the pronunciation and read aloud (out loud) with the actor and actress. After you try this once, try to listen again and practice the Summary exercise one more time.

*Remember: If you want to improve your English, study a few time a week and do not be scared to make many mistakes.

Looking for a fun way to go to Hokkaido?

～北海道へ、フェリーの旅（エイドリアン講師）～

Aloha!

One of my Obon week adventures was a journey to Hokkaido by sea.

The Shin Nihonkai ferry sails to Otaru, Hokkaido from Maizuru, Kyoto every night at 12:05am.



Shin Nihonkai ferry at the Maizuru terminal.

 

The trip is 20 hours, and the ship arrives in Otaru at 8:00pm the next night.

Inside the ship there were two restaurants and a convenience store. There were also game rooms, movie rooms, bath areas, and places to relax and watch the scenery. 

My husband and I stayed in a "Japanese-Style" room.  Our room had tatami floors, a low table with two chairs, two futons, a television, and a radio.  Of course there was a tea set too!




I am not used to "sitting seiza"...  Ouch!

 Staying in a private room cost a little more than staying in the dormitory, but it was still a bargain!

More adventures soon,

Adrienne

A Global Village...in Shunan!

～国際交流に興味がある方、必見！（ベン講師）～

On Saturday, September 28th the International Committee of Shunan held it's first international gathering.  To start off a series of multi-cultural events, there was Global village in downtown Shunan.  Many  countries had booths, where anyone could try delicious food, talk to people from around the world, and just have a good time.

I really enjoyed the "chijimi" from Korea, and the clothes from Vietnam were beautiful. 

If you are interested in more international events, stop by the festival in downtown Shunan on October 28th, and look for me!

Big Chicken and a Monkey

～山賊焼と猿廻し（レスリー講師）～

Hello Everyone!

The weather has been getting cooler, which makes me very happy :)

Last weekend, I went to Sanzoku and Iwakuni. I had a great time! I loved eating the big chicken at Sanzoku.

Me in front of Sanzoku

In Iwakuni,  I saw the famous Kintai Bridge. I also saw a monkey perform many tricks! He walked on stilts and on top of a basketball. It was really funny to watch. 

Kintai Bridge

Performing monkey!

I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather! Have a good week!

Beautiful Rice

~秋の訪れ・田んぼの美しさ（ショーナ講師）～

Hello,
 
Recently, I took a drive up into the mountains of Yamaguchi. My car had a very hard time going up and down and around all those sharp corners. I am used to it though. In Jamaica, we have the same problems going up steep hills. However, there is one thing we don't have ; rice fields! Oh the beautiful rice fields!!!

Rice field in Kano

 I just love the contrasting green especially when the wind is blowing the rice to and fro. Just beautiful! I can only imagine what it would be like to play in a field of ready-to-harvest rice. I would probably break out in hives since I have allergies, but it looks like fun.