Golden Week Kayaking Adventure

〜カヤック大冒険(マイケル講師)〜

　ゴールデンウィークの間、マイケル講師はほとんど毎日カヤックの練習をして過ごしました。総距離は何と190km以上！柳井から九州に向けての長旅にも挑戦したそうですが、残念ながら強風の為途中で断念したそうです。カヤックを楽しむマイケル講師の動画は以下からご覧頂けます。

Hello Everyone its Mike

I went kayaking almost everyday for my golden week. I kayaked over 190 kilometers. One trip of my longest kayak training days was the 6th of May. On that day I kayaked with my expedition partner, Koji. We tried to kayak to Kyusyu from Saga (near Yanai) but we had to stop because the wind became very strong. We went back to Saga and continued to kayak near the coast and did 64 kilometers.

Spring Time in England

〜イギリスの春(メル講師)〜

長い冬が終わり、イギリスでは暖かい季節の訪れを祝う伝統行事がたくさん行われます。パンケーキの日やイースター、そしてエイプリルフールなど、イギリスの春はexciting(ワクワク)です。

Spring in England is an exciting time.

Winter is long and hard so we like to do many things to celebrate the warmer weather.Here are some English Spring traditions you might find interesting.

イギリスのパンケーキは薄く、カリッとした食感。
レモン汁と砂糖をかけて頂きます。

Pancake day is 47 days before Easter Sunday, this year it was on the 4th of March.

On Pancake day we make a big stack of pancakes and sprinkle them in fresh lemon juice and sugar.As you can see, English pancakes are much thinner than American ones which makes them a little crispy at the edges.

Delicious!

イースターにはチョコレートの卵を隠し、子ども達が探します。

Of course we celebrate Easter. It celebrates the Spring equinox. The name Easter comes from the pagan goddess of spring Eostre, her symbol was the rabbit which is why we also have Easter bunnies! We like to eat chocolate Easter eggs and hide them in the garden for children to find.

メイポールの先にカラフルなリボンを取り付け、子ども達がダンスをすれば、
可愛らしい模様が完成します。

In villages all round England we errect large poles. Brightly coloured ribbons are attached to the top and children dance around it making a very pretty pattern as they wrap the ribbon round the pole.

The children wear very pretty clothes.

４月１日は、ジョークを言い合って楽しみます。

April Fools Day is on April the 1st. On this day people in England play jokes on each other. These jokes are not very dangerous but always funny for example, putting sugar in the salt pot. 

Every year English newspapers will publish one false news article, for example "Drinkable wine found on the Titanic!" 

Dirt Biking in Asa

〜ダートバイクで厚狭を走る！(マイケル講師)〜

皆さんはダートバイクをご存知ですか？dirt bikeは、オフロード(未舗装の道)を走ることの出来るバイクです。厚狭の山道で４時間のツーリングを楽しんだマイケル講師。まだ初心者ということで、何度も転倒してしまったそうです。迫力満点のダートバイクの映像をお楽しみ下さい。

Hello Everyone,

Its Mike. This past weekend I rode my dirt bike in Asa, near Ube. A dirt bike is an off road motorcycle that you can ride anywhere. It rained in the morning so I was very cold. Riding in the rain is very hard. It stopped raining when I arrived in Asa.

Have you ever rode a dirt bike before?

My friend and I rode our dirt bikes in the mountains for 4 hours. My friend is very good but I am a beginner so I fell many times. I made a video about my dirt bike riding last weekend. I hope you enjoy.

Sunameri and Kayaking near Kasado Island

〜スナメリと一緒にカヤッキング (マイケル講師)〜

　笠戸島の近くでカヤックを漕いでいたマイケル講師。そこに現れたのは、何とスナメリ達！天気も良くなり、野外活動にぴったりの季節、カヤッキングはとても楽しいですよ。

Hello everyone, Its Mike

Last weekend I was kayaking near Kasado Island and saw some Sunameri. It was the first time I saw them so close. I made sure to record some video so you could see them. Have you ever seen Sunameri before? I hope you enjoy the video and please make sure to go outside and enjoy the weather. If you are adventurous, you should try kayaking. It's very fun.

English Wallpaper.

～故郷、イギリスの春（メル講師）～

　気温が暖かくなり、花々が咲き始めるこの頃、春の訪れを感じているメル講師。日本ではこれから桜のシーズンとなりますが、彼女の故郷、イギリスの春には、水仙、ユキノハナ、ツリガネスイセンなどが咲き、色とりどりの花々で溢れるそうです。公園や庭が春の色に染まっている風景はとてもpretty(美しい)ですね。

Spring is here and that means warmer weather and spring flowers.
Japan is getting ready for cherry blossoms and over in the U.K. the land is covered with flowers.

メル講師の故郷、ヨーク市では水仙がたくさん咲いているそうです。

In my hometown, York, everywhere is covered with daffodils.
They are on the side of the roads, in the city centre and of course in parks and gardens.
York is yellow in Spring.

林は１月下旬～２月初旬にかけてユキノハナで白く染まります。

The woods turn white with these flowers.
They are called Snowdrops and usually arrive in late January or early February.
They can be seen growing through the snow which is still on the ground.
Japan has some similar flowers but they are larger than the English snowdrops.

ユキノハナの後にはツリガネスイセンが青い花を付けます。

Then the woods turn blue with these flowers.
These are called bluebells. They are protected and so it is illegal to pick them.
In Spring the English countryside turns yellow, white and blue.
It is very pretty!

>Mel<

Rabbit Island!

〜うさぎの島、大久野島へ(レイア講師)〜

　皆さんは広島県の大久野島をご存知ですか？「うさぎ島」とも称されるこの島には、うさぎがいっぱい！大久野島のうさぎはとってもフレンドリー、えさを持って出掛ければ、可愛いうさぎたちが駆け寄って来ます。膝に飛び乗っても来ますので、お出掛けの際は汚れても良い服装がお勧めです。

Last weekend I went to Ōkunoshima or "Rabbit Island." As you can probably guess, it is a small island with MANY rabbits! 

Most of the rabbits stay in front of the one hotel on the island. 
島のホテル正面にうさぎ達が集まっています。

Most of the rabbits are pretty friendly and will run up to you for food. Some even jump in your lap, and a few will let you pet them!

This black and white rabbit was VERY friendly and liked being pet.
牛柄のこのうさぎはとってもフレンドリーでした。

There are rabbits of every color, including a few I had never seen before.

見たことの無い色のうさぎも大久野島にはいます。

If you decide to go, I recommend bringing plenty if snacks to feed the hundreds of rabbits you will meet. Also, don't wear nice shoes...

The hotel sells cups of rabbit food for 100 yen, in case you run out of snacks.
えさが足りなくなったら、ホテルで１個100円で販売しています。

Using the highway, it takes about 2.5 hours to reach the ferry terminal. You can also take a train to Tadanoumi station and walk a short way to the ferry terminal from there. Cars are not allowed on the island, as you may accidentally hit a rabbit.

Surf's Up!

〜サーフィン動画で夏気分(エイドリアン講師)〜

　日本の冬はもうすぐ終わりますが、まだ寒さが続きますね。エイドリアン先生お勧めのハワイでサーフィンする子豚の動画で暖かい初夏の気分を味わってみてはいかがですか？世界中の人々に愛されるサーフィンですが、何と豚の他にもたくさんの動物もサーフィンにチャレンジしています！可愛い動画のリンクも是非チェックしてみて下さい。

Aloha!

We are close to the end of winter here in Japan, but it is still cold!  I hope this video of "Kamapua'a The Surfing Pig"
will warm your heart:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOBRXjQutG8


While surfing can be a serious sport, it is also a fun hobby for many people around the World.

Young and old, anyone can learn to surf!
サーフィンは老若男女問わず楽しめるスポーツです！  

Famous surfer Eve Fletcher still surfing at 84 years old!
イヴ•フレッチャーさんは何と84歳の現役サーファー！

Even animals surf! Researching this blog, I found videos of surfing dogs, cats, pigs,  ducks, and llamas.

Japan has its own surf spots. Shikoku is #1 in Japan with 30 surf beaches!

Catch a wave soon!

Adrienne