～みなさんこんにちは～（マシュー講師）

4月から新しくSESの講師となりましたマシュー講師です。彼はイギリスのヘレフォードシャー州の出身です。今回はその故郷について書いてくれています。イギリスと言えばパブを思い浮かべる人もいるのではないかと思います。ここでマシュー講師は伝統的な飲み物についても触れています。皆さんはパブに行ったらどんなお酒や飲み物を飲んでみたいですか。


Hello everyone!

My name is Matthew Kirby. I come from Herefordshire in England, I actually lived in the middle of the countryside with the nearest city being Hereford about 10-15 minutes’ drive away. I came to Japan at the end of March 2015 to teach at SES. I have been working as an English teacher all over Asia and before SES was a university lecturer in Malaysia.

I have only been in Japan for a short period of time but I am really enjoying being here and I think Japan is the best country I have worked in aboard. Japan is a beautiful country, it's very clean and I feel very safe living here surrounded by such lovely people.

Although Japan is great I have been away from home for just over two years and I miss home very much. Hereford is a very interesting and quite city. Hereford has been around for a very long time with written records mentioning it as early as 676AD and many believing it has been around since before records began.

ヘレフォードシャー橋

Hereford is near the boarders of England and Wales and was once a very wealthy trading center between the old kingdom of Mercia and Wales. Today the area is very agricultural producing a lot of food, mainly apples, potatoes and beef. A very traditional drink in the area is called Cider and is like a beer made from apples.

 

サイダーと呼ばれるリンゴから作られたビール

 

A Golden Week Starbucks Adventure!

～スターバックス　アドベンチャー～（ミッシェル講師）

ミッシェル講師はゴールデンウィークにアリソン講師と関西地区に旅行にでかけました。
大阪、京都、奈良、神戸といろいろ回ったようですが、それよりも楽しかったことがあったようです。
それはスターバックス巡り。大きな都市に行くとたくさんの店がありますが、山口のこのあたりではあまり見かけないようです。大好きなスターバックスに毎日のように通ったみたいですね。
みなさんはコーヒーが好きですか。もしそうなら是非行ってみて下さい。いろんな味にであえるかもしれませんよ。

Hello, readers! And Happy Saturday! It's me, Michelle :)

During the Golden Week holidays, I took a trip with Allison to the Kansai Area. We went to Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe, and visited many interesting sightseeing places there.

But for me, the most exciting part about going to a big city is...Starbucks!

The ubiquitous Starbucks logo: a two-tailed mermaid
至る所にあるスターバックスのロゴ：二つの尾を持つ人魚

 Have you ever been to Starbucks? It's a cafe that started in Seattle, Washington in 1971, and has since become the world's trendiest coffee shop. There are many Starbucks cafes in Japan, too.

For Golden Week, I went to a Starbucks almost every day! Their coffee is delicious, and they have rare flavors that other coffee shops don't offer, such as Chai tea and Matcha latte. Of course, their coffee is more expensive than other places - around 500 yen per drink.

European-style Starbucks in Kitano, Kobe
ヨーロッパスタイルのスターバックス（神戸市北野）

Anyway, I also collect "tumblers" (special coffee mugs for traveling) from different places in Japan. Now, I have five tumblers: Tokyo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, and now Kyoto and Kobe, too. Aren't they beautiful! I think coffee tastes better in these tumblers (hahaha).

My tumbler collection! I hope to find many more!
ミッシェル講師のタンブラーコレクション

Do you like coffee, too? What's your favorite coffee shop?
Please let me know if you like Starbucks as much as I do!

See you soon,
Michelle

Golden Week

～ゴールデンウィークの旅行～（アリソン講師）

ゴールデンウィークのお休みの間にアリソン講師は友達と関西地域をいろいろと旅行したようです。大阪、京都、奈良そして神戸まで足を運んだようです。買い物や観光を大いに楽しみ、日本を更に好きになってくれたみたいです。日本にはたくさんの良い観光スポットがあります。皆さんは海外から来た友達を案内するならどこを案内しますか。

My Golden Week Trip

Hello everyone! It's Allison! I hope you all had a wonderful Golden Week holiday! This Golden Week was my first one in Japan and I did a lot of site seeing. It was a lot of fun! A friend and I traveled all around the Kansai district and I saw many interesting things. In Osaka we did lots of shopping and in Kyoto we went to the Golden Temple, the Silver Temple, Kyomizudera, and the Inari shrine. Whew! So much walking! In Nara we saw what may be one of the world's largest Buddha statues and the many cute deer which roam in the parks nearby. In Kobe we discovered a Yu Darvish museum! Who knew? It was my first trip to really get out and see Japan and I loved it!

 The famous Glico Man in Osaka
大阪で有名なグリコサイン

 The many gates at Inari
伏見稲荷大社の鳥居

 Foxes at Inari
伏見稲荷大社のキツネ

At the Yu Darvish museum
ダルビッシュ・有　ミュージアム

Golden Week's biggest impression (Karina)

～ゴールデンウィークで一番印象に残ったもの～（カリーナ講師）

あっという間に過ぎてしまったゴールデンウィーク。
カリーナ講師は世界遺産でもある奈良の東大寺が一番印象に残ったようです。
絵のように美しく、堂々とした建物と世界で最も大きな仏像に心を奪われ、そしてかわいらしい鹿たちに囲まれ、ますます日本を好きになってくれたようです。
日本にはまだまだたくさんの美しい場所や世界遺産があります。みなさんはどのくらい訪れたことがありますか。


As we know, good times always past so fast! Spring Holidays are over now and I hope that all of you had some quality time whatever you've been doing.

I would like to tell you about the place I've never visited before and that became my favorite place in Japan after I did.

It's Todai-ji Temple in Nara city. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara. Deer, regarded as messengers of the gods in the Shinto religion, roam the grounds freely.

The building itself is truly a masterpiece. It's so big that not every camera can capture it. It was so monumental and picturesque, I've been just standing in front of it for maybe 15 minutes, trying to remember as many details as I could. 

Inside the building another masterpiece has been waiting for me. The Great Buddha, the biggest bronze Buddha statue in the world.

Todai-ji Temple was originally founded in the middle of 8th century and has been reconstructed few times, but the beauty still remains.

When I left the Temple I was amazed by friendly deer all around. They were coming to people and bowing politely to ask for some food.

This trip made me love Japan even more than before.

Karina

東大寺

奈良の大仏

During the Golden Week with Karina and Rob

～ゴールデンウィーク～（ロバート講師＆カリーナ講師）

ロバート講師とカリーナ講師はゴールデンウィーク中に京都、奈良、大阪を訪れたようです。
京都と奈良の美しさに魅了され、とても良い時間を過ごせたようですね。
伝統的な日本の美しさをもっと知ってもらいたいですね。
みなさんはどのようにゴールデンウィークを過ごされましたか。

During the Golden Week we visited Kyoto, Nara and Osaka; here are some photos of the trip. The weather was great and everything almost went according to planned :) During our trip we received a lot of help by the locals which really made the trip even more enjoyable. Both of us were really impressed with all the beauty in Kyoto and Nara.

京都：八坂神社

奈良：カリーナ講師と鹿

奈良：ロバート講師と鹿

Shauna's Future!

～ショ―ナの未来！～　（ショーナ講師）

ショーナ講師が誕生日の予定をたてています。
何をすべきか・・・何を買うべきか・・・どこに行くべきか・・・
何かおもしろいことをしたいようです。
みなさん何かいい案があったら教えてあげて下さい。

I am already planning my birthday.
I will be 21 years old...again! What should I do? What should I buy? Where should I go?

For Christmas, I went to Vietnam and Cambodia. It was fun, interesting and hot.

Ho Chi Minh Palace, Hanoi, Vietnam
ホーチミン廟　ハノイ　ベトナム

Angkor Wat, Cambodia
アンコールワット　カンボジア

In February, I went to Hiroshima for sledding and snowboarding! It was my first time and it was very, very scary and cold!
So for my birthday, I want to do something interesting. what do you think? What are your plans for your birthday? Maybe we can walk on the Great Wall of China or go trekking on an African Safari or swim in the Caribbean Sea!
What do you say? Let's Go!!
I am waiting for your reply....

～みなさん、こんにちは～(アリソン講師)

アリソン講師は昨年９月にアメリカ、メリーランド州、アナポリスから日本にやってきました。
日本に来て５ヶ月がたち、日本をとても気に入っているようです。一方、故郷が恋しくもなるようです。そのアリソン講師の故郷であるアナポリスについて書いてくれています。ハンマーでたたいて食べる蟹、みなさんも食べてみたくはないですか。

Hello everyone!

My name is Allison. I am from Annapolis, Maryland in the United States. I came to Japan last September to teach at SES. I have been here for five months now and I am really enjoying it! Japan is a beautiful country and I feel very safe here.

Even though I am having a lot of fun in Japan, I miss home a lot. My hometown was very interesting. Annapolis is the capital of Maryland and there are lots of things to see and do there. There is the historic downtown center with many interesting shops and wonderful places to eat. Annapolis is on the waterfront and I loved to sit down by the docks and watch the boats sail past.

チェサピーク・ベイが見えるアナポリスの路上風景
黒と赤と黄色の旗はメリーランド州の旗です。

Here is a street view of Annapolis, showing the Chesapeake Bay in the background. The black, red, and yellow flags on the buildings are the state flag of Maryland.

私が落ち着ける波止場

                               　　The waterfront area where I would hang out.

アナポリスで毎年行われるヨットレース。至る所からこのレースを見にやって来ます。

Every year Annapolis holds sailboat races, People come from all around to watch.

私の故郷では蟹は象徴的な食べ物です。夏の間ずっと食べています！

               Crabs are the iconic food of my hometown. People eat them all summer long!

If you're ever on the east coast you should check out Annapolis. It's a pretty cool place!