My students and English

Now I'm waiting for two students. It is going to be the last lesson this year.
They are high school girls. They have taken my lessons since they were elmentary school students. So they seem for me to be my kids.

They will go to college in this area, and probably their major won't be English. But anyway they continue taking my lessons. Why? One reason is of course to keep good score at school. and another reason is to enjoy English.

We seldom have chance to communicate foreigners using Enlish here.
And they don't like reading not only English books but also Japanese books.

For them using English here itself seems to be fun.

For more than 10 years I have taught English to kids, for most of them the goal is to keep good score at school and to go to good leveled high school or college.
So lower grade students say "English is fun".
but when they grow up they tend to stick to good score. (Or they are sticked to good score.)

But the students I'm waiting for now, say "English is fun".
I'm really happy to hear that.
And their words recall me "English is fun".

As I told you, I organize a meeint "reading English books to kids" once every two months.
The next meeting is in January.
They are going to act a small English skit there.
I'm really happy.
the skit acted by young high school students must get the meeting more fun!

My knee hurts.

A few weeks ago I dislocated my knee. Though it recovered, my rught knee has hurts. So I am wearing supporter on the knee.

The ohter day my huband bougnt me kind of stickers. The sign says "these stickers chase away your pain to the space!". I think it must be a trick. But he said they were sold at his favorite place for golf practice. (Now he is into golf).

Though I didn't want to do that, but I didn't ignore his kindness either, and his back has hurt also. So we are putting these dummy? stickers.

Until now it doesn't work well for me.

Shining YOUKAN

Can you see the top of YOUKAN is shining?

The top is a little bit hard because of suger and salt skin.

These are HISHIYA's SHIO-YOUKAN. Usually Youkan is really sweet. But this Youkan is a little bit salty. So it is called SHIO(salt)-Youkan.

My yonger daughter doesn't like Japanese sweets very much. But she loves some. One is FUKUSAYA's KASUTEA, and another one is this Youkan.

As I told you, this shop deals with only this kind of YOUKAN. And on holidays or weekends, usualy they are sold out in the morning.

school trip

Now at most public high schools it is the season for the last school trip for the second grade students. Recently in this area going to OKINAWA is populer; to get the knowlege directly about the World War 2nd, and at some schools, they organize to let their students stay at American army camp family's houses. One of my students stayed with an American family. She said "I could talk with them somehow, and the family prasied me". I was glad to hear that.
And she also said "I know "yes or no" is really important".

Japanese people are said to tend to get everything vague, Probably it is right. So she said "sometimes it is hard to decide my will"

anyway she had a good experience. this week another student is in OKINAWA. I'm looking forward to hearing her comments.

Well, her suvenior is the famous "CHINSUKOU" kind of cookies. Chinsukou is one of my favorite cookies. But in this season we have some kinds of cookies (Wallkers Christams shortbread, chocochip cookies etc.) I hope next suvenior will be BENIIMO(kind of sweet potatoes) chips instead of Chinsukou.

NIKKO

Have you ever been to NIKKO in Japan? In NIKKO there is TOUSHOUGU that is registered as the world heritage. This weekend we(my husband, my youger daugher and I) went to NIKKO, but not visited TOUSHOUGU.

As I told you, this fall she was accepted by a college. And now she is given to assignments. One is solving one math book. And another one is report about 5 buildings with the skeching. So we went NIKKO to take some pictures.

The right photo is our favorite and really famous Japanese sweets 'YOUKAN' shop. They deal with only one kind of YOUKAN. Usually in the morning all YOUKANs are sold out.

We drove up IROHA-hill, and went to OKUNIKKO. There is a lake. On the day though it was cold, it was really clear day.

Near the lake that is called CYUZENJIKO, there is a villa that used to belong Itariaembassy. Now it isn't used, it remains as a memorial house. The house is built by marquetry way. It is the left photo.

Thanks of her assigments we had a good drive!

It's cold.

This morning it was really cold. When I got up at 5:30, and went to the kicthen. The sensor of temperature of heater showed "0". It meant the temperture got below freezing.
(Though I oftne told you, most of Japanese houses, we don't have central heating system.)
I turned on the heater, and started usual morning chores.

I usually wake up my husband at 8. At the time, the temperature of his room was 10 degrees.
In thisis April my daughter is going to leave home.
Though this winter I have got up earler, next winter I'm not sure if I get up at the time I should wake up my husband.

Now it's about ten o'clock. And the temperture without turing on the heater is 13 dgrees.

Anyway we are in the hard winter.
I'm going to the library, today.

homemade things

There are lots of farms in this prefecture. some of my friends are farmers wives. I think they are really powerful.

As I told you, a friend started to sell their homemade YUZUKOSYOU.

This year I also got some.

She said "This year we could make only green type. When we plant the first seedlings of green peppers, we had hail, so most of them couldn't grow. So, we got enough ripe red green peppers".

I konw how hard the making process is hard. Though once I tried to help, I gave up instantly.-- though I'm a city girl.

And the other day I got strawberry dumplings. For strawberry farmers, it is the best season now. Actaully the pack of strawberries of this prefectuer is the most in Japan. the sign says "a fresh strawberry picked up early morning". These dumplihgs are made our local straberries and rice powder.

And I also got rhubarb jam. Rhubarb itself is not still so famous in Japan, but I know among her lovers rhubarb is really famous. So a farmer in this prefecture started to grow rhubarb and sell the homemade jam.

Country wives are really powerful!!!

And I'm happy to have such powerfull freinds.

Do you know the word of presbyopia glasses?

A few days ago I wrote about my new glasses. And I got a question. What are prebyopia glasses?

I'm nearsighted, so I need wearing glasses, MEGANE in Japanese.
And usualy most Japanese people need wearing "ROGANKYO", when they are gettin old and it is difficult to read small letters. Though they are kind of glasses, we call then "ROGANKYO", and my dictinoary says "prbyopia glasses".

These days bifocal glasses mainly used. So on the day I went to buy bifocal glasses. But the clerk suggested "there are five kinds of lenses, you should think when you use the new one most?
if you often drive you should chose bifocal glasses, but you often read books and use PC you should chose the glasses that are for PC and reading books.
So I decided using to glasses according to the situation.

Do you know the word of prebyopia glasses?

Finally the last month of this year has come.

December has come. This weekend, it was very warm as the weather report expected. So I cleaned most of windows and lamps ( not all) in my house. I finished my winter house cleaning.

Though it is not perfect, but I'm satisfied with having done. Here and there we see dirt left on the window. Though it is funny, everybody said "Oh, you cleaned the windows!". The dirt proves that I have done the house cleaning.

Anyway Decemer, it has 31 days like other months, but I feel I'm busy.

This week, I have to attend two meetings, and weekend my family will go to NIKKO to take some pictuers for my daughters. Next weekend I have to attned a concert. And the next weekend es Christmas. I'm going to held a party for my students.

And as soon as Christams is finished, my mother will come to stay with us to spend new year's eve. We are going to go to SENDAI.

YUZU

The season of YUZU (kind of citrus) has come. At first I got lots of YUZU.(Probably a few weeks later I'll get YUZU-KOSYOU). How do I use them? I made picjked them into MISO paste. We put them in the bath tab when we take a bath. --- and --- of course I use then when I cook.

Today for my daughter's lunch, I sauted pork and MITSUBA(kind of spinich) with sesami and sliced YUZU and tasted them oyster sauce. Not so bad.

The other things are sauted beanspruts and carrots with sesami oil, and grilled sweet potates with sweet sauce.

I've been making OBENTOU for more than 8 years every morning.

BUT a few monts later I will be free from this chore.

I'm happpy and sad.

Now for my lunch I eat the left over at home.

What shall I do for my lunch??

It's too early to think about it.

For a few months I'll enjoy making Obentou, but it's troublesome.

Strange or usual?

If you are foreigners, you may think "it's strange", and if you are usual Japanese middle aged women, you must think "it's usual".

A few days ago, my daughter got her hair cut.
But I said "did you really get your hair cut? where does it change?"
She got angry a little, and said "Though you don't notice its change, but all my (young) friends must notice it". Actually when she went to school next day, all classmates according to her) said "You had hair cut, cute".

Yesterday , my husband said to me "Today I'll get hair cut." (So, our daughter didn't know that.)
Yesterday we(my husband , our daugter, and me) had dinner together. And my husband said "How about?"
My daughter said "what?"
My husband said " I got hair cut, didn't you notice its change?"
My dauhgter said "Really ? I'm sorry I didn't notice it, but not so bad, on the other hand did you notice that I got hair cut a few days ago?"
My husband said "Really ? I didn't notice it either. I think the length seems to be the same".

And I add to their convesation.
"everyboday notices own change among family. Actually today I also got hair cut"

Both of them looked at me instantly and said nothing.

Welcome to the world of wearing presbyopia glasses

I went to a gasses shop and bought two new pairs of glasses. The top one and the bottom one.

This time I learnd about lenses.

There are five kinds of lenses, the first one is for looking at far places and driving, the second one is for looking at far, a little bit far and near places. You can drive wearing the first one or the second one.

The third one is for looking at a little bit far places and near places. It is useful to watch TV, to read books or to use desktop PC.

The fourth one is for looking at near places as far as your hand. It is useful to read books or to use raptop PC.

And the last one is only for looking at things very close. It is useful for sawing.

I bought the third one. They are big glasses on the bottom of the picture.

And I am nearsighted and the symptome became worse. So I bought new glasses for driving. They are smallest blasses on the top of the picture. And the glasses in the middle are my usual glasses.

Now I use the big one inside, and the middle one outside.

British Hills

In FUKUSHIMA, there is an interesting place called British Hills.

It is a small village having some houses.

And it is reproduced an old British village.

When we go, we can experiance "english day" there.

Most of stuff are foreigners, mainly British, Australia, and NewZealander.

Every room is elaborated. Every funiture is imported from England directely.

I realy knew England is the culture of chairs.

I saw lots of intereseting chars. Each legs of chars is expressed an animal.

Main dining room is re produced the Harry Potter 's dormitory's dining room.

http://www.british-hills.co.jp/english/

Red, yellow, orange leaves

On these weekends lots of people including lots of foreiners come to Utsunomiya station to go to NIKKOU. IROHAZAKA is really famous place to see coloful leafes in fall.Yes Fall turnes the leaves. NIKKOU is really crowded, so I went to NASU, and my friend took me Mt. NASU, of course by car.

Many people enjoyed hiking. The friend likes out door sports, so she also loves hiking. As you know I hate being in outside. BUT she recomended or ordered to me to walk for a little, so we walked and crossed a suspenesion bridge, and enjoyed the view. Wonderful!

(But it was cold, so I was putting on hot compresses on the back all day.)

How many times have I said to my daughter "study more"?

Now my younger daughter has lots of free time, though she goes to cram school once a week, takes art lessons once a week, and takes calligraphy lessons once a week. most of her friends are studying hard to takethe entrance exam for universities in winter.
So she decided to work part time job. It' OK. But I say to her as usual "study English".

In her case, she passed the college without taking exam of English.
But at college, English is really important.
So I say to her "study English".

She said "Even I passed the college , you order me to study more?"
So I said "not more , to study constantly".
And I add, "I have been saying to you "study, study" since you were little, but now there are only 4 months you can hear such a phrase from me"

She said nothing. And she seems to study English as usual when she were a canditate for a college.

I thought actually "how many times did I say to her "study more"! ?"
I can't count it.

Rhubarb

A friend of mine sent rhubarb stalks and roots. (the leaves with rhubarb stalks are called KUSHINSAI). The friend enjoys growing unfamiliar vegetables at her big garden. Her homemade rhubarb jam is really wonderful, so I've wanted to try to make it by myself.

I'm satisfied with my homemade jam, but my daughter said "it is grassy".

Anyway on the day she sent them , I planted the roots, and one week later-- yes some fresh leaves came out. I'm really surprised. How fast!

The leaves look like sunny lettuce. Can we eat it???

Anyway I got another enjoyment of new spring after hard winter.

Finally ---

Anyway I wrote the result at first. This Friday my yougher daughter passed into a college. Fron next spring she is going to be a college student and to leave this home, though she is going to live with her daughter together.
I'm happy, I feel lost, and I'm sad beacause she is going to leave home.

In my elder daghter's case, I often wrote her situation how, what she was studying and drawing. But I didn't dare to wirte about my younger daughter's situation.

If you know my daughters, they have completely different character.
My elder daugter is a type to grind away for her purpose. So in her case she decided her concreat aim as soon as she became a high school student. So my husand and I was just watchng her, though unfortunally she failed in entering the college she wished for the best. But now she enjoy her another college live. Next week art festival is going to be held at her college.

My younger daugher-- it is difficult to discribe her character. optimistic, free, easygoing. Anyway she was living the world without "making efforts", it means she didn't study very much. Probably one of the reason was she didn't find a purpose after her graduation.
When she was in the second at high school, she was always in a bad temper. Her fasion was getting wild (from my eyes), she startedpart time job, and her grade got the lowest. My husband and I were really worried about her. But from last winter, she started changing, she started thinking about her feature, and she started show interests in interia.
And she suddenly started to study hard, and from the winter she has got good score.

So she got letter of recommnedation from school, and she got a test of "drawing".
It was not a usual examination. She had to draw her favorite buldings until the examination day.
On the examination day, she had to make a speech about her drawin, and wrote a short peper about a theme that was given on the day. And the theme was "design".

And yesterday we got a notice of "passing".

I tried to show you one of her picturers. But I couldn't attached it on this blog. I don't know why.
Anyway if you are intereseted in it, please drop by my photo site.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/choro/

What do you eat for breakfast?

I asked to draw a picture of breakfast to my students.

It was fun.Though we are all Japanese, some students eat toast, some students eat rice.

What makes me surprised, many students drink barley tea.

If you have visited Japana and stayed RYOKAN, probably they served grilled fish, MISO soup, a fried egg, rice , and Nori& Natto. I think it is a typical old-fashioned breakfast.

Most students eat rice or bread, some salad, some fruit. and barley tea. And sometimes eat ham, a fried egg.

And a student said "I want spaghetti with meat sauce".

Well, our breakfast; my daughter eat rice and left-over of OBENTOU.

My husband and I usualy eat toast and coffee, and drink homemade yoghurt with green vegetable powder.

candy sweet potatoes

What is the most typical vegetable for you in fall? "Sweet potaotes". In these area lots of kindergardents and elementary schools an event of digging sweet potaotes is held.
I got lots of sweet potaotes. There are various way to cook them; Tenpura, grilled potatoe, potato pie.
And one of my favorite cooking is this "candy sweet potaotes". It might be called "DAIGAKUIMO". But I don't know how to cook "DAIGAKUIMO". This season I often cook these candy sweet potatoes.

cut sweet potatoes , deep fried.

On the other hand prepare another pan.
put some oil and sugar(I use unrefineded sugar ) and heat them up.
And put some vinegar to make liquid candy.

put hot fried sweet potatoes into them.

The end.

Well, if you know about DAIGAKUINO,
http://japanesefood.about.com/od/sweetpotato/r/daigakuimo.htm

What book made an impression?

This weekend I attended Toast Master meeting. I was asked a short speech, the title is What book made animpression ?

It is fall, in Japan it is said that it is the best season to eat, to play sports and to read books.

I love reading, and usualy every other week I go to the library and borrow some books. But about sudde question I couldn't ghink of suitable books.

So I told about my kids. When my kids were little, my family used to go to the library every other week together. It was a kind of family event.

When my daughter was in the second or third grade, she suddenly showed interest of this book, because she performed it at school. I thought it was for her too thick to read. She was done. I really surprised and proud of her. From that her reading hobby has started.

I don't know the English name. This authour is Garmany. I want to read this book in English.

If someone tell me the English title, I'm really glad.

On the other hand my younger daughter was into Little King series. Even now this series is really populer among kids. I don't know whether are translated in English. On the other hand I found a little bit similar books. It is "Prince Bertram The Bad". The aurthor is "that " Arnold Nobel. my junior high school students and high school students loves him. So I bought the book.