ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

June is the best month! It's not too cold or hot. The flowers are in bloom. In America, school is almost finished for the year. For me, June is also birthday time! It's not only my birthday, but my father's, sisters, and even my favorite idols! Giving and receiving presents in the middle of the year (and Christmas) is a perfect balance. Because of shipping prices, I am a bit behind on shopping for my family. I've been buying things here and there. Hopefully I will be ready to send them a nice package soon!

  

I went to my local hair salon and got a haircut! My hair is thick so it takes a bit of time to cut. I spent a long time looking for photos of a new style, but I couldn't decide. The hairstylist looked in the photo books and recommended me a style. It's very short now! I should be scared, but I love it! I think I just really love getting haircuts. I never went so regularly in America. In Japan, I go every 3 or 4 months!

In the salon, I saw an older man with bright rainbow hair! He looked grumpy and was smoking while walking around. I think he could be the owner? I was fascinated by him. If I won a lot of money, I would grow my hair out and get it dyed rainbow too!  

The Japanese version of American foods can be weird, funny, good, and interesting. I'm trying not to complain about such things, and embrace the weird versions. However, I found myself baffled by the foods under the "HOTDOG" sign at my grocery store. This is a hamburg steak and egg salad on a hotdog bun with a chili shrimp on top. Where is the hotdog? Did the cook think that if you put it on a hotdog bun, then it is a kind of hot dog? Interesting.  

Thanks to a solar storm, several parts of the world were able to witness an aurora borealis, or the northern lights. Places like Finland and Iceland are famous spots for seeing this weather phenomenon. I did not expect my state to be able to see it too! I've only known for the lights to be green, but these were pink and purple! My brother in law took this photo. He was amazed! A lot of my friends and family could see it. It went on for 2 nights. Some of my friends had a hard time getting to a place that was dark enough.   

I went shopping during Golden week. I visited the new building called Orne, which I don't know how to pronounce. I think it's French. OR-NAY?

I was surprised to see lots of musicians and singers in the shotengai. I think I even heard some operatic singing. It was cool to shop and hear such nice music. There were big crowds for them and I was happy for them. I didn't find any clothes that I wanted or second hand goods, so I took a train to a Book-off. It was a great idea and I got a good deal on some manga. My feet hurt pretty bad by the end of the day, but Takamatsu shopping was fun!  

For Golden week, I bought myself a new video game! It's called Cozy Grove. It's a lot like Animal Crossing...but with GHOST BEARS?! You fish, farm, make, and collect things. You have to wait each day for a new challenge. I am already addicted and I'm so happy I bought it. Some of my online friends are playing it too, and it's been nice to talk to them about it. I'm staying home for Golden Week, but having some games was a great idea!  

I rescued a turtle the other day. He was near the police station---hopefully he didn't need a police officer! The turtle was on the sidewalk, far from water so I picked it up carefully. I put it in my basket and walked it to the river. I leaned down as far as I could and dropped him into the water. I felt bad because it was a high jump. He swam to the surface and seemed okay!

I saw Japanese men kicking around a turtle once and I've been bothered by that for years. I didn't want that turtle to be mistreated too. I hope the little turtle has a good life in the river.   

I've been enjoying decluttering videos where people clean out their rooms. I've been doing it for a few weeks on and off myself. Some of my rooms are still messy but the closets, bookshelves, a drawers look great! You can declutter in small ways too, like a bag of makeup or an accumulation of papers. The shows I watch usually rely heavily on clear containers for things, and I love going to Daiso for those. I'm finding and emptying containers as I go this time, so I haven't needed to go shopping yet. Golden week will probably be when I finish.   

I had the most wonderful sakura weekend! First I went to Asahiyama. We got there early and had no trouble parking. There were a lot of people with dogs and I was so happy to pet a lot of them. The trees were in full bloom and the weather was great. The next day, my friends and I had a reservation at Mt.Shiude. Yes, you have to pay to have time on the mountain. It was so worth it! We made it in time and there were not a lot of people. The trees are so big, and we took so many beautiful pictures together. I think people didn't expect full bloom at that time, or maybe they were worried about rain. I did rain later, but it was okay because we were finished taking photos.   

We had a super fun time in Kobe! We danced, walked a lot, shopped and enjoyed the day! I found American pizza and had very good Chinese food. I loved China town. We spent too much money on crane games and did purikura too. The machine always seems to read my eye makeup in a weird way though. My favorite thing that I got was my pink sneakers. I needed new shoes really badly. The color reminds me of sakura!  

My mother sent me an adorable photo! It's a picture of me when I was little. Maybe 5 or 6 years old. I am sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap. Did you know that kids (and pets) can take a photo with the Easter Bunny? It's the same as going to see Santa. It's usually in a mall or a park. There are a lot of photos of kids crying with Santa or the Easter Bunny. But look at me! I'm not scared at all.   

I went to karaoke last weekend with my friends. It was awesome! It had been a long time since I went. Maybe...November? I usually go once a month.
I could tell that it had been awhile. I was straining my voice to sing my best songs. I think I'll look up some vocal lesson tips on youtube. My friends all sound so good, so I want to be good too! I'm learning the words to new Japanese and Korean songs. The Korean songs are hard because the words are very hard to read. I have to memorize them better first. I can't read Korean, so I'm reading the katakana.   

I started a fantasy anime called Freiren. It's about an elf mage who lives a lot longer than humans. She goes on quests with several different groups and learns how to connect with people. She collects fun spells even though she's very strong. The anime is mostly relaxed, in a quiet sort of way. I like to watch it after work. For a while, there were no villains or very bad things happening and it was nice. It can be a little predicable at times, but I don't mind. I recommend this anime.  

Do you know the difference between a plum blossom or a cherry blossom? What about a peach blossom? I think I'm getting better at telling what kind of flower it is. You can learn how the petals are shaped. I don't know when peach blossoms happen, but their bright orange and pink colors always impress me. It's too early for sakura. It's March, but it's still very cold outside. I hope that the sakura blooms at a good time for travel this year.   

I was in a Book-off, and found these little figures. One of them resembles my younger sister, Renee! Renee usually dyes her hair pink but it's been orange for awhile. I love that the figure has brown eyes too! I didn't have much money, but I had to buy it. I've been missing her a lot lately. I watched some TV shows that reminded me of her. She's traveling right now, but I'm going to give her a call soon.   

The road near my Lawson has been under construction for 3 years! My student told me that 3 years was the estimated time. I was surprised that this was the case. They widened the road and the bridge, but there aren't any new businesses around. It's just a bigger and smoother path for cars and bicycles. It's not in a big city, so I don't know why they did this.
I have been complaining about it a lot recently.

I keep forgetting I can go that way, to go shopping or two work faster. 3 years is a hard habit to break.  

I spent a short time in Kyoto with my best friend. She was visiting Japan and had never been to Kyoto. The hotel we stayed in was very artsy and I liked it a lot. It had a French name, so it's Japanese pronounciation was difficult to say. To make matters worse, the taxi drivers could not understand the name of the hotel. Even when I said it perfectly, they just got more confused. Eventually, I had to show them the map on my phone. It was a fun time though!  

I met some interesting animals in Fiji. At the Bird Park, I got to hold a snake and a beautiful iguana! I also met a sea turtle there. She poked her head out of the water and startled me!

In the backyard of my friend's home, I saw toads and geckos. There were myna birds which tried to steal my breakfast! I left my plate too close to the outside. Fiji has a wild dog problem, and I saw different types of dogs on the street. The dog who is NOT wild, is Lucky. He's my best friend's dog and I was SO excited to meet him. He's a very big boy and he likes to lay in the kitchen and sleep, or roll around near the mango tree. He was confused about me, but I loved petting him.   

You all know how much I love bats. I knew that fruit bats were in Fiji. They are large and love mangoes. It was my dream to see one on my trip. We went to a small museum but it wasn't very good. However, outside of the museum were some big mango trees. My friend said "do you see the bats?" I got very excited. Mango trees are so tall though! I looked and looked. Finally I noticed them! They were on the very top, hanging upside down. They're as big as mangos!
I took a video and could hear them squeaking like a monkey.



Later into the trip, the bats were flying at sunset. I was so happy to see it!

  

I was so excited to try seafood in Fiji. One of the first things that I ate, was a crab curry. My friend's step-mom made it for us. It was really hard to crack the shell of the crab open. I had to use my bare hands! It was messy and I cut my fingers a little so she had to help me. It was so very delicious! And one of the best not-spicy dishes that I had on the trip.

We also went to a hotel buffet. Not our hotel, just the place to eat! There were crabs, muscles, shrimp, and a whole lobster you could eat. There were other foods too, like pizza, sushi, cheese, salad, and deserts! I wanted to eat a lot, but my stomach was still not used to big portions. I also had a stomachache from trying spicy food early in the trip. I did my best!