ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Many years ago I went to Germany with my family. We went and saw Neuschwanstein Castle. It was in many movies and watch said to be the inspiration for the Disney Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was constructed near the end of the 19th century so Ludwig II of Bavaria could live out his idea of the middle ages.

  

When I moved to Japan, my mom was really excited because she would be able to visit. However I think she underestimated the cost of flights because when I talked to her about it, she said that flights were probably too expensive. Then my mom suggested that we meet somewhere kind of in the middle of the US and Japan. I suggested Hawaii and was very pleased to find that flights from Osaka to Hawaii are crazy cheap (only about 30000円. So hopefully I'll be figuring out when we will be going soon!  

When I buy flowers, I only think about how pretty they are. I like purple. It's one of the best colors. It signifies beauty and poise. Elegance.

I suppose the connotation is different over here. These are the flowers you bring to a funeral. My friend got a different message when I gave them. The language of flowers is different around the world. Does your favorite flower in Japan, mean something different in America or Europe? I wonder...


Can you speak the language of flowers?

Joe o/  

That is one big bug. Although moths aren't high on my list, I do like bugs. My favorites are beetles.

All things, that have been discovered, are classified into orders, suborders, families...and so on. The names are usually based on Latin or Greek. For example, beetles are of the order Coleoptera. So they are called Coleopterids. A person who studies beetles is a Coleopterist.

Sometimes I wish I had become an entomologist.  

I'm really looking forward to autumn! I long for fall the way some people long for the summer. I guess it's because I'm originally from South Florida. South Florida is a tropical state in the USA. The weather there is a similar to Okinawa. Perhaps even hotter! Unfortunately due to the climate we don't get season changes. The Florida leaves stay the same, maybe it is cold for a day or a week (60 degrees), and people can still walk outside in sandals. Living in the island of Shikoku, I've had the privilege of experiencing real autumn weather! I was able to enjoy weeks of cool breezes, see the leaves turn red and orange, all while surrounded by mountains. This year I'd like to revisit some of my favorite spots in Japan (like Iya Valley) just to stare in awe at the autumn foliage. There is nothing more majestic than a nice cold day in autumn!   

I can't believe it, but I'm watching anime again.



Last week, I watched an anime called Shiki. Shiki is old and has appeared on a lot of horror lists. I thought it was about time that I gave it a try. The art style was super weird, mostly because of the hair. I haven't been interested in anime in awhile, so my tastes have changed, and "anime hair" was really distracting. It was distracting because this was supposed to be set in a small Japanese village. It would have been much more effective if everyone had looked a little more realistic. Having half of the characters (supernatural and normal) look like crazy cosplayers really took me out of the story

Shiki is a horror anime, and finding a good one of those is pretty difficult. In the end, I didn't actually like the anime. I can't recommend it, although I know why it shows up on horror lists. I started a different anime right afterwards, and I'm much happier with that one.   

I've been to Italy and Japan reminds me a lot of Italy with it's citrus and olive trees, warm climate, mountains and the sea. Even your quaint homes with beautiful gardens. But I didn't expect to visit Greece here as well. That's exactly what I saw when visiting Shodoshima Island! Walking through the olive groves and looking out at the sea, reminded me of Italy, but the Greek Windmill and Pillars gave a different feeling!! Even the museum was built in Greek architecture.

Japan, you continue to amaze me! You gave honor to Greece, when this spectacular display is on your own shores!! What a beautiful day in Shodoshima....helps to bring peace to my soul.




  

I'm pretty bad at using technology. If it's not for work or too complicated I tend to not try and figure it out. My husband (Gary-Sensei) is the tech savvy one in the relationship. If I'm ever confused by a remote or other devices, he'll come to my rescue! He even knows how to use my laptop better than I do.

If I had to pick one least intimidating gadget it would definitely be my laptop. Though I really don't use it much. The only time I touch it is to try my hand at making mini travel home videos for family members. I'm very slowly but surely learning new video maker programs and getting creative with editing. I think this is the longest time I've ever spent on my laptop! I get restless sitting in front of the computer for too long but it is fun to learn something new! Maybe this will be the year I master a gadget or two! Here's hoping!
  

One of the things I love about Japan is all the different Kit Kat flavors. I believe Kit Kats were made in America but they marketed on the play for "Kitto Katsu" here in Japan so there are a ton of flavors. I think to date I have tried over 80 flavors of Kit Kat and I actively look for more Kit Kat flavors to try. I know some of the most recent flavors I tried were Sweet Potato and Apple Pie. Apple Pie was very good while Sweet Potato was ok.  

Last year I had the honor of trying Japanese hot pot (nabe). Now I am waiting patiently for the weather to cool down so I can revisit my love of nabe. I find myself daydreaming of spicy nabe. The first time I had nabe I was mesmerized by the simmering pot of meatballs, lettuce, tofu, mochi and noodles. I remember loving all the spices added to the meal and the way the leftover sauce tasted. Nabe is one of my favorite meals in Japan. Nabe weather can't come soon enough!  

I'm excited! In a week I will be back in America! I'm going to stay for thirteen days and see my family. I really miss everyone. It will be nice visiting, going into the woods, eating American food, and just relaxing for thirteen days! I'll share some of my stories about the trip in my future blog.


  

Yesterday I had a really strange experience. I was watching an American movie and during the movie, there was a scene where someone was driving a car. Now there is nothing really strange about that, but after living in Japan and driving here (on the left side of the road) I was confused for just a couple seconds seeing someone drive on the right side of the road. It makes me wonder, what other things would I find weird strange about being back in America?  

It's so fun learning about the little things. Something small like the egg in your ramen can have it's own story.


They taste so good, but how are they made? I think there is a lot to be debated, but they all agree on the egg being soft-boiled. After that, most say to add soy sauce and Sake. Those things are important. They pull the water out of the egg, changing the texture of the white and the yolk. I think from there, you could add anything :D


When it changes the color of the white, it becomes Ramen candy ;v

Tell me how you change when dipped in Soy sauce?

Joe o/  

Sometime in the next month, my floor is going to be replaced. It is good, because it needs it, but bad, because I have to move everything out of my bedroom. I don't have much, however I'm not sure what to do with all the clothes in my closet. There isn't any other place to hang them up.

I have more concerns. First, that the same people who put in the current floor, will do the next one. And second, that it will be cool on those days. My air conditioner is in the bedroom, so if it happens to get hot suddenly during those days it won't be pleasant.  

I am thankful for the feeling of contentment. What is contentment? Contentment is being in a state of happiness and satisfaction. There is something so satisfying about being content with what you have and don't have. Sometimes wanting something can bring feelings of anxiety but contentment is just being at peace in the moment. When I'm in the present moment I find myself better able to manage my time, my energy and my focus! I'll always cherish the feeling of contentment. May we all see more days of contentment than frustration! :)   

I don't give spiders enough credit! I use to view spiders as household pests. Every time I would see a spider in the house I would wrap it in a tissue and quickly put it outside with a stern warning. I never realized just how helpful those creatures could be. It wasn't until weeks ago that I started to realize that I was seeing a lot less mosquitoes due to the growing spider population in my balcony. It wasn't until my wife (Candice-Sensei) said "I think the spiders are eating the mosquitoes!" that I saw the error of my ways! Now whenever I see a spider getting too close to my hanging laundry I gently shoo them away. If one is in the house it can stay there a bit longer. Just as long as it is not a poisonous one! Hahaha! Spiders are my allies not my foe! Now mosquitoes... mosquitoes are the real villains! Hahaha!
  

Last month, I had to keep a secret! It was only for a week, but it was exciting. Cami asked our friends and I if we could go to the beach and surprise Michael for his birthday.

I made the mistake of having dinner and breakfast with Michael and Cami that weekend. Michael even invited me to the beach a few times! It was hard to lie to his face and pretend that I was busy. He was going by bike, which actually wasn't something I wanted to do.

After breakfast, all of us jumped into cars and drove to Chichibugahama beach. We all arrived at the same time, and it was so great! Michael was very surprised and we had a great time. Some of us went swimming and we all ate shaved ice and homemade cake.

I'm so glad I was able to keep a secret!  

We finally got to visit Shodoshima Island for the first time over the weekend. With the help of a bicycle we got to see a lot in just a few hours and I highly recommend it as a perfect day trip.

Surprisingly, just as exciting as the Olive Gardens, Soy Sauce Museum, factory and Soy Sauce ice cream, and the art museum were, our stop for lunch proved to be not only a refreshing, tasty and a much needed energy booster, but a learning experience. The restaurant turned into a noodle "factory" as well and we got to watch them make the noodles. They were "stretching" the noodles in front of us as we ate! The noodles themselves were new to me as I had not had Japanese Somen noodles before. Somen noodles are stretched thin wheat noodles, comparative to vermicelli and can be served both hot or cold, and absorb other flavors well. We had ours cold. The light, cool tasty noodles were perfect for the warm weather. So YUMMY!!


  

I recently went to Kochi Castle and it was a great experience. I got to climb up a LOT of stairs and see a lot of beautiful scenery. It was really nice seeing a piece of Japanese history and I also go to try out some Katsuo no tatakki. I had a lot of fun in Kochi and plan to go again.   

Halloween is right around the corner, and I am excited! Dress up, eat candy, watch scary movies, and have fun. One of my favorite parts of Halloween is folklore. Folklore is traditional beliefs and stories that communities have held. Many unique creatures are in folklore such as: Big Foot, werewolves, vampires, and other supernatural creatures. Halloween is a great time to share the spookier side of culture. Are you excited for Halloween? What are your favorite creatures from folklore?