ネイティブが教える英会話のジェムスクール☆Teachers☆

Recycle shops in Japan are quite nice compared to the ones in the US. Here in Japan they clean and nicely wrap most items at recycle shops and they are much easier to find. In the US they are few and far between and the quality of the products are usually dirty. Shopping for used things is Japan is pretty awesome!  

Finding myself once again in Takamatsu, I decided it was time to continue my search for delicious food. This time, I spied a gelato shop and felt compelled to try some of their many offerings. After much laboring over the available selections, I finally settled upon three flavors. I chose loquot (ビワ), the special sugar flavor, and chocolate (just in case I didn't like the other two). I even got a free sample of pistachio! The loquat and sugar flavors were very new to me, but I loved them both. Gelato is great on a hot summer day!
  

On the second day of our trip, we went to a traditional Japanese village.we started by walking across the rope bridge. After that, we looked through traditional Japanese houses and sugar cane factories. Then we walked all the way to the top of a mountain and saw a lighthouse. It was really neat! There was also a beautiful waterfall.

I really enjoyed my trip to takamatsu. I hope to go again soon. Where is your favorite place to travel?


  

I found a tengu shrine in north east Takamatsu. It's a part of the 85th shrine of the Henro pilgrimage all across Shikoku. There's a lift to the top, but the climb wasn't that hard at all!

What do you know about Tengu? They are pretty interesting. Like a lot of things in Japan, the origin can be traced back to China. The kanji is heavenly dog 天狗, and in the 700's shooting stars were assigned that name and thought to be flying animals and messengers from the gods. The "Modern" take most people know went through a lot of changes. A lot of people think this idea was merged with other shinto and hindu beliefs, merging the evil with the more friendly and forming a more benevolent creature.

Nowadays, they are seen as bird or crow people. They have long noses and live in the mountains. They're good with swords, can fly, and control wind with their Japanese fans. There are "yamabushi", "karasu", and many other kinds of tengu. There are a lot of stories about tengu too.


How's your dog? Heavenly?   

Regular Ramen Review

This week's instant ramen features a deep purple lid with a golden mountain and bridge graphic towards the middle. There are also several golden 'wifi signal' images, although that's probably not what they are, unless this cup ramen was also a cool tech. hotspot and I didn't realize it. The bowl comes with a nice assortment of ingredients (including some pretty cute/nifty mini pink and yellow 'flowers' [maybe tofu]) as well as a healthy amount of noodles and vegetables. The combination of flavors is fairly traditional with no extra spiciness or savory addons. Overall, the portion size seemed on the lighter side but still tasty and filling.

Thank you very much!  

One of my favorite hobbies is looking at the stars, moon, and planets and their moons through my telescope. I have always had a passion for space, and my favorite time of year is when I can actually find time to go camping in a very dark space and look at what is outside of our world.

This last summer I went to Colorado, into the mountains, and was able to find Saturn and Jupiter in my telescope. It was a truly amazing experience! I always find myself "staring into space" when I am out at night. It brings me peace and makes me want to "boldly go where no man has gone before!"

What is your favorite hobby? What brings you true peace and happiness?

Thank you for reading!

Leigh

  

This past weekend me and some friends went to the Kamogawa river for some light sightseeing, as I had never been there before. "Hey who want's to go swimming?" A question that filled our ears and prompted us to get closer to the water. I didn't want to, but somehow I was convinced to get into the water. It was pretty cold but I had a fun time. We dried ourselves out on the rocks that hugged the water. I was pretty exhausted so I couldn't really concentrate on too much. When I got home the next day my legs were itching like crazy...that's when I noticed all the bug bites on my legs. I was covered in bug bites from my thighs to my feet. And even though my legs look and somewhat feel like bubble wrap I regret nothing. 10 out of 10 experience, would do again.   

ad hominem is often used when you are debating someone, but it becomes personal and the facts are being lost, so here comes the insulting comments. This is due to ad hominem taking over and usually this shows a sign of weakness!

The phrase ad hominem, literally “to a person,” originally meant in rhetoric and logic “by appealing to the audience’s feelings, emotions, or interests, not to their intelligence or reason.” Nowadays the usual meaning of ad hominem is “by attacking an opponent’s character or motives, not their arguments.” Hominem, the object of the preposition ad “to,” is the accusative singular case of the Latin noun homō (inflectional stem homin-) “human being (of either sex), individual, person.”Homō is also used colloquially in Roman comedy (Plautus): 'Mī homō et mea mulier, vōs salūtō, literally “My man and my woman, I greet you.'

An example sentence could be:

Greta Thunberg, at age 16, has quickly become one of the most visible climate activists in the world. Her detractors increasingly rely on ad hominem attacks to blunt her influence.

So please take the time to research facts before trying out a debate with someone!  

I followed my mother's recipe for chicken noodle soup. It was too simple, and I had some trouble near the end. It was really nerve-wracking to message my friends. No one was answering! I took a guess and was correct. Thank goodness! The soup was...okay. It lacked flavor. It looked a lot like my mother's soup, and tasted kind of the same.

I didn't realize that some of my family recipes were so bland. The soup was edible, and I've been eating it for a few days. I'm happy with all of the money I've saved!

A few friends have given me tips on what to do next time. Things like chicken bones, making stock...it's kind of complicated. Well, it sounds complicated. I'm just a beginner cook!  

I'm not one of those people that changes cell phones every year. I would say that I usually change phones every 3 - 4 years. Usually when I'm picking a phone, I pick it mostly because of the way it looks, not because of what it can do. The phone that I recently purchased, I chose because of it's holographic finish, which I thought made it look very futuristic. Once I chose the phone I wanted, then came the really difficult part: choosing a phone case.

This is usually hard for me to do because there are so many options to look through and I like to pick a phone case that enhances the character of the phone, not changes it. What's the point of choosing a phone with a holographic finish if I cover it up with a case, right? Luckily for me, after many days of browsing through many options, I found a clear phone case with an embossed geometric pattern. This was perfect! Not only was I able to still see the holographic finish, but the geometric overlay made my phone look even more futuristic when the light reflected off of it. In addition to that, the geometric pattern on my phone pairs well with this iridescent geometric bag that I use all of the time. I'm glad that it all worked out because it's going to be a while before I change phones again.  

One of the many reasons I love Japan and feel "at home" here is that their climate grows so many of the plants and flowers I grew up with in America. The rhododendron is one of them. They are everywhere here right now and I am loving seeing and discovering all the colors, as I have never seen them in so many colors as they are here! These pictures I took are an example. I have never seen such a deep, dark lavender purple!! Of course, I had to do some research on the internet to find out their history here and why that is.

Although most of the rhododendrons grown in Japanese gardens came originally from China, they have been an integral part of Japanese landscape design for many centuries. Japan does have a variety of rhododendrons that grow in the mountains that are native to Japan, and these love the high altitudes. Of course, that didn't work for the lowlands here who wanted to enjoy their beauty, so they cultivated a species that would grow well outside of the mountains and down to where people could enjoy their beauty.

All I know is that it worked! And they grow everywhere here in Takamatsu! I have even found them along my hiking trails in the woods! When that happens, it makes me feel like I just found a treasure! To me, I have!!


  

It seems like streaming services are a bit lesd common in Japan then they are in the US. In the US there are a ton of streaming services where you can watch your favorite TV shows on demand. I know Japan has a few but if you haven't heard of them you should look it up!  

Two weeks ago, I met a new friend in Takamatsu and he told me he owns a kebab restaurant near the shopping street. Being the lover of food that I am, I had no choice but to give it a try. The shop was small, but very comfortable, and the owner is extremely friendly! The price was very good as well; I paid only ¥600 for a kebab wrap and chai tea. I really recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to have some delicious Turkish food!
  

I just took a trip to takamatsu with my wife! It was so much fun! We went to see an ogre cave and we got to see a traditional Japanese village.

Our first day, we took a ferry to an island. When we got to the island, we rented electric bicycles. we rode all the way to the top of a mountain! It was hot but it was fun. After we got to the top we went to a ogre cave. It was really interesting. It was full of masks and ogre statues! It was really fun!


  

Thank's Miku. Gotta drink that chalky energy stuff. I'm more of a match guy, though.

It's dangerous out there, my dudes. Don't get caught with low salt and blood sugar levels. When it's hot you lose a lot of salt from excess sweating. Stay chill. Buy that Gatsby ;V

What keeps you chill when things get humid?

  

Regular Ramen Review

This week's cup ramen features a sleek black lid with golden kanji in the middle, and three cartoon animals on the right side: a pig, a cow, and a chicken. While this bowl doesn't come with much meat as the lid might suggest, the taste was very good with a creamy dairy-like flavor. The bowl does come with two packets of seasonings that add to the otherwise traditional ramen noodles taste. The serving size was also quite hefty and pretty filling. Overall, I'd recommend this ramen for both its rich taste and portion size; easily enough for a satisfying lunch or dinner.

Thank you very much!  

The temperatures are finally warming up! Summer is finally here! This year, in Illinois, the summer has been cooler than normal. Overnight, it has been dropping to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is very unusual for this time of year, but during the day, the weather has been perfect! During the summer, there are usually many festivals that go on in my area, but this year they have all been cancelled. Thankfully, I live in a nice area with many natural parks that I can walk through. During the evening I have to go to my University to work on my airplane wing project. It's been very fun. Eventually, I want to take a trip to visit my family in Texas! I miss them a lot and it would be a lot of fun to see them this summer. While in Texas, I want to visit NASA and SpaceX. Once I graduate from University, I want to work at either of those places!

What are your summer plans? Do you have anything exciting that you want to do?

Thanks for reading!

Leigh  

It never fails to amaze me that I really am in Japan. On a lazy Monday I found myself buying some snacks at Lawson. While I was walking up to the register I noticed that I was singing the song that was playing in the store, but then it hit me, "Wait...why do I know this song? Is this Puffy?" I found it weird that they were playing such an old song, but then I realized this song is probably popular in japan. I usually listen to Puffy when I'm at home, so hearing their music in a store really threw me off! Once again I realized I truly am in Japan. (The song I heard was "Thats The Way It Is" *English Title)   

If you know anything about the mnodern internet I'm sure you have heard this word before. Often accompanied with 'chaser' and 'for fame'.
It is a super modern word that means having influence or power. In popular culture, people with clout are seen as popular and cool. It long predates Instagram.

Clout got new life in the 2000s with the rise of social media. Launching in 2008, an app called Klout calculated a person’s social media influence with a so-called Klout score. Have a lot of followers and get a lot of likes? You’ve got clout. People are paying attention to you.

Clout spread in the 2010s as a more general slag term denoting popularity and coolness, not unlike having swag or cred or being an influencer. Wearing a Supreme tee, some fresh kicks, and a pair of white, round sunglasses? You’re hip. You’re on point. You’ve got clout.
Very colloquial indeed!

An example sentence could be:


'RiceGum (Youtuber) is continuing to take shots at PewDiePie (Youtuber), further addressing the issue in a vlog published on January 11. He hit back at claims of ‘clout-chasing’ due to using PewDiePie’s images in the thumbnail of his apology video, as well as using PewDiePie’s name in the title'

So try out this cool new modern word!
  

It was my birthday last Friday! And even though I'm in my 30s, I like to celebrate. I really like the Japanese tradition of giving a small cake as a present. They rarely disappoint.

My friend brought me a chocolate cream cake for my birthday. It was so nice! I have trouble eating dairy but it didn't upset my stomach. I wanted to keep it for a few days but she made me share it. I sliced a few pieces and delivered them to other teachers. It felt good to share!

I bought myself a few things online and my mother sent them. I really like the shirt and dress that I bought. Maybe you'll see my cool moth shirt soon.