2013年4月30日火曜日

2013年4月30日火曜日 -

Ron - Canadian Cottage



Hi! My name's Ron Vanden and I'm from Canada. I live in Osaka but I have a cottage that I own in Canada with my sisters. 


The cottage is a two hour drive north-east of Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. Osaka's a big exciting city, and I love the food here, but it's very different from my cottage, so every year I return to Canada and stay at my cottage for a week. It's on a beautiful lake full of clean fresh water, and lots of fish! There is a sandy beach in front of our cottage so swimming is enjoyable. 

Ducks come to visit our beach too! The lake is surrounded by forests. There is a large provincial park behind the cottage. It has some gravel roads through it but no people live there so it's great for hiking and taking drives in the forest. Beaver, deer, and many other animals live in the forest. One day I stepped out of my cottage and saw a deer looking at me! :
We have two canoes and one small motorboat. They are very useful for traveling around the lake. You can even go swimming from them. There are cliffs at two places on the lake. They are good places to jump and dive into the lake from. There is also a beaver dam and beaver house on a small creek running into the lake. Take a look at the pictures of my cottage and lake. Aren't they beautiful?
 
cottage = 別荘
a two hour drive = 車で2時間の
capital city = 首都
It's on a beautiful lake = 美しい湖の上にあります
surrounded = 囲まれている
provincial park = 州立公園
gravel roads = 砂利道
Beaver = ビーバー
canoes = カヌー
cliffs = 崖
jump and dive = 飛び込み
beaver dam = ビーバーの作るダム状の巣
small creek = 小川

2013年4月19日金曜日

2013年4月19日金曜日 -

Lawry - Mount Everest


The Inspiration.

A few years ago I read a book called "Into Thin Air". It is the story of a group of people who climb Mount Everest. The group of people who climb are amateur climbers, not professionals. Just people who enjoy the outdoors.





Amongst the group there is a postman, a New York celebrity, a novelist, a doctor, an ex-soldier, and also a Japanese climber, Yasuko Namba. The climb starts well, but suddenly the weather becomes really bad. In fact, so bad that they are all split up, become lost, and get stuck in a storm and are not able to get back to their tents!
Some of the climbers were injured, some were healthy. The decisions they faced were interesting: Some had to decide if they would help others before ascending to the summit, or, summit first, before helping those in trouble.
It was a great book, and I have always wondered how I would respond in that situation.



The Journey.

Since reading the book, I always wanted to visit Mount Everest.
The book inspired me to see the place where these characters had faced decisions that they would remember for their entire lives. In 2006, I got the chance, but I didn't climb Everest! Instead I walked as far as a place called Namchee Bazaar, which is where many 'Sherpa' people live. 


The Sherpa people are the native people of the region. From Namchee Bazaar, you can see Mount Everest. It was a great trip, and if I see you in class, I'll tell you all about it!



inspiration =インスピレーション、刺激するもの
amateur =アマチュア、愛好家
outdoors =アウトドア
novelist =小説家
ex-soldier =元兵士
suddenly =突然
split up =バラバラになる、分かれる
get stuck =動けなくなる、立ち往生する
injured =負傷した
faced =直面する、迫られる
ascend =登る
summit =登頂する
since  =～したときからずっと、～以来
inspired =刺激を与える、動機付ける
characters =登場人物
entire lives =人生すべて
instead =その代わりに

2013年4月12日金曜日

2013年4月12日金曜日 -

Jade - Trip to Matsumoto



Last year, I had one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. I went backpacking for five months with my best friend! We traveled to India, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan. My friend and I fell in love with Japan; it was exactly as we imagined it would be. The people were incredibly friendly, the culture was very interesting and different from the USA, and the food was very delicious!


 
One unexpectedly amazing city I visited last year, was Matsumoto. The train from Tokyo to Matsumoto was much more expensive than I expected, but I decided to go anyway as I had already planned on it. The train ride to get there was very relaxing and the landscape was breathtaking! While I love Tokyo, Matsumoto was such a peaceful city and a great getaway from city life. Everything seemed very laid-back
in Matsumoto. And there were an abundance of benches throughout the city! After backpacking for five months, this was appreciated!
The best part of the day was exploring Matsumoto Castle. It's such a beautiful castle! I had a lot of fun climbing to the top and overlooking the city of Matsumoto and the surrounding mountains. Afterwards, my friend and I enjoyed a maccha and vanilla swirled ice cream, which was very refreshing on a summer day. We also met a friendly local who gave us a free tour of one of Matsumoto's shrines. I always like meeting new people, so it was a nice experience before heading back to the busy city of Tokyo.
 
unforgettable = 忘れられない
backpacking = バックパック旅行
incredibly = 信じられないほど
unexpectedly = 予想外に、意外と
landscape = 景色、風景
breathtaking = 息をのむほど、驚くほど
getaway = 保養地
laid-back = のんびりしている、ゆったりしている
abundance = 多くの、多数
appreciated = ありがたく思う、重宝する
overlooking = 見渡す、見下ろす
Afterwards = その後、あとで
swirled = うずを巻く
swirled ice cream = ソフトクリーム
local = 地元の人
shrines = 神社
heading back = 戻る、帰る


2013年4月5日金曜日

2013年4月5日金曜日 -

Jason - Digital Portraits


My interest in Japan began at an early age, going all the way back to my first year in elementary school. I remember my school days ending early in the afternoon, and that left me ten minutes to pack my books and run to the day-care center to catch the beginning of "Space Battleship Yamato" and "Gatchaman". Afterwards, my friends and I would sit around a table and draw all our favorite characters until our parents picked us up.



That began my interest in art, which led me to study art and illustration after graduating from high school.

A few years ago a few Japanese friends of mine asked me to participate in an art exhibition they were putting together  in Osaka, and I readily agreed.
I decided to focus on portraiture, so I began by asking friends and acquaintances to model for me. I then had to decide what medium to work in! Would I use oils, acrylic or watercolor? In the end I decided to try digital art, using Photoshop, Illustrator and Painter to execute my work. For eight months I brought my laptop with me to the MM Center and painted during my lunch break and for many hours after work and on weekends. In the end the effort was worth the experience; I was able to display ten works of art, receiving praise for my rendering ability.
Nowadays, if I see an interesting person when I'm out and about, I ask if I can take their picture to use as reference for my next painting!



to catch = 間に合う
picked us up = 自分たちを迎えにくる
led = 導いた
illustration = イラストレーション
graduating = 卒業
participate = 参加する
art exhibition  = アートの展示会
putting together = 一緒にする
readily agreed = ２つ返事で同意した
focus on  = 焦点を当てる
portraiture = 肖像画を書く
acquaintances = 知り合い
medium = 材料や技法
acrylic = アクリル絵の具
watercolor = 水彩絵の具
to execute = 製作する
laptop = ノートパソコン
in the end = 結局
worth = ～する価値がある
rendering ability = 表現力
nowadays = このごろは
out and about = 外出する
reference = 参考

2013年4月1日月曜日

2013年4月1日月曜日 -

William - Hiking in Fukuchiyama, Hyogo

                 Eating our packed lunch in the entrance of the tunnel.          


Spring is finally here, which means the weather is perfect for hiking. Last week my family and I went on a wonderful hike along the Fukuchiyama disused rail track in Hyogo. It’s and ideal hike for beginners and children as the terrain is flat.
The course follows a river and includes 6 long tunnels and a large iron bridge. The tunnels were so much fun. Flashlights are a must as the tunnels are pitch black. Whilst in the tunnels my daughters and I enjoyed singing “The Lollipop Song”. I think I must have started singing it as the hike and the surroundings reminded me of the movie “Stand By Me”.



The route is not an officially recognized hiking path but it popular with hikers of all ages and abilities. The route is about 7km altogether; starting at Namaze station and finishing at Takedao. At the end of the trail there is a lovely old Japanese café that was packed with hikers. My family and I stopped in for a much-deserved ice cream and I treated myself to a beer!

ideal =理想的な
disused =廃線になった
terrain =地形
flat =平坦
flashlights =懐中電灯
pitch black =真っ暗
surroundings =周りの環境
officially recognized =公認の
abilities =能力
trail =散歩道
packed with =（人などで）いっぱいで
stopped in =ちょっと立ち寄った
much-deserved =運動量にみあった
treated myself  =自分へのご褒美をあげた

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