2013年7月26日金曜日

2013年7月26日金曜日 -

Spencer - Tigers Fan



One of my favorite activities in the summer is going to Koshien stadium and watching the Hanshin Tigers play. I have been in Japan for more than six years and I have gone to a game at least once a year. It's great because at the stadium the atmosphere is electric. Everybody is dressed up and having a great time as they cheer on the home team. You can really feel the camaraderie



Back home in America, the games are a bit more low key. You go to the stadium and eat hot dogs or drink beer while you relax and watch the game. It is far more casual than here in Japan. Everybody stays seated for most of the game. The only time people stand as a group is for the seventh inning stretch.




Now, I'm sure that most of you have heard about Hanshin and “the curse of the colonel” but for many years, I believed that I was jinxed as well. Every time I went to watch the Tigers play, they lost the game.  I went to nearly ten games over five years and never saw the Tigers win.  I was bummed out.

However, I am happy to say that this season things turned around. I watched Hanshin play Softbank and the Tigers won!  I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a great game and hopefully I'll see many more victories in the years to come. Look for me the next time you go to Koshien. I'll be wearing my “Murton” jersey and waving my “Kanemoto” towel. Go Tigers!

the atmosphere is electric 雰囲気が刺激的だ
dressed up 衣装に身を包む
cheer on 声援を送る
camaraderie 仲間意識
low key 控えめ
casual 気軽な
seventh inning stretch 七回裏の開始前に設けられる小休止の時間
curse 呪い
jinxed = 不運をもたらす
bummed out 落ち込ませる
things turned around 好転した
I couldn't believe my eyes 我が目を疑った
hopefully ~になるといいと思う
years to come この先何年も

2013年7月19日金曜日

2013年7月19日金曜日 -

Johnny - The Artist


I originally came to Japan on a traveling scholarship that I got from the university in which I was studying, The Royal College of Art. I went to Kyoto Art University and was given a studio for three months.

At the end of the three months I displayed the efforts of my labours in their gallery.




All of the people I came in contact with were so kind. I think that is why I ended up living here. Another reason I think is that I am free from the constraints of my own culture. What I mean by that is, I feel I can use whatever images I want without feeling any pressure because of their cultural associations



I am in the unique position of making my pictures in Japan and sending them all to Germany. Many people don't believe I'm in Japan. They think the gallery is just making stories up, as a sales pitch.

As I get older I enjoy the process of picture making more and more. I make hundreds of pictures and squirrel them away. Then I’ll come across them, sometimes years later. Only then do I realize what I was trying to do and understand what needs to be done to finish them.


scholarship奨学金
studioアトリエ
displayed展示する
efforts of my labours努力の結晶
galleryギャラリー・画廊
came in contact with出会った
ended up結局
constraints制約
pressure = プレッシャー
cultural associations文化協会
unique変わった・めずらしい
making stories up話を作る
sales pitch宣伝・セールストーク
process過程
more and moreますます
squirrel them away溜め込む
come across思い浮かぶ
realize気付く
needs to be doneする必要があること

2013年7月12日金曜日

2013年7月12日金曜日 -

Paolo's Passions

Venire in Giappone per me è stato un po’ un salto nel buio. Quando sono partito dall’Italia non avevo la minima idea di cosa avrei trovato in questo in Paese e alla fine ho trovato tutto ciò di cui avevo bisogno: un buon lavoro, dei buoni amici, la possibilità di coltivare i miei hobby e quella di dedicarmi a nuovi hobby e infine la cosa più importante l’Amore.

For me coming in Japan was a leap of faith. When I set off from Italy I didn’t have the faintest idea of what I would find in this country. But in the end, I found all I needed: a good job, good friends, a chance to enjoy old hobbies and also opportunities to pursue new ones. And last but most importantly, Love.



Uno dei miei vecchi hobby è il ciclismo, da sempre amo andare in bicicletta  e in Giappone ho avuto la fortuna di poter sviluppare questo mio interesse a tal punto che ora posseggo 3 biciclette: una per girare in città, una per fare il ciclo touring e una totalmente in fibra di carbonio, la più bella della mia piccola collezione,  che uso per i miei allenamenti settimanali. Di solito parto da Osaka e vado ad Arashiyama, ci metto più o meno 4 ore per andare e tornare, ma a volte quando ho voglia di fare itinerari più impegnativi vado a Yoshino o a Koyasan uno dei miei posti preferiti qui in Kansai.

One of my hobbies is cycling, I’ve always loved riding a bicycle. In Japan, I had the good fortune to develop my passion to the point that now I own 3 bicycles; one to ride around the city, one for touring  and another one, totally made of carbon fiber, the most beautiful of my small collection, that I use for my weekly training. Usually I set off form Osaka and go to Arashiyama,  it takes me more or less four hours for a round trip. When I want to do some more challenging tracks, I go to Yoshino or Koyasan; two of my favorite sites in Kansai.



Un hobby che invece ho scoperto qui in Giappone è la cucina. In Italia ho sempre vissuto a casa dei miei genitori ed erano loro che si occupavano di cucinare, il mio compito era solo mangiare. Quando mi sono trasferito in Giappone le cose sono cambiate molto e per poter continuare a gordermi i sapori con cui ero cresciuto c’era solo una soluzione, iniziare a cucinare per conto mio e così ho fatto. In questo modo ho scoperto la mia grande passione per la cucina. Spesso resto a casa e cucino. La maggior parte delle volte lo faccio solo per puro piacere, infatto neanche mangio quello che preparo ma lo metto nel congelatore e aspetto di mangiarlo insieme a qualche amico anche se da quando mi sono sposato le cose sono un po’ cambiate.
    

One hobby I discovered in Japan is cooking. Back in Italy I always lived with my parents and they were in charge of cooking, my role was only eating. When I moved to Japan things changed a lot. If I wanted to keep on enjoying the taste of foods I grew up with, there was only one solution: to start cooking by myself. And that’s what I did. This was how I discovered my passion for cooking. Often I stay home and cook. I do it for the fun of it. In fact, most of time I don’t even eat what I cook. I put it in the freezer and wait a good occasion to enjoy it with some friends. But of course things have changed a little bit since I got married…




a leap of faith (un salto nel buio) 
運を天に任せて
set off (partire) 出発する
the faintest idea (la minima idea) ほんのわずかな考え
in the end (alla fine) 結局は
opportunities (possibilità) 機会
pursue (dedicarmi) 追求する
the good fortune (la fortuna) 幸運
to the point (al punto) 適切に
collection (collezione) コレクション
more or less (più o meno) 
a round trip (andata e ritorno) 往復
challenging tracks (itinerari impegnativi) 挑戦を必要とする道
in charge of (occuparsi di) 担当している
role (compito) 役割
things changed (le cose sono cambiate) 状況が変わった
I grew up with (ero cresciuto con) ともに育った
only one solution (l'unica soluzione) たったひとつの解決方法
by myself (per conto mio) = 自分のために
for the fun of it (per puro piacere) 楽しみのために
occasion (occasione) きっかけ

2013年7月5日金曜日

2013年7月5日金曜日 -

Alan - First Trip to Hakodate

I recently spent a month teaching at the new Nova branches in Hokkaido. This gave me a chance to visit the city of Hakodate for the first time. It reminded me of some of the seacoast communities in my home country. 



The Morning Market is one of the most famous attractions in the city. The indoor area, which is called the "real Morning Market," is a place where you can see fresh produce from the nearby farms and seafood in all states of preservation for sale. There were a few things there to hold the interest of a passing tourist for awhile.

The streets outside, surrounding the market were quite a different story. I caught a squid, myself – one of many that were swimming around a very small tank – and watched as it was cut into sashimi for an appetizer. Then I moved on to another of the dozens of little shops for a breakfast of crab and salmon roe domburi that still tasted of the sea.



In the afternoon I wandered comfortably along the wide, stone-paved streets dotted with museums: some small with exhibitions like the History of Photography in Hakodate, others large enough to introduce the cultures of the world's Northern Peoples. I explored the glittering shopping venues that occupy the Brick Warehouse District and sampled the local soup curry and limited brew Sapporo beers available only in Hokkaido.
When the sun had set over Hakodate Bay, I took the ropeway to the peak of the mountain with the same name. It is said that the city, viewed from above, looks like a folding fan. To me it seemed more like an hourglass filled with glittering sand




seacoast = 海沿いの
communities = 地域社会
attractions = 娯楽
nearby = 近くの
states of preservation = 保存状態
hold the interest = 心をつかむ
passing tourist = 通りがかりの旅行客
quite a different story = 全然様子が違う
appetizer = 前菜
moved on = 進んだ
wandered comfortably = 気分よくぶらぶらした
dotted with = ~が点在する
glittering = きらびやかな
venues = 地区
sampled = 味見をした
ropeway = ロープウェイ
peak = 山頂
folding fan = 扇子
hourglass = 砂時計