2013年11月22日金曜日

2013年11月22日金曜日 -

Susana's Homemade Confectionery

Desde que vine a Japón una de las cosas que más me interesan es wagashi, es decir, los dulces japoneses. Desde el principio me atrajeron sus formas, sus colores, su tamaño tan pequeño…

Since coming to Japan one of the things that I find most interesting is wagashi, that is, Japanese confectionery. From the beginning I was attracted to their shapes, their different colors, and their small size

Debo reconocer que me costó un poco acostumbrarme al sabor de las judías rojas azuki, ya que en España no tenemos, pero ahora me encantan todos los tipos de anko: tsubuan, koshian, shiroan. Mi tipo favorito de wagashi es jonamagashi (上生菓子), pero son tan bonitos que da pena comérselos.

I must admit that it took me a while to get used to the flavor of red beans azuki, since we don’t have them in Spain, but now I love all kinds of anko: tsubuan, koshian, shiroan. My favorite type of wagashi is jonamagashi (上生菓子), but they’re so beautiful that it’s such a shame to eat them.

Por suerte, en el supermercado que está cerca de mi casa hay una sección de wagashi, así que desde hace tiempo tengo por costumbre comprar algún tipo nuevo de dulce japonés cada vez que voy a hacer la compra de la semana.

 Luckily for me, the supermarket next to my place has a wagashi section, so I’ve made it a habit to get a new type of Japanese sweet every time I go there to buy my weekly groceries

También he comprado varios libros sobre wagashi para conocer más sobre los diferentes tipos que existen y sus variedades regionales. Además, leer sobre el tema me ha ayudado a aprender vocabulario específico que antes no conocía.

Also, I’ve bought several books about wagashi so that I could learn more about the different types there are and their regional variations. On top of that, reading about them has helped me learn specific vocabulary that I didn’t know before.

Cuanta más informacion leía sobre wagashi más ganas me entraban de aprender a hacerlos por mí misma, así que el año pasado decidí buscar una escuela y en noviembre empecé a ir a clases. Lo que más me sorprendió fue la relativa sencillez con la que se hacen estos dulces. Lo más difícil es darles la forma final para que queden tan bonitos como los de los profesionales.

 The more I read about wagashi the more I wanted to learn how to make them myself, so last year I decided to find a school and in November I started taking lessons. What surprised me the most was that it is actually quite easy to make them. The most difficult part though is to give them their final shape so that they look as beautiful as those made by professionals.

Aunque ya llevo un año aprendiendo, tengo intención de seguir yendo a clase para aprender todo lo que pueda mientras esté viviendo en Japón. Quién sabe, tal vez algún día pueda abrir una tienda de wagashi en España.


Even though I’ve now been taking lessons for a whole year, I feel like I want to keep taking as many as I can for as long as I stay in Japan. Who knows, maybe someday I can even open a wagashi store in Spain.




confectionery ：dulces：お菓子類
it’s such a shame ：es una pena：もったいない
luckily for me ：por suerte ：幸い
habit  ：costumbre：習慣
buy groceries ：hacer la compra：食料を買う
regional variations ：variedades regionales：地域によって違う
even though ：aunque：～なのに

2013年11月12日火曜日

2013年11月12日火曜日 -

Mark - A Passion for Dance



Dance started as my hobby and slowly became one of my greatest passions in life. I started dance about ten years ago. I was a high school student at the time and my dance education was limited to watching other people do the steps and then copying them. Being a New York City native, Hip Hop culture, music, and dance influenced my upbringing, but I didn't have the love of music and dance that I do now. Back then, dance and music were just things I did to pass time. Like most teenagers, I was busy with academic studies and had little time for anything else. Things began to change when I first came to Japan.

Sometime during my first stay in Japan, I took my first dance lesson. I met a dance teacher that changed my perspective on dance forever. His movement was so beautiful and I remember crying during the first master class I observed. He used his body to tell a story and share the meaning that the artist of the song was trying to convey.  The meaning that this teacher put in each of his dance lessons was what moved me most. The purpose of his dance was to help people. He wanted to show the world that everyone is worth something and that anything is possible. Studying under that teacher increased my skills and understanding of music and dance ten times over. I also gained the patience, understanding and diligence needed to further other aspects of my life; like my academic studies and how I interact with people.

I'm back in Japan to continue my academic studies and further my passion of dance. I have continued to study dance whenever and wherever I get the chance to do so. Some of my best friends are people I have met in dance school both in Japan and in New York. I associate Japan with the intelligent, creative, and passionate people who call Japan home. 

 copying: まねをする
influenced:　影響を受けた
to pass time:　時間つぶしのために
perspective:　視点
to convey:　伝えようとする
patience:　我慢強さ
diligence:　勤勉な
interact:　交流する
further my ～:　～を進める
associate:　つきあう
creative:　クリエイティブな
passionate:　情熱的な

2013年11月1日金曜日

2013年11月1日金曜日 -

Luca - November Italian Holidays

Nel mese di Novembre in Italia si celebrano due feste un tempo molto importanti, soprattutto per la comunità cristiana: la Festa di Ognissanti e la Festa dei Morti. La prima si celebra il primo novembre mentre e l’altra il giorno seguente, cioè il 2 novembre.
La Festa di Ognisanti è un giorno di Festa Nazionale e la maggior parte della gente sfrutta questo giorno per fare un’ultima scampagnata fuori porta prima dell’inverno, mentre altri vanno in chiesa per celebrare le messe speciali per i Santi. Quest’anno il primo novembre cade proprio di venerdì e quindi permetterà agli italiani di trascorrere un lungo fine settimana con gli amici o con la famiglia. Gli uffici, le scuole e anche molti negozi saranno chiusi e questo permetterà a molti festeggiare fino a tardi Halloween e magari riprendersi da un'inevitabile sbronza.

In Italy, every November we celebrate two very important Christian Holidays: All Saints Day and the Day of the Dead. The first holiday is celebrated November 1st and the other one is on the following day the 2nd of November. All Saints Day is a national holiday. Most people use this holiday to take one last trip out of the city before winter; while others go to church to celebrate a special mass.This year it falls on a Friday, allowing everyone to have a long three-day weekend to spend with friends and family. Schools, offices and some shops will be closed all day, allowing many to celebrate Halloween late into the night and to to recover from their inevitable hangover.

Il 2 Novembre invece ora non è più una Festa Nazionale. In passato era un giorno importante perché permetteva alle famiglie che lavoravano di visitare la tomba dei parenti al cimitero, a volte anche lontano da casa. Quando ero un bambino, ricordo di essere andato più volte al cimitero Comunale di Bologna e di avere pregato sulle tombe dei bisnonni (che non ho mai incontrato in vita mia). Dopo, di solito si visitavano i parenti (ancora vivi!) che abitavano nelle vicinanze e non si vedevano da tempo.

November the 2nd is no longer a Bank Holiday. Once it was an important day because it allowed working families to visit graveyards far away from home. When I was a kid, I went several times with my parents to the City Cemetery of Bologna and prayed at my Great-grandparents grave (actually I never met them in my whole life). Then, we used to visit our relatives who lived not too far from the Cemetery.

Ora ai giovani e a chi lavora non importa più di tanto di andare al cimitero e chi lo frequenta sono solo le persone anziane che hanno tempo libero quasi ogni giorno. Per questo la Festa dei Morti il 2 Novembre ha perso popolarità. Gli italiani di oggi sono troppo preoccupati dai problemi di ogni giorno con i vivi per passare una giornata in mezzo ai morti (!!).
Il fiore più popolare in questa stagione, il crisantemo, è anche il simbolo di questa festa.

Nowadays, young people or working families have lost interest in visiting graves on the Day of the Dead. It seems to be done now only by elderly people who have sufficient free time.. For this reason, the November 2nd holiday has lost its popularity. Italians today are too preoccupied with everyday problems with the living than spending a day among the dead.
The symbol for this holiday, and also the most popular flower at this time of year, is the chrysanthemum.
falls on a Friday :　cade di venerdì　金曜日に当たる
to recover from :　riprendersi da　～から復活するために
inevitable:　inevitabile　必然的な
is no longer :　non è più　もう～ではない
Great-grandparents : 　i bisnonni　曽祖父母
have lost interest : 　hanno perso interesse　興味を失ってしまった
popularity :　popolarità　人気
preoccupied :　preoccupati　～で頭がいっぱいだ

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