2014年3月28日金曜日

2014年3月28日金曜日 -

Andy - The sweet world of Japan


Etwas, was mich in Japan von Tag zu Tag überrascht, ist die Vielfalt an Süßigkeiten. In Deutschland fand ich es stets normal Haribo, Marzipankartoffeln und Knusperflocken im Einkaufswagen zu haben, aber in Japan gibt es für mich immer etwas Neues zu entdecken und natürlich auch zu probieren.

One thing in Japan that continues to surprises me on a daily basis is the variety of sweets. In Germany I was always used to gummy candy, marzipan potatoes and Knusperflocken (a sweet from East Germany), but in Japan there is always something new to discover and, of course, to try.

Das erste Mal konnte ich vor 11 Jahren in Niigata japanische Süßigkeiten probieren. Ich habe mit einigen Freunden an einer japanischen Teezeremonie teilgenommen, den grünen Tee getrunken und Wagashi gegessen. Meine Freunde mochten es leider nicht so sehr. Als ich sagte, dass es mir schmeckt, haben sie mir beides gegeben und ich habe an diesem Tag 16 Mal grünen Tee getrunken und 16 Mal Wagashi gegessen. Wagashi ist nicht so süß wie Schokolade, aber trotzdem unheimlich lecker.

The first time that I tried Japanese sweets was 11 years ago in Niigata. A few friends and I participated in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony; we drank green tea and ate a little sweet called Wagashi. My friends did not like it that much. Since I said that I liked it, they gave me theirs, and I drank green tea and ate Wagashi 16 times! Wagashi is not as sweet as chocolate, but still incredibly delicious.

Seit dieser ersten überaus positiven Begegnung versuche ich immer wieder etwas Neues zu probieren, in Hiroshima Momiji Manju (ein kleiner Kuchen in der Form eines Ahornblattes), in Beppu Mochi mit Kinako und in vielen Städten immer die lokalen Spezialitäten. Sehr lecker sind auch Eclair und Windbeutel, was ich, als es mir vorgeschlagen wurde, aufgrund des ähnlichen Namens für Schuhcreme hielt. Und natürlich Castella, ein Kuchen ursprünglich aus Portugal, aber heute ein Nationalgericht in Japan. Der Geschmack ist einfach einmalig.


Since this more than positive encounter, I always try to sample something new: in Hiroshima Momiji Manju (a small cake shaped like a horn leaf), in Beppu Mochi with Kinako and in many other cities the local delicacies. Also very delicious are éclairs and cream puffs, which, because of the similar sounding name, I mistook for shoe polish.

And of course Castella, originally from Portugal, but today a national food in Japan. The taste is just unique.



Süßigkeiten：sweets：スウィーツ
Deutschland：Germany：ドイツ
Marzipankartoffeln ：marzipan potato：ジャガイモの形をしたアーモンドペーストのドイツ菓子
Freunden：friends：友達
einer japanischen Teezeremonie：a traditional Japanese tea ceremony：お茶会
Kuchen：cake：ケーキ
Ahornblattes：a horn leaf：紅葉
Spezialitäten：delicacies：珍味
einmalig：unique：ユニークな


2014年3月21日金曜日

2014年3月21日金曜日 -

Paolo - The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum


Recentemente ho visitato per la prima volta Hiroshima.  È una bellissima città: ci sono canali d'acqua e alberi dappertutto così come molti negozi e ristoranti. Ho mangiato “hiroshimayaki” e mi è piaciuto più dell'okonomiyaki!

Recently I went to Hiroshima for the first time. It is a very beautiful city; there are canals and trees everywhere and many shops and restaurants. I ate “hiroshimayaki” and I liked it even more than “okonomiyaki”!

Era una magnifica giornata di sole e mi sentivo particolarmente felice: non potevo immaginare quindi quello che mi sarebbe successo nel pomeriggio quando sono andato al Museo della Pace.

It was a wonderful sunny day and I was feeling good so I could not imagine what would happen to me that afternoon when I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. 

Non appena sono entrato nella prima sala, dopo aver comprato il biglietto, immediatamente e all'improvviso un'immensa tristezza si è impossessata di me e ho cominciato a piangere, senza la possibilità di fermarmi. I miei occhi erano gonfi di lacrime che scivolavano veloci sulle mie guance e quasi non ci vedevo più, mentre passavo da una stanza all'altra del Museo. Più che “vedere” ciò che era conservato nel Museo ho “sentito” il dolore e la sofferenza di tutte quelle creature innocenti le cui vite sono state annullate o straziate dalla bomba atomica.


After having bought a ticket, as soon as I entered the first room of the Museum, suddenly a huge sadness came over me and I started crying. My eyes were full of tears that streamed down my face. I almost could not see anything while I was walking through the rooms of the Museum because of the tears. So instead of “seeing” the things that were displayed in the Museum I could “feel” the pain and suffering of all those innocent creatures whose lives had been taken or devastated by the atomic bomb. 

Non dimenticherò mai quel giorno in cui migliaia di anime mi hanno comunicato il loro dolore e pregherò sempre per loro.

I will never forget that experience and I will always remember those people in my prayers.




la prima volta：the first time：はじめて
canali d'acqua：canals：運河
più dell：more than：～よりもっと
giornata di sole：sunny day：いい天気
sala：room：部屋
biglietto：ticket：チケット
tristezza：sadness：悲しみ
piangere：crying：泣く
lacrime：tears：涙
dolore：pain：痛み
bomba atomica：atomic bomb：原子爆弾

2014年3月14日金曜日

2014年3月14日金曜日 -

Wu Junrong- Me and My family

我叫吴俊蓉，是从福建省来的。 

My name is Wu Junrong, I’m from Fujian province in China.

这是汉语课本中的照片左边是我的丈夫，我们在NOVA一起工作过。有的同学知道了，故意地问我：吴老师，看着老公的照片上课什么心情？我一点都不难为情，大声回答：非常幸福！（哈哈哈）你用课本复习的时候，说不定还能看到别的照片。

This is a photo from a NOVA text book. The guy on the left is my husband. We used to work together at NOVA. Some of my students know about it and ask me “ Ms. Wu, how do you feel seeing your husband while teaching us?” I’ve never felt bad at all and loudly reply, “I’m very happy.” (lol) If you have a chance to use this book, you might be able to see this photo.
我的儿子也是NOVA的学生，每个星期我送他到站前学校上一节英语课，他不是个好学的学生，但喜欢Andy老师和一起学习的同学，所以他从不缺席。

My son is also studying at NOVA. I take my son to an Ekimae school to have an English lesson every week. He’s not an excellent student, but he likes study with Mr. Andy and the other students, so he’s never been absent from school.

今年我的目标是学做日本菜。一是因为儿子长了个日本胃，不爱吃中国菜，二是丈夫和我都人到中年，得开始注意饮食，多吃清淡的菜对健康有好处。我课本都准备好了。
这下子你们明白了吧，吴俊蓉老师是个顾家的人！（哈哈哈）

This year, I made a resolution to cook Japanese dishes.  One of the reasons is because of my son’s taste. Since he has grown up in Japan, he doesn’t like Chinese dishes. The 2nd reason is me and my husband’s age.  As we are already in “middle age”, we must start being mindful of our food and drink. Eating a lot of light food will be good for our health.  I bought a cooking book for my resolution.
Now you can see,I,Wu Junrong, am able to take care of my family! (lol) 


照片　Zhàopiàn　：photo： 写真
丈夫　Zhàngfu　：husband： 主人
哈哈哈　Hāhaha　：lol： (笑）
儿子　Érzi　：son： 息子
每个星期　Měi ge xīngqī　：every week： 毎週
缺席　Quēxí　：absent： 欠席
目标　Mùbiāo　：resolution： 目標
日本菜　Rìběn cài　：Japanese dishes： 日本食
清淡的　Qīngdàn de　：light： あっさりした

2014年3月7日金曜日

2014年3月7日金曜日 -

Tony - Year Of Gaming!


This year will be the 'Year Of Gaming!' for me. When I was a little elementary school kid I was fascinated with video games. My neighbors had a game console and we wasted hours in the basement (freezing our butts off on the cold concrete floor) shooting asteroids, firing missiles and fighting aliens. As I got older I grew more interested in building the ultimate shuriken (throwing stars) or watching boxing movies and imagining it was me taking punch after punch and then coming back to destroy the World Heavyweight Champion.

Inevitably I grew up, discovered girls, developed a love of books, got educated, graduated and got a job. I left video games behind.
Then I moved to Japan.

When I got here I lived alone in an apartment that was a shoebox compared to the house I'd been living in. I couldn't read or speak Japanese at that time so TV was not much entertainment. I needed something, so I got a game console. It was okay, DVDs, CDs and games all playable on one device was pretty cool, but it didn't really grab me. The games were alright, but my attention was more on my new job, new acquaintances and new environment.

Fast forward ten years and I'm married, my wife is newly pregnant and we are in nesting mode. What do we need? We need a TV, a DVD player, a sofa, a crib... the list was long and fun to shop for. One item that managed to get on the list was a new game console. I figured it would be good to have since we were going to be home so much more and USB was an option for TV and Movies. Then I put in my first FPS (First Person Shooter). Wow!


game console：ゲーム機
butts：お尻
asteroids：小惑星
Inevitably：必然的に
grab：心をつかむ
acquaintances：知り合い
nesting：巣作り
a crib：ベビーベッド

2014年3月1日土曜日

2014年3月1日土曜日 -

Johnny - A giant Belgian rabbit



The other day I went to a large pet shop in Osaka called Amigos to buy some dog food. I usually have a fairly good idea of the range of different pets they have. I like ferrets but their natural musk is rather strong, I always ask the assistant what this week’s most popular dog is, and the response never waivers. “Poodle”, they say. I don’t consider a toy poodle to be a dog. I think they are just animated toys, anyway, what do I know?

This visit was a little different. They had a giant Belgian rabbit. I have only ever seen one once before in Japan. They are so huge and fabulous you cannot believe it. They are twice the size of a toy poodle and their hind feet, which are called thumpers, are so big and furry and cute you would fall in love with them at the drop of a hat. They have the most enormous soft velvety ears, so tactile. I didn’t attempt to lift it up as it looked rather heavy, but it was very happy to let me stroke its silky fur.


I really wanted to take it home with me. If I’d bought it, I would have called it Buster.


musk：麝香

rather：かなり
waivers：棄権
anyway what do I know：まっ、よくわかんないけどね
fabulous：素晴らしい
hind feet：後ろ足
furry：毛皮で覆われた
at the drop of a hat：即座に
tactile：触った感じのする
attempt to：～してみる
lift it up：持ち上げる

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