2015年12月25日金曜日

2015年12月25日金曜日 -

Maria: Christmas in Boston

In the month of December, many cities in Japan are lit up with beautiful Christmas lights and decorations for the holiday season. My home city, Boston, has traditions that locals and tourists alike look forward to every year.

Boston has many historic districts, which are decorated with lights, Christmas trees, and other holiday delights. It is always a pleasure to walk through Downtown Crossing and Faneuil Hall to see the exciting light shows, especially when dusted with fluffy white snow. Walking through the scenic Boston Common will reveal tinseled trees and families ice skating on the frozen Frog Pond.

In the theater district, you can see the dazzling ballet performance of Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker at the historic Boston Opera House. The festive story of The Nutcracker has been capturing the imagination of adults and children alike for generations. There is no better place than Boston to experience this tale!

Make sure you dress warm, and come visit Boston this holiday season!

alike：同様に
Faneuil Hall：ボストンの歴史的建造物
dusted：振りかけられる
fluffy：ふわふわの
scenic：絵になる
Boston Common：ボストンの中心にあるアメリカ最古の都市公園
tinseled：金ピカのもので飾り付けられた
dazzling：まばゆいばかりの

The Nutcracker：くるみ割り人形

2015年12月18日金曜日

2015年12月18日金曜日 -

Mouy ly: Christmas Markets in France

C’est la fin de l’année, le froid s’installe. Dans certaines villes, il neige peut-être…
Décembre, est de loin le mois préféré des enfants. Car qui dit décembre, dit aussi Noël. Et qui dit Noël, dit bien sûr marchés de Noël. Ces marchés-là dégagent une atmosphère spéciale, quasi-magique voire féérique avec ses chalets et ses illuminations.
C’est souvent la municipalité qui organise ces marchés de Noël durant tout le mois de décembre.
On y trouve non seulement de petites échoppes avec des articles de décorations de Noël, des produits régionaux ou artisanaux, des petits cadeaux mais également d’autres animations (spectacles de rue ou pyrotechniques, musique de Noël en ambiance sonore) ainsi que des patinoires éphémères, des crèches ou des foires aux santons dont la plus célèbre se trouve à Marseille.

It’s the end of the year and getting colder. In some cities, it may even be snowing...
December is a favorite month among children, since December means Christmas. Christmas also means Christmas markets. These markets exude a special atmosphere, a magical and fairy-like atmosphere, with their chalets and lights.
It is often the municipality which organizes these Christmas markets throughout December. There are small stalls selling Christmas decorations, local or craft products and small gifts, also public theatre, such as street shows, and firework displays, and Christmas music playing in the background. In some places, you can enjoy skating on temporary ice rinks, nativity scenes or a Christmas crib figures fair, the most famous of which is located in Marseille.

Les origines du marché de Noël datent du XIVe siècle en Allemagne sous le nom de “Marché de Saint Nicolas”. Depuis, il s’est étendu dans toute la France et les pays avoisinants avec un important renouveau commercial vers les années 1990.
Le plus célèbre en France est le marché de Noël de Strasbourg (Christkindelsmärik en alsacien), qui rassemble chaque année plus de 300 chalets.
Celui de Montbéliard, plus petit, n’en est pas moins célèbre avec ses illuminations et son château des Ducs de Nuremberg y apportant une touche magique.
Le plus grand marché de Noël en region of France est certainement celui de La Défense, au pied de la Grande Arche. Mais si vous vous trouvez sur la capitale en décembre, vous pouvez aussi profiter du marché de Noël des Champs-Elysées tout en flânant sur la fameuse Avenue.

Christmas markets date back to the 14th century in Germany, under the name of Saint Nicholas Market. Since then, they have spread throughout France and neighbouring countries, with an important commercial revival in the mid-1990s.
The most famous one in France is Strasburg Christmas market (called Christkindelsmärik in Alsatian), which brings together more than three hundred chalets every year.
Montbéliard’s Christmas market, smaller but just as famous, brings a magic touch with its lights and its Nuremberg castle.

The biggest Christmas market in Île-de-France is in La Défense at the foot of the Grande Arche. However, if you happen to be in the capital in December, you can also enjoy the Champs-Elysées’ Christmas market while strolling along the popular Avenue.


Les marchés de Noël dégagent une atmosphère toute autre, quelque soient vos raisons d’aimer ou de détester Noël. On a l’impression d’être dans un autre monde. C’est aussi l’occasion de trouver des cadeaux originaux à déposer sous le pied de votre sapin, ou tout simplement de sortir et profiter de quelques heures de détente à flâner et à s’émerveiller des chalets décorés et des illuminations tout en mangeant des churros (pâtisserie espagnole en forme d’un beignet allongé frit et sucré) ou des gâteaux et en buvant le traditionnel vin chaud.


Christmas markets exude a totally different atmosphere, whether you like or dislike Christmas. You feel as though you are in another world. You also have the opportunity to find original presents to put under the Christmas tree or just go out and enjoy a few relaxing hours strolling and marveling at the decorated chalets and lights. While doing so, you should take the time to eat churros (a Spanish pastry in the shape of a long sweet fried donut) or cakes, and drink traditional hot wine.

Alors, si vous êtes en Europe pendant la saison hivernale, n’oubliez pas de faire un saut dans un de ces marchés de Noël traditionnels. Vous en sortirez, enchantés...
So if you are around in Europe during the winter season, don’t forget to stop by one of these traditional Christmas markets. You will leave enchanted..

un marché de noël：a Christmas market：クリスマスマーケット
une atmosphère spéciale：a special atmosphere： 特別な雰囲気
féérique： fairy-like：妖精のような
un chalet：a chalet：コテージ
les illuminations：(Christmas) lights：イルミネーション
la municipalité：municipality：市町村
une échoppe：a stall：屋台
musique de Noël：Christmas music：クリスマスソング
une crèche：nativity scene：キリスト降誕のシーン
une foire aux santons：Christmas crib figure fair： クリスマス人形のフェア
Noël de Strasbourg：Strasburg Christmas market：ストラスブルグのクリスマスマーケット
magique：magic：マジック
Île-de-France：Region of France：フランスの首都パリを中心とした地域圏
du vin chaud：hot wine：ホットワイン
faire un saut：stop by：立ち寄る


2015年12月11日金曜日

2015年12月11日金曜日 -

Charles: Animal Adoption




Something I often mention in my lessons is my dog. I realize that on the surface talking about a dog isn't the most exciting thing, but have you heard the English phrase “there's more (to something) than meets the eye”?

When I was a child, my parents spared no expense on a family dog. It was a shining golden retriever from a well-bred line of pure bred retrievers. It was also an idiot. It was a retriever that wouldn't retrieve. If you threw a ball, it would chase it and keep it for itself. It was a greedy and dopey dog (we even began calling him “Dopey” instead of his real name). When the family ate dinner in the kitchen, he would hide under the table sniffing around for crumbs. When he couldn't find any, he'd stand up and smack his head on the table. From doing this every day and never learning from his mistakes, he had a huge bump on his head when he was older. His skull had formed a kind of defensive horn. Despite all of this, he wasn't a bad dog. He really cared about my dad and my sister at least. When he died, my sister demanded a dog for years until my parents caved.


We adopted a dog from a shelter this time because my parents weren't impressed with how little that expensive pedigree did for the last dog. This new dog was a bit of a mystery. My sister picked him out and my mom was suspicious but ultimately went along with it. It turns out that he's a mix breed that is largely Pit Bull. Pit Bulls are infamous in America as natural born killers. This one grew especially big. 40Kg of solid muscle: a powerhouse. My mom panicked and demanded he be brought back to the shelter but my sister wailed and cried. My dad demanded he be given a chance. He was probably abandoned as a puppy when someone, like my mom, panicked at what he could become.
He never became the monster my mom was afraid of. Instead he’s a smarter, playful, and friendly dog. He's great around people and gentle around children. You can't judge a book by its cover.


It's because of this that when I came to Asia and my wife discovered a Maltese, rejected and missing a leg, we took him in. One man's trash is another man's treasure. We'll never know why he was abandoned or how he lost his leg, but it worked out in the end because we basically got the perfect dog for free. He will dance on command, go to bed when told, wait for permission to eat, and is always excited to see me. If there's a takeaway here, I guess it's to consider adopting next time you're thinking about getting a dog. You could find a diamond in the rough. 

on the surface：from a position of limited understanding (perspective) ：表面的には
more (to something) than meets the eye：a significant hidden detail exists：見た目以上の価値がある
spared no expense：willing to spend a lot of money：出費を惜しまない
retrieve：返す
greedy：食いしん坊
dopey：まぬけな
crumbs：パン屑
smack：ゴンと打ちつける
bump：こぶ
caved：surrendered：降参する
pedigree：family line：血統書
ultimately：最終的に
it turns out：the fact is：～であることがわかる
a powerhouse：something powerful：発電所、転じて力強い物
wailed：わんわん泣く
you can't judge a book by it's cover：assumptions can be, or are, likely wrong：人(犬)は見かけによらない
took in：invited to live with, raised, adopted：引き取った
one man's trash is another man's treasure：phrase for people having different values：捨てる神あれば拾う神あり
diamond in the rough：an exceptional rare thing found in an otherwise insignificant place：ダイヤの原石

2015年12月4日金曜日

2015年12月4日金曜日 -

Isaias:　Mexican food

Since coming to Japan, I've been able to try out many different foods. Japan has a very large eating out culture and there are many different specialty shops around. Sometimes, though, I want to taste some flavors from my hometown. I come from Texas, which of course is in America, but my hometown is heavily influenced by Mexican culture, since it is so close to the border. It has been fun trying to make dishes from home and finding restaurants in Japan.


One of the hardest things here is trying to find the right ingredients to make Mexican food. Some dishes are pretty easy to make, for example, arroz con leche or rice pudding in English. All you need is rice, milk, sugar, and cinnamon for that. Tacos are a little bit harder but if you look around in some foreign food stores you can find tortillas and salsa. It's been an adventure trying to find the right ingredients but unfortunately there are some things that are still not available in Japan, like chicharonnes (fried pork rinds) and many of the different peppers used in Mexican cooking. 

Although there are many things still unavailable in Japan, it's been fun finding what I can and coming up with alternatives. It can be disappointing though to find out that the Tako Shack that you hoped sold tacos actually sells takoyaki!

try out：試してみる
eating out ：外食 
specialty：名産
the border：国境
ingredients：材料
arroz con leche or rice pudding：ライスプディング
tortillas：トルティーヤ
chicharonnes (fried pork rinds) ：チチャローネス/豚皮のフライ
coming up with：見つける
alternatives：代わり

2015年11月27日金曜日

2015年11月27日金曜日 -

Mitch：The Village of Clinton

As some of you know from my lessons, I am from New York. When I say New York, most people think I mean the city, but I am really from the countryside. I have spent time on farms and even more time wandering in the woods. When I was in college, I lived and studied in the capital, but I grew up in the countryside in a small place called The Village of Clinton.


My village is located in Upstate New York, in a valley between the Catskill Mountains and the Adirondack Mountains. It is a great place to see autumn leaves and you can see deer or cows every day there. There are a lot of trees, hills and mountains and many small restaurants and shops. The tallest building in town is only three stories tall. There are less than two thousand people in the whole village. When you walk down a street, you regularly see squirrels, deer and rabbits. It is a village in the middle of nowhere, over four hours from New York City. However, if you like nature, music or even Italian food, it is a great place to live. If I wanted to go for a walk in the woods, it was very easy to do, as the village is in a forest. Living in Osaka I sometimes miss living in a forest, but most of all, I miss my dog.



 Once a year the village holds a music festival when bands from other parts of the U.S. come and play. There is always lots of loud music and good food. It is a good way to meet with old friends and hear new bands as well. The festival lasts for three days and is a good break in the middle of the summer.
Every Thursday during the summer we have a farmers' market during which farmers and people who make handmade goods come to the center of the village, and sell food and goods in the park there. You can buy fresh bread, cheese, cakes and pies from farmers or even candles, homemade dog treats, and bacon covered in chocolate from stalls there. In my village it is easy to get delicious fresh food, and to relax in the summer. In the winters there is always a ton of snow, so if you enjoy hot choclate and staying indoors or skiing and sledding, it is a very nice area then, too.
In Clinton, we have many events like the farmers' market or the music festival. You can watch fireworks on the Fourth of July or see a parade on Christmas and Thanksgiving. There are many small shops in the village center and there is always good food if you like bakeries, cafes or Italian food. Although there are more cows than people, it can be a very relaxing place to live. It has been a very different experience living in Osaka. Having grown up in a town of less than two thousand, I miss the food and nature of my village, but I love being in Osaka, too.

capital：首都
Upstate：北部
valley：谷
three stories tall：三階建ての高さ
less than：～に満たない
squirrels：リス
lasts：続く
stalls：屋台
sledding：ソリ滑りをする
miss：恋しくなる

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