2015年7月31日金曜日

2015年7月31日金曜日 -

Maria: Cape Cod



With the warm weather fast approaching, it's time to start planning our summer vacation getaways! A popular vacation destination for families who live in the Northeastern United States, is Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Cape Cod, known to local people as “The Cape”, is popular for its rich maritime history, beaches and delicious sea food. It was one of the first places where British settlers arrived in America in the mid-1600s. 

In Cape Cod, you can relax on the beach, go for a boat ride, go whale-watching, play golf, and do countless other fun summer activities. When you get hungry, Cape Cod is famous for its lobsters, oysters, clams, and delicious cranberries.

Many people own or rent a house in Cape Cod and visit every summer, and there are many comfortable inns and hotels to make you feel right at home. The Cape is even a popular vacation destination for celebrities and famous politicians.
If you love delicious food, friendly people and relaxing by the water, please think about taking your summer vacation in Cape Cod, Massachusetts!

Getaways：～に通じる道
destination ：行き先
maritime history：海洋の歴史
British settlers：イギリスの入植者
countless：数え切れない
own：所有している
make you feel right at home：ちょうど家にいるような気持ちにさせる



2015年7月24日金曜日

2015年7月24日金曜日 -

Martin: The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

Hello everybody!

After working through Golden Week, I suddenly had the urge to go on a day trip somewhere in the Kansai region that I had not been to before. My wife and I both decided it was time to get outdoors, enjoy the warm, spring weather and make a trip to the seaside. We decided to go to see the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge that links Honshu (around Kobe) with Awaji Island. We took the train from Osaka through Kobe and got off near Akashi in Hyogo prefecture at Okura Beach. We walked on the sand,

collected some sea shells and even got our feet wet in the sea water.  


From Okura Beach we had a breathtaking view of the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge. I have heard that this bridge has the longest central span of any single suspension bridge in the world, measuring around 2000 meters in length and it is truly a modern, man-made wonder. The design, the cost and the actual construction of this bridge truly boggles my mind and it is a very impressive sight.

Because we enjoyed this day trip so much we have since been back to Hyogo to visit the Suma Aqua　Life Park and we are now planning a short trip over the bridge to Awaji Island. 



I feel some kind of affinity with the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge because it reminds me in a way of the Harbour Bridge in Sydney where I am from.

I don't know why it has taken me such a long time to get around to discovering this part of Kansai but I am looking forward to discovering more of the area. 

day trip：日帰り旅行
got our feet wet：足をぬらしました
breathtaking view：息をのむような景色
single suspension bridge：吊橋
boggles (one's mind) ：圧倒される

affinity：親近感

2015年7月17日金曜日

2015年7月17日金曜日 -

Daniele: Calcio


Negli ultimi anni non seguo più con tanto interesse il calcio italiano. Da piccolo ne ero molto appassionato e la mia squadra del cuore era la Juventus. Il mio giocatore preferito era Alessandro Del Piero. Mi ricordo essattamente quando da piccolo andavo al parco a giocare a calcio con gli amici indossando la sua maglia, imitando le sue movenze e le sue finte.

For the last couple of years, I have not been following Italian football with as much interest as I used to. When I was little, I was passionate about football and my favorite team was Juventus. My favorite player was Alessandro Del Piero. I vividly remember going to the park to play football with my friends when I was little. I always wore his jersey, and imitated his moves and feints.

Mano a mano, crescendo, la passione per quello sport si è piano piano assopita, vuoi perché i campioni del passato non ci sono più, vuoi perché il calcio è cambiato molto negli ultimi anni.

Le bandiere del passato, giocatori che giocavano per 10 -15 anni con una sola maglia, non esistono più e piano piano anche giovani promettenti calciatori italiani stanno svanendo.

Little by little, as I got older, my passion for this sport slowly faded away; mainly because the football champions of the past are not playing anymore and because football has changed a lot over the years. Players who used to play for the same football team for 10-15 years do not exist anymore and, little by little, promising young football players are also disappearing from the game.

Il fatto che molti calciatori cambiano squadra con frequenza, gli rende solo degli sportivi che giocano per soldi e non per un sentimento di appartenza a una maglia. Questo sicuramente è uno dei motivi che ha causato questo crescente disinteresse per il calcio. Molto spesso i calciatori cambiano squadra non rispettando i colori per cui hanno giocato per alcuni anni. 

The fact that many football players change teams frequently makes them athletes who play for money rather than playing for a sense of belonging to a certain team. Certainly, this is one of the main reasons why I have lost interest in football. Players often change teams, without any respect for the team color for which they have played for many years.

A causa della crisi economica degli ultimi anni, inoltre, il calcio italiano non sta più investendo nei settori giovanili delle squadre.Questo non permette di avere grandi giovani promettenti.


Moreover, because of the economic crisis over the last few years Italian football no longer invests in the youth sector and so we have fewer and fewer promising young players.

Per questo la mia passione per il calcio è un pò svanita, ma comunque penso che sia ancora uno degli sport più affascinanti e divertenti.


For this reason, my passion for football is fading away, but I still consider it as one of the most fascinating and entertaining sports.

squadra del cuore：my favourite team：好きなチーム
sue movenze e le sue finte：his moves and feints：動きとフェイント
mano a mano：little by little：少しずつ
promettenti：promising ：有望な
disinteresse：lost interest：興味を失う
colori：team color：チームカラー
investendo：invest：投資
settori giovanili：youth sector：青年部門
affascinanti：fascinating：魅力的な


2015年7月10日金曜日

2015年7月10日金曜日 -

Candace: Summer in New Zealand part ２

Backyard barbecues are a ubiquitous part of Kiwi summers. You invite your neighbors, coworkers and friends, and usually start mid-afternoon and finish late at night. Typically we barbecue heaps of meat like sausages, steak, lamb chops and chicken nibbles. There are also vegetables; corn on the cob is the most popular, but also grilled tomatoes, slices of courgette, onion, asparagus, and mushrooms. There's usually fresh salad on the side too. And don't forget the bread to make hot dogs, with Kiwi tomato sauce! Of course there are drinks as well; New Zealand beers like Speights or Tui, and a famous sweet lemon soda called L&P (Lemon and Paeroa), named for the town in northern New Zealand where it's made.



And of course the best part of summer is Christmas. It seems like magic, but every Christmas that I can remember has been sunny. Rain is pretty common during New Zealand summer, but for some reason Christmas Day always has amazing weather. People usually stop working from Christmas Eve until New Year's Day, so we get more than a week off work. We spend time with our families, and often travel to see them in different cities. Some families spend their Christmas at the family bach, which is a holiday home, usually shared by an extended family. Whether you are with your entire family, or only one parent, or with friends, you are bound to spend some time sitting in the backyard in the sunshine.



It's easy to take this lifestyle for granted when you have lived in such a beautiful country your entire life. But as they say, distance makes the heart grow fonder and now I know that I'm lucky to have experienced New Zealand at its best. If you are considering a holiday in the southern hemisphere, please don't miss seeing New Zealand in the summertime! I promise you won't regret it.


ubiquitous：always present：どこにでもあるもの
nibbles：small pieces of legs and wings：手羽やモモ肉を小さく切ったもの
corn on the cob：corn cooked without slicing it from the stalk (the “cob”)：軸付きのトウモロコシ
courgette：zucchini：ズッキーニ　
bach ：New Zealand holiday home：ニュージーランドの別荘
extended family：your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins：親戚を含む大家族
bound to：definitely：間違いなく
to take for granted：to be ungrateful or unappreciative for：当たり前だと思う

distance makes the heart grow fonder：when you are far away from something or someone, you appreciate it more：離れてわかるありがたみ

2015年7月3日金曜日

2015年7月3日金曜日 -

Candace: Summer in New Zealand part 1

Kia Ora! My name is Candace, and I'm a Kiwi girl living in Osaka. I'd like to tell you about a typical New Zealand summer.



The first thing you should know about New Zealand is that everything is upside down and back to front. The north is hot, the south is cold, and the seasons are all backwards! Although we celebrate similar traditions to England and America, sometimes the seasonal difference makes it interesting. For instance, Easter was originally a festival celebrating the coming of spring – hence all the bunnies and eggs, which are symbols of fertility and new life – but for us it happens in autumn. And Halloween, which has origins as an autumn harvest festival, falls in the spring in New Zealand. But by far my favourite is Christmas; summer in New Zealand falls from December to February, so we get Christmas in the summertime. It is common to see imagery of Santa Claus wearing a Hawaiian shirt, boardies and jandals. In New Zealand, Santa loves to surf! 

 New Zealand is beautiful 365 days a year, but summer is when it really shines. Our summers are warm but not too hot, and even in the north where the humidity is highest we cannot compare to the humidity of Japan. Kiwi families enjoy trips to the local beach, backyard cricket, and frequent barbecues in summer. New Zealand is made of islands, so most people live close to a beach. If not, you're sure to be close to a river or lake which are also popular. My favorite is Lake Rotoaira, a small lake in the centre of the North Island, where I spent a week last summer. 



Kia Ora：Maori greeting. “Hello!” ：マオリ族の挨拶
Kiwi：New Zealander, a person from New Zealand. Refers to the bird, not the fruit! ：ニュージーランド人
upside down / back to front：backwards, the wrong way：逆さま
fertility：多産
imagery：artwork and photos：絵や写真など
boardies：shorts made for swimming：男性用水着
jandals：summer sandals with a Y shaped strap：ビーチサンダル

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