2015年10月31日土曜日

2015年10月31日土曜日 -

Tony: Monsters

Monsters are cool. 

I grew up with ghost stories, vampire novels, and werewolf movies forming a huge part of my childhood.  One major bonus of my now living here in Japan is that I've been able to discover and familiarize myself with Yurei and Yokai. Weird and crazy stuff, but awesome and so much fun! Don't even get me started on the topic of Kaiju. I'm forty-four years old and have a Godzilla action figure on my writing desk at home, and I'm still looking for a nice Mothra to add to my collection. 

An advantage to enjoying freaky creatures from both Western and Japanese cultures is that they generally span two seasons. Summer is the time to get the chills from scary stuff in Japan, while autumn was the season of terror that I grew up with. Twice the thrills for me! 

I just finished reading an illustrated encyclopedia of Yokai. It was educational and entertaining, but now I need to decide what to move on to. 

My backlog is intimidating: hundreds of books, dozens of movies, and dozens of games to immerse myself in and enjoy with the lights on if they're too scary in the dark. 

So, after a pretty intense dialogue with myself over what kind of fearsome experience I wanted to subject myself to next I made my choice: Zombies! Specifically an open world zombie video game which should give me at least fifty hours of bloody, undead action lasting well into September. That's sufficient because October will be here before we know it and October is all about Halloween, and Halloween is all about monster movies. 

Wait!  I forgot about Aliens! 

Damn.


werewolf:狼男
familiarize:詳しくなる
weird:奇妙な
advantage:長所
freaky creatures:ぞっとするような生き物
get the chills:肝を冷やす
encyclopedia:百科事典
backlog:蓄積
intimidating震え上がるほどすごい
immerse:どっぷり浸かる

intense:熱い


2015年10月23日金曜日

2015年10月23日金曜日 -

Jessica: My hometown in the fall

Wie manche wissen, komme ich aus Südwestdeutschland, besser gesagt aus Lauf. Lauf ist ein kleiner Ort im Schwarzwald und liegt zwischen Heidelberg und Freiburg.
As some of you may know, I am from a small village in southwest Germany, which is called Lauf. Lauf is between Heidelberg and Freiburg, in the Black Forest.
 
Lauf gibt es die älteste Weintrotte Deutschlands und die “Neuwindeck”. Die Neuwindeck ist eine Burg, die bereits im16ten Jahrhundert verlassen wurde. Darum ist nicht mehr viel davon übrig. Jedoch kann man immernoch Teile des Burghofes und eines Turmes sehen. Im Sommer gibt es dort oft Freilichtkonzerte vom lokalen Musikverein.


Lauf is home to the oldest winery in Germany. In addition, there is a small castle called “Neuwindeck”.  Unfortunately, it was abandoned in the 16th century so there is not much of it left now. However, you can still see parts of the court and one of its towers. In summer, local music clubs hold open air concerts there.

Neuwindeck ist umgeben von einem kleinen Wald in dem Kastanien und Pfifferlinge wachsen. Im Herbst sieht man dort deshalb viele Kinder, Wanderer und Pilzsucher. Wanderer geniesen die schöne Aussicht, Pilzsucher hoffen auf den einen oder anderen Pfifferling oder Steinpilz und Kinder suchen Kastanien, die sie essen können. 



The castle ruins are surrounded by a small forest, where you can find mushrooms and chestnuts. In autumn, the forest is always crowded with children, hikers and mushroom pickers. Children try to find chestnuts to play with or eat later, hikers enjoy the beautiful views, and mushroom pickers look for delicious mushrooms.
Kastanien werden im Topf gekocht oder im Ofen geröstet. Aus den Pilzen macht man entweder eine Pilzsuppe oder schneidet sie klein, brät sie mit Speck an, würzt sie mit Kräutern, Salz und Pfeffer und löscht sie mit Sahne und ein bisschen Weißwein ab und isst sie mit Kartoffeln oder selbstgemachten Nudeln, die Spätzle genannt werden.


Usually we boil or roast the chestnuts and eat them in the evening as a snack while talking or watching television. The mushrooms are used to make a soup, either potato soup or mushroom cream soup, or they get sautéed with onions and bacon. Then we make a sauce by adding spices such as salt and pepper, herbs, cream and a little white wine. We usually eat this dish with potatoes or homemade pasta called “Spaetzle”.
 

Beliebte Süßpeisen im Herbst sind Bratäpfel und Apfelkuchen. Bratäpfel sind Äpfel, die man aushölt und dann mit Marzipan oder Nüssen, Zimt und Rosinen füllt und im Ofen für ein paar Minuten bäckt. Wer möchte kann  Vanillesauce, Sahne oder Eis zu seinem Bratapfel essen.



Popular desserts in autumn are “baked apples” and various kinds of apple pies. “Baked apples” are apples which have had their cores removed. You stuff the middle of the apples with marzipan or nuts, cinnamon and raisins and bake them for a couple of minutes. If you want, you can eat the apples with ice cream, whipped cream or vanilla sauce.


Eine andere beliebte Süßpeise ist “Griesbabbe mit Beereschnitz”, oder auf Hochdeutsch “Griessbrei mit kleingeschnittenen Birnen”. Griesbrei ist eine Art Getreidebrei. Man kocht ihn mit Milch und etwas Zucker und Vanille auf und isst ihn mit Zimt, Zucker und kleingeschnittenem Obst, im Herbst gerne mit Birnen und Zwetschge (Pflaumen).


Another popular autumn dessert is “Griesbabbe mit Beereschnitz”, also known as “Semolina with pear slices”. Semolina is a wheat pudding which is cooked with milk and a little sugar and vanilla. We usually sprinkle it with a cinnamon and sugar mix and eat it with fruit. In autumn, we usually eat it with pears or plums.

Weintrottewineryワイナリー


Burgcastleお城


lokalenopen air野外


Musikvereinconcertsコンサート


Kastanienchestnutsクリ

Pfifferlingemushroomsきのこ

Weißweinwhite wine白ワイン

Bratäpfelbaked apples焼きリンゴ

Apfelkuchenapple piesアップルパイ

Milchmilk牛乳

Zuckersugar砂糖


2015年10月16日金曜日

2015年10月16日金曜日 -

Hugh: Hanshin Tigers Baseball

 Well, I've lived in Japan for a while now but despite going to sumo wrestling five times as well as MMA once, I had never been to a baseball game. So, in July 2015, I finally got my act together and went to Koshien Stadium to watch the Hanshin Tigers versus the Dragons. As the day approached, the excitement was building up and finally it arrived... I headed to the stadium. 

 When I arrived at the stadium, the first thing that hit me was the sight of a dog (yes, woof woof, a dog) wearing a baseball jersey and helmet. Another thing which surprised me was that some fans had put a lot of effort into dressing for the occasion in baseball paraphernalia.

 The stadium was a little empty at the start and it was raining a bit so I thought the game might be a wash out. As time went on, though, the stadium started to fill up. The game was great, the atmosphere was electric and there was lots of chanting, clapping, shouting and music (in order to get the group into things). I got right into it, drank lots of beer, ate a little, and all in all had a great day. In the end, the Dragons beat the Hanshin Tigers convincingly but it didn't take away from my day.

 I fully intend to see some more games in the future.


   MMAMixed Martial Arts:総合格闘技
  got my act togetherdid something after a long delay:ようやく何かをした
  versusplaying against:対
  building upincreasing:増える
  hit mereally surprised me:ビックリした
  woof woofthe sound a dog makes:ワンワン!
  jerseysweater:ジャージ
  helmethat made out of a hard material to protect one's head:ヘルメット
  put a lot of effort intoworked hard to achieve something:~を一生懸命する
  dressing for the occasionwore the right clothes for the situation:その場に合った服を着る
  paraphernaliaaccessories which accompany an activity:装備
  a washout期待はずれの
  fill upbecome full:埋まる
  electricenergetic:盛り上がる
  into thingsparticipated in:~に参加する
  got right into itbecame really involved in :すっかりのめり込んだ
  convincinglyby a lot / by a long way:大差で
  didn't take away fromdetract from:~への気持ちは冷めなかった
  fully intend towill 100% do something:する気満々です

2015年10月9日金曜日

2015年10月9日金曜日 -

Ron: A trip to THE MARSHALL ISLANDS part 2

There is a grass runway on the main island with a small terminal building that was a donation from the Japanese government. Air Marshall Islands tries to follow a one-flight-a-week schedule to Namorik atoll. However, many times it is not successful. The main problem is that Air Marshall Islands only has two planes in their fleet, and these planes are quite old. A major problem is that small rocks on the runway will damage the planes during takeoff and landing. When this happens, the planes are grounded and Namorik has no air service. The airline is not profitable so is not able to maintain spare parts in the Marshall Islands. It must import parts only when the planes have actually broken down. Many of the parts for the plane are not commercially made any more, so they must be made to order, thus further delaying the return to service. 


If you want to find out more about my trip to Namdrik, you can see a blog made by Paul Mandala who was also volunteering on the island. Mr. Mandala has produced many blogs about Namdrik that have been posted to YouTube. In a search engine, type in:
“Namdrik Atoll Coconut Diaries VideoBlog 15” to see and hear about my trip to Namdrik.

Happy viewing, and thanks for reading my blog!

donation:寄付
the planes are grounded:飛行機が離陸できなくなる
profitable:収益性
thus:したがって

further:さらに

2015年10月2日金曜日

2015年10月2日金曜日 -

Ron: A trip to THE MARSHALL ISLANDS part 1


The Marshall Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are a country, with a seat in the United Nations. I went there for a holiday in March, 2015. This trip could be called an “Adventure Travel” holiday. It was not an ordinary tourist trip because I went to an atoll with no hotels or other services for tourists. I went to Namorik to visit my niece who was teaching English on a one-year contract at the local elementary school as a volunteer with a US-based organization called WorldTeach.org.

An atoll is the coral reef rim of an extinct volcano. They are very low-lying and usually have more than one island on them. The height of the islands on these coral reefs is usually not more than three meters. 

The atoll I went to is called Namorik Atoll. It is also written “Namdrik” Atoll but the “d” is pronounced as an “r” in the Marshallese language, so it would sound something like ”Namrik” Atoll. 

Only about four hundred people live on Namorik Atoll. Their main occupations are fishing and making coconut oil. Through a development project they have also begun a pearl farming venture. In about two years, if everything is successful, they should have their first harvest of pearls.


The people of Namorik use very simple boats called outrigger canoes to catch fish. They fish close to the atoll. They say that in recent years the fish near Namorik have decreased in number and in size. One theory is that commercial fishing fleets are taking more fish than is good to maintain sustainable fishing.

As for coconuts, the people gather them, then separate out the husks from the coconut meat (called copra). When the husks are dried they are used as fuel to cook food in simple outdoor ovens. The copra is stored, and three times a year a ship comes to pick it up and take it to the capital of the Marshall Islands, Majuro, for processing. In return, the people of the island receive cash payments when the ship arrives.  


Pigs, chickens, dogs, rats and a few cats are the animals on Namorik. In addition, there are many kinds of crabs, snails and birds.

the Pacific Ocean:太平洋
atoll:鑑賞
the coral reef rim:珊瑚礁の縁
extinct volcano:死火山
low-lying:低地
a pearl farming venture:真珠養殖のベンチャー
outrigger canoes:転覆防止用の舷外材付きのカヌー
fleets:艦隊
sustainable:持続可能
husks:殻
processing:加工