2018年1月26日金曜日

2018年1月26日金曜日 -

Krystal: Learning as I go

I have been in Japan for a few months now and am quickly learning all kinds of new things. I am learning about foods that I have never tried before, the trains and navigating the train stations, as well as the best ways to purchase furniture for our new place.
       Students have been very helpful with teaching me about all of the types of foods I should try while I am living in Japan! My current favorites are ramen, vegetable sushi, sukiyaki, and BBQ pork. I have come to learn that many of these foods differ from prefecture to prefecture and that I should try each dish in different areas of the country! 
       Learning to navigate the trains and stations has been very challenging for me. I have missed my train, gotten on the wrong one, and gotten off of the train at the wrong station. As you can imagine, this has forced me to learn how to read the train station signs very quickly. I am very glad that I have the ability to use the trains instead of driving a car everywhere, but it is a very big change for me and I am still learning.
       Purchasing furniture when you do not have a car is difficult. It is hard to find people selling things in your area so that you do not have to walk very far when taking them back to your home. Also, purchasing larger items is difficult. We are lucky to know someone with a truck, but it is still challenging to arrange a time to use the truck, find our way to the location for pickup, and then to transport it back to our home. Because of these challenges, we have purchased many things online.
       While it has been challenging to learn new ways of accomplishing regular tasks, living in Japan has been very nice so far and we are looking forward to much warmer weather so we can venture further from our home when exploring the country.

navigating：移動する
furniture：家具
helpful：頼りになる
have come to：～するようになる
differ from prefecture to prefecture：都道府県によって違う
challenging：大変
missed：乗りそこなった
accomplishing：遂行する
so far：今のところ
venture：思い切って～に出かける

exploring：探検する

2018年1月19日金曜日

2018年1月19日金曜日 -

John Hommel: My trip to Tottori

For my birthday (November 25th) I took a short trip up to Tottori prefecture to visit a hot spring and climb Mount Daisen. I was really looking forward to this trip because my schedule doesn't allow many chances to travel. I decided on Daisen because it had been recommended to me by several NOVA students. My friend and I rented a car and drove up to Tottori on the 24th November, arriving late at night. The hotel we stayed in was cheap but comfortable. We went to sleep soon after arriving so we could get an early start the next day.
      On the 25th, we drove from the hotel to a nearby hot spring, which I was really excited about since this was my first time visiting a hot spring. However, it wasn’t what I expected. I was expecting something natural, but it felt like a modern facility. Regardless, natural or not, it was nice and relaxing. From the hot spring we went to Mount Daisen. Before making our way up the mountain we stopped by the Milk Farm at the base of the mountain, and I bought water and snacks for the climb.
      I knew Daisen was going to be cold, but I was unprepared for the snow. I was wearing a light down jacket, jeans, and sneakers that I had treated with waterproof spray. All of the other people climbing the mountain had proper snow boots and walking sticks. My friend and I slipped many times on the ice and snow, but we did our best to tread carefully and eventually we made it to the summit. It was clear that day so the view was especially beautiful. Climbing down the mountain was difficult because our shoes had no traction, but after getting back to our car we drove to another hot spring to warm up. This hot spring was a lot better than the first one. It was outdoors and the atmosphere was very relaxing. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay another night because both of us had to work the next day. We drove back to Osaka that night.

      Visiting Tottori was a fun adventure and I'd like to go back someday. Until then, I'm looking forward to my next trip, which will be Kinosaki hot spring and Takeda Castle in Hyogo prefecture, on January 28th-29th.

I was expecting：～を期待していた
stopped by：立ち寄った
I was unprepared：準備していなかった
proper：きちんとした
slipped：滑った
tread：強く踏む
eventually：最終的には   

traction：滑り止め機能

2018年1月12日金曜日

2018年1月12日金曜日 -

Eunsuk: A special event on the fourteenth day

안녕하세요, 여러분.
Hi everyone.

이외에도 한국은 매월 14일이 이벤트 데이로 알려져 있는데, 그 중에도 많이 알려져 있는 1~5월까지의 이벤트 데이에 대해 알려드릴까 합니다.
Some of you might know that in South Korea we have a special event on the fourteenth day of each month. I would like to introduce you to the well-known events from January to May.

1월 14일 다이어리 데이. 1년 동안 쓸 다이어리를 연인에게 선물하는 날
한 해의 시작인 달이니만큼 다이어리를 선물하며 한 해를 준비하면 좋을 것 같아요.
The 14th of January is Diary Day. It's the day to present a diary to a sweetheart or partner. It's the first month of the year so a diary will help someone prepare for the year ahead.

2월 14일 밸런타인 데이&3월 14일 화이트 데이
밸런타인 데이와 화이트 데이는 일본에서도 유명하죠.
The 14th of February is St. Valentine’s Day and the 14th of March is White day. St. Valentine's Day and White Day are also famous in Japan.

4월 14일 블랙 데이. 밸런타인 데이와 화이트 데이에 선물을 받지 못 한 사람들이 짜장면을 먹는 날.
The 14th of April is Black Day. On this day people who didn't receive a gift on St. Valentine's Day or White Day usually eat mackerel.

5월 14일 로즈 데이. 연인들끼리 사랑의 표현으로 장미를 주고받는 날.
The 14th of May is Rose day. It's the day when sweethearts and partners exchange roses as an　expression of their love.

이외에도
In addition,

6월 14일 키스 데이, 연인들이 서로의 마음을 확인하는 뜻에서 키스를 나누는 날.
The 14th of June is Kiss Day, when couples kiss each other to confirm their love.

7월 14일은 실버 데이, 연인들이 은반지를 주고받으며 미래를 약속하는 날.
The 14th of July is Silver Day, when sweethearts promise their future to each other by exchanging silver.

8월 14일은 그린 데이, 무더운 여름에 시원한 산을 찾아 연인과 손잡고 산림욕을 하는 날.
The 14th of August is Green Day, when couples go to a cool mountain hands in hands a hot summer's day.

9월 14일은 포토 데이, 연인이 함께 기념 사진을 찍는 날.
The 14th of September is Photo Day, when couples take photos together.

10월 14일은 와인 데이, 연인들이 함께 포도주를 마시는 날.
The 14th of October is Wine Day, when couples drink wine together

11월 14일은 쿠키 데이, 좋아하는 사람에게 쿠키를 선물하는 날.
The 14th of November is Cookies Day, a day to give cookies to the person you like.

12월 14일은 허그 데이, 추운 겨울날 연인끼리 사랑하는 마음으로 서로를 안아주는 날.
The 14th of December is Hug Day, when couples hug each other with a loving heart.

여러분도 연인이 생기셨거나 혹은 이미 있으시다면 이런 이벤트 데이를 챙겨보시는 건 어떨까요?
If you have a sweetheart or partner, why don't you try these events?

많이 알려져 있는manh-i allyeojyeo issneun：well-known：よく知られている
연인yeon-in：a sweetheart or partner：恋人
선물하는seonmulhaneun：to present：あげる
유명. yumyeong. ：famous：有名
받지 못 한badji mos han：didn't receive：もらえなかった
주고받는jugobadneun：exchange：交換
이외에도ioeedo：In addition：それ以外に
확인하는hwag-inhaneun：confirm：確認
약속하는yagsoghaneun：promise：約束

손잡고sonjabgo：hands in hands：手をつなぐ

2018年1月5日金曜日

2018年1月5日金曜日 -

Anna: Keeping New Year's Resolutions

Now that the new year is here, lots of people are likely thinking about what to do for their New Year's resolutions. Some common resolutions include getting more exercise, losing weight, eating healthier, or meeting a work or study goal, but after a month or two many people lose motivation and end up giving up. My resolution is also one of these! But like many other people, I have a hard time staying focused on resolutions. After two or three weeks, it becomes more and more difficult to keep up with what I want to do. That's why it's important to think about some ways to stay motivated and achieve goals.
     For me, and probably for many other people as well, the most difficult thing about keeping resolutions is that it's often difficult to see results quickly. Because New Year's resolutions are supposed to be one-year goals, thinking about how to do something within one year can be challenging. It's a lot of time, and requires some planning for every month. It's also easy to get distracted by other work or time commitments, so large goals can be easier to think about if they're broken into smaller pieces. Thinking about a small goal every month sounds much better than thinking about a very large goal for the whole year!
     Self-discipline is also important for keeping goals, whether they are New Year's resolutions or any goals. Using some time every day or every week to work on something without forgetting or skipping is a good way to achieve a goal steadily. This is something I'm usually bad at, so this January I think I should work more on my own self-discipline!

resolution ：firm decision ：決意
motivation ：a reason to act ：やる気
end up ：結局～することになる
distracted ：lose focus ：気持ちがそれる
commitment ：promise ：約束
self-discipline ：training oneself for improvement ：自己規制

steadily ：fixed, regular, forward movement ：着実に

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