2018年8月31日金曜日

2018年8月31日金曜日 -

Johnny ：　Ballet

Next week is my two daughters' ballet recital. I'm pleased they do ballet for a number of reasons. I think you can always tell if someone does or has done ballet by just looking at their posture. Ballet strengthens the core muscles of the body, which gives an appearance of elegance along with confidence. If you have practiced ballet, other kinds of dance will come more naturally to you.

Classical ballet tends to use classical music with which to dance to. My daughters now recognize in great detail a lot of classical music which is personally meaningful to them.

My youngest daughter Lily was painfully shy but ballet has given her a new-found confidence. Their ability to perform in front of a large auditorium of onlookers seems amazing to me. I'm sure I would crumble with stage fright.

They have performed many times now so they are rather seasoned performers. I guess they are lucky　as my wife is a very accomplished flamenco dancer so she is highly critical of them and is able to coach them. My free style ballet after I've had a drink is very contemporary and amuses them no end.

Last year when we visited the UK, we were lucky enough to go to the Royal Opera House in Covent　Garden to see some ballet. It was truly magical.

a number of  ：いくつかの
strengthens ：つよくする
tends to ：～しがちである
onlookers ：見物人
crumble ：粉々になる
accomplished ：熟達している

2018年8月24日金曜日

2018年8月24日金曜日 -

Joss: Bouldering


One of my hobbies is bouldering. Bouldering is indoor free climbing, meaning climbers don't use ropes and climb on artificial walls with many brightly coloured “holds”. Generally these holds are colour coded using either the colour of the hold itself or with a label or sticker next to the hold. Climbers try to follow colour-coded routes where they can only use holds of a certain colour for their hands (and sometimes feet too). The colours are usually graded in terms of difficulty, ranging from beginner to doable only by a professional.

I think bouldering is a great form of exercise as it requires the use of muscles all over the body and is especially good for core muscle strength. At first it can seem very difficult or almost impossible especially in terms of hand and finger strength. It can also be very tough on the skin on your fingers. However, strength gradually grows and, especially if you are a beginner, you will probably find that you can climb a little bit further every time you go. The skin on your fingers also gradually hardens and becomes tougher, allowing you to climb for longer without it becoming painful. Seeing the improvement really gives you a great sense of achievement.

wiki
The many people who attend the same climbing gym as me come in all shapes and sizes and ages. From kids to people in their seventies, it doesn't seem to matter. Some of the best climbers there are in their fifties and sixties. Kids also tend to be very good at it and improve quickly; lifting their own body weight doesn't seem to be an issue for them.

So if you want to try something different, have fun and improve your health, I highly recommend giving bouldering a try!

bouldering：ボルダリング 
artificial：人工的な
holds：ホールド：ボルダリング用の色付けされた石
coded：コード化された
in terms of：～の面で
doable：することができる
requires：要する
core muscle：インナーマッスル（深層筋）
sense of achievement：達成感
tend to：～になりやすい


2018年8月17日金曜日

2018年8月17日金曜日 -

Hugh:　Gal Mikoshi – Tenjin Matsuri festival

Gal Mikoshi is part of the Tenjin Matsuri and takes place annually on the 23rd July. It is an occasion when women have an opportunity to carry slightly smaller, portable shrines. It happens around the Temmabashi covered mall between Temma and Umeda, Osaka. Anyway, that's a slice of the background so let's talk about what happened this year.

I made my way down to Temma Station bright and early in order to get some good shots (as you may know, I mainly like taking photos of people) and it didn't disappoint.

By the time the festival kicked off, the energy started to spread and it was addictive. The heat, the clapping, the chants, the bells. To tell the truth, I didn't really envy the women carrying the portable shrines but it was great to watch as an observer. We followed the procession down the mall constantly trying not to get decked by the shrines and the people carrying them.

There was a really nice crowd there and it was great to have the chance to speak to people in both English and Japanese. As time went on, the crowd started to swell and it was soon to reach its climax, so I moved to get a good spot for this.

So, the climax … the sound began with a whisper and then increased to a load roar and exploded with huge chants.

All in all, it was a great day and a great festival. If you ever find yourself in Osaka on 23rd July, check it out.


annually：every year：毎年
a slice of ：a portion or section of something ：少しだけ
background ： history of something：予備知識
made my way down to ：went to a location：～に向かった
bright and early ：very early in the morning ：朝早く
shots ： photos：写真
kick off ：to begin something：始まる
to tell the truth ：to be honest：正直に言うと
decked ： knocked down：轢かれる
swell ： increase ：増加する
climax：to reach an end point ：最高潮
spot：location ：場所
all in all：taking everything into account：なんだかんだで
find yourself in (somewhere) ：happen to be somewhere, unplanned：～にいることになる
check it out ：to investigate; go somewhere：チェックしてみてください

2018年8月10日金曜日

2018年8月10日金曜日 -

Myeonghun： Self introduction

저는 새로운것을 배우고 내것으로 만드는것을 좋아합니다.
그래서 항상 새로운 언어를 배우거나 새로운 취미를 배우고 내것을 만들기위해 노력합니다.
축구를 어렸을적부터 좋아하고 즐겨하여 지금까지 꾸준히 하고 있습니다.
I like to learn something new and make it mine.
So I always try to learn a new language and take up new hobbies.
I've enjoyed playing soccer ever since I was a kid and I play regularly.

언어는 영어,일본어를 배웠습니다. 영어는 초등학생 때부터 배웠으나 영어에 취미가 없어서 그다지 영어를 잘 못하였으나 취업을 하거나 대학교 졸업을 할때 TOEIC점수가 필요하여 영어를 1년정도 공부하였고 어느정도 성적이 나오자 자신감도 생기고 좀 더 잘하고 싶다는 욕심도 생겨서 지금까지 조금씩 공부하고 있습니다.
I've studied English and Japanese. I was taught English in elementary school, but my English wasn't so good because I didn't have any hobbies in English. When I graduated from college and got a job, I needed a TOEIC score so I studied English for about one year, and since then I've been studying little by little.

일본어는 일본에서 대학원에 진학을 하고 싶어서 배우기 시작하여 1년반정도가 되었습니다. 아직 많이 부족하지만 웬만한 책을 읽거나 티비를 보고 이해할수있는 정도가 되었습니다. 회화는 가장 많이 부족하다고 느껴서 회화를 잘 하기위해서 더욱 회화공부에 노력하고 있습니다.        
I started studying Japanese because I wanted to go to graduate school in Japan and I've been studying it for about a year and a half. It still isn't good, but it's good enough to read a book or watch and understand TV. I feel that my conversation skill is the most lacking, so I try to study more in order to make it better.

그리고 저는 활동적인것을 좋아합니다. 그래서 시간 여유가 있으면 헬스장에 가서 헬스를 하거나 친구들을 만나서 놉니다. 그리고 일요일 아침에는 항상 축구를 하고 있습니다. 여행도 좋아해서 시간을 내서 이곳저곳을 여행하고 있습니다.
And I like to be active. So if I have the time, I go to the gym and do exercise or I meet my friends. And I always play soccer on Sunday morning. I like to travel, so I take time to travel here and there.

언어eon-eo：language：言語
배우다baeuda：learn：習得する
취미chwimi：hobbies：趣味
축구chuggu：soccer：サッカー
어렸을적부터eolyeoss-euljeogbuteo：ever since I was a kid：小さいころから
졸업jol-eob：graduated：卒業
조금씩jogeumssig：little by little：少しずつ
대학원daehag-won：graduate school：大学院
부족하다고bujoghadago：lacking：不足している
활동적인hwaldongjeog-in：active：活動的な
이곳저곳igosjeogos：here and there：あちこち

2018年8月3日金曜日

2018年8月3日金曜日 -

William Marshall：July Kid's Camp in Hyougo


This year, I was lucky enough to be asked to go to Sasayamaguchi with John Keating to do a children's camp for Josho All-Girls Junior High School. It took place on July 23rd and 24th in the beautiful Hyougo countryside. We stayed at a hotel, and spent the majority of our time playing games with the students. 
                                       

     We focused on teaching them about relative pronouns (who, that, which). John and I split the girls into two groups and took a dozen or so into separate rooms to teach at our own pace and in our own way. This was a little intimidating for me as I'm used to smaller class sizes and a more rigid curriculum, but this time I simply had a handful of games, and subject matter to use.
     For my group, I split the girls further into four teams – Pancake, Sushi, Pineapple, and Waffle (They named themselves!) – so I could remember their names more easily. After a few hours of teaching, we merged the two groups together so they could all work on their PowerPoint presentations. They had to present different parts of Japanese culture (e.g. traditional dress, anime, snacks) to students in New Zealand, which was where they were going for an exchange programme. When the girls weren't sneaking looks at anime and K-pop videos, they all worked hard, and gave John and I some wonderful presentations! We graded them across three criteria – Presentation, Grammar, and Voice – and the top group received some candy as a prize.
     We were provided with wonderful meals when we were there. Lunch on the first day was a rather large bento box, which John and I ate in the teachers' break room. For dinner, we had some katsu, sushi, and other typical Japanese fare.
                                          

     For breakfast, we were treated to an all-you-can-eat buffet (I loved the sausages the most!), and lunch was a tasty hamburger and rice.

    Before we left on the second day, we strolled around the pond in front of the hotel, which was quite beautiful, but searingly hot.
                                          

     We thankfully didn't stay outside long, apart from going back out to take a few group photos.  This aspect was quite different than kids' camps I'd done in previous years, but I certainly didn't mind the nice air conditioning! I'm looking forward to when I can go along on another children's camp, either similar ones to last year, like this one, or something completely new!

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