2019年9月27日金曜日

2019年9月27日金曜日 -

Phil – The Benefits of Hosting the Rugby World Cup


With everyone talking about the Olympics in 2020, it's easy to forget that Japan is hosting another major international event this September. The first game of the Rugby World Cup was played in Tokyo on Friday 20th September and the final will be played in Yokohama on Saturday 2nd November 2019.

Hosting the Rugby World Cup will benefit the Japanese economy and in some ways it may be more beneficial to the country than the Olympic Games next summer. Unlike the Olympics, which will only take place in Tokyo and the surrounding areas of greater Tokyo, the Rugby World Cup is taking place all over Japan. This means that it will boost tourism in areas that don't normally have many visitors.

Another benefit of the tournament taking place in many different locations is that it avoids more congestion in already congested cities like Tokyo. Visitors who have no interest in sport will not be deterred from coming to Japan as the rugby fans will be spread out across the country. Next year, some people might worry that Tokyo will be too crowded and expensive, and decide against visiting Japan during the Olympics.

The organizers of the Rugby World Cup smartly scheduled the matches between the end of September and early November. This avoids the hot and humid weather of the Japanese summer so the players should be able to perform well, resulting in exciting games for the fans.

It will be interesting to see how Japan copes with hosting such a large event before the Olympics. Hopefully, everyone who visits Japan will leave with good memories and want to return.

hosting:主催者
major:主要な
economy:経済
beneficial:有益な
Unlike:同じでない、似ていない
surrounding:囲む
boost:活気づける
avoids:避ける
congestion:渋滞
deterred from:阻止する
spread out:広がる
resulting in:～という結果になる

2019年9月25日水曜日

2019年9月25日水曜日 -

Kira - My Earliest Memories


The earliest I can remember is Saudi Arabia. We lived in Jeddah. It was interesting. My mother had to wear an abya (a black robe the women wear that covers their body and face). I didn't have to as I hadn't hit puberty. Women and men were separated in shopping malls, parks, hotels and even restaurants. However, there were restaurants for families and the schools were not separated. The people were kind, friendly and so elegant.

The beaches were incredible and the sea life on the reefs was magical! My father was in a rugby team and had many friends from different countries so we would go watch his games every three weeks.  The parks, although separated, were filled with beautiful flowers and trees and places for kids to play. The schools were amazing with incredible teachers. We used to go camping in the desert on the weekend and the local food  was delicious.







Jeddah:ジッダ(サウジアラビア西部の都市)
abya：アバヤ(全身を包む黒っぽい女性が着用する民族衣装)
puberty：思春期
elegant：上品な
sea life: 海の生き物
filled with：～でいっぱいになる


2019年9月20日金曜日

2019年9月20日金曜日 -

Conner – Going Back Home


This month, I´ll go back to the United States. Before I go back, I’d like to tell you about some of my favorite parts of Japan.

The parts that I think will stay with me are the little things: random smiles from strangers, a warm welcome in a strange bar, or a toilet seat that raises up on its own. Of course, I’ll remember the peak experiences, but sometimes the unexpected things are the most cherished. For example, random conversations with strangers.

Lots of Japanese people have studied English at one point, but they’re rusty. So, many people are eager to chat with you. They ask you where you’re from, why you’re here, what you like about Japan, etc. The interesting part isn’t what we talk about, but where we talk. People have approached me in the onsen, on the train, it doesn’t matter. Some conversations really take me by surprise, which is the best part.

I mentioned in a previous blog that during my first hour in Japan, I was completely and totally lost. The first guy I asked for directions went well out of his way (literally walked me to my station) to make sure I got to the right place. Amazing. Unheard of where I come from. That experience will stay with me for a long time.

Japanese food is also just incredible. It’s actually difficult to find a bad meal. Even the konbini food is good. The first month I was here, I ate a lot of konbini food and didn’t really get tired of it! Most convenience stores in the US just sell simple stuff like hot dogs and chips. Another thing about konbinis is that most are open twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Where I come from, only about a third of the convenience stores are open all night. So Japan is great in that respect. If you’re hungry at 3 am, you can get a good meal instantly!

So, at the end of the day, what I’ll remember most are the unexpected spontaneous conversations, kind people, and the food. I can’t wait to come back.



random：手当たり次第の
strangers：見知らぬ人
peak：絶頂
cherished：大事にする
rusty：鈍くなった
eager to：～に熱心になる
approached：近づいた
literally：文字通り
instantly：すぐに
spontaneous：自発的な

2019年9月6日金曜日

2019年9月6日金曜日 -

Camille – Bonjour !

Pendant les vacances du mois d'Aout, je suis allée à Tokyo cinq jours. Après le travail vendredi soir, j'ai pris le bus de nuit entre Kyoto et Ikebukuro à Tokyo. Je suis arrivée, un peu endormie, le lendemain à 9 heures. Il faisait très chaud, et surtout beaucoup plus humide que dans le Kansai. Je logeais dans une auberge de jeunesse au coeur de Shinjuku, c'était super.


During the August holidays, I went to Tokyo for five days. After work on Friday, I took the night bus between Kyoto and Ikebukuro in Tokyo. I arrived, a little sleepy, the next day at 9 o'clock. It was very hot and much more humid than in Kansai. I stayed in a hostel in the heart of Shinjuku. It was great.

Durant ces cinq jours, j'ai visité beaucoup d'endroits différents comme Shibuya, le Meiji-Jingu, Nakano ou encore Shimokitazawa. A Shimokita, j'ai été assister au festival du Bon-odori. Tout le monde dansait et c'était une expérience incroyable. Il y avait beaucoup d'enfants et de personnes agées, toutes les générations étaient réunies autour de ce festival.
During these five days, I visited many different places like Shibuya, Meiji Shrine, Nakano and Shimokitazawa. In Shimokita, I attended the Bon Odori Festival. Everyone was dancing and it was an amazing experience. There were many children and old people, all generations gathered together at this festival.

Pour rentrer dans le Kansai, j'ai pris un bus pour le retour mercredi soir. J'ai eu assez peur car la plupart des bus étaient annulés à cause du typhon ! Heureusement, le mien roulait sans problèmes. A 4 heures du matin, le bus s'est arrêté sur une aire d'autoroute à Shiga et le vent soufflait très fort ! C'était très impressionnant, mais nous avons pu arriver sans problèmes à Osaka.

To return to Kansai, I took a bus back on Wednesday night. I was pretty scared because most of the buses were canceled because of the typhoon! Fortunately, mine left without problems. At 4 am, the bus stopped on a highway in Shiga and the wind was blowing very hard! It was very impressive, but we were able to arrive safely in Osaka.


humide:　湿っぽい
c'était super.：素晴らしかった
j'ai été assister au festival du Bon-odori：私は盆踊りに参加しました
expérience:経験
outes les générations:すべての世代

2019年9月6日金曜日 -

Cody　American Summer "Festivals"


In some parts of America, the typical summer 'festival' isn't called as such. It's usually called a 'fair', preceded by 'county' or 'country'. These tend to have things such as ferris wheels, petting zoos, tea-cup rides and 'tower of terror' style attractions. It's a bit of a grab bag in terms of content. You might even find some classic games you associate with festivals in Japan such as the ring toss, shooting gallery and trying to catch goldfish from a pool. Try not to take too many goldfish home, though. They get huge and can live for 20 years!

Depending on what region the fair takes place in, it may even have some competitions. These competitions could be...
    Equestrian events, also known as horseback riding or horse shows.
    Livestock auctions, where locally-raised animals are weighed, judged and sold to the highest bidders as agricultural products.
    Livestock pageants, where animals are judged and scored, and the owners can win prizes and ribbons based on their ranking. Often times, the top-prize animals are sought by buyers and sold for a hefty sum.

Now see here, a fair isn't to be confused with a rodeo, where the main attraction are cowboy-style events that involve catching a cow with a lasso while riding a horse, or simply trying to ride an angry bull for as long as possbible without getting bucked off and gored.   

If you're hungry at a fair, there's no shortage of eats as well. Cotton candy, hotdogs, corndogs, French fries, funnel cake and sweet iced tea are all staples of a fair. You probably won't leave hungry, but that's not to say you should stuff yourself full of such unheatlhy food!
If you attend the fair on the last day, you might even get to witness some fireworks at night before everything closes down.


ferris wheels：観覧車
petting zoos：ふれあい動物園
grab bag:福袋
associate with：近づける
 Equestrian：馬術の
Livestock：家畜
pageants：野外劇
confuse with：一緒にする
bull：雄牛


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