お茶の間留学

 Living a Fun Life       

Some people spend a lot of money on having fun but we can actually have fun anywhere by being sociable with the people around us. Furthermore, if we learn how to blend in on  trips, people won't hesitate to invite us to be with them.

Being sociable can build up good relationships and unexpected friendships, which can give you more reasons to appreciate the life you have. For example, you may prefer to stay in a difficult job because you are having fun and enjoy working with your workmates. You realize that you don't need to spend so much time and money on enjoying life because you can just do it while working.  Also, you learn to be contented with what you have. 

Having fun does not just mean having adventures, because you can have fun by eating simple foods that satisfy your cravings with people who feel the same way as you.

Going out and being with the people you are comfortable with is a good way of having fun and it's relaxing, too. It's great to spend the evening doing nothing but talking about life, making jokes and laughing a lot.

One of the best ways to have fun is to be with your family and enjoy the little things you can share with each other. As they say, "Being with the people you love is a good remedy for your stress".

So don't just live, have fun as well!
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sociable：社会的

Furthermore：さらに

unexpect：予想外

realize：気づく

remedy：救済

Le langage des fleurs

The Language of Flowers

I started doing odd jobs from my last year of college. My first small job was a saleswoman at a florist. I started working the week before Christmas. On December 24th, there were obviously more customers than usual! One of the first customers of the morning asked for a bouquet of yellow roses. While I was taking care of his order, my boss discreetly asked me if I knew the meaning of this flower. A little confused, I thought that roses were flowers offered as a token of love ... But it turns out that not all roses have the same meaning. The yellow rose, for example, is a flower that is offered as an apology after being unfaithful!

So I decided to study the language of flowers more seriously. In France, roses are the most popular: a dozen red roses are a symbol of amorous passion, and are usually offered when declaring love. Pink roses are synonymous with gentleness and loyalty. White roses are symbols of purity and sincerity, and can also be offered as an apology.

Toutes les fleurs portent un message, pas seulement les roses ! Par exemple, les jonquilles s'offrent lors de retrouvailles, la lavande et la jacinthe pour souhaiter un bon rétablissement‌‌, le lys symbolise aussi l'amour et est fréquemment utilisé lors des mariages... Au contraire, la chrysanthème est une fleur de cimetière.

All flowers have a message, not just roses! For example, daffodils are offered during reunions, lavender and hyacinth to wish a good recovery‌‌, the lily also symbolizes love and is frequently used at weddings, while the chrysanthemum is a flower for funerals.

Ma fleur préférée est l'iris, symbole de bonheur !

My favorite flower is the iris, a symbol of happiness!

Est-ce que l'on utilise le langage des fleurs au Japon ? La signification des fleurs est-elle différente ?

Do we use the language of flowers in Japan? Are the meanings of the flowers different?

À bientôt dans une prochaine leçon !

See you soon in a next lesson!

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odd：奇妙な

bouquet：花言葉

unfaithful：不貞な

synonymous：同義語

amorous：色気がある

INTERESTS 

“We don’t create a fantasy world to escape reality, we create it to be able to stay.” - Lynda Barry

I believe that our interests and imagination keep us going in this world full of difficulties and challenges. But as we grow older, we focus too much on reality and survival and we forget how to live our lives. I’m here to share some things that I’m interested in and what I enjoy doing in my leisure time. 

I believe that if you keep the child inside you, you will always feel happy and contented with life. That’s why at my age I still play video games, write songs and watch movies, talk shows and series on TV or the Internet.

I paesi dove ho vissuto (parte 2): L'Australia

The countries where I've lived (Part 2): Australia

Forte della mia esperienza in Inghilterra, con le mie nuove conoscenze, le capacità acquisite e qualche soldo in più ho deciso di puntare al mio obbiettivo principale…andare in Australia. L'Australia è una meta molto ambita dagli emigranti italiani che però spesso falliscono e tornano indietro senza aver concluso molto! Dopo essere tornato in Italia un paio di mesi per godermi l'estate, richiedere il visto e preparare il viaggio, arriva dunque il momento della partenza. Era Ottobre ed ero pronto a partire! Roma-Sidney con uno scalo a Dheli, in India, il viaggio più lungo della mia vita, 20 ore in aereo, 25 totali con il cambio, un viaggio lungo, lunghissimo!

Strengthened by my experience in England, with my new knowledge, the skills acquired and some more money, I decided to aim for my main goal… to go to Australia. Australia is a very popular destination for Italian emigrants who, however, often fail and go back without having done much! After returning to Italy for a couple of months to enjoy the summer, apply for a visa and prepare for the trip, the moment of departure arrived. It was October and I was ready to go! Rome-Sydney with a stopover in Delhi, India, the longest journey of my life, twenty hours by plane, twenty-five in total with the layover, a very long journey!

I arrived in Sydney early in the morning, took a tour of the city, spent one night in the hostel and the next day I took another plane to my final destination ... Gold Coast! Gold Coast is a city on the east coast of Australia, Queensland, with 57km of golden beaches and a mild climate all year round, the ideal place for me! Arriving in Gold Coast I immediately realized that I was right where I wanted to be, a modern city but not very big, the sun, the sea, people in bathing suits and flip flops and a very relaxed atmosphere, a bit like being on holiday all year round, even when you work! It was love at first sight!

Dopo una prima settimana d'ambientamento per riprendermi dal jet-lag e esplorare un po' la città, ho trovato subito lavoro come cuoco in uno dei locali situati in una via centralissima di Surfer's Paradise, il centro della “movida”, dove ho potuto lavorare per soli 6 mesi a causa delle limitazioni imposte dal mio Working Holiday Visa. Nel frattempo avevo anche trovato casa, fatto tante amicizie e mi ero goduto i locali notturni e le bellissime spiagge e parchi naturali della zona.

After a first week of acclimatization to recover from jet-lag and explore the city a bit, I immediately found a job as a cook in one of the restaurants located in a very central street of Surfer's Paradise, the center of the "nightlife", where I could work for only six months due to the limitations imposed by my Working Holiday Visa. In the meantime I had also found a home, made many friends and enjoyed the nightlife and the beautiful beaches and natural parks in the area.

Dopo questi incredibili 6 mesi, ho deciso di voler restare il più a lungo possibile quindi, insieme a un amico italiano conosciuto al mio arrivo, abbiamo comprato una macchina e ci siamo diretti verso la campagna australiana per svolgere i famosi 90 giorni di lavoro nelle farm richiesti per estendere il visto  per un'altro anno. L'Australia è un paese enorme con una densità di popolazione tra le più basse al mondo, quindi viaggiare su strada è un'esperienza unica, si può viaggiare per ore senza trovare nulla e i piccoli paesini sparsi nelle campagne sono come blocati nel tempo e sembrano usciti da un film sul far-west!

After these six incredible months, I decided I wanted to stay as long as possible so, together with an Italian friend I'd met on my arrival, we bought a car and headed to the Australian countryside to do the famous ninety days of work on a farm, required to extend the visa for another year. Australia is a huge country with a population density among the lowest in the world, so traveling by road is a unique experience, you can travel for hours without finding anything and the small villages scattered in the countryside seem frozen in time and straight out of a far-west movie!

Dopo aver girato un po' ci siamo stabiliti in una farm non molto lontana da Gold Coast dove abbiamo lavorato per tutti i giorni richiesti. Non è stato facile, non è stato bello per me ma è stato necessario.

Finita anche questa fatica finalmente il momento più atteso, il ritorno a Gold Coast con un altro anno di visto. Questa è quella che considero la seconda parte della mia esperienza in Australia, la prima l'avevo vissuta come un turista-lavoratore, adesso volevo vivere come un vero residente.

After looking around a bit we settled on a farm not far from Gold Coast where we worked for all the required days. It wasn't easy or good for me but it was necessary. After this effort, finally the most awaited moment, the return to Gold Coast with another year of visa. This is what I consider the second part of my experience in Australia, the first I had lived as a tourist-worker, now I wanted to live like a real resident.

Il primo passo è stato trovare un bell'appartamento in un bellissimo complesso completo di piscine, jacuzzi, sauna, palestra e area bbq a disposizione dei residenti, non male! Il secondo è stato trovare un nuovo lavoro, ma anche questa volta è stato semplice, stavolta come cuoco in un cafè nella benestante Main Beach. Da lì in avanti è andato tutto bene, la vita scorreva molto bene, tra lavoro e amici, e dopo 6 mesi il cafè dove lavoravo ha cambiato proprietà lasciandomi a capo della cucina.

The first step was to find a nice apartment in a beautiful complex complete with swimming pools, jacuzzi, sauna, gym and barbecue area for the residents. Not bad! The second was getting a new job, but again it was easy, this time as a cook in a cafe on affluent Main Beach. From then on everything went well, life went very well, between work and friends, and after six months the cafe where I worked changed ownership, leaving me in charge of the kitchen.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience. I had a great time in Gold Coast and would have stayed forever but unfortunately my visa was expiring, and despite the possibility of a sponsorship for another two years, I decided to try another experience. 
The next step would be an even bigger challenge... going to Japan!  

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destination：目的地

layover：乗り継ぎ

climate：気候

atmosphere：雰囲気

acclimatization：順応期間

In the meantime：その間に

head to：向かう

frozen：固まる/止まる

effort：努力

consider：考える

expiring：期限切れ

Five Must-Try Foods in Cebu

Are you tired of more than a year-long quarantine? Just like me, I know everyone is thrilled to book a flight and try new fun activities. For those who have been jotting the Philippines down on their travel list, Cebu – the Queen City of the South, is a perfect place to visit.

The island offers you more than just the usual white-sand beaches, exhilarating mountain and water activities, friendly English-speaking people and jaw-dropping scenery. Cebu’s unique food is considered as another whole new adventure. Aside from the popular banana chips and dried mangoes, here are the top five of Cebu’s unique foods to try.

1. Lechon

Hailed as “The World’s Best Pig Ever” by the famous North American chef Anthony Bourdain, Lechon is a whole pig which is usually stuffed with loads of herbs and various ingredients and spit-roasted over coals for more or less five hours. Its crispy skin and juicy meat will surely play in your mouth, not to mention the surprise that the dipping sauce offers.

 2. Puto Maya

Don’t get deceived on how it looks. Puto Maya is not just an ordinary rice but a classic Filipino glutinous one, steamed and flavored with coconut milk or pandan (fragrant screwpine). It is usually eaten for breakfast, popularly partnered with a hot chocolate drink. Eating it with a cube of ripe Cebu mango gives a different delight.

 3.    Banana Cue

Banana Cue is known as one of the best street foods in the archipelago. Knowing that the country ranks as the second biggest exporter of bananas, it can’t be denied that people have come up with different cuisines and delicacies from it. Usually consumed as a snack, banana cue is a fried skewered banana coated with caramelized brown sugar. It’s best partnered with a non-alcoholic beverage.  Rest assured that every bite will surely give you a blast.

4. Siomai

This Filipino-loved food is originally from China. Siomai is bite-sized ground pork, beef and shrimp wrapped in a thinly rolled out dough. It is usually steamed, but nowadays, a fried variation is getting popular. Don’t forget to dip it first in a chili sauce or soy sauce and squeeze one or two pieces of calamansi to enhance its flavor. If you have good spice tolerance, adding more chilis will surely increase your palate.

5. Chicharon 

These pork crispy cracklings are made from pork fat and rind. It is not directly deep-fried in a boiling pot of oil but it still needs to undergo boiling, seasoning and sun-drying. The  tedious process is worth it because it tastes addictively good. Best have it with vinegar and of course with a thirst-quenching cold beer. 
Food tasting should be a top priority when travelling internationally or even domestically. It will not only give you a new food experience but will teach you more about the life of the locals. Don’t hesitate to grab some of these featured foods, they will surely tickle your taste buds. Enjoy!

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quarantine：隔離

exhilarating：気分爽快

consume：消費する

nowadays：近頃は

priority ：有線

internationally：国際的に/国際上

hesitate：ためらう

surely：確かに