Daveさんの日本体験記( written in English) その18

Hi again,

I hope you all had a nice long weekend.

I spent time relaxing at home and doing some chores, such as ironing and cleaning. My best discovery of the weekend was the magic button on my remote control. I was able to watch the sumo with English commentary and films without dubbing – fantastic!

I really didn’t do a lot else – I’m just winding down until Christmas. I did, however, speak to my family and to Dorota, which was nice. My family will buy the Christmas tree and decorate it next weekend. This is usually a time for great family arguments such as whether we should have a real tree or a plastic tree, coloured lights or white lights and which chocolates to have. I’d like to add it’s not only my family which argues about such things! The cat usually ‘helps’ by running off with the decorations or climbing the tree and everybody is glad when it’s over.

I’ll give you more information about Christmas traditions in the weeks before Christmas, but you can also join my Christmas presentation on Saturday 19th December at 2:30pm. I’ll be telling you lots of things about Christmas traditions in England and other countries as well as what it means to me. England is not a religious country, but Christmas is still a time for families to be together.

Next weekend I hope to be able to watch lots of football in my flat. There are some important games, including my team, Blackpool, against our main rivals, Preston. This is always a very important match with lots of passion. It will be live on TV and our stadium will be full. I hate missing the matches against Preston, but it’s a little too far (and expensive) to fly home for the weekend! Football is also an important Christmas tradition, but more on that in my presentation…

You’ll also have another chance to come to my ‘Blackpool’ presentation on Saturday, at 2pm. Find out about where I live and why it’s so important to me. See you there!

Chore (n.): A chore is a job or task which is unpleasant but must be done. It is unpaid. Examples include washing, ironing and cleaning.

Remote control (n.): The remote control is the small black box which changes things on TV, such as the channel or volume. It has no cables, working off infra-red. It can also be used with a hi-fi, DVD player or even some computers. It is a symbol of power in some British families because he who has the remote control has control over the TV – the most important thing in some people’s lives! It is also called the ‘channel changer’ or the ‘doofer’.

Commentary (n.; person = ‘commentator’; verb = ‘to commentate’): This is the ‘talking’ during an event to describe or explain what is happening to people who are watching at home. Some commentators, especially sports commentators, can become as famous as the sportsmen they are talking about! During the World Cup final in 1966, England were leading 3-2 against West Germany. Just before England scored again, the commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme said the famous words “they think it’s all over…it is now”. These are now the most famous words in English football history.

Dubbing (n.): When a film or TV programme is in a foreign language, local people may not understand it. To solve the problem, local actors can speak over the original sound. Therefore, it looks like Kevin Costner is speaking Japanese, for example. This is ‘dubbing’. It’s quite funny to hear Kevin Costner ‘speaking’ Japanese, but it doesn’t help me to understand the film! On Polish TV, one man does the voices for every character – male or female, young or old – with almost no emotion.

If the words are written on the screen, it is called ‘subtitles’. This is better for learning a language as you can hear what is said in the original language.

Winding down (v. inf. ‘to wind down’): This means ‘to relax’ or ‘slow down’. If someone wants to ‘wind down’ this weekend, it means that they want to relax, usually after a period of stress or action. A factory might ‘wind down’ production before a holiday period, for example.

This week’s quiz is a chance to test your English and do some research! (Last week’s answers are below):

1. Give 3 examples of chores you had to do when you were a child.
2. When was the first television remote control invented and what was it called?
3. Who is the most famous Formula 1 motor racing commentator on British TV?

Last week’s answers:

1. Iraq drinks the most tea per person.
2. Norway drinks the most coffee per person.
3. The Czech Republic drinks the most beer per person (Japan is No. 32 in the world!)
4. Poland first made vodka their national drink.
5. ‘Whisky’ is from Scotland, Canada or Japan, but ‘whiskey’ is from Ireland or America.

Daveさんの日本体験記( written in English) その17

Hi!

I hope everybody had a great weekend. I stayed in Nagaoka, which I enjoyed very much.

I spent Saturday night with friends in central Nagaoka, sampling tasty Japanese food and drink. On Sunday, my boss’ family, another friend and I were given a tour of a sake brewery by one of our students. It was a wonderful and very interesting tour and I learnt a lot about the sake making process. Our student and my boss also proved their translating skills!

We followed the process in stages from grinding the rice to the final product, ending with a taste of delicious sake. It was easily the most interesting brewery tour I’ve ever had.

On Monday I had to do the rather boring task of transferring my visa to my new passport and obtaining re-entry permission. For this I had to go to Niigata airport. This is new for me as it is very easy to enter and leave most European countries as many times as you want. You don’t have to apply for re-entry permission. As a European Union citizen, I don’t need to worry about any tourist visas either (apart from if visiting Russia or Belarus).

Check out some new vocabulary below, a new quiz and the answers to last week’s quiz.

Sampling (v. inf. = ‘to sample’, the noun is also ‘sample’): To sample something is to try, test or taste a little bit of something. For example, when a food company makes a new product, it will allow people to sample it, or try it. Many shops offer free samples to customers to see if they like a product.

Brewery (n.): A place where beer or sake is made.

Grinding (v. inf. = ‘to grind’): This is when a solid is made into smaller particles (or pieces). For example, coffee beans are large but we can grind them into smaller pieces to make a cup of coffee.

Transferring (v. inf. = ‘to transfer’, the noun can also be ‘transfer’): This means to move something from one place to another. My visa was transferred from my old passport to my new one. When a football player moves to a different team, we call this a ‘transfer’. If a shop moves to a different building, it will transfer its stock from the old shop to the new one.

This week’s quiz is all about drinking (last week’s answers are below):


1. Which country drinks the most tea per person?
2. Which country drinks the most coffee per person?
3. Which country drinks the most beer per person?
4. Which country first made vodka their national drink?
5. What’s the difference between ‘whisky’ and ‘whiskey’?

Last week’s answers:


1. Furthest north and west: Reykjavik; east: Baku; south: Athens;
2. Berlin
3. Rome and the Vatican City
4. Paris
5. Prague

Daveさんの日本体験記( written in English) その16_b

Here are some quiz questions, with the answers next week. Last week’s answers about Bonfire Night are below:

1. Which European capital cities are the furthest north, east, south and west?
2. Which European capital city was divided in half by a wall until 1989?
3. Which 2 European capital cities are closest to each other?
4. Which city had its wide boulevards designed by Baron Haussman?
5. Which city is home to Wenceslas Square and Charles Bridge?

Last week’s answers:

1. What is Bonfire Night also known as?

It is also known as “Guy Fawkes’ Night”. Guy Fawkes was the leader of the plan to blow up Parliament on 5th November 1605.

2. Why do we celebrate it?

We celebrate the fact that Guy Fawkes and his group were discovered and Parliament was saved.

3. Which traditions do we have for Bonfire Night today?

Today, towns and villages light fires and fireworks. The whole sky is filled with fireworks on 5th November. Some people light them at home whilst go to organised events in the centre of their town or village. Special cakes are eaten, as well as toffee apples and toffee candy.

Daveさんの日本体験記( written in English) その16

Hi again!

I hope life is treating you well. I spent my weekend spending time with friends, applying for a new passport and Christmas shopping for my parents.

The British embassy, where I applied for my passport, is near the Diet building in Tokyo. After I had submitted my documents I had a look at where your government works. It’s quite an interesting building (I like the pyramid on top!) but I was surprised by the amount of helicopters in the air above it. Is this for security? Is it always like that? I also liked the policemen with long wooden sticks. It looked like a very simple security measure, but effective I suppose.

I then travelled around Tokyo on the Metro, starting in Akihabara’s Electric Town. This was such a different experience. In English cities there aren’t really specific areas which only sell one particular product. Seeing electronics shop after electronics shop was quite odd. I loved the little streets and low ceilings, and also the obsessive world of animation. Some of the models on sale cost more than a trip abroad! I really enjoyed wandering around such an interesting area.

Then I hit Ginza, which was a little expensive for me. I did buy some charcoal for my mum though. When I was younger, my mum used to say that if I was naughty, Santa Claus wouldn’t bring me any gifts – only a lump of coal. It’s funny that in Japan, coal is more useful and can be a nice present! I also made a quick de-tour to look at the outside of the Kabuki theatre. It seems strange to see traditional Japanese architecture amongst the modern developments of Ginza.

From there I went on to the Oriental Bazaar opposite Omotesando Hills. This is a well-known place amongst foreigners as it’s a great shop to buy some traditional gifts and souvenirs.

I finished in Shinjuku, but by then I was very tired. The weather had been incredibly hot – it had reached 24C and was still 21C at 6pm. That’s the hottest November I’ve ever experienced and the first time I’ve caught the sun doing Christmas shopping! I enjoyed my trip though and feel that I know Tokyo a little better now. It’s such a big city that I’ll probably never know it very well, but it doesn’t seem so frightening now.

Submitted (verb, to submit): In this case, the verb ‘to submit’ means to give something to somebody for their consideration. In other words, I gave them something and they will judge it. I must have the correct documents etc. to receive a new passport. The embassy will decide if they are correct. It is the same with an exam or an essay at school, or an application for something in general. For example, “I’ve submitted my application for an EU work visa”.

Obsessive (adj., can also be the personal noun. The verb = ‘to obsess’): If you are obsessive about something, you care about something more than most people would think is normal. You spend most of your time connected with that activity. I am obsessive about my football team – I watch all their goals on the internet, I listen to matches in the middle of the night, I wear a tangerine tie when they win, I listen to all the interviews with players…

To wander (v.): This means to walk in a relaxed way. It is often used when walking through a town/city but can be used when in the countryside. We usually walk slowly and look at things when we wander. For example, “I wandered through Budapest looking at the amazing architecture”. NB: Don’t get confused with the verb ‘to wonder’, which means ‘to think’ – i.e. “I wonder what my friends are doing now”

Hit (used here as verb; can also be a noun or adjective): The word ‘hit’ has several meanings. Here, I used it as an expression meaning to visit somewhere and do an activity with intensity. In other words, I visited Ginza and shopped a lot. It is often used when talking about shopping or sightseeing. For example, “When they arrived in Paris, the girls hit the shops whilst the boys hit the bars”.

Lump (n.): A large, heavy piece of something. It often has a negative meaning – a piece of cake but a lump of fat; I ate a piece of chocolate but I had a lump of chocolate on my trousers.

De-tour (n. or v.); This means to go a different way than planned. For example, when I walked from my flat to Yukyuzan Park, I took a de-tour to the import food shop at the train station. If you drive from Nagaoka to Kyoto, you could take a de-tour to Kanazawa.

To catch the sun (v. expr.): This expression means that your skin changes colour a little bit because of the sun. It is less than getting a sun-tan (with brown skin) or sun-burned (red skin).

I’ve written a lot about Tokyo this week, but how well do you know some European capital cities?

Year end and Christmas party 2009!

今年も英会話教室で忘年会＆クリスマスパーティーを行います。
会場は昨年同様、長岡市内のイタリアンレストランです。
生徒の皆さん、奮ってご参加ください！