英会話プライベートレッスン

Hi everyone, it’s me again. ?Looks like Chiba keeps pulling me back, because this weekend I found myself back for the Ohara festival. Ohara is near where I used to live, meaning it’s in the southern part of Chiba. ?Last weekend was the Hadaka Matsuri. ?Thankfully for me, the festival is not purely “hadaka”, but the men are all bare from the waist up (maybe they were fully naked many years ago). ?People from the town grab their portable shrines (mikoshi) and run into the ocean and afterwards they celebrate by throwing the shrines into the air. ?It is quite a spectacle to watch! ?And of course, after that everyone gets drunk. ?In that way it’s like almost every festival I have been to. ?I was there Saturday and Sunday morning. ?Thankfully my friend let me stay over at her house. ?She lives in Otaki, which is way out in the countryside. ?It’s not even connected to the JR line! ?But there are benefits to that kind of arrangement. ?In Yokohama, I have a 1K apartment. ?She has a 2LDK apartment but her rent is 1/3 of mine! ? At the same time, she lives near nothing, and I mean NOTHING. ?I live near everything. ?In any case, I am back in Yokohama now, the fall festivals are over (well there is one more next weekend, but I am not going), and I look forward to a weekend of relaxing in my apartment.

Too bad it’s only Tuesday…

Until next time,

Anand Mohan

It amazes me that no one gets killed carrying those things into the ocean.

Just some of the people I hang out with. Don't I look cool in my Robocop shirt?

P.S.: It’s ironic that I live near everything and I have to keep going out to Chiba where there is nothing. ?Hurry up and Chiba people! ?You don’t even have a movie theater nearby! ?There is one within 10 minutes of my place!

Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend!? I know I did!? September is a great month for me.? Every week seems to bring a new festival in the area where I used to live.? This weekend was my favorite of all – the fall festival in Katsuura City.? It’s no small festival, 4 days starting from the 14^th to the 17^th.? I managed to make it for the 15^th until the afternoon of the 17^th. Of course, all the good things about the festival are still there ? the festival food, the omikoshi, the dashi.? I got to see my friends hop around with huge omikoshi on their shoulders.? I got to see others push giant dashi around.? And I got to see everyone around me get really drunk.? But the festival in Katsuura is special to me.? It is a time for me to see old friends, both Japanese and international.? It is a time for me to reflect on my time in Japan.? I get to see all of my old students again.? When they greet me with smiles I realize that I had an effect on their lives.? And I realize the effect they had on my life.? I realize that coming to Japan was one of the best decisions of my life and that I will cherish these days forever.

My friends from America!

They look so different in festival gear!

The 11th seems to be a day to remember and reflect. ?In Canada, November 11th is called Remembrance Day. ?It marks the day that World War I ended, and we remember those we have lost in war. ?But the 11th has taken on more and more meaning over time. ?In Japan, the 11th brings up memories of the earthquake last year. ?It was both a time of chaos and uncertainty, but also a time where Japan came together as a country to try and heal itself. ?Eleven years ago today, America had its own tragedy that we still feel today. ?I am not from America, but I am North American and I still remember the day vividly.

I was actually in high school at the time. ?It was basically like any other day, but then hints started coming in the America was under an attack. ?A plane had been flown into one of the Twin Towers, and then another one. ?Everyone was both shocked and confused. ?America was supposed to be the strongest country in the world. ?How could such a thing happen there? ?We all wanted more information, but it couldn’t come fast enough. ?People didn’t know what would happen the next day? ?Would there be war? ?Would there be another attack? ?And for people in Toronto, only a few hours from New York we had another question: Was Canada next?

It has been a long time since that day. ?America and the world survived a huge tragedy. ?In some ways, the world is a scarier place now. People are more scared of things and people they don’t know. ?In some ways the world will never be the same. ?But we are still going on. I know I will never forget the 11th, whether it is March 11th, September 11th or November 11th. ?I hope you spend the 11th remembering those who have lost their lives to tragedy, no matter what the cause.

Until next time,

Anand

I love Japanese, but sometimes I study too much. ?What I mean is that sometimes I focus so much on studying that I lose focus on my goal. ?My goal is to be able to USE English. ?There are lots of ways to combine the two. ?One of the ways I keep studying fun is to read manga. ? I love reading, so it’s only natural that I read in order to study. ?Novels, however, can be a little difficult to understand. ?I often can’t understand the deep meaning of what the author wants to say. ?Also, it’s hard to visualize what is happening. ?But manga has pictures, so I can at least guess what is happening.

When I was in high school, I randomly caught the movie for Galaxy Express 999 by Reiji Matsumoto. ?There was something very magical about it, and I remembered it when I came to Japan five years ago. ?I went to Book Off and bought the whole series when I got the chance. ?Nowadays I read it when I can. ?The story is very imaginative, and the drawing style of Matsumoto is very simple but beautiful.

It takes me a very long time to read them, but I learn tons of new words from reading the volumes. ?Not only that, it helps me reinforce grammar I learned before. ? I suggest you find something you like, be it a tv show, a movie or a book and slowly go through it. ?Take a dictionary, do it a few times, but give it a shot. ?I would avoid something with too much slang for starters (I first tried to read Hokuto no Ken, but it was too strange).

Naturally, you can’t learn everything through reading what you like, but it makes learning fun and that is almost as important.

See you next time!

Anand Mohan