英会話プライベートレッスン

Hi there everyone! ?I hope you all had a chance to enjoy the sakura blossoms at their height! ?I sadly, made a mistake in planning things out. ?See, I was assuming that the blossoms would come later so I made plans for this weekend. ?I made silly plans.

I signed up for a mountain trail run.

It was my second trail run and my first mountain trail run, so I had no idea what to expect. ?All I knew was that it was in Samigahara, it was 18 kilometers and that I would have to wake up at 5am to be there on time. ?I hated it already.

So I got myself out of bed and after taking 3 trains and a bus, I was finally there. ?Now I knew a little more. ?It was a 6 kilometer course, meaning we would be doing three laps. ?Oh, and we would have to climb a mountain each time.

Still I had confidence. ?I run 20 kilometers once a week, so the distance is natural for me. ?I figured I would finish in 90-120 minutes and head home.

The race took me three hours.

I wasn’t expecting the mountain to be so steep so I didn’t have the right shoes. ?I almost fell down the mountain a few times! ?And it was also very tough on my legs, since the downhill parts were steep as well. ?Thankfully, I wasn’t even close to being the last one finished. ?That tells me that it was hard for everyone.

But it wasn’t all bad. ?It got to see some beautiful scenery and I got to challenge myself. ?Best of all, when I was finished, I got to go to an onsen! ?I definitely earned it.

So while I didn’t get to see sakura, I had a good experience overall.

Hi there everyone! ?Anand here from Awesome English! ?Hope you are all enjoying St. Patrick’s Day! ?At the very least, I hope you are enjoying it more than I am! ? Sadly I spent most of my weekend sick and damaged. ?See, I got it into my head that it would be a good idea to run 22 kilometers after finishing work. ?The problem is that I started running at 11:45 pm. ?The other problem is that I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. ?It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I gave myself a pretty bad cold in the process.

That said, a little cold won’t stop me from at least enjoying a bit of the most important part…the beer! ?My beer of choice, when I have the money, is Hoegaarden. ?It’s pricey, but I think it’s a satisfying, tasty beer. ?Give it a try if you have the time.

Cheers!

It’s hard to remember in this fine weather that just two years ago we had a huge earthquake. ?Then again, I am sure there are still people who will never forget.

It’s hard to believe that 3/11 was two years ago. ?It was definitely a chaotic day for me. ?I will never forget that feeling of uncertainty that came over me when I felt the first shakes. ?See, we don’t get earthquakes in Toronto, and to this very day I am still not too sure what we do when one comes about. ?I definitely wasn’t sure what to do as someone who lived along the coast. ?There were tsunami warnings all day and night in Katsuura, and every few minutes there would be alerts from the PA system I simply couldn’t understand (does anyone understand them?). ?Thankfully, I was safe at home and things continue to be fine.

I can’t say the same for my friend who lived in Fukushima and still remains without a permanent home.

Thankfully I am aware of one thing. ?I saw Japan pull itself together and work towards rebuilding. ?Mistakes were made and are coming more and more to light, but images of people organizing themselves and working together are just as memorable as the damage.

I volunteered in Ishinomaki the summer after it happened, and while there was still significant damage, much of it had been cleaned up to my surprise.

Even more surprising were the kindness and friendliness of the people who had had their homes (and sometimes families) destroyed. ?I worked with fishermen trying to rebuild their oyster crops, and they would pepper me with questions about life in Katsuura and Canada (I guess they were interested because both are famous for fish).

We must never forget the damage that occurred on 3/11. ?That’s a given. ?But let’s remember that it brought out the best in Japan as well.

Hi there everyone! ?Anand here for Awesome English as always. ?Hope you guys had a nice, relaxing weekend. ?I definitely didn’t, since mine was very busy and short…only one day! ?But it was a nice one anything. ?I got to do my favorite thing, which, if you have been paying any attention, is running! ?I participated in the 1st International Walk and Run in Yokohama. ?I decided that this time, instead of worrying about my pace, that I would just run as fast as I could. ?See, usually when I run, I run pretty slowly with a bunch of layers on. ?This time I was running fast, with only shorts and a t-shirt (I was very cold waiting for the run). ?My lungs were burning, but I still had a good time. ?And guess what! ?I finished in the top 50 with a time of 48 minutes and 45 seconds! ?That is easily the fastest I have ever run 10 kilometers. ?It turns out that I am much better at running that I thought, and all I needed was a bit of confidence in my self and a willingness to take a risk.

But then again, I guess that is the same when speaking English, or Japanese for that matter.

P.S. I decided to go all out and begin my run at the very front. ?Here is what it looked like.