英会話プライベートレッスン

Hello everyone! ?I hope you all got your cherry blossom viewing in, because I think the majority of the blossoms will be gone by the time next weekend rolls around. ?I didn’t get to do the official “get drunk under a tree” type of hanami, but I did get to enjoy running under a bunch of blossoms in Kohoku. ?After my run (and thankfully before the rain), I made my way to the akarenga to check out the African Festival. ?An African themed store next to our shop has been advertising it for about a month now, so I felt obligated to check it out. ?I am very glad I did. ?Not only is African culture very interesting, I find African people to be very friendly and alive. ?I also happen to love African food, which is almost always healthy and delicious. ?I bought a couple of different dishes (and quite a few African beers) and sat down in the main hall. ?Before I knew it I was surrounded by a series of large men from the Cote d’Ivoire (aka コートジボワール). ?But to my delight they were all really friendly. ?What was even better was that I had a chance to try out my French with them! ?I have been studying French for a few months now, but I have never had a good reason to use it. ?In the Cote d’Ivoire their official language is French, meaning they were more than willing to talk to me. ?And what was even nicer is that they helped me with my sentences and they also taught me a lot about their country.

It’s amazing, because after 6 (almost 7!) years in Japan I have kind of lost that sense of cluelessness that comes with being in a new country with a new language and a new way of life. ?But this was a ?great reminder of how language ties new people together and build bridges across different cultures.

Although we can’t discount the effect of the beer!