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How Smart She Is !
I attended the club of haiku in English at the Cross Cultural Center here on April 26 for the first time in three months. My American teacher stays in Hawaii during cold winter and hot summer every year. She has a condo near Diamond Head. She can live in the two countries, enjoying their best seasons. I envy her very much.
Seven members were present and an Indonesian visitor came to the club. She is a secretary of the Indonesian Consulate and can speak Indonesian, English, Tamil and Japanese. How smart she is! She likes to write poems in Indonesian and has become interested in haiku in English. I hope she will become a member of the club.
shining white ship
returns to port
wrapped in spring wind
Thank you for coming. I'd appreciate it if you could vote. 
Seven members were present and an Indonesian visitor came to the club. She is a secretary of the Indonesian Consulate and can speak Indonesian, English, Tamil and Japanese. How smart she is! She likes to write poems in Indonesian and has become interested in haiku in English. I hope she will become a member of the club.
shining white ship
returns to port
wrapped in spring wind
Thank you for coming. I'd appreciate it if you could vote. English and I
I’m thinking about what my purpose of learning English is. I’m not young, so I don’t need it in my job. I can live in Japan without using it. Why do I want to study English? To keep my brain in shape? If it’s only to keep my brain young, there are lots of things I could do; read Japanese books, keep a diary in Japanese and so forth. I have to conclude that I like to study English, so I make an effort to improve my English skills. Listening and reading are input and speaking and writing are output. These four skills interact with one another. Keeping a diary, I think, is very useful if we want to improve conversation skill, but only if we write quickly. Now I can’t write quickly. I have to refer to a dictionary and a grammar quite often while writing. Writing isn’t so easy. When I can write English at natural speed, I will be able to speak naturally. There is no shorter way to acquire a foreign language. I am going to study English little by little.
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Thank you for your coming. I'd appreciate it if you could vote. The DVD of "SAYURI"
The weather is getting worse. Rather strong wind is now blowing. It is likely to rain anytime soon. I stayed at home all day long and watched the DVD of SAYURI.
This movie is set during WW�� in Japan. Some people were so poor that they unwillingly sold their children to get some money, though this fact should never be told. SAYURI was one of the poor girls.
It was a poor girl's destiny to become a geisha back then. However, there were many barriers such as an older geisha severely bullying her in order to become a geisha. The movie has a happy ending in which SAYURI's pure love for the Chairman is fulfilled..
To my regret, a Japanese actress was not chosen as SAYURI by Steven Spielberg.
Thank you for coming. I'd appreciate it if you could vote.
This movie is set during WW�� in Japan. Some people were so poor that they unwillingly sold their children to get some money, though this fact should never be told. SAYURI was one of the poor girls.
It was a poor girl's destiny to become a geisha back then. However, there were many barriers such as an older geisha severely bullying her in order to become a geisha. The movie has a happy ending in which SAYURI's pure love for the Chairman is fulfilled..
To my regret, a Japanese actress was not chosen as SAYURI by Steven Spielberg.
Thank you for coming. I'd appreciate it if you could vote. Blow Off Steam
I took a hula dancing lesson at the gym this afternoon. Every week the class members seem to have forgotten everything they learned the week before. Our instructor checks out how much we have remembered. I am usually at a loss and move in the opposite direction from everyone else dancing. I’m confused, but continue dancing, laughing all the while. Our instructor is seldom strict with us. Her policy is “Let’s enjoy dancing and blow off steam.” Plus, I can get some exercise. Our instructor lets us stretch our legs, turn our ankles hugging the floor tightly with our toes, and lift our arms high over our heads and pull backwards.
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Thank you for coming. I'd appreciate it if you could vote.
Memorizing
I have to do my homework of an English conversation class for the first time in many years. I didn’t have any homework in the former class. Now I have to learn by heart all the names of the states of America by this Saturday. In the last lesson, none of us memorized them. So, it’s the second time. My American teacher asked me, “How many states have you memorized?” I made an excuse.” I’m old. Memorizing is very difficult for me. I forget soon.” My strict teacher may have been dissatisfied with me and began to recite the names of the prefectures in Japan. “Akita, Aomori, Iwate,・・・.She was perfect! I was stunned by her good memory. She is not young and seems over 50 years old.
I’m now struggling to memorize them in alphabetical order. “Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,・・・".That’s the hardest work that I’ve ever had in the last 30 years or so, a good training for my fading brain though.
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I’m now struggling to memorize them in alphabetical order. “Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California,・・・".That’s the hardest work that I’ve ever had in the last 30 years or so, a good training for my fading brain though.
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Greetings
one cherry petal
flies down to me
a greeting from my late mother
花びらひとひら/ 私に向かってひらひらと/ 亡き母からのこんにちは
I received a letter from my former teacher of an English conversation class. She is a pastor's wife, so she recommends me to keep reading the Bible.
"Greetings to you from Georgia! How are you?-------
----
Are you still reading your Bible?---- How wonderful it would be if you could spend your "sunset years"(You're still not that old!), knowing and praising God in preparation for heaven. I guarantee you will never regret it. I like this verse.
"Seek the God while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near."---Isaiah 55.6
主を尋ね求めよ、見出しうる時に。呼び求めよ、近くにいますうちに。
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Awa Dance
As you know well, The Awa Dance Festival(阿波踊り Awa Odori) is held every year in the time of the Bon festival in Tokushima, the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku in Japan. Awa Odori has the history of about 400 years.I’ve watched Awa Odori many times on TV, however, actually I haven’t seen the dancing teams parading through the streets. Fortunately, I had a chance to see Awa Odori on the stage in 阿波踊り会館the night before last. This event is held for 50 minutes every day. You can see Awa Dance directly and make a trial of dancing on the stage.
On the stage, the movement of male members was more dynamic than I had expected. It seemed as if big waves of oceans were being undulating. On the other hand, female dancing was very elegant. I was fascinated by this artistic dancing.
From Wikipedia, I found an interesting translation of the song.
踊る阿呆に Crazy Dancers
見る阿呆 with other crazies watching them
同じ阿呆なら Since both alike are mad
踊らな You might as well dance,
損、損、 might as well dance
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The Fourth Bus Trip to Shikoku
Yesterday I took part in the fourth bus trip as a part of the 88 Temple Pilgrimage of Shikoku and stayed overnight at Tokushima City. I visited seven temples in Tokushima Prefecture. Unfortunately, it rained, especially today, I was caught in torrential rains. " Alas, how terrible!" I said again and again. 先達 sendatsu, a leader in Buddhism, told the members of the bus trip not to complain about bad weather. "We have fine days and rainy days in our lives. Be patient!" So, I stopped complaining about bad weather.The most impressive temple of the seven was 太龍寺 Temple, Tairyuuji. It is called 西の高野. It is located on high up in a mountain, say 600 meters above sea level. I went up the mountain in a rope-way. You can enjoy beautiful panoramic view from the rope-way when it is fine. To my regret, the scenery was wrapped in dense fog today. I could see NOTHING. I really tasted the world of NOTHING of Buddhism. There is a stone monument in one of the seven temples, on which the word "無”（nothing) is carved.
I could barely take a picture of 鶴林寺 Temple, Kakurin-ji. Statues of two cranes welcome you.
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Alumni Association
I went to Osaka to attend the meeting of my alumni association of high school. which was held at a hotel near Osaka Statio from 12:00. The meeting this time was scheduled to gather only representatives of each school year.
Forty schoolmates were present. The oldest mate is in his late seventies and the youngest is in his middle forties. Some activities like Walking Club events and Golf Club were reported to us. We enjoyed having lunch chatting with each other, listening to each member’s situation lately.
I was very encouraged to know my senior class members were very healthy and active. One of the senior class members said, laughing, “I’m already in 後期高齢者 group. Soon, I am going to be in 末期高齢者 group.” 後期高齢者 is a bad naming, isn’t it?
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Forty schoolmates were present. The oldest mate is in his late seventies and the youngest is in his middle forties. Some activities like Walking Club events and Golf Club were reported to us. We enjoyed having lunch chatting with each other, listening to each member’s situation lately.
I was very encouraged to know my senior class members were very healthy and active. One of the senior class members said, laughing, “I’m already in 後期高齢者 group. Soon, I am going to be in 末期高齢者 group.” 後期高齢者 is a bad naming, isn’t it?
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Smoking On the Road
I went to Himeji Castle on April 5 with my husband. When passing through a bridge over a moat in front of the castle, he was stopped and handed one flyer by a young man. My husband seemed a little bit offended. I wondered what was going on him and looked at the flyer. The flyer said, “No Smoking On the Roads Around the Castle”. Smoking on the roads has been forbidden except for some smoking corners since April 1, 2008. “What the hell were you doing? Were you smoking, even while walking?” I blamed him. He said nothing for a while and looked somewhat lonely. I didn’t notice at all about he was smoking at that time, because I was stunned by the beautiful scenery of the castle surrounded with cherry blossoms. Sad to say, he is addicted to smoking. “There’s no way. It’s you who are blamed.” I wanted to say so.
The photograph of a smoking deceased person like the late Mr. Ichikawa Kon. a movie director, will not be seen in public anymore.
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Tibetan people
I joined an English conversation class which was held by the city yesterday. This class is going to be open for 6 months from April to September. I had been looking for another conversation class since my former teacher left Japan for America one month ago. The lesson fee is reasonable. Fifteen members were present yesterday. The ratio of men to women in the class was 8:7. Half of the members seemed to be in the same generation as me. After self- introduction, we were divided into four groups. Each group picked up one topic from recent news repots in newspapers or on TV and discussed about it. My group talked about today’s Tibet. It was a little bit difficult topic, but we enjoyed talking in English. Why does China want to put Tibet under its control? Are there any important or valuable natural resources in Tibet? Does China have anything advantageous by putting Tibet under rule?
I went to the province of Sichuan四川省 some years ago and visited some villages of Tibetan people. Their houses were humble and didn’t look rich. I sometimes recall their friendly smiles to my mind lately.
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Sidney Sheldon "The Sky Is Falling"
I finished reading “The Sky Is Falling” written by Sidney Sheldon today. The sentences are rather short and the words are not very difficult. It didn't take much time for me to read through it. It may be good to read as many easy books as possible. The first half was a little bit boring, but I was struck by the thrilling story in the latter half, notably in the last several chapters. I couldn’t stop reading it, wondering what was going to happen in the final. This book is a really page-turner.
Five members of an America’s royal family, the Winthrops, are killed in a series of accidents in a single year. A beautiful Washington anchorwoman Dana Evans happens to begin investigating the accidents, placing her in grave danger with her adopted son, who lost his left arm in Sarajevo…….
a page-turner---ページをくるのももどかしいくらい面白い本
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Flower Light
It rained heavily last night. Now it’s raining on and off. The weather may get better by tomorrow morning. I stayed at home all day long, reading a book, watching a DVD and doing chores around the house. I’m now very happy to have more time to use freely than when I was younger.
I watched the DVD “The O.C. the first season”today. Although I’ve watched the drama on TV many times, it isn’t easy to follow all the story without subtitles. A DVD is more convenient to improve listening comprehension ability. I can stop it every time I can’t understand. Youngsters who appear in the drama look shining despite difficult situations of their families.
flower light
faint and unable to capture
the years of my youth
花明かり/ 幽かで とらえどころなく/ 青春の日々
(This picture was taken at the northern part of Lake Biwa in mid-April last year by my husband)
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"Get Up English"
A popular blog"Get Up English" is made into a book titled "日めくり現代英語帳". I started reading this book from the beginning of this year. I can learn one word or one phrase every day from this book. Plus, there are lots of today's expressions of English that I've never known before. Although I can't use those expressions fully so far, I hope I will be able to acquire even one of them.Please don't say, "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT"
"Been there, done that."--あれもこれも経験し尽くした、すっかりおなじみ、新味ない
"Hey, Nikki, wanna go hiking tomorrow on Mt. Hiei?"
"Naw, been there, done that. Call me when you get a better idea of how to spend a Sunday"
"ねえ、ニッキ、明日、比叡山にハイキングに行かない？”
”私はパス。もうそこには登ったから。日曜日に何するかいい案が浮かんだら、電話して”
(日めくり現代英語帳 上 より）
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Enough is enough.
I took a hula lesson this afternoon. From April, the lesson time has become 50 minutes earlier than before. So, I have to finish having lunch by noon so as to take a rest for a while after lunch.
Today we began to learn a new song “カイマナヒラ”. My teacher told us that カイマナヒラ means Diamond Head in Hawaiian language. Some other names of places in Oahu Island like ワイキキ(ビーチ) and カピオラニ（虹公園） appears throughout the song. I have once visited Oahu Island ,so I feel warm affection for the song.
The song has a rather fast tempo. We have to change the movements of our arms and legs quickly. Dancing is good for me to revitalize cells of my brain.
One of the members said to me after the hula lesson, “ Hey, ruruan, won’t you work out more in STEP EXERCISE? I replied, “Enough is enough. I'm not about to exercise any more.” I went home immediatly without taking another lesson as usual.
Enough is enough.---もうたくさんだ。
Thank you for coming. I'd appreciate it if you could vote.
Today we began to learn a new song “カイマナヒラ”. My teacher told us that カイマナヒラ means Diamond Head in Hawaiian language. Some other names of places in Oahu Island like ワイキキ(ビーチ) and カピオラニ（虹公園） appears throughout the song. I have once visited Oahu Island ,so I feel warm affection for the song.
The song has a rather fast tempo. We have to change the movements of our arms and legs quickly. Dancing is good for me to revitalize cells of my brain.
One of the members said to me after the hula lesson, “ Hey, ruruan, won’t you work out more in STEP EXERCISE? I replied, “Enough is enough. I'm not about to exercise any more.” I went home immediatly without taking another lesson as usual.
Enough is enough.---もうたくさんだ。
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Falling Blossoms
It has been raining since this morning. I have stayed at home and loafed about all day, thinking about cherry blossoms which have gotten soaked in the rain. Some flowers may begin to fall. I feel a little tired because I walked about for a long time when visiting Himeji Castle the day before yesterday. “花疲” (being tired from seeing flowers) is a sophisticated Japanese word in this season.
花疲隣同士にゐて無言---------星野 椿
There have been many Japanese traditional poems in tanka and haiku forms describing blooming and falling blossoms. We Japanese appreciate falling blossoms as well as blooming ones. I don’t know if the Japanese words such as “hirahira”, “huwahuwa”, “yurayura” and so on are unique linguistically.
Their meanings are:
ひらひら hirahira-----fall fluttering in the wind
ふわふわ huwahuwa----fall lightly (softly)in the wind
ゆらゆら yurayura-----fall dancing in the wind
loaf about----ぶらぶら過ごす
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花疲隣同士にゐて無言---------星野 椿
There have been many Japanese traditional poems in tanka and haiku forms describing blooming and falling blossoms. We Japanese appreciate falling blossoms as well as blooming ones. I don’t know if the Japanese words such as “hirahira”, “huwahuwa”, “yurayura” and so on are unique linguistically.
Their meanings are:
ひらひら hirahira-----fall fluttering in the wind
ふわふわ huwahuwa----fall lightly (softly)in the wind
ゆらゆら yurayura-----fall dancing in the wind
loaf about----ぶらぶら過ごす
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Flower-viewing Party
I went to Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture yesterday. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the weather was also absolutely wonderful. There are many, many cherry trees around the castle. The castle was crowded with many visitors, including foreign people from western or Asian countries.
I reached the castle about 10 a. m. There were many pieces of blue or white vinyl cloth covering the large open space in front of the castle and many places under the cherry trees. As I am Japanese, I know well that the vinyl cloth is prepared for a flower-viewing party :sitting on it, enjoying drinking sake and having lunch, viewing beautiful cherry blossoms. However, I guess that some foreign people may have wondered what the cloth was. At lunch time, they must have understood all.
Much to my relief, most of the flower-viewing parties were being done quietly. Of course, people were chatting happily, drinking sake and having lunch. However, I didn't hear loud sounds of karaoke there. Moreover, I could hear beautiful tune of koto, a Japanese instrument. Some women wearing kimono were playing koto at the open stage before the castle. It was the best day for cherry-blossom viewing and the number of my steps was 18389.
Much to my relief---（大いに）ほっとしたことには
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Sakura Path
looking back
and looking back
sakura path
振り返りふりかえり見る花の道
Cherry blossoms are my favorite flowers. They are now in full bloom in my town too. Many mountains, villages near hillsides and even modern towns are spotted with faint pink flowers. The scenery is almost like a picture painted with watercolors.
Cherry blossoms have short lives. Their petals easily fall off in rain or spring storms. We Japanese lament its short life and treasure its beauty for a short while. We’re worried sick whenever the weather forecast tells us about bad weather.
In war times, the image of cherry blossoms was wrongly used for soldiers to be proud of dying in a manly way like falling sakura. I’m sure that there are still many people in Japan who feel sad to see cherry blossoms, remembering many promising young people died during World War��.
We're worried sick---私たちはとても気にする
in a manly way---男らしく
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My Reliable Neighbor
There are more flyers and notices for circulation handed out to my home these days. They are mostly from my neighborhood association. It’s the time for changing leaders of our association. Most of us don’t like to be leaders because there are lots of troublesome tasks to do. We can choose freely if we join the association, but most of us are the members.
We clean our garbage dump in turn. We have to carry at least two buckets of water to clean it. If we try to fully clean it, including a gutter in front of it, additional buckets of water are needed.
One day, I was impressed with one of my neighbors. I saw him carrying two buckets of water twice, totally four buckets. It’s about 40 meters from his house to the garbage dump. Plus, he seems to be over 70 years old. It’s too much work for him. He is really great! I’m ashamed of my lack of volunteer spirit. Oh, I carry at most two buckets of water in spite of my distance is 10 meters shorter than his.
notices for circulation---回覧板
my neiborhood association---町の自治会
garbage dump---ゴミ捨て場
a gutter---溝
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We clean our garbage dump in turn. We have to carry at least two buckets of water to clean it. If we try to fully clean it, including a gutter in front of it, additional buckets of water are needed.
One day, I was impressed with one of my neighbors. I saw him carrying two buckets of water twice, totally four buckets. It’s about 40 meters from his house to the garbage dump. Plus, he seems to be over 70 years old. It’s too much work for him. He is really great! I’m ashamed of my lack of volunteer spirit. Oh, I carry at most two buckets of water in spite of my distance is 10 meters shorter than his.
notices for circulation---回覧板
my neiborhood association---町の自治会
garbage dump---ゴミ捨て場
a gutter---溝
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Wind Shines
a seagull
flying down
wind shines
かもめ / 舞い降りる / 風光る
It was cloudy with sunny spells here. The sky was clouded over and it was likely to rain anytime soon. Happily, the weather is still holding. What is the weather outlook for tomorrow? The weather has been changeable these days.
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Piers for Sea Fishing
I went to Suma-ura Park, west of Kobe City last Saturday. This park is along the seashore of the Inland Sea. The ocean wind was still chilly and most of the cherry trees were in 20% bloom. After walking about in the park, I walked to 海釣り公園 the Sea Fishing Park. There are several piers for sea fishing placed in the sea. There were many people enjoying sea fishing here and there on the piers. The longest pier is 1200m long.
I began to go on to the tip of the longest pier. Soon I got scared because I could see the sea water directly at my feet through the wire netting. The sea water looked gloomy, waving rather roughly. I felt even dizzy. My cruel husband didn't help me walk at all.
Finally, I could reach the tip of the pier with tottering steps. Some ships were sailing calmly. On the way back to the land, I didn't feel scared at all. I can go with the strange environment soon. The number of steps was about 8900 on that day.
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