英語学習にも役立つ、札幌の外国人英語教師の英語日記 札幌 英会話 [ステップアップ]

Summer time feeling

2015年5月28日 (木)

Hello all! How are you doing? Recently I have been feeling like summer is in the air. I can smell it coming!!! I know it is a little early to say it but I am excited because summer means I can cycle everyday (I know I always cycle in winter too) and go camping. I love escaping into the countryside and camping under the stars. I really like places were there are no people, just me and my dog.  I wonder what adventures I will have this summer? How about you?

Enjoying art

2015年4月23日 (木)

JUXTAPOSE: to place (different things) together in order to create an interesting effect or to show how they are the same or different.

Hey everyone! It’s been ages, I know. How are you? Things are great with me. On a recent trip abroad, I picked up a few issues of a great American art magazine called JUXTAPOZ. It’s been fun reading about new art shows, exhibitions and upcoming artists back in the USA. I’ve been drawing and painting since I was a kid, and although I’m not particularly good, I love being creative.

These magazines have been an inspiration for me to do more art this year. Over Golden Week I plan to do some painting. Although the magazines are hard to find in Japan, you can always visit the Juxtapoz website at juxtapoz.com.

Hope you’re enjoying this lovely spring weather!

Jon

Uniqlo

2015年3月26日 (木)

Hello everyone!

This week I am a little famous. I did some work for a famous shop, can you guess which one? Yes, it`s uniqlo! I actually usually wear uniqlo clothes to work, so I was really happy when they asked me to be part of their Sapporo campaign. I am a little shy about having my photograph taken and I had to speak Japanese during the photograph shoot and commercial. I understand how hard it to communicate in a foreign language, so I really respect all of you guys for studying English so hard. If you have chance, please check out the new store, its in Esta on the fifth floor and you will see the photograph of me and my dog, Wasabi.

If you want to ask me any questions about it, please do!

Tourists

2015年3月25日 (水)

Spring has come!
It doesn’t really feel like spring yet, but soon warm weather will come our way, and with it, lots of tourists.

We have already had a huge number of visitors to Sapporo this year, for the snow festival and the winter ski season.  Living in a town that has so many visitors every year, it’s easy to sometimes be annoyed by them.

I know that many of my students and friends sometimes complain about large groups of tourists being noisy or taking up too much space on the street or in stores.  It’s hard to find a quiet restaurant during a major festival, and some people seem to wish that we didn’t have so many visitors.

However, I want us to remember that these people are our guests.  They are the fuel for much of our economy, and without them there would be many fewer jobs in Sapporo.  Even though we may not be in the service industry, I hope that all of us residents of Sapporo can be kind and helpful whenever we see tourists around town.  We should all try to make them feel welcome and enjoy their stay, so that they come back and also recommend Sapporo to their friends and relatives.

Also, talking to tourists is a good way to practice English.

So, let’s welcome more and more visitors to Sapporo each year!

An Act of Kindness

2015年1月13日 (火)

I have lived in Sapporo for over five years now, and I believe that most people here are very kind and honest.

During my first year here, I once lost my favorite mechanical pencil.  I was very sorry that I had lost it, and I was thinking about what I should do.  Then, the next day, I was walking to school, and I found my pencil.  Someone had picked it up and put it in an easy-to-see place.  This made a big impression on me.  It made me happy to live here.

Since then I have seen people in Sapporo do many kind things for me and for eachother, so I have a very good image of this city.
But still I was surprised by something that I saw last week.

I was waiting for the subway to go home after work at about 10:00 in Odori station.  There were some people ahead of me in line, and when the train arrived I wasn’t the first person to get on.  I didn’t really look at the people getting off of the train, but maybe the young woman who got on first saw them.  When I got on the subway, I saw a very nice pink umbrella sitting near the door.  I didn’t know who it belonged to, but I felt a little sorry for the owner.

Then, the young woman who got on first noticed the umbrella.  She went and picked it up, and quickly got off the train.  She ran up the stiars, looking for the umbrella’s owner.  I think she saw the owner get off of the train, and so she went to return it.

I was touched by this experience.  At 10:00, everyone is tired and wants to go home.  This young woman got on the train first because she had been waiting there longer than anyone else.  I believe she was tired and wanted to go home, too.  But, she still tried to return the umbrella to its owner.  Her kind action made me happy to live in Sapporo once again.  It made me want to be kind to the people around me, even if I have never met them before.

I don’t know her name, or if she found the umbrella’s owner, but I think she is a good example of the best kind of Sapporo citizen.