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]

Hokkaido's slow thaw

2013年5月7日 (火)

Does anybody out there like to cook? I sure do. I don’t eat much meat and rarely cook with it at home, but when I do, I like to eat deer. That’s right – cute little Bambi…or rather, his parents. Ezo shika are plentiful in Hokkaido, and their meat (venison when cooked) is low in fat, flavorful and, best of all, organic. I buy it frozen from the Hug Mart in Tanuki Koji 5. It usually takes half a day to completely thaw before I can cook with it.

Hokkaido is much like this frozen deer. It’s so cold all winter, it takes much longer than southern Japan to warm up. It’s May, but there are still patches of unmelted snow on the mountains and even on north-facing streets in my neighborhood. So before we can dig into a hot Hokkaido summer (or even a warm spring…) there’s still a bit of thawing that has to happen.

It’s ok…we live in Hokkaido…we’re tough.

Happy almost spring!

It's been awhile!

2013年4月11日 (木)

Hi everyone! Long, long time no see! Do you remember me?

I am still living in France. I am very happy and slowly adjusting to life there. I am learning French little by little- it’s a bit difficult, but I am able to speak more and more.

But actually, right now I am traveling in the US. It is my first time back to my my country in about 6 years! I came to visit family. First I went to California to visit my sister and her husband, who I met for the first time. Then my sister and I flew to Big Island, Hawaii to visit our mom. It was our first time all together in 6 or 7 years, so we were really happy to be all together. We had a great time going to the beach and traveling around the island. My sister and I swam with wild dolphins two mornings in a row. It was amazing! The dolphins came so close to us that we could have touched them! (We didn’t touch them out of respect, but we could have!)

Now I am in Taos, New Mexico visiting my grandmother and aunt. My grandma is 92 years old! You may remember that she visited me in Japan a couple of years ago. She is still as tough and independent as ever, volunteering every day and still driving around in her big car! It is good to see her and my aunt.

And it is nice to reconnect with my American roots. I am able to appreciate my country in a way that I could not when I was younger. It is not a perfect place, but there are some good things here, and the nature here is beautiful and diverse! I think traveling in different countries gives us a new perspective and helps us appreciate where we come from.

I hope all is well with you all!

All the best,
Luella

*The photo is me with my mom and sister.

Change

2013年4月6日 (土)

Hello all! Well, the winter has finally left Sapporo and spring time is here. Last night I changed over my bicycle tyres from winter (spikes) to summer. It always makes me excited when I change my tyres over. This year I haven`t made a plan to go touring but I really want to. My goal for this year is still to work on my knee and recover from my surgeries as well as play rugby again.
In England, spring is a time for cleaning and new beginnings. What will this spring bring for you? I hope you embrace and enjoy it.

Discovery

2013年4月2日 (火)

I recently discovered a wonderful little wine bar.
I enjoy drinking wine, but it is quite difficult to find a good glass of wine at a reasonable price. Atmosphere is important, too, and as a result there are not many places in Sapporo where I often go for a glass of wine.

This new place has been open for just over a year and a half, but it is a little difficult to find, because the owner does no advertisement. His business plan is to get customers only by word of mouth.

The master of this wine bar was formerly the sommelier at none other than Maruyama’s famous Le Barenthal restaurant. In my opinion that makes him one of the best sommeliers in Hokkaido. He left Le Barenthal, he says, because he wanted more freedom to pursue the wines and atmosphere that he wanted.

I sampled two reds and two whites, with a delicious little marc to finish. Each wine was different, but all were beautiful and satisfying. The prices (though not listed) were very reasonable and cheaper than I expected.

This was the best wine drinking experience I have had since coming to Sapporo nearly four years ago, and so I wanted to share it with you, my students.

Because this delightful little shop has a no advertisement policy, I won’t put its name in my blog. If you are interested, please ask me and I will tell you the name and location. I hope that you do ask, and that you enjoy this interesting little place as much as I have.

Kurodake

2013年4月1日 (月)

Hey everybody:) Happy April 1st. If one goes by the calendar it’s spring, but I think if you look outside you can agree that winter is still in its dying gasps. There’s still plenty of ice and snow in my neighborhood. Lot’s of people are still wearing scarfs and gloves, as well. So if we judge the seasons by the temperature, I’d have to say winter endures.
This is especially true in the mountains. The ski resorts still have plenty of snow remaining and the backcountry season continues. Last Friday I climbed to the peak of Kurodake with another Stepup teacher, Lawrie. It was very windy, cold and visibility was terrible. Fortunately we made it down without a problem. An American man from Asahikawa was not so fortunate when he climbed Furanodake last Thursday. I was reminded we must continue to respect the mountains, especially when it seems like winter is almost over. Spring is right around the corner, but let’s play it safe while there’s still snow and ice.