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]

Self Reliance

2012年2月9日 (木)

One of my favorite American writers was a man named Ralph Waldo Emerson. He lived over a hundred years ago and was a major figure in what was known as the Transcendental Movement.

Emerson believed that people should try their best to be self-reliant (自力本願) and I think he was right! But how?

Well, there are many ways. This year I’m going to try to grow more of my own food. I think people living in cities depend too much on supermarkets and convenience stores for food. What happens if there’s another earthquake, or something worse? A bad situation would quickly develop.

So now I’m trying to develop and indoor growing system to grow more vegetables. It should be a fun challenge!

I hope you’ll also try to grow some of your own food as well. It’s the best way we can be self-reliant and ECO at the same time:)

Talk to you later ~ Jon

Deer Party

2012年1月17日 (火)

The day before yesterday one of my friends invited me to an unusual party.  It was a deer party.  About 20 people got together to eat deer for dinner.

My friend is learning to hunt, and on Sunday he caught his first deer.  We had deer shabu-shabu, deer nabe, and deer hamburger steak.  Hokkaido deer has very little fat, and is quite tasty.

Some people say deer has a strong smell, but we didn’t notice such a smell.

By the way, deer meat is called venison.  In Hokkaido there are more than one million deer, and they are causing problems for farmers.  I think it is better for Hokkaido people to eat deer than to import meat from other countries.  Hokkaido venison is delicious, cheap, and good for the environment.

It’s tasty Eco.

Am I lucky?

2012年1月16日 (月)

Thank you to everyone who said that my dog was cute! Wasabi (my dog) will be very happy. He is something of a drama queen (someone who loves attention) so I am sure he will be happy.

I hope that everyone is having a great start to the new year. I got some fortune paper ( おみくじ) from Hokkaido Shrine and it was small luck (小吉）. There isnt`t really an English word for Omikuji because we dont have the same system in England. I wanted to try because lots of my students told me to try it. My luck level was small, but I thought “things can only get better!”. Tonight I will try my luck at LOTTO6 and see if I can win. Anyway, I wish everyone a lucky January and if you do go to a shrine, I hope your omikuji is better than mine!

It`s going to be a great year

2012年1月4日 (水)

Happy New Year 2012! I really hope everyone had a great time. I spent the whole time eating, cooking and eating some more! It was perfect. I even had time to visit Hokkaido Shrine. This year is the year of the dragon and I couldn`t resist buying my dog a dragon costume. So this year I want to wish everyone a great 2012 with my dog Wasabi (He`s a miniature dachshund).
My New Year’s resolution this year is to remember kanji more and study the art of cooking. However my main aim of 2012 is to rebuild muscle and play sports as soon as possible. I recently watched the movie “G.I Jane”, it is about a very strong women who joins the Navy SEALS. The character is a real role model for me. I believe we can achieve anything if we try hard. I really hope to help everyone achieve all their English goals and dreams this year. I have shared my goals for 2012 with you and I am looking forward to hearing about your goals for this year. See you all soon.

My Winter Vacation...

2012年1月4日 (水)

This is my first blog entry… I’m a little nervous. >.<

I had a great vacation~
I went to a few Christmas parties, and ate a lot of cake.  But, on Christmas Eve, instead of chicken, I ate Kimuchi Nabe.  It was spicy and delicious.

Then on New Year’s Eve I went to my friend’s family home.  There were about 8 people there, and we ate traditional Japanese foods, and also salads, fried chicken, etc.  We watched NHK for several hours, and ate soba at around midnight.  It was really fun.  On the first, we all went to a hot spring together.

Then, on January 2nd, I went to another friend’s house and had a very nice lunch with him and his family (see picture).  He has two very cute daughters and a wife (who took the picture).

Finally, yesterday I spent several hours carefully cleaning my apartment, so now I am ready to get back to work. ^^

Cheers!
Allen