英会話教室Pure English（旧ファングリッシュ）

Hello again, how was your day?

I was able to complete my mission of opening a bank account today. This time I had back-up (my wife came with me) so it was much smoother, although filling out the form with Kanji still took a long time. I’m still very slow at writing Japanese and I don’t understand all of it.

I almost placed the stamp in the wrong direction. I had to be very careful not to mess it up. We don’t use name stamps in Canada, we must sign for everything. I believe this is the ‘Western style’ and is used in many countries. Some people spend a lot of time developing their signature to be unique.

After the mission we went to Vie De France to get some delicious baking. The lunch was very satisfying, and I decided that I should go there more often.

Finally I went to Bois Colombes to teach some children’s classes. We had fun learning and playing in English together. It felt pretty hot today especially downtown where there are so many people in a tight area!

Thanks for reading!
This is a picture of me after completing the mission (actually not me).
-Paul

Hello and good evening!

Today is just another Tuesday, kind of. I did something new and terrifying today. This will seem very normal and boring to many of you but it was difficult for me.

I tried to open a bank account in downtown Hiratsuka… by myself. My Japanese skill isn’t so good yet but I decided to try it (actually had to try it because of my schedule). I practiced writing some Kanji late last night for the application form and also tried to practice what I would need to say. However the people at the bank like to talk very fast so my practice didn’t help very much. They were friendly and helpful though, I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I just couldn’t understand what was going on.

Finally after a couple hours of struggling uncomfortably through the application process I discovered that I had forgotten an important piece of information. So unfortunately I couldn’t complete the application today. Round one was a partial failure so I’ll have to go back later this week for round two. This was my adventure in Japan today.

This picture isn’t me, but it represents my feeling this afternoon ha-ha.
Everyday things and tasks can be stressful if you don’t have the language skills that you need to do those things! I must continue to improve my Japanese skill, and I hope I can help all of you improve your English too.

Also thank you to my students for another great night of classes at Funglish!

Thanks for reading,
-Paul

Hello again, I hope you’ve had a good week!

Today I’d like to try something different with this blog. I’ll do two parts; the first will be a very simple version of what I want to say today and the second I will try to ‘spice it up’ (this expression means to make it more interesting) a bit as if I were writing to a native English speaker. I’ll be writing about the same thing in both parts, just in different ways. So here goes.


Part 1:
Another busy week has gone by. Today I went to Nitori in Chigasaki in the early afternoon. I will be moving to a new apartment soon so I wanted to see if they had any good furniture deals.

After that I went to the Shonan Terrace Mall. The purpose of my trip was to meet an old friend of mine. He is Japanese but now he’s living in Canada. He came back to Japan to visit and to see a Japanese doctor about a medical problem he has. He has to return to Canada in a few days so today was the last chance to meet and chat.

We were looking for a light that he wanted to buy, but he couldn’t find anything that was interesting to him. So we just went for coffee in the Mall and chatted for a couple of hours. It was very busy there and I think it’s usually busy on Saturdays. Finally we had to say goodbye until next time and we took a picture outside. I’m the guy on the right wearing a hat, and the man on the left is of course my friend.


Part 2:
Well the weekend is upon us and a busy week has past. I hope some of you will be able to have some well-earned R&R this weekend. During the early afternoon I went to Nitori in Chigasaki. I will be moving in July and need to pick up a few pieces of furniture as the new apartment now is a barren and void of personality. I didn’t end up getting any furniture but did get a few odds and ends for the new place.

When the Nitori mission was completed I made my way to the Shonan Terrace Mall. The purpose of this trip was not to shop but to see an old friend. He’s Japanese but now living in Kelowna, Canada. We met in Calgary, Canada about 12 years ago. He’s been visiting family here in the land of the rising sun and also seeing a doctor in Tokyo about a troublesome ailment. His vacation time (and vacation budget) will be expiring soon so he must return to Canada. Today we had a small window to get together so we made the most of it.

I arrived at the Mall first and as it is the weekend the place was hopping! There was an endless line of people filing to and fro, from the station gates to the Mall entrance. After a short wait he arrived and we exchanged warm greetings on the walkway. The next step was to cross the river of humanity and somehow make it to the doors of the modern shopping paradise.

I must say that the area has really come alive. When I moved to Japan about 3 years ago construction had just started and it was just an open space which seemed largely uninteresting. Now there is a giant Shopping center with many shops, restaurants, commercial office spaces and condo/apartments in the neighborhood. There always seems to be something happening and people seem excited to go there. I wonder how it will continue to grow and develop.

We entered the mall and were looking for a certain item that my friend wanted to bring back to Canada. Regrettably we were unable to locate said item and since we aren’t exactly built for long hours of shopping (a condition common amongst males) we decided to just go for coffee.

The first place we went without really thinking was Starbucks. Unfortunately many others were thinking about this and there was a huge and unappealing lineup. So we went to the 4th floor and found another coffee shop. I regret to inform that I cannot remember the shop name and failed to take note of it, but can report that it is quite good.

As often happens when old friends meet up the conversation started with the usual “What have you been up to lately?” but changed topic and pace with alarming speed. Most were light and fun and we shared more than a few laughs.

All good things must come to an end, and finally it was time to part ways. We decided to take a picture on the walkway to the station and as it happens this provided us with an amusing moment. This is one that foreigners in Japan may experience from time to time. Of course we had to ask someone to take our picture, so we stopped a young lady who was heading to the Mall. Her first reaction was a look of mild terror, and she looked like she was trying to walk away as quickly as possible. After we reassured her that we only wanted a photo she timidly accepted our request. So thank you to the kind young photographer and sorry if we made you temporarily frightened – haha. The man wearing shorts and a hat on the right is me, and the handsome devil on the left is my good friend.


Thanks so much for reading, and great job if you made it through part 2! I hope you have a great weekend, and if you’re ever at the Shonan Terrace Mall don’t forget to try out the coffee shop on the 4th floor.
-Paul

Hello and happy Tuesday!

It is another rainy Tuesday night, but it was still good. I had a good time at Funglish class again. I hope the students enjoyed the discussion as well. There was also a bit of thunder during the class, but we like to think it helps to create a dynamic atmosphere (joking). Thanks again to my students for helping to make a good class!

Tomorrow and Thursday it’s supposed to be partly cloudy but mostly sunny throughout the two days. I hope it’s sunny and doesn’t rain too much.

Early this morning there was a large earthquake. I think it happened just before 2 am, but I was sleeping so my memory isn’t so clear. It’s not a great way to wake up and I hope everyone didn’t lose too much sleep because of this.

I have included some photos of the downtown Funglish location in this blog entry. It was raining so I’m sorry if they aren’t so clear. The first photo is the entrance to Hiratsuka Station (West gate, South entrance) from the entrance to the class. The second is the bulletin board for the Mishima Culture Center and finally a photo of the Funglish poster in the display case. It’s very close to the station which is very convenient, so come down if you’d like a trial lesson! Don’t be shy!

Thanks again!
-Paul

Hello!

Today I was at a birthday party (not mine). We had sashimi for dinner and chocolate banana-cream cake for dessert. It was delicious and everyone had a good time. Tomorrow it’s back to work and a new week.

Hope you have a great evening!
-Paul