英会話教室Pure English（旧ファングリッシュ）

Good morning!

It’s Wednesday morning and my brain isn’t quite awake yet. Luckily there is coffee to help me out.

It was ‘oh my god hot’ yesterday, and it looks to be the same today. Take precautions when you go out and don’t get heat stroke. Heat stroke is when you feel sick from the high heat. Some symptoms can be headaches, sweating, nausea, dizziness or weak muscles. I hope this doesn’t happen to any of you, or me. It looks like the hot, humid and sweaty season is really here now. I need a cold shower.

Last night’s classes at Mishima were very enjoyable. We were learning some vocabulary for items in a house and also practicing prepositions. For the last activity the students had to rearrange the layout (the position of the furniture, etc.) of the room by directing me to move items. It was a fun challenge and they did very well.

Today I am having coffee and toast for breakfast, mostly because I’m a little bit lazy in the early morning and it’s easy to make. Do you usually eat a big breakfast? Do you usually eat the same thing every day or do you make something different for breakfast very often? I’m curious about what people in Japan eat in the morning.

Thanks for reading and have a great day! Be careful of the heat.
-Paul

Hello everyone! Happy Weekend!

So what have you been doing so far this weekend? Working, playing, hanging out at home or seeing friends? Today I’ve been at home preparing for classes and cleaning. I took a break for lunch of course and I made yakisoba. It was delicious; I haven’t eaten that for a while.

It’s starting to get a bit cooler in the early evening, but it feels really humid doesn’t it? The humidity in the summer here is sometimes hard to deal with.

Now I’m making supper (dinner). It’ll be pretty simple but hopefully very tasty. I still haven’t decided what the main dish will be. Any ideas? What can I make with pork?

I wish I had something more exciting to tell you about today. Maybe after the weekend this blog will liven up. I think I’ll go to Starbucks at Hiratsuka station after a quick supper to sip coffee and look at some textbooks. Sometimes it’s good to have a change of scenery when you’re looking for inspiration. If you want to try chatting in English then come and say hi! I’d much rather chat than look at textbooks anyway, so let’s go to Starbucks.

Thanks for reading and have a great Saturday night!
-Paul

Hello again!

It’s a hot Wednesday evening isn’t it? Thankfully there is a gentle breeze blowing now, which is helping to keep the temperature down a bit. My fan is working hard to keep me comfortable in my office.

As I prepare lessons for tomorrow night I’m listening to some music. Tonight’s selection is the Beatles White Album. It’s kind of like an old blanket that you return to once in a while. When I’m not sure what I’d like to listen to or what my current musical mood is, it’s always been there for me… and many others I’m sure. Like the old blanket there is a certain level of comfort and certainty, as well as carrying many memories.

This is one of the things I like about music. I feel it should be able to trigger an emotional response of some kind. No matter the style, if it can’t do that then it’s just sound.

If you can’t decide what to listen to this fine evening, I’d like to suggest the White Album. My current favourite song is ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. In a way, this song was George Harrison’s coming out party. It announced to the world that he was a song-writer on par with John and Paul. The story of how he was inspired to write the lyrics is also quite interesting. Google it if you have time.

Well, that’s enough rambling for today. I’d better get back to my Beatles and preparations. Take care and have a great night!
-Paul

p.s. – Here is a link to the lyrics for any who are interested!

Good afternoon!

I took in the Tanabata festival this morning. It was super busy and I thought the weather was actually good. It was nice and cool and overcast (cloudy) unlike last year where it was very hot. I didn’t get sunburnt this time!

All the usual travelling food stands were there but I didn’t bother with those. I tried some steak skewers from a local shop’s stand, and they were delicious. Also, cucumber on a stick (kimchi flavor)!

There was a Taiko group setting up on stage to play. I like Taiko and wanted to watch some of their set, unfortunately my young boys were not so patient. There is a lot of distraction at street level as you probably know so I couldn’t keep them interested in waiting. Oh well, maybe next time.

We also went to see all the Tanabata decorations. I think my favourite was the giant dragon boat. I’m not sure if there is a special word in Japanese for these or if you just say decoration (kazari).

Well it was a short and sweet trip to the festival today, but I managed to enjoy myself. It’s sometimes good to get out and mingle. I’ll be heading to Bois Colombes now to teach some adult classes and I’m hoping the rain will hold off until I return. I have my fingers crossed.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the Tanabata… or whatever you may be doing this weekend. Bye-bye for now!
-Paul

Hello, hello!

It’s Thursday evening and it’s also quite hot and humid. Yes it seems the uncomfortably humid season is upon us. Prepare to sweat.

I had classes on Tuesday and Thursday at the Mishima Culture Center, all of which were highly successful. It’s always nice to chat with the students and I hope they can take something new home with them. I haven’t written a blog for a few days as I’m still trying to organize myself in my new surroundings (moving). Anyway a big thanks to all the students!

Tomorrow I’ll be going to Bois Colombes to teach and I really hope it’s not raining. Really, really hope not.

I had almost forgotten about the Tanabata festival which is starting tomorrow. I stopped downtown tonight to check it out after classes. There are workers everywhere setting up decorations, security guards at the intersections, bundles of various stands and more decorations lining the sides of the streets. A few people were walking around snapping photos. So I thought I would join them and take a few of my own. Everything looks to be ready for the big party starting tomorrow.

So, will you be going downtown to check it out? I’ll probably be there on Sunday morning (as per my son’s request). Maybe we’ll pass by each other. Don’t forget to say hello!

Take care everyone, and happy Tanabataing!
-Paul