Many times in the past I’ve urged everyone to visit Kyoto Gosho and this spring was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately the bad weather on Sunday April 6 and 7 caused us all to cancel long-planned outtings, particularly the Osaka-jo koen Hanami that so many of you had been preparing for!
Well I was able to go out on Monday with one English conversation student from the Smith’s School of English in Kotoen スミス英会話 甲東園. It was a bit cool but the weather turned out to be rather better than expected, but the damage had already been done for most people! There were no crowds on Monday! It was the most serene visit we have ever had!
Next visit will be in October. Expect some amount of early warning from me as Kotoen will probably be organizing another outing. If you haven’t been, it should be high on your list!
This week’s video is about a Canadian car company, which most people wouldn’t even know there is. The company is in eastern Canada and they only make one car- the ZENN. ZENN stands for Zero Emission No Noise, as those are the main point behind the car. This car is 100% electric and it makes no noise. Rick Mercer, a famous Canadian comedian and news anchor, visits the plant and interviews the president and others and then goes for a drive around town. His show, The Rick Mercer Report, is a comedic take on news, focusing on Canadian news. Listen for the word “Kyoto” around 3:22. What are “Kyoto Targets”? Although this car is made in Canada and the company is Canadian, the cars have yet to be legalized in Canada and so are only available in the US at this time. Incroyable!
There are a thousand things I love about living in Japan. I come from Canada, where the weather is unpredictable at this time of year.
As we celebrated cherry blossom season in Kamishinjo, my fellow Canadians were waiting for the snow to melt.
Last week, Yuichi went to his hometown, Amakusa. While he was there he took some pictures. On the same day, I asked some friends to post pictures of Canada on Facebook.
These pictures were taken on or around April 13, 2013. The left picture was taken in Canada. The right picture was taken in Japan.
Where would you rather live?
I think it’s easy to see why I live in Japan…
Do you want to see more pictures? If yes, visit our Facebook page.
Earlier this week, I was able to indulge in one of the perks of living in Osaka. I decided that I wanted to eat fish for dinner. That’s a pretty exciting time, since Japan obviously has tons of delicious, fresh fish no matter where you go but this day was particularly good, since I had decided to go to a delicious Japanese tavern near my apartment. A student at my school in Fukushima (スミス英会話福島) had introduced me to this place and I was eager to go back. It has the best scallops I’ve eaten in Japan, delicious fried foods, and the most important item of all: ぶりカマ焼き (burikamayaki).
Burikamayaki is the grilled jaw of a yellow-fin tuna. The meat is juicy and changes flavor depending on where you get it from. The skin has just enough fat to complement the light meat and, when paired with some Japanese sake, it’s downright blissful. I ate very slowly so as to fully enjoy such a wonderful treat!
The tavern owner was an especially kind man and I was able to finish with some specialty soba (buckwheat noodles) that wasn’t available on the menu. My meal was thoroughly satisfying and something very different than what I could get in America unless I was willing to pay an arm and a leg. Having ready access to great local food is one of the many things I love about living in Japan!
Recently I’ve been obsessed with French cafe music, easy-listening, jazz and bohemian style street music. I found a French media agency called Le Figaro and their weekly music special called Le Live. Le Live has a You Tube account where they post their weekly sessions. Every week features a different artist who performs 3 songs and does a short interview in French. Not all of the artists are French so when there is a non-French speaking artist they include subtitles with the interview. I’d like to introduce you to a few of my newly discovered favorite artists and encourage everyone to dig through the more than 500 videos Le Live has uploaded as there is a great variety of musicians performed mellow and usually acoustic music. I also think that when learning any language it is good to Read More »
Ingredients
1/2 pound Trader Joe’s Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 15-oz can Trader Joe’s Traditional Style Fat Free Refried Beans
4 9-inch flour tortillas
1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Chunky Salsa, or your favorite salsa
2 cups Trader Joe’s Lite 3 Cheese Blend
2 green onions, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup Trader Joe’s Extra Large Black Pitted Olives, sliced
Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 350°F. (177° C)
2.Place meat, onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is evenly browned. Drain off grease. Season the meat with chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper.
3.Coat 2 pie plates with non-stick cooking spray. Place one tortilla in each pie plate and cover with a layer of refried beans. Spread half of the seasoned meat over each tortilla and then cover with a second tortilla. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
4.Spread half of the salsa over the top tortillas. Top each pizza with half of the cheese, tomatoes, green onions, and olives. Return the pizzas to the oven, bake until the cheese is melted, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Slice each pizza into 4 pieces and serve.
The cherry blossom is a success in our neighborhood despite the long wait through the rather cold early spring. My wife Yoko and I are blessed with having a canal surrounded by cherry blossom trees right off our third floor east facing sunroom window and balcony, and these photos were taken through a small telescope from the sunroom.
The rain yesterday took its toll as expected but there are still a percentage of blossoms that manged to escape the deluge. Today we went to Kyoto Gosho but unfortunately we couldn’t be accompanied by Conversation students from the Smith School of English in Kotoen スミス英会話 甲東園. The bad weather yesterday forced us to cancel the planned outing and rethink, and this recap will come in another post shortly.
Take one last look at the blossoms and sigh, for another year has come and gone. This April marks the start of the new fiscal measures by the government to improve the economy and hanami parties were extra vigorous and enjoyable! Can’t wait for next year!
Martin Werner Zander
マーティン・ワーナー・ザンダー
Smith’s School of English in Kotoen 月謝制 Monthly Tuition English Conversation School
Here at スミス 英会話 長岡京 we know the road to success passes through failure. This is especially true of 英会話 study. Not only must we practice grammar, vocabulary and conversation, but we also must attempt to use it (perhaps failing at first) in the real world.
We know this and yet how many times do we pass up a chance to say something because we are afraid? Whether it is asking a question in class, asking someone you like on a date or even asking a stranger for help, we let many opportunities pass.
As a reminder of how courage – facing your fears – is sometimes rewarded, have a look at this inspiring video. In it, an audience member asks to play onstage with Billy Joel. Of course, this student had put in a lot of practice and certainly did not fail here – but the point is he took a chance. It is a wonderful example of practice and courage rewarded.
Once in a while on my way to Smith’s Katsura (スミス英会話 桂) I see a small turquoise blue electric car passing by on the road. This particular car caught my attention on many occasions, because it has a large white slogan ‘Do You Kyoto?’ on both sides.
I’ve wondered about the slogan every time I saw it and thought that it’s probably just a catchy advertisement for some Kyoto travel agency.
But then it occurred to me that every time I spot the car I’m actually in Kyoto. So it would make absolutely no sense as a tourism advertisement as anybody who sees this must be in Kyoto too!
I started asking students at my conversation school (英会話) about this peculiar electric car. Some said that they saw it too, but had no idea what does the slogan mean. Others were suggesting similar ideas to my initial thought about some travel agency.
Quite many students were able to give me an explanation. It’s all about ecology!
You see in 1997 one very important document was signed at the Kyoto Conference Hall. It was the ‘Kyoto Protocol‘ (京都議定書), an international agreement on emission reduction. I’m sure you’ve all heard about it. It was recognised as one of the most important steps towards global emission reduction.
And the small car is a part of big campaign by the city of Kyoto, not only to remind people about the importance of the Kyoto Protocol, but more importantly to ask us all: ‘Are we doing anything good for the environment?’ Do we as individuals take inspiration from this important agreement?
I like the slogan on this little car very much. It’s an occasional reminder that I should do as much as possible to be friendly to the environment around me.
As with most people, I love to travel but have neither the time nor the money to travel as much as I like. Similarly and as with most people, I live vicariously through tales of travel instead. I was looking through travel clips on You Tube and I found this great clip called It’s More Fun in the Philippines. The title caught my eye and I immediately clicked on it and it was just that- fun. More than just fun though it was interesting and clever and beautiful and high-paced and made me want to jump on a plane for some fun in the sun. Don’t believe me- check it out for yourself!
Many times in the past I’ve urged everyone to visit Kyoto Gosho and this spring was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately the bad weather on Sunday April 6 and 7 caused us all to cancel long-planned outtings, particularly the Osaka-jo koen Hanami that so many of you had been preparing for!
