Two Londons

When people ask me, "Where are you from, I usually say "Toronto," but it's not true. My hometown is actually (実は） about 2 hours by car from Toronto. It's called "London", but when I  say "I'm from London," people usually think I'm English.
 London was named after London, England, and we have a "Thames River," "Blackfriar's," "Picadilly," etc. I guess that a lot of British people came to Canada and were homesick so they gave things the same names.
 London isn't very famous, but it is a nice city to live in. One reason is that it has a lot of trees. In fact (実際に), its nickname is "the Forest City." I've heard that it has more trees per capita (一人当たり） than any other city in North America.
 I don't know if London is very exciting to visit, but it might be a really nice place if you like shopping. London is a well-known test market (テストマーケット、試験市場) in Canada, so you can buy a lot of new products (新製品）.  Also, there is a famous shopping area called "Richmond Row" in the downtown area. It has a lot of really nice boutiques and cafes, and there a lot of old, beautiful houses and buildings.

-Ed

Do you know this word? (この単語分かりますか）

What does it mean to know a word? I think that there are different levels (程度)　of knowing a word. For example, do you know the word "contribution"?
It means 貢献, so if you know that "contribution" is 貢献, then you might say yes.
But what if someone asked you "How do you say 貢献 in English?" A lot of people can recognize (認識ができる) a word, but they might not be able to remember the English. This means that the word is in your passive vocabulary (理解語彙) but not in your active vocabulary (表現語彙). I think it's important that when you study, you make sure a word is in your active vocabulary.
Finally, a lot of students have trouble (困る）if I say, "Please make a sentence using the word 'contribution'. They know the meaning and they can say it in English, but it might be difficult to make a sentence with it.
If you say, "He did a contribution to his company," (会社に貢献した）it's wrong. You should say, "He made a contribution to his company." When you're learning vocabulary, it's a good idea to learn the words that go together with the word you're learning. For example, when you learn "contribution," it's a good idea to learn "make a contribution" so that you can use it naturally.

Canadian Winter

 When I lived in Canada, I didn't like snow very much. I hated getting up early (早く起きること）to shovel snow (雪掻きする), and I felt nervous (緊張する）driving on the icy roads (凍った道路).
 This year, when I went back to Canada for my winter vacation, I really enjoyed the winter. It was really nice to take a stroll (散歩する）in the snowy woods (林）near my house.
 This is my fiance enjoying snow shovelling. My father and I were very happy that she enjoyed shovelling snow, because we hate it!

This is my neighbor's house. It looks really beautiful in the snow.

 We also went to Niagara Falls. The temperature (温度） was -15, but the falls are really beautiful in winter because the trees were covered with frost (霜) and the rocks under the falls were covered with ice (氷）.

I was surprised to see these birds in the winter, because usually they fly south much earlier. Do you know what they are? If you do, please leave your answer in the comments.

-Ed

さまざまな意味を持つ単語 ー 積極的

 When I do translations (翻訳）, one of the most difficult words to write in English is 積極的. Many people just write "positively," but often, there are other words that are better. "Positive" is close to 前向き or 楽観的.
Using positively could be confusing because if you say, "He contributed positively" (彼は積極的に貢献した), it sounds like "多いに貢献した。”
If you wanted to translate "積極的に研究を振興した”, it would sound strange to say "He positively promoted the research." It is better to say, "He actively promoted the research."
 Often, the meaning of 積極的 is closer to "actively," "aggressively," "proactively," or "take an active role in." Here is some information about some different ways to say 積極的 in English.

Actively - "Active" is the opposite (反対） of "passive" (受身的), so the word "actively" means that a person is making things happen, not waiting for others to do something.
例：　He participated actively in the activity. (活動に積極的に参加した。）

Aggressively - Sometimes aggressive has a negative meaning. It can mean 攻撃的 or 挑戦的. For example, you could say, "No one likes him because he's so aggressive." But sometimes, "aggressive" has a good meaning, meaning that people make a strong effort or try to "attack" problems or challenges.
例： We aggressively market our website. （積極的にウェブサイトを売り込む。）

Proactively - "Proactive" (前向きな、積極的な、率先、革新的) means that you prepare for trouble before it happens or don't wait for others to do something.
例：　You should proactively take advantage of business opportunities. (ビジネスチャンスを積極的に利用するべき。）

Take an active role in - Sometimes it's better to use a phrase such as "take an active role in".
例： I want to take an active role in it. "積極的な役割を果たしたい。”

A Canadian Christmas

 This year I went home to Canada for my winter vacation.  I went back with my fiance, who is Japanese. She was really excited about experiencing (経験する） a "Canadian Christmas." My parents love Christmas, and they always put up a lot of decorations (飾り物).
 First we opened our presents. I got a really nice digital picture frame and some delicious chocolates. We watched a video in the afternoon, and then it was time for our delicious dinner. We had a big turkey (七面鳥）, with stuffing (詰め物), and cranberry sauce. For desert, we had minced pie.

 After dinner, we went for a drive to look at Christmas lights. Some people in my home town make really fancy decorations.



-Ed