周りの人

今日は六甲アイランドでお仕事をして気づいたことがある。

do you talk to strangers?? i mean, even if you dont know them, if you are coming to an event or some gathering...

i feel ... people in Rokko island are so easy to talk to, and they are very friendly!!! whereas around here noone really talks to strangers? especially young generations...

I see kids at the park near my apartment complex, and i wanna play with them but could i really???? their parents probably teach their kids " dont talk to strangers"..
六甲アイランドは、アイランドというだけあって島全体がやわらかくって平和な雰囲気
結構　何してるのー？　っとか言っても
大丈夫
田舎のエリアに来た感じ？

私の住んでいるエリアはというと
公園で野球やってる子とか見ると
まぜてまぜてー☆って思う
けど子供に話しかけることはできない雰囲気
私だけ？

私、周りの人に興味あるんだけどなぁー。　普通に、話したりしたいんだよなー

だって、公園ってみんなのもので、そしてそこにあつまるってことは
みんな遊びたくてくるから　話してFriendsになって　いいよねぇ！？

あぁー　そういうまちにするにはどうすれば

それはお茶です。わざびじゃないです。 Its tea... not WASABI!

The other day I went to kaiten sushi with my dad-
and next to me was bunch of people from China. they were so excited to see sushi on a robot belt, and the kids especially got so excited and their eyes are shining.... one girl got egg sushi and stabbed it with a fork and started eating,,, and my dad was surprised ans said ";look the little girl is eating sushi with a fork"and i was like.. OK, well she is a little girl.. ( i mean you dont wanna stab fish with a fork roeven with  chopsticks) but then we saw her mommy doing the same  and my dad was like " they dont look like they come from places that dont have chopsticks at all, its weired"haha
then  we have  green powder to make green tea on the counter.A young woman next to me didnt know what to dso so i showed her  the little case, THIS is the tea, i didnt say anything because I wasnt sure what language they were speaking, even i heard them talking it didnt sound like the chinese i heard in Taiwan, so maybe they are from one part of china that use differetn kind of dialect..well, i admit itm im a chicken haha I didnt have the gutys to speak my chinese so anyways i just showed her how to do it thinkng she understood but then she just started drinking hot water instead of making hot tea, so i thought, ok well chinese people drink hot water all the time (its true) so its okay. then she got a small plate for the shoyu (soy sauce) and started to pour shoyu which was okay, then she added the green tea powder! she thought it was WASABI. the podwer wasabi...... in sushi restaurants in Japan we probably wouldnt serve powder wasabi since that really is too artificial ( they usedpowder wasabi, but they dont serve it to the customer) I didnt wanna laugh, because many times people laugherd at me for doing something completely stupid and i was embarrased so i kindly showed her with words
THIS IS  FOR THE TEA. YOU CA N MAKE GREEN TEA, Wasabi is already inside the sushi.
んwell anyways she turned reand she was embarrased, but thats the best thing about the trip. you make mistakes, and you laugh, and people help you, and you learn.  right????

昨日　パパと回転すしにいったら
カウンターの横にどかどかどか！っとはいってきた団体さんは中国からの観光客。
合計7人くらいでベルトにのってうごくおすしに感激して子供とかめっちゃ大喜び。

すぐよこにすわった人が　お茶っぱの場所がわからなかったので
私が　お茶の粉がはいっているはこを
みせてあげたら
「あぁ、thank you!」とよろこんでたんだけど　なぜか彼女はそれを
カップにはいれずにそのまま飲む。
まぁいっかとおもって見ていたら
しょうゆを小皿にいれてなんと　お茶の粉末をそのおしょうゆの中にin
あああああああああああああああああああああああああああ
それは抹茶ですー　わざびではありませんーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

NONONONONO!!!! ITS NOT WASABI!

って言って　お茶の入れ方をおしえてあげたけど
たしかに粉末のわさびに色がにているかもしれない。

超おもしろかったけど私がきづいてあげてよかった。
だって、粉末おちゃをいれたしょうゆでおすしたべたら
めっちゃまずいはず。


ただ、せっかく3ヶ月間べんきょうした北京語
全然通じないやーーーーん！

もっとがんばります。
なんばにいけば外国人がたくさん。
なんか遭遇率が高かったなぁ。
私もたくさん　台湾で助けてもらったから
日本でたくさん還元してあげよう。

外国にいき　わからないことがある。
まちがいをする
まちがってわらう。人がたすけてくれる。それで学ぶ。それが旅行の醍醐味じゃない？

Sad News

Son killing his father, mother killing her daughter...what is happening to people's mind in Japan?

The other day the news told that a temporary worker for MAZDA had killee and injured 11 people in Hiroshima factory... he drove off and hit everyone there .... unbelievable... he said that he intended to kill everyone.

the news says he had financial crises, but isnt that... everybody???
of course there are ups and downs and maybe you will suffer sometime in life.
But do you have to kill someone else? or hurt someone just because you are so angry? why cant you change your anger to appriciation, or even the turn that energy into hard working mind, get a day job, start from there- Why, why do you have to kill innocent people?

That guy appered on the news, not even covered.. he did look confused but just a reguler middle aged guy...
then, how do we supposed to know the person across from me on the train will not shoot me, or stab me?
i think communication is the key and people dont know how to release stress by talking to people-
i am greatful to have friends and family that support me, no matter what situation I am in, they will not judge me but be there for me.
So even if i was so angry, they will just be there for me.
I want to be an educator that can teach children how to control their feeling, and share their thoughts freely when they need to.
So that the stress won't pile up and do absolutely crazy to harm innocent people.

日本のこどもが「なりたい職業」

1位(2) パティシエ
2位(3) 保育士
3位(4) プロスポーツ選手
4位(1) 中学校・高校教師
5位(6) ファッションデザイナー
6位(10) 漫画家
7位(5) 公務員[一般行政職]
8位(7) イラストレーター
9位(8) 看護師
10位(23) 美容師
11位(14) 医師
12位(11) 声優
13位(12) 薬剤師
14位(13) 小学校教師
15位(19) 歌手
16位(21) パン職人
17位(18) 警察官
18位(9) 臨床心理士
19位(16) 芸能マネージャー
20位(17) 動物園の飼育係
21位(25) トリマー
22位(15) テレビ業界で働く
23位(22) 作家
24位(24) 幼稚園教諭
25位(20) 編集者
26位(30) アニメーター
27位(36) 獣医師
28位(39) スタイリスト
29位(57) シェフ
30位(72) ネイルアーティスト
31位(45) カメラマン
32位(41) アナウンサー
33位(88) 水族館の飼育係
34位(34) ホテルで働く
35位(40) ファッションモデル
36位(49) 建築家
37位(27) ツアーコンダクター
38位(26) グラフィックデザイナー
39位(59) スポーツ用品メーカーで働く
40位(44) 絵本作家
41位(37) 理学療法士
42位(29) 客室乗務員
43位(31) 通訳
44位(28) 弁護士
45位(43) 翻訳家（ほんやくか）
46位(54) 電車運転士
47位(42) 精神科医
48位(68) インテリアデザイナー
49位(38) 外交官
50位(50) 画家

教育が３つもはいっててうれしい！
総理大臣！というのがベスト５０なら入っててほしかったけど
ないよなぁー・・・

SUSHI TALK 4 Sushi restaurants Over sea WONDERS

What does SUSHI restaurant look like?


Japanese Sushi restaurant and one oversea is somewhat different.
In US, you can find a japanese sushi restaurant in many cities as it getting popular, however its menu is something new to Japanese.

1. MENU
I will introduce some things i was shocked seen in the menu.

This is one of the dish from a menu in one japanese sushi bar in USA.

" house salad" spring mix, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, and daikon radish with a honey/soy/ginger vinaigrette. topped with wasabi peas
When we go out to eat "sushi", we normally only eat Sushi or fish, and maybe some Tempura,but we rarely see "salad" on the menu.

"edamame" chilled edamame topped with sweet soy vinaigrette
Yes, we eat edamame a lot, but sweet soy? ugggh, never heard of it! its salt!

"kimchee and rice"
korean pickled vegetables, sushi rice, and cucumber
IKimchee is Korean food :)

"pan fried vegetable dumplings"
This is very popular food in japan- in Izakaya(Traditional Grill and Bar style jp restaurant), or Chinese restaurant, but in Sushi bar.
Its like you order Pancake and then eat Pizza afterwards. Each food is good, but we dont eat both of them together



2. NAMES
When you see JP restaurants names, many of them sound very boring.
In foregin countries where English is spoken, you will not wanna name a fast food restaurant "Hamburger", or "Statue of Liberty".
majority of the Sushi bar names i have seen is
City names- Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara etc..
Simple words that represents Japan- Fujiyama, Sumo, Kabuki, Geisha, Taisho,Hinomaru, Bonsai, Kimono



We would NOT choose these to name a restaurant.

to be continued...

SUSHI TALK 3 "Nigiri and Maki"

IF we say Sushi, it normally means "nigiri"

but there are several types of sushi :)
this.


a slice of fish called "sashimi" is on top of vinegered rice.
the toppings, are called " sushi thosoe toppings are wrapped around a thins strip of nori (seaweed) those are Tamago-egg, tako- octopus. and so on.

it is pretty hard to make nigiri sushi, well anyone can make any nigiri sushi, but not a GOOD one like my mom can make!
oh she is good.
If you come to Osaka, anyone who wants to try "home made sushi made by mom"
come to my place! haha

since i was a little child, i loved sushi.
my mo says its b she and my daddy loved it so much that they
had sushi for dinner often, whenever they had a chance.
so of course baby me would ge a bit of sushi but cooked.
beause sashimi fish, are raw- not cooked (but very very fresh)
ts not good for a baby baby. so she used to boil the fresh fish (which is like washing your hair before going to a pool or something.) haha such a mottainai thing to do. ut for little babies we need to be extra careful about food!!
anyways, so i was raised eating lots of lots of fish :)
love it.


fairly easy to make- makizushi
looks like this





its commonly eaten everywhere and also easy to make it for lunchbox or bring to work because its simple!!!
you can put different veges, thin omlet, even chicken , actually anything you like. but NOT anything with waterly things. if you go to a sushi restaurant in foregin countries i often see makizushi with interesting neta inside. chicken, teriyakichicken! thas very very foregin... we dont eat teriyaki as much as foreginers do :) haha but its yummy, i tried it in Australia and i thought it "was pretty good. but maybe Sushi masters of japan will say " this is rediculous!!

SUSHI TALK- 2 Why WASABI?

Do you know Wasabi?
Yes, its the green spicy stuff we eat with Suchi.
What is it made of?

Wasabi leafs look like this.

Japanese horseradish


Yes its damm spicy, and when i was a child, i had to ask the chefs to make a special one without swasabi. we calthis "sabi nuki" meaning "wihout wasabi"


Wasabi is generally sold either in the form of a root.
But its hard to it at home.... so we normally buy the tube ones.
its a ready to use wasabi, and normally it has briger coloring in it so its more green than a grated ones.


it looks like a tooth paste, but dont you dare brush your teeth with it, you will get very very sick.

So why do we put Wasabi in Sushi if its so spicy?
To answer this question, we go back to old times- edo period.
Wasabi is like a natural herb that has medical effect to prevent from food poisoning when served with uncooked fish

For me, i canot eat sushi without wasabi- thats how much i love wasabi., sometimes i make wasabi dressing for salad. its pretty good, i just add lemon juice to a pinch of wasabi it goes well with fish of course, seafood and even beef!!! its great flavor!!!


wasabi dressing with soy sauce. yum yum

it is also used in snacks .

rice crackers covered with wasabi




wasabi flavored peanutes

Sushi TALK- 1. Maguro 2.Salmon 3.Hamachi

For many many years, my answer to this question hasnt changed.
what is your favorite food?
of course... SUSHI!
WhenI was in America, some people asked me if i ate sushi every day in Japan and maybe Japanese people would consider this a "stereo typical question" but for me it wasnt. because it was my favorite food and i wouldnt mind eating it everyday. So i didn't get sick of this question, iused to say " i wish!"


So, what is my favorite sushi?
I couldnt decide, so i wrote three sushi that i normally order, absolutely never miss.

MAGURO- also known as TUNA
(bright red ones are regular Maguro, the pink ones are called TORO, which are translated as Fatty tuna, since there are only little that can be taken from one Tuna fish, they are expensive!)


When i was still a child, i didnnow all the names of fish but i loved sushi. so When eating out with my family i used to say " i want the red one"
and my father knew what it was. They never taught me the word was Maguro because they thought it was cute that i said " the red one" so they didnt want me to get the name right. Now im 26 but sometimes i tdaddy " i wanna red one" and he says "ok, ill order for you"
Maguro can be eaten as just a regular NIGIRI which is rice ball with a slice of tuna fish on top, or also like this

This is called TEKKA maki(鉄火巻き)　and it is rolled with seaweed. its so yumy

Salmon-Many foreginers love Salmon sushi, i was watching TV the other day and they talked about the popular sushi fish by foreginers living in Japan and umber one was salmon!



Just for information, according to "what is your favorite sushi fish?" ranking by goo, women answeres salmon sushi to be number two!!
Salmon is not too popular among "REAL SUSHI MASTERS" because its history is not too long. compared to MAGURO. after having the Kaiten zushi( Kaiten-zushi are inexpensive sushi restaurants where plates of sushi rest on a circular conveyer belt. You can take any plate that is available or you can ask the sushi chef to prepare something different orspecial.) Salmon appered on a menu.

Salmon has a rich taste like butter, so if you like something very very simple, salmon might not be your favoite.Go for Maguro first.

At last, i cannot talk about suchi without Hamachi....
Hamachi is translated as young yellow tal.
Why is it "young" yellowtail? because when its "grown" the name changes to " buri"
So, its a same fish- but let me tell you, it tastes different! personally i like Buri better, but it is seasonal stuff, and you dont often get to eat it. whereas hamachi is eaten almost year around so this time for may ranking i put Buri.
would they look different?



hamachi (young)




Buri (gorwn up)


you can tell its much fatter than hamachi


I hope this entry helped you to gain some knowledge on my favorite sushi!!! next time i wil talk about different types of sushi!!! Thanks to my friend Abi who suggested to talk about Sushi- probably the most famous Japanese food in the whole world :) she wanted to know about it and i thought itll be great to introduce Japanese fod culture on my blog!

Who is the most popular singer in Japan? ARASHI

私が担当している中3生も受験シーズンを迎え、毎日することはテスト、過去問、長文、文法問題、などはっきりいって「楽しい」とは言えない授業。
受験のために！っていうのがあるけれど、自分自身日本語ばかりの授業でしんどいなぁって思いながらも、その中でも少しでも英語の楽しさとツールとしての英語をぜひ使えるようになってほしいとの思いから
「海外からきたメールの返事を書こう」
という宿題をだした。
3人返事を書いてくれたので、その一人一人に設定な同じ人からだけど相手によって話すトピックをかえ、話を展開していくことにした。
意外にも、それぞれ　好きなスポーツの話とか家族の話とか教えてくれて面白かった。
本当によくありそうな会話に近づけるためにアメリカにいる実在する友達の
プロフィールを元に彼女になりきって返事を書いているのだが
生徒たちにとっても友達とは違う内容の返事がくることや相手のことを英語で知っていくこと自分のことを英語で伝えていくことの楽しさを少しわかってくれたみたいですごくうれしい！

その中でも、架空の人物　jennifer がした質問は
who is the most popular singer in japan?

それに対して全員の答えが
arashi. 嵐　だった

嵐は今大人気のアイドルグループで
グループでも人気、個々でも人気という
絶好調の歌って踊れる人たち。

Arashi is one of the most popular singer in japan, when junir high school girls are asked " who is your favorite singer?" they will answer "arashi"Im not familier with japanese idols even though i am japanese, i cant deny that every channel you flick you will see them singing or dancing or talking on music shows, variety shows (talk shows) quiz shows and so on.

They are ARASHI.
Every teenage girl loves arashi. believe or not...

受験 (juken-) taking entering exams

" a snack with a special designed package only for this particular JUKEN season."
It has the word "GOUKAKU" which means to "Pass the exam" in bold letters. And in blue letters " KOALAS never "fall" from a tree even if it's sleeping on it"

Even the Koala snacks are cheering for your success!

受験シーズンですね　
Juken shi-zun desu ne " Its time for entering exams"
this phrase is often heard at this time of the year, yes, Feb.
now the g高校3年生(koukou 3 nen sei)grade 12 and 中学3年生(chugaku 3nensei) grade 9th is doing nothing buy preparing for those exams.
we aften call this "war of exams" because it is highly competitive.
for university exams students have to decide whether they will apply for just one univ. or for a few to be sure. When they fail those exams, they will have to wait another year to take the same types of exam again, of course different questions- otherwise they will cheat haha

( to be contined...)



キーワード

受験　大学　高校　中学　日本
juken daigaku koukou
entering exams university high school junior high school japan