today's weather

When I got up in the morning, it was raining hard.

When I was walking to the post office in the afternoon,
it was still raining lightly.

While I had my hair cut and dyed in the beauty solon,
the weather cleared and the sun began to shine!

When I was walking back to my apartment,
I was glad to see sunset clouds.

What changeable weather!

The weatherman has forecast fine weather for tomorrow.

(Tamagawa-josui)


(koharu's karin tree is in fruit.)


(sunset clouds)

community open college (2)

Yesterday I had the second English lesson
at 'community open college 2010.'

We, 30 students, watched the movie 'My Fair Lady',
caught its hero's and heroine's English
and filled in the blank space on the form.

Doing English dictation will be very helpful
for improving English ability.

There were a lot of good and important expressions
in the movie.

I'll have the 3rd lesson on July 3rd,
which will be given by an American professor.

blue skies in the rainy season

What a beautiful day!

I often stopped to watch the blue skies
on the way home from Harmonica Circle.

We are now in the rainy season.
According to the weather forecast, we will have
many rainy days from tomorrow.



Yesterday I went to Tachikawa Cinema and watched
a movie--Sex and the City 2.
Many people were talking about the movie, so I decided
to go and see the movie.

I was surprised to find the theatre was full of ladies!
Yes, it was Wednesday--Ladies' Movie Day.
Oh, no. Was it because the movie was so well known?

To tell the truth I did not have any information about the movie.
I did not see the movie Sex and the City 1, nor did I see
any of its series on TV screen.

The movie was about four New York professional women.
The movie was a comedy.
The movie was fun.

I enjoyed their fashion.
I saw those skyscrapers in New York and wanted to visit the city
some day. I've never been to America.
I understood what they were talking about their way of life.

But I felt very sorry that those four ladies were not very polite
to Arab culture. Is it all allowed in a movie?

Nagatoro in Chichibu

Yesterday I went to Nagatoro in Chichibu with some of
members of Green-road. I join them once or twice a year.

I changed trains at Hagiyama, Kodaira, Tokorozawa,
Han-nou and reached Seibu-chichibu Station.

Then I walked a few minutes to Ohanabatake
on Chichibu Railway Line.

I took an express and finally arrived at Nagatoro around noon.

I had lunch (onigiri) sitting on the rock band looking down the
River Arakawa.

After lunch we got in a riverboat and enjoyed the Nagatoro
gorge from the boat. Amazing! The views of the rock beds
surprised me.

I also enjoyed slow and fast currents of the River Arakawa.

Have you ever been to Nagatoro?
This was my first visit and I liked Nagatoro very much.



( I ate onigiri here.)

Friday English Circle

Our English teacher is now on her summer vacation
and is going back to America.

She has arranged a substitute teacher, Ms. A, for us.

Today Ms A came to us with some books, an onion,
a bulb of garlic, a pan, a cutting board, measuring
spoons, several bottles of spice, a bottle of olive oil,
a chef's knife, etc.

Cutting the onion, she told us the difference of three
words 'slicing,' 'dicing' and 'mincing.'

She told us that a whole garlic is called 'bulb' and
each piece of the bulb is called 'clove.'

Indeed "Seeing is believing."

Ms A told us also about the American Southwest--
Arizona , California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico,
Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

They were Spanish colonized and there was always
conflict between Spanish people and the native Americans.

The native Americans were forced to go away to
the Reservation.

But they handed down their great culture heritage
(art, architecture, language etc.) to their descendants.

She showed us pictures of some of those famous works.

Ms A taught us a few lines from Emma Lazarus' Famous Poem--
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Her poem is graven on a tablet within the pedestal
on which the Statue of Liberty stands.

She also told us about Mexican food such as Tacos, Chili,
Salsa, Nachos, burritos, etc.

She gave us a recipe for Black Beans Chili.

We enjoyed her class very much.