Happy New Year everyone!
In Essay Writing Class this school year (2010) we completed 8 essays. Otsukaresama!
Many of you will have final tests soon (though we will not have a final test in Essay Writing class), and then you'll start your Spring Break. I hope you have a nice time! However, you need to keep up your English over the break, so please think about how you can do that. Have you borrowed a book from the library to read over the break? Please try some graded readers if you haven't done that already.
In this class, we talked a lot about current news in Japan and around the world. Do you read English newspapers sometimes? You know the Daily Yomiuri is available at many kiosks at train stations and also in some convenience stores. It's only 120 yen, so why not buy it now and then and boost your English vocabulary? Of course, you can also read English news online. Google News is great for that, and the Japan Times has an English site that may be of interest to you as well.
To keep up your writing, why not start your own English blog? Since you already have Google accounts, you can easily start a blogspot web page if you want to. Ask Kevin if you need advice on how to start. Another thing you can do is write some more restaurant reviews. Send your writing to Kevin with a photo (as a separate jpg file), and Kevin will post your review. That way the Tsurumi Eats! restaurant review site will stay current. You can always access it from your home PC or from your cell phone. Awesome!
Over the break, Kevin will post some of your 2010 essays on this website - English Everyday! Please tell your friends and family about the site so they can view your writing. Most of the old web pages will be deleted, however, as new content will be added starting in Essay Writing Class 2011.
Thank you for all your hard work in 2010! I hope you come talk to me sometime next school year. Come during English Cafe if you can, or go to Kevin's office (Building 6, room 121) for a chat anytime!
Bye for now!
Kevin
The following comment is an example of a Narration essay, written by one of our Essay Writing students. One of the requirements of the essay was that it should have some dialog in it. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother's Story by Potchama
My grandmother on my mother's side is 82 years old. She lives alone near my home. I can get to her house in 15 minutes on foot, so we often go to see her and eat her home cooking. Her home cooking tastes very good. But she is an old Japanese lady, so she always makes too much of everything.
One day, my mother and I went to see her as usual. Appetizing dishes were prepared by her. There was boiled pumpkin. I like pumpkin, so I wanted to eat it and I touched it. But I noticed it had a strange smell. I asked my mother to make sure. She thought too that it was rotten.
She said, “Hey, it's rotten. We can't eat it.”
Then my grandmother looked angry and said, “I don't believe you. The pumpkin was kept in the refrigerator.”
My mother and I were at a loss for an answer. I said, “Well... we can't eat it.”
My grandmother said, ”So, I'll eat it myself.” Then she took the dish of boiled pumpkin.
My mother and I were surprised and we said,“No! Stop! You will have a stomachache!”
But she started to put it in her mouth. Suddenly, she took it out of her mouth. She said, “No.” My mother and I tried to control ourselves, but we laughed out loud.
My grandmother always says,“Mottainai”which means “It's wasteful!" For example, she keeps old boxes and wrapping paper. Some people are amazed to hear this. I am amazed too. But it cannot be helped for her, because when she was young, her family was very poor. She already had children, but my grandfather didn't work. So my grandmother worked hard for her family every day. So thanks to her, my mother is alive today. My grandmother is stingy, but when I entered university and on Adult Day, she gave me 10,000 yen. Now she is living happily. I love her and respect her.
My Friend's Escape by K
ReplyDeleteThis event occurred when my friend went biking around town with me. It happened when we were riding along the coast on our motorcycles.
As we were running along the coast, my friend's motorcycle was speeding. He didn't know, but a patrol car came from behind and the policeman's loudspeaker said, "Stop!" I thought, "Oh, my God!"
Instead of stopping, my friend tried to escape from the patrol car. The patrol car sounded the siren and chased my friend. I slowly followed them.
Then my friend stopped his motorcycle to turn left in the intersection and talk to the policeman.
Later I asked my friend, "Why did you try to escape?"
"I don't know," he said. I think it was because he was in a panic.
I asked him another question. "Why did you stop?"
"Because it was a red light," he replied.
In other words, he was very foolish. He was speeding and running from the policeman, but he stopped at a red light even though he was caught right away. His explanation set me roaring with laughter. He didn't understand why I was laughing. His driver's license was suspended.
A Spiritual Experience by Ken
ReplyDeleteThis story is about a spiritual experience I had when I was 6. I usually fall asleep quickly and I never had trouble sleeping, but one night, at about 3:00 am, I awoke suddenly in a sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is referred to as kanashibari in Japanese. I felt like I was tied down. I looked at myself from the ceiling, and then I saw my dead grandpa before my eyes.
My grandfather said to me, "You have to take care of your mother." My mother was hospitalized at this time.
The next day I decided to go visit the hospital because I was anxious about what grandfather had said. That day, I talked to my mother about it.
She said to me, "It's OK, because you'll be watching out for me."
After my visit, I stayed up that night until late, and around 3;00 I slept as usual. Again I felt tied down, and in my sleep paralysis, my grandfather appeared to me and said, "You're a good boy," and then he went away.
I never believed in this kind of spiritual experience or phenomenon before, but since that happened, I had several strange experiences. For example, when I was 8 years old, I had been sleeping all day. I was supposed to go to Disneyland with my family.
My mother said to me, "It was like you were dead, but you were fast asleep, and you woke up several times."
I had to say, "That's because I was out of my body at that time."
I clearly remember the scene, too, I was thinking, "Huh? I can see my mother from the ceiling!"
This story is now common knowledge in my family and has become a joke. It's interesting that I can experience such a strong spiritual inspiration.