Sample Narration Essays 2012

The Too-Expensive Tip
by Y. S.

I traveled to the United States this summer. The trip was at an end and I went to Philadelphia to see the Philadelphia Museum of Art, famous from the movie, "Rocky." Rocky's statue stands in front of the museum, and many tourists were there. I also took several photographs there.

At that time, a man who wore a shirt with "Rocky" on the front appeared.

He said, "Can I take your picture?"

I had a bad feeling about this, but I wanted a photograph, so I said, "Yes, please."

I handed him the camera. When he had the camera, he demanded that I make a pose.

He said, "Next, jump! Next, let's do a pose where you fold your arms."

I agreed and made the poses. Whenever he photographed, every time, he said, "It's wonderful! I've never photographed such a picture as this!" He was very expressive.

I had a bad feeling about this for the second time. But he said, "I'm merely taking a photograph."

I said, "Really?"

He said, "Of course. Trust me."

I believed him and he said, "Last one." And the last pose was photographed.

When I said, "Thank you" he said, "Please, a tip."

Ah, that's exactly what I thought! So I asked him "How much?"

He answered, "Twenty dollars."

I was surprised. I thought it was too expensive for a tip. But I only had three twenty dollar bills in my wallet. I consented with bad grace. So .... I paid twenty dollars.

Next time, I had better follow my intuition I learned.
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I Am Still Friendly
by A. S.

This is a story from when I was 20 years old. Then I was fooled by the person I hate the most. Especially, I hate people who commit a crime. I had just started a part-time job at an upscale hotel. Among the staff, there was a woman who cheated me. Her name was Atsuko. Her age is over 40 years. She was a professional who had worked at the hotel for more than 20 years. I respected her because she was an experienced woman.

On month after I started, suddenly she said to me, "My boyfriend has been hospitalized. I need you to lend me some money."

I had no doubt at all because I didn't think this woman would lie. One month after that, she said, "My boyfriend was discharged from the hospital. We want to thank you."

We went to the dining area and I met her boyfriend for the first time. He was over 50. He said, "Thank you. I survived."

I said, "You're welcome."

But after a moment, he said, "Sorry, but please lend me ￥30,000 more."

Foolishly, I lent him the money. Then I was asked many times the same thing. When it was greater than ￥100,000, I finally talked to my boss. Then I found that her boyfriend was a man who used to work at the hotel, and that he also had a whopping criminal record. He was also asking other people to lend him money.

After that, the woman was removed from the workplace. The money came back to me. I still want to help people who are in trouble, but I think maybe I am idiot-friendly.
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Angry Dad
by T. K.

One day, my family, including my grandmother and me, went to Nikko on a trip. My grandmother loves traveling and she was enthusiastic and looking forward to our trip. My grandmother loves alcohol and she eats many sweets when we travel. She eats and drinks in the car. While driving in the sunlight, my grandmother made our trip pleasant.

There is a famous place called 'Iroha-zaka' in Nikko. The slope is a road that winds around the mountain. We were driving at that place. My mother and grandmother were seated in the back seat.

Suddenly, my mom said, "Stop the car!"

"What happened?" my dad asked.

"Grandma vomited!!!" my mom replied.

My dad screamed, "What?!?!?!?!"

My father helped grandmother from the car and cleaned the vomit from the vinyl seat. My father was very angry that grandmother soiled the car. And the plastic bag full of vomit was thrown away toward the bottom of a cliff, and our drive resumed. However, another accident happened.

My mom yelled, "Dad, stop the car!"

"What is it now?" my dad said, angrily.

Mom said, "There's something different about grandma's face ... Oh, my God!!!! Grandma's false tooth is gone!"

Dad cried, "What?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

My father returned the way we came, climbed down the dangerous cliff, and found the plastic bag. The false tooth was in the plastic bag. Father was ill-humored all day long. But grandmother was enjoying the travel very much..
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Personal Computer
by N. M.

My grandfather lives in a neighboring town. He often goes shopping by car. One day, I had a phone call from him.

He said, "I bought a personal computer today, but it doesn't power on."

I thought the cause was the power cord wasn't connected. I said, "I'll go to your house tomorrow after school."

He said, "OK, thank you."

I want to his house the next day. I looked for his personal computer. However, there was only a display.

I asked him, "Where is your personal computer?"

He said, "Are you kidding? It's right in front of your eyes!"

I realized he was thinking the display was a personal computer. I went to buy a personal computer with him at the computer store later that day.
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My Terrible Memories about Skiing
by Y. S.

I was very poor at playing sports when I was young and I never liked doing any sports. I have gotten only one A in physical education class in school, and I usually got a C or a D. Then one day when I was 13 years old, I went to ski camp for a middle school trip. It was for 3 days, and I participated in that camp with my two friends. It was my first time to ski, so I was looking forward to it.

On the first day, I was taught the basic skills of skiing, like how to fall safely and the ideal posture for skiing. It was so difficult for me to hold a position like the 'A' shape to slow down and stop. My friends had skied before, so they could do it easily. I tried to do it, but I couldn't do it well, and the first day ended.

On the second day, I continued to practice the basic skills, like making the 'A' shape. But my friends and the other people who knew the basic skills could take the lift and slide freely.

"It's so fun! Come on!" they said.

I also wanted to take the lift, but I couldn't do that until I completely mastered the basic skills. I tried very hard, but I couldn't do it completely. While my friends and the other people took the lift many times, I had to learn the basic skills for another day. I felt bad because only I couldn't ride the lift, even though I had paid for a lift ticket.

Finally, tragedy happened on the final day. I still couldn't make an 'A' shape, but I could take the lift because it was the final day. I took the lift and felt good. And when I got off the lift, I had to go down skiing with the other beginners. An instructor directed us to slide to some spot, and if we all arrived at that spot, we could go to the next spot. The other people could do it well, but I took a lot of time because I couldn't turn and stop without falling down. So finally it took more than 1 hour to slide from the top of the hill to the bottom, when it took other people only 5 minutes!!

When I arrived at the last spot, there was nobody there, and I went to my room alone. In the room, other people were preparing to go back home.

The teacher said to me, "Why are you so late? You will make all the people depart late! You don't have time for lunch. Prepare quickly!"

I was very sad. Nobody waited for me, and they already had eaten lunch without me, including my friends! And for three days, I could ride the lift just one time! And then I was scolded by my teachers. From that time, I have decided never to ski again.
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A Failure
by K. S.

This story is when I was a first year student in high school. The students were prohibited from obtaining a motorcycle license by school regulations in my high school, but I obtained one in secret.

One day, a teacher spoke to me during physical education class. He was the students' life coaching teacher who was feared by the students.

"Hey, Kazunari, come here!" he said.

I asked him, "What?"

He said, "I'm examining your belongings now."

I said, "OK."

I went into my classroom with my luggage from the gym with him. He asked me on my way to the classroom, "Do you have any bad thing? Cigarettes? Drugs? A motorcycle license? Everything OK?"

I said, "I have no problem."

He immediately started searching my clothes, the inside of my bag and my wallet. I thought I didn't have to worry. I didn't bring my motorcycle license to high school because I heard from my friends that he sometimes makes a bag inspection.

But suddenly he said, "What is this?"

He took out the paper which I got with the motorcycle license from my wallet.

I shouted in my heart, "Oh, my God! I forgot to throw it away!"

He said, "Did you obtain a motorcycle license?"

I said, " ... I'm sorry. Yes, I did."

After all, I was made to clean his room as a punishment after school for two weeks. While I was cleaning his room, I said in a small voice, "Shit! I screwed up!"
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Don't Tell a Lie to Go Snowboarding
by T. N.

I want snowboarding last winter with my friend, Yuuki, who is a firefighter.

He said, "I took paid leave to go snowboarding. I told my boss I'm going to my friend's wedding. It's a lie. Ha ha!"

We enjoyed snowboarding all day.

He said to me, "Let's compete to see who is faster! 3! 2! 1! Go!!!"

I was winning until the middle. But at the end of the race, he overtook me very fast. He couldn't control his speed, and he fell hard. The race was finished and I was the winner. Meanwhile, he had disappeared in the snow.

I said, "Where are you?"

He said, "Here! Here! I can't stand up!!"

I called rescue. He was taken to the hospital with a broken arm.

The next day in the office, he was asked by his boss, "How was the wedding? And why is your arm broken?"
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Time Slip
by T. M.

I like liquor very much. I go drinking approximately three times a week with a friend.

"Let's go to the bar today," he says.

"Of course," I reply. Such a conversation is a daily occurrence. This is natural in my daily life with my circle of friends.

This story happened in Oct. 2012. It was my birthday. My university friends wanted to celebrate my birthday. We went to a bar in Kamata that they recommended and we celebrated there. I got a present and I was praised to the skies because of my birthday. My friends treated me, and more. I was very happy. However, the happy time did not last long.

I was overwhelmed by the liquor. Whenever I had a drink, my friends said, "You are so cool!" and "You are very strong!"

"I'm going to the restroom," I said, and I left the bar.

I fell down after I left the bar. My feeling was very bad, and I couldn't stand up by myself. The outside was very cold. I blinked my eyes, and suddenly I lay in my bed at my house all too soon. The outside had already become bright, and it was twelve noon when I looked at the clock.

I sat at the washstand for a while. My mother looked at my face and said, "What happened to your face?"

I said, "Don't be rude! My face is fine!"

Then I noticed my face was covered with graffiti when I looked in the mirror. I cried, "Nooooooooooooo!"

While I was helplessly drunk, someone scribbled on my face. Later, I heard that I repeated this soliloquy: "The refrigerator ... is cold ... the refrigerator ... is cold!" However, I do not remember it at all. It seems like I totally fell into a time slip.
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In McDonald's
by A. K.

My mother is 41. She is a scatterbrain, so we have trouble sometimes. We often squabble.

One day, we went to McDonald's. We were thinking about the menu. My mother decided her food and drink and waited for me.

"OK, mom. I decided what I want," I said to my mother. We went to the front of the cash register.

"May I help you? Please give me your order," the shop assistant said to us.

"I'd like a shrimp burger, French fries M size, and a ginger ale," I said.

"OK, please tell me your order," the shop assistant said to my mother.

She said, "I'd like a lecon bettuce burger, French fries M size, and a cola."

The shop assistant and I looked at each other and I thought, "What's a lecon bettuce burger?" in my heart.

Then I noticed her mistake. My mother mixed up "le" and "be."

"Mom, what's a lecon bettuce burger? Don't you want a bacon lettuce burger?" I asked her.

"Oops! I said that?" my mother asked me.

"Yes, mom," I said. The shop assistant smiled a bit.

My mother looked embarrassed and ordered again. "Sorry ... please give me a bacon lettuce burger."

I wanted to burst out laughing, but I couldn't because I was a little embarrassed too.

This story is a true story. My mother often has trouble like this. Maybe I take after her.
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My Father and Our Dog
by M. A.

Many years ago, a drama was broadcast in summer vacation. It was a drama about a puppy. The dog that appeared in the drama was very cute. My sister and I begged my father to get us a dog. And then a dog was added to our family. But my father did not like dogs.

"Wash your hands! You touched the dog," he shouted.

I answered, "Sure."

My father often complained about the dog. He said, "There is dog hair everywhere! The dog is too noisy! The dog hair sticks to my suit!"

One morning, I heard a scream.

My father yelled, "Oh, my God!!!!!"

My mother and I said, "What's up?" We went to the foyer.

My father cried, "He pooped on my shoes!!!!!!"

My mother and I laughed.

I said, "The dog doesn't like you because you are always angry at him."

My father apologized to the dog and they went for a walk.

15 years later ...

They get along very well, and they have a walk together for about an hour. Fifteen years ago, my father was very severe, but now my father talks to the dog in a tone like he's speaking to a baby. Our dog is most emotionally attached to my father. My mother says sadly, "Even though I am the one who gives the dog food every day ..."
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I Want to Become a Beautiful Girl
by M. G.

I committed a blunder when I was 5 years old just before Shichi-Go-San. There was a cream in a square box on the table in the living room. It was white and sticky. I painted my face like when mom puts on makeup. But the smell was intense. Then my mom came into the room.

"What are you doing?" my mother said.

I answered, "I have to put on makeup."

"That's not used for makeup!" my mother said angrily. I was stunned. I couldn't understand why my mother was so angry.

"I want to become beautiful just like mom," I said.

Then my mom said, "This is not for putting on your face, it's for putting on bread. This is margarine!"

I was crying with my face covered in margarine. It was a terrible plight.

My mom said as she gently wiped my face, "Let's put foundation on your face next time."
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I Can't Open My Mouth!
by H. W.

I went snowboarding with my friends in 2010. We enjoyed snowboarding all day long and stayed overnight in a hotel. We were very tired, but we enjoyed ourselves and stayed up late at night. The next morning, we got up early to go snowboarding again. However, since we were up late at night, we were half asleep.

One boy tried to get up and he was going to brush his teeth. He was looking for toothpaste, and he put his hand on a tube on the table. He asked, "Whose toothpaste is this? Can I borrow this?"

One of the girls, still laying in bed, said, "Certainly."

When we were watching TV, a groan was heard from the washstand. We were surprised and turned around. The boy who was brushing his teeth was rinsing the inside of his mouth violently.

I asked him, "What's the matter?"

He said, "What is this? My mouth was stuck!! And he showed us the tube he had borrowed a while ago.

One friend looked at it and said, "I use that glue to attach my false eyelashes!!!"

Hearing that, the boy got angry and said, "You said it was toothpaste!!"

However, the girl was also angry, and she said, "It's expensive!!"

We heard and laughed at the conversation of the two people, and they laughed, too.

Even now we all laugh at this funny story. When you borrow toothpaste from a woman, be careful!!
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Am I a Bad Girl?
By K. A.

I and my friend were talking about a game. The game is about a murder in a sealed room and the students solve it. At the end they find out who is the instigator of the crime. I had already finished it, but my friend hadn't finished it yet.

"How do you like the game?" I asked her.

"Well, I played halfway through chapter3," she answered me.

"It's really interesting! Nobuyo Otake, who was Doraemon's voice artist, says such cruel things! I can't imagine anyone being so mean!" I said.

"Yeah, me too! This game's voice artists are magnificent actors." She seemed to be enjoying the game.

"Most of them are famous anime character's voice artists," I told her.

"And the story is very good," she said.

We were absorbed in talking about the game. But suddenly the time came.

"Who is the instigator of the crime? You know it, don't you? I'm interested in the game. I want to play now!" she was excited.

"Yes, I know. You cannot image who is the instigator of the crime. But I knew who it was because her face was different from the magazine and her life was all too brief! And I knew she had a twin sister, so I was sure that she was replaced by her sister!! ... Oh no!!!!!" I noticed that I had revealed the instigator of the crime.

"..." she was silent.

"I said the instigator of the crime, didn't I? Did you know who it was?" I asked her.

"..." she still said nothing.

"I apologize," I said.

"... OK, I didn't hear anything," she said. She forgave me.

"I'm really sorry to say that she was the criminal!" I made an apology to her again.

"... You ... shut up!!" she barked.

She was very angry. So I bought her a meal to apologize. And then we didn't talk about the game anymore. I reflected on what I had done.

But just between you and me, I felt good about the exposure, and when she heard who the instigator of the crime was, her face was very funny. And this is top secret ... actually, I deliberately told her who the instigator of the crime was!! Am I a bad girl? But I will not do it again because I don't want to pay for another meal.!!!
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The Three Things You Need to Be a Good Waitress
by H. W.

A good waitress can satisfy customers with the proper reception. By my experience at my part-time job, I learned it. Now I'll introduce the three required things for being a good waitress.

First, it is important that you always smile. A customer will also have a smiling face if your receive your customers with a smile. Even when you're busy, it is very important to always greet the customers vigorously.

Second, notice the customer's surroundings. If you do so, you can find the customers who are likely to want something. Before you are called, you should speak to a customer yourself. If so, the store functions smoothly, and you can make the visitors glad.

Finally, you need good communication. You need to have a little friendly conversation with a customer. The visitor who enjoys conversation with you will probably come to the store again. For a waitress, communication is very important.

The three things you need to be a good waitress are a smile, care to surroundings, and communication. A visitor will be your fan if you can make him feel natural. And if you master these three things, they will be useful in other ares of life as well.
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I Changed in Canada
by M. K.

In spring of 2011, I left Japan and I arrived in Regina, Canada. It was the first time for me to visit Canada, or to have a long stay in another country. This study abroad was a very important and great experience for me because I changed in many ways on this trip abroad.

At first, I had many problems. For example, I could not use English very well. I did not like talking to people I had just met, so I was weak at making friends. Also I could not talk with my host family very well when I arrived in Regina. When I went to class, it was so hard to make friends there. The students in that class were mostly Japanese, but I could not adapt myself to them. I could not make good friends in class when the class started, but my English was so poor, so I had to get someone's help.

At that time, I thought it was a good chance to change myself. From the next day, I said, "Good morning" to the students in the next seat in the class! And if I had a problem, I asked for help from the next seat's friend or the class manager. If I was invited for lunch, I always accepted.

After the first semester, I could not pass the test, so I could not step up to the next grade. My advisor said, "You should have more confidence," so I tried more things and I got confidence. I made a lot of friends at the University of Regina and every day I talked with them. Gradually, I became more comfortable, and I went to many places. For example, I went to a lot of restaurants, I went to karaoke with friends, I want to many parties at friends' houses, I went to bars, and I went to movies! I got many stories because I experienced a lot of things!

Now I like to talk with many people and I can talk from the first time we meet! I am thinking it was so boring before I went to Canada, and now my life is shining! I am so happy and enjoying life now!
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Turn Your Review into Art with Wordle

Wordle is a fun program for turning your English essays or other writing into art. Take any English text, copy it, then paste it into Wordle. You can make some great images. You can also edit them by changing fonts or colors.

Attached are some examples. If you click on the images, you can view them larger. Kevin can tell you how to turn your art into images that you can print or save.

By the way, the images posted here are not just random images. Kevin will tell you what to do in class!

The link to the program is Wordle.net.

December 13, 2012

Today, Kevin has some worksheets for you, but the most important thing is for you to give him Essay #8 (Narration). Also, send him an email with your final Restaurant Review if your review hasn't been posted yet. Remember to send a photo as a jpg file (not embedded in the document). Next week (Dec. 20) is the last chance to give me any late essays! If you wait until January, I won't have time to return them to you for editing.

* Note: Please don't be absent Jan. 10. I will return your old essays and talk to you individually about your writing. It's possible I will talk to some of you next week (Dec. 20) if you have given me everything already.

If you have time, please check this post on Japan's Top 10 Buzzwords of 2012 and choose one or two buzzwords from the list and comment on them in the comment box below.

If you prefer, you can find an article to read and comment on from the following:
Japan Probe
The Japan Times Online
Japan Today

Restaurant Review
If your restaurant review is not already posted at Tsurumi Eats!, then I need something from you. You haven't given me a first or final draft, or you haven't sent me a jpg photo. Ask me in class what you need if you're not sure.

Narration Essays are due today, Dec. 13, 2012!

Just a few more weeks ...

Greetings everyone! We have just a few weeks left in the school year, so please be sure to give me a Restaurant Review (Essay #7) as soon as possible, and remember, you have to revise it (2nd copy) and send it to me by email so I can post it. A photo should be attached to your mail as a jpg file.

Today we will work on quotations and indirect quotes. You should also check out the new restaurant reviews now posted at Tsurumi Eats!

If you've finished Essay #8, you may submit it now or next week. Sooner is better! Please be sure to follow punctuation rules for quotations.

Below are the opinions of some people in Japan about the U.S. military and how strictly they should be punished for the crimes some of them have committed in recent weeks. Which opinion do you agree with? Or do you have a different opinion? Choose an opinion from those written in the article and explain why you agree, or write your different opinion. Use the comment box below.

Okinawa: What should be done about the recent incidents involving off-duty U.S. servicemen in Okinawa?

How to Fail Essay Writing Class

How to Fail Essay Writing Class
by K.M.

Do you want to fail Essay Writing class? I don't! But maybe some people want to know how to do this, so I will tell you! Follow just one of the suggestions below, and you will surely fail Essay Writing class!

First, do not complete the 8 assigned essays. For example, you can do 7, but you will still fail the class! Or you can write 8 essays, but forget to do the last revision (final copy). All the work you did during the semester will not earn you credits! It's amazing!

Next, be absent from Essay Writing class 10 times or more! This is really easy to do; just stay in bed! Or go have a nice lunch someplace and forget to come back to school on time. If you do this, you will have a nice, relaxing day without having to do writing exercises in class.

Finally, do not get enough points to equal 60 or more. Kevin's classes all have a points system, and you have to get 60 points to pass the course. In Essay Writing, a good essay gets many points, and a poor essay gets few points. But who cares about points? What are they, anyway? If you can't see them, they don't exist! So don't worry about points! Just do what you want, and life will go on as usual!

To summarize, there are 3 easy ways to fail Essay Writing class; don't complete 8 essays, be absent from class 10 times or more, and fail to get 60 points for the course. Remember, you only have to do one of these and you will surely fail Essay Writing! Then you can have a great Spring vacation thinking about how you will get enough credits next year.

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Today's class, Nov. 29, we will ...

1. Read two student essays that were posted recently (scroll down to the previous post).
2. Turn in a first or second draft of the restaurant review. Few people have given Kevin a review so far, so please get busy on this! Remember, you have to do a 2nd revised copy, so please give Kevin your first draft.
3. Kevin will introduce Essay #8 Narration.

• Think of an interesting story from your life. Everyone has at least one good story, so please find one in your life. Even if you don't think it's interesting, it becomes interesting if you tell it in an interesting way.
• The story should have some dialog (conversation). Just a little dialog is OK, or a lot of dialog is OK. However, you should follow the rules of punctuation and indenting for dialog. Kevin will explain more about this.
• Don't worry if you can't remember the actual dialog from your story. Just try to remember the dialog as best you can (or make some of it up) and translate it into English.
• This story becomes an essay when you comment on what happened. Just a dialog only is not enough. You should tell how you felt about the incident, or explain what lesson you learned from it.
• This is your last essay, so it should be awesome! I want your best effort and your most interesting writing! This topic is good for writing something meaningful, so please do your best!
• Kevin will show you some samples in class. There are also these samples from last year and the year before.

4. We will do an exercise re. punctuation of quotations in class.
5. If we have time, you will comment on a blog post about tattoos in Japanese onsen.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20121127at.html

More sample essays

How My View of Dogs Changed
by Y. S.

I used to hate dogs very much. I disliked dogs since I was an elementary school student. I think one of the reasons I didn't like dogs is that my mother doesn't like dogs. My mother hates dogs' barking sound, fur and smell. So I think I'm affected by my mom's thinking. Anyway, when I saw a dog on the road, I went out of my way to avoid it. Even after becoming a university student, I still disliked dogs.

I went into the Korean army when I was 21 years old. One day, while I was standing guard, I saw something move on a mountain. It was a little dog. I and my colleagues tried to catch it. After 15 minutes, we barely could catch it. That dog may have been abandoned by its owner, so my unit decided to take care of it for a short time.

My boss ordered me to clean its house, so I used to go there about three times a week. At first it was afraid of people, so it trembled when I went there. But after two weeks, it became accustomed to me and greeted me by wagging its tail. And I also changed. While I was taking care of it, I became friendly with it. I was very surprised that it recognized me, so I learned that dogs are very emotional animals.

Still, I don't want to keep a dog. But I don't hate dogs anymore. An accidental encounter with that dog changed my view of dogs. Now when I meet a dog on the road, I don't avoid it, but instead I greet it. Possibly after 10 or 20 years I might keep a dog, because my view of dogs may change more over time.
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The Three Things You Need to be a Good Guitarist
by K.T.

Have you ever thought you wanted to become a good guitarist? When you listen to your favorite bands, or when you listen to a guitar's sound, you might think so. I'll explain the three things you need to become a good guitarist.

First, you must listen to many kinds of guitarists' sounds and styles of playing. Don't listen to only one genre. There are many types of guitar sounds, like metal, jazz, pop, rock and more. Guitarists have their own personality in their sounds and playing, so if you listen to many guitarists' sounds and playing, you can get material for your own guitar sound and playing style. Many great guitarists say, "Just steal your favorite guitarist's playing style and change your personality." Some playing styles (like sweep arming, legato and more) are found among great guitarists. The important thing is how can you bring these styles to your own playing and integrate them with your personality.

Second, you have to play guitar with emotion. Even if you can play an impossible guitar solo, if you don't change your emotion in your guitar playing, people will not be interested in your guitar playing. The guitar play that impresses people expresses your feeling. I like John Petrucci. He is Dream Theater's guitarist. His guitar solo has many kinds of style. In a speedy melody, he plays a very difficult fast solo. But when he plays a ballade song, he plays a very impressive, emotional solo. He can play a very good but different solo for each song. Emotion is the most important thing to playing the guitar.

Third, you have to play and play your guitar all the time. My favorite guitarist, Mick Thomson, says, "If you want to be a great guitarist, don't have at it with friends. Just play guitar over eight hours. Just play until your arms become very painful. If you try it, you will become a great guitarist!" When I started playing guitar, I followed this policy, and I play guitar every day. Now I can play guitar very well.

You can't spend time on other things if you really love guitar. Can you sacrifice your time to guitar? If so, you should do three things to become a good guitarist: listen to many kinds of guitarists' sounds and guitar playing, play guitar with emotion, and play guitar very hard. Great guitarists do these three things and win the right to be a professional guitarist.
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The Three Things You Need to Be a Good Waitress
by H. W.

A good waitress can satisfy customers with the proper reception. By my experience at my part-time job, I learned it. Now I'll introduce the three required things for being a good waitress.

First, it is important that you always smile. A customer will also have a smiling face if your receive your customers with a smile. Even when you're busy, it is very important to always greet the customers vigorously.

Second, notice the customer's surroundings. If you do so, you can find the customers who are likely to want something. Before you are called, you should speak to a customer yourself. If so, the store functions smoothly, and you can make the visitors glad.

Finally, you need good communication. You need to have a little friendly conversation with a customer. The visitor who enjoys conversation with you will probably come to the store again. For a waitress, communication is very important.

The three things you need to be a good waitress are a smile, care to surroundings, and communication. A visitor will be your fan if you can make him feel natural. And if you master these three things, they will be useful in other ares of life as well.
_______________________

I Changed in Canada
by M. K.

In spring of 2011, I left Japan and I arrived in Regina, Canada. It was the first time for me to visit Canada, or to have a long stay in another country. This study abroad was a very important and great experience for me because I changed in many ways on this trip abroad.

At first, I had many problems. For example, I could not use English very well. I did not like talking to people I had just met, so I was weak at making friends. Also I could not talk with my host family very well when I arrived in Regina. When I went to class, it was so hard to make friends there. The students in that class were mostly Japanese, but I could not adapt myself to them. I could not make good friends in class when the class started, but my English was so poor, so I had to get someone's help.

At that time, I thought it was a good chance to change myself. From the next day, I said, "Good morning" to the students in the next seat in the class! And if I had a problem, I asked for help from the next seat's friend or the class manager. If I was invited for lunch, I always accepted.

After the first semester, I could not pass the test, so I could not step up to the next grade. My advisor said, "You should have more confidence," so I tried more things and I got confidence. I made a lot of friends at the University of Regina and every day I talked with them. Gradually, I became more comfortable, and I went to many places. For example, I went to a lot of restaurants, I went to karaoke with friends, I want to many parties at friends' houses, I went to bars, and I went to movies! I got many stories because I experienced a lot of things!

Now I like to talk with many people and I can talk from the first time we meet! I am thinking it was so boring before I went to Canada, and now my life is shining! I am so happy and enjoying life now!

_______________________

Continuing with restaurant reviews

Two weeks ago, I explained what you need in your restaurant reviews. Please check the list and be sure you have ALL things on the list:

Here are the main points you need to include:

1. Restaurant name
2. Restaurant review title (not the restaurant name only)
3. An original jpg photo of the food, interior or entrance (You must send the photo to my email as an attachment.)
4. What kind of restaurant is it? Chinese, Italian, Korean, yaki niku, ramen, buffet, sandwich shop, family restaurant, etc.
5. Information about the menu, favorite items, service, staff, specials, atmosphere, prices, etc. If the owner is interesting, tell us about her or him.
6. Complete address of the restaurant (including postal code)
7. Phone number of the restaurant
8. Business hours and holidays
9. Access information (closest train or subway station; how many minutes on foot; simple directions)
10. Web site URL if available

Also, be sure to read the restaurant reviews from last year to understand how they should generally look.

Kevin will also talk about photo quality.

Other things to do today:

Try this online cooking game. Make spaghetti sauce. After each step, write the step down on the paper Kevin gives you.
http://www.ecookinggames.com/game/hot-spaghetti-sauce/

If you have time, make brownies with this online cooking game. Just follow the directions:
http://www.ecookinggames.com/game/brownies/

In the blog comment box below, please comment on:

The New Japanese Worker is Chinese
or
Theme parks make a comeback thanks to grandma and grandpa
or
Beijing marathon shamed into reversing ban on Japanese athletes

More on Restaurant Reviews 2012

Welcome, once again, to Essay Writing class! Have you been thinking about a restaurant for the restaurant review?

Kevin has a worksheet for you re. last year's restaurant reviews. Please answers all the questions on the worksheet and turn it in to Kevin. For this activity, please use only the top page of the Tsurumi Eats! blog page. The purpose of the activity is to have you look at several restaurant reviews and notice the details included there.

When you finish the worksheet, please read one article and write a comment in the comment box below. Please try to give an actual opinion. Here are some suggested articles:

Strange U.K. newspaper claim about Japanese umbrella use
Fake fund raising scam in Tokyo
Japanese anger in Okinawa
Three new universities in Japan?
Darvish won't play in WBC next year
Japan and China agree on Obama

Introduction to Restaurant Reviews 2012

From today, we will start thinking about Restaurant Reviews, our #7 essay. These are interesting and fun, but we need to take our time and do a good job. I would like to publish ALL of your restaurant reviews on a special blog site for that purpose, so they need to be GREAT!

Please don't begin writing a restaurant review yet! I need to tell you what to do first!

To begin this unit, let's look at some Japanese restaurant information on the Hot Pepper site. Please click on this link: Hot Pepper: Places that Girls Like In Kanagawa

Now we'll do an activity with the above page only.

1) Check out all the restaurants on that page only.
2) Choose one.
3) Write some information about the restaurant in English on Google Docs. Don't write the hours or address or phone number; write something about the food or atmosphere or specialties that identify the restaurant. However, don't write the name of the restaurant!
4) What you write is supposed to be a hint for that restaurant.
5) Copy and paste what you wrote from Google Docs into the comment box. Please write your own name. Other students will try to guess which restaurant you wrote about.
6) Read the hints other people wrote. Try to identify which restaurant it is. Reply to the comment with your guess and your name.
7) You should try to guess every hint that's posted. Be sure to write your name every time!
8) Tell Kevin secretly what restaurant you wrote a hint about.
9) If you complete this activity, you will have written one hint and about 25 guesses. (The number of guesses will depend on how many students are in class.)

Besides this activity, I will explain what you need to do to write a restaurant review. Here are the main points you need to include:

1. Restaurant name
2. Restaurant review title (not the restaurant name only)
3. An original jpg photo of the food, interior or entrance (You must send the photo to my email as an attachment.)
4. What kind of restaurant is it? Chinese, Italian, Korean, yaki niku, ramen, buffet, sandwich shop, family restaurant, etc.
5. Information about the menu, favorite items, service, staff, specials, atmosphere, prices, etc. If the owner is interesting, tell us about her or him.
6. Complete address of the restaurant (including postal code)
7. Phone number of the restaurant
8. Business hours and holidays
9. Access information (closest train or subway station; how many minutes on foot; simple directions)
10. Web site URL if available

Also, be sure to read the restaurant reviews from last year to understand how they should generally look.

_________________________________

At the beginning of class, I will ask students to read the Sample Change Essays posted on the blog post of Oct. 17. You may have already read the first one, but there are now two more. The two essays about love have very different viewpoints, so it's interesting to compare them.

Oct. 25 Essay Writing

Today we will do 3 things:

1. Sentence combining exercise
2. Read a Japan Times article and comment
3. Give Kevin final copies of any essays you need to correct

Also, please start thinking about which restaurant you want to review. Don't write the review yet, but start reading some restaurant reviews and think about which restaurant in the Kanagawa or Tokyo area you want to introduce to others on the Internet.

___________________________



On Okinawa’s Obesity Problem

Okinawa has more than two and a half times the national average of people over 100 years old and an extraordinary number of people who enjoy excellent health well into their eighties.

But the next generation is the fattest in Japan and has a range of obesity-related illnesses that could kill them in middle age.

Experts blame fast food, which was introduced to Okinawa when the island was administered by the US after WWII. Okinawa got its first fast-food restaurant in 1963, seven years before Tokyo, and it still has more fast-food restaurants per person than anywhere else in the country.

From The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/3342882/Japanese-get-a-taste-for-Western-food-and-fall-victim-to-obesity-and-early-death.html

 

Online Tools for Making Better Sentences

Today we will do an exercise on making sentences with and without using online tools, such as translation software and dictionaries. We will also look at phrasal verbs and how a collocation database can help us understand which words go together and their meanings. Kevin will explain in class. See you there!

First, translate this Japanese sentence into English without a dictionary or online resource:

彼らが結婚した

Here are some student results:

They got married.
They were marry already.
They were married.
They married.
They had married.
They were marriage.
They were get married.

Now let's use alc.co.jp. The alc.co.jp result is ....

• そして、彼女の夢が、彼らが結婚したことで本当になった。
  And her wish had come true after they got married.〔【出典】Hiragana Times, 2000年9月号◆【出版社】株式会社ヤック企画 〕 全文表示
• なぜ彼らが結婚したのか不思議です。
  I wonder about their marriage.

Now let's use tatoeba.org:
       When they got married, they both swore to never lie.
       彼らが結婚した時、２人は互いに決して嘘をつかないと約束した。

Finally, let's try Google Translate:
       彼らが結婚した         They were married

It's important that you don't rely on translation software too much. However, there are times when it will help you find the correct word or phrase that you need for your essays.

Please write a blog comment below that explains which of these translation sites are useful for you. If you know another site, please tell me.

Student Samples "Change Essay"

I Changed My Way of Thinking About Love
by K. T

Recently, I started going out with my girlfriend. She is the first girlfriend in my life. She is so cute, honest, and lively, and she always pleases me. I think I'm a lucky boy to be able to go out with her. In the past, I thought I didn't need a girlfriend in my life, because a girlfriend can be troublesome. They get jealous and bother their boyfriends. In fact, my friend had a lot of trouble with his girlfriend. He had to call her all the time. If he met her, she was always angry and complained to him, “Why you don't answer the phone!!” “You don't understand me!!” “You don't love me,” and things like that. When I saw that, I wasn't interested in love. Of course, I fell in love with a girl once in a while, but I quickly gave up about it. I worried that if I failed, I would be depressed forever. So I became reluctant to love anyone.

I changed when I met  my girlfriend. I really wanted to go out with her. I gradually thought I could live my life with her, so I decided to profess my feeling. It was August 28 at midnight.  I called her cell phone and said, “You're the one I love. Can we be a couple?” She was so surprised by it. After that, she sent me an e-mail. It said “Thanks for calling me. What do you mean?” At the time, she didn't understand. So I sent her an e-mail, “In my happiest memories, you are always there. I love your smile. I love you. I want to go out with you.” Later, she called may cell phone and said, “Me too, I love you.” I was so happy when I heard it. 

Since then, we started going out together. But going out with her does not always make me happy. Now I become dependent on her. Of course, when I meet her, I'm very happy. But other times, when I am away from her, I am afflicted with some obsession, like “I really have to meet her right now!! I want to talk to her.” Sometimes this was very painful. I really struggled and struggled with my feelings. But now I have solved this problem. The answer is “trust her.”  When she doesn't send me e-mail or doesn't call my phone, I think, “She loves me; just wait and believe.” This is not a perfect answer for me, but it`s the only way to satisfy myself.

After all, I am very happy now. She loves me, and I love everything about her. I can really devote my life to her. I really love her. I think “love” is the most important thing for human life, but on the other hand, it is dangerous. If we mistake love, we can ruin our life. So we must choose a good way to love people.

__________________________

How My Ideal Man Changed

By K.A.

I have loved comics since I was a little girl. I read all genres of comics. For example, I read love stories, adventure stories and fight stories. When I was a child, I thought that things in the world of comics actually happened. When I saw Sailor Moon, I thought that I could transform myself. And when I saw Cinderella, I thought that a prince would also appear to me. I was a dreamer girl, so I thought I would meet a nice man, fall in love with him, get married and become fortunate.

When I was a primary school child, I had my first love. He and I were in the same primary school and the same junior high school. One day he declared his love for me. I was happy at first, but he was different from my ideal guys, so I declined him. Then I associated with another boy, but my heart didn’t beat fast like in the comics, so I said goodbye to him, too.

When I was a high school student, I thought that I would have many encounters and I would fall in love with a nice guy, but there were no people with a good character and a smart appearance like a prince. I learned to compromise, and I had a boyfriend, though it wasn’t passionate love.

When I was 18 years old, suddenly it came. I met an interesting and handsome guy. My heart beat very fast. It was a new experience for me. I was very happy and it was fun to be together with him. I had the feeling that I became a heroine. I thought every day was a rose. I wanted to be together with him a long time. I was sure he was my ideal man!! But abruptly we parted because actually, he is a womanizer. I was disappointed that he wasn’t my prince. I slapped him on the cheek and said goodbye. I understood that handsome men love many women because they get a lot of attention from women. I can’t trust a man like him.

I have experienced many things. And I learned that there isn’t a perfect prince like in the comics. I came to my senses at last. Love doesn’t need a good appearance and a romantic encounter. It needs his single-minded love for me, and he must be gentle and rich. Money is very important, because money doesn’t betray me and makes me happy. I was a dreamer girl, but now I am a realist. I changed. Looking back now, I was in love with love. What a lover must have is a good character and he must be rich. This isn’t the world of comics and perfect princes.

__________________________

How I Changed My Way of Thinking About Japan

By K.S.

When I was a junior high school student, I used to dislike Japan. I thought that Japan was too small, there were many electric wires, and the weather had many cloudy days. It would be endless to list the bad points. I longed for the beautiful European city scapes and the magnificent scenery in America. But I changed my way of thinking about Japan after I had various experiences and I understood more about Japan.

I took several courses in Japanese history when I was a high school student. I learned that many great people were killed in the fight for peace and development of Japan. Ryouma Sakamoto is probably the most famous in Japan. In about 1850, he made a great contribution to the modernization of Japan. I am proud of people like him and I appreciate the people who built Japan at the risk of their life.

In 2011, I was very impressed by the actions of the Japanese when the Tohoku earthquake disaster happened. Although they could not lead a usual life, they did not get into a big panic and order was kept in Tohoku. I thought that the Japanese people were diligent and splendid all over again.

Of course, I still see a lot of negative points about Japan. For example, Japan has extreme weather and ineffective government. But I grew to love Japan because now I know Japanese excellence. I think if I were reborn, I would like to born as a Japanese again.