ラベル Childhood の投稿を表示しています。 すべての投稿を表示
ラベル Childhood の投稿を表示しています。 すべての投稿を表示

2/21/2020

#690 Snowed In


Miami Today
Blog #690
Blog Topic: SNOWED IN





Let’s get started!

When I was a small child, I grew up in Virginia Beach.  The winters were heavy and there was snow every year. Often, we were lucky enough to have a white Christmas.  It is funny how when you are an adult, you think of snow as something bad, inconvenient, or messy. However, as a child, snow is always fun.  I loved just watching it come down, and then begging my mom to let me go outside and play. I could play all day in the snow, and I never seemed to get cold even though my hands were numb from making snowballs. Life was so simple then. Just the snowflakes and me.  One year there was a big blizzard. The snow was piled up so high outside that I could even see out of the windows. We were snowed in. I remember my father having to shovel his way out of the door. That day, my mother wouldn't let me go out. I was jealous that my father got to go out and "play" in the snow. 

日本語 

幼い頃、私はバージニアビーチで育ちました。冬は厳しく毎年雪がふりました。ホワイトクリスマスを迎える幸運も珍しくありませんでした。おかしなもので、大人になると、雪を不便さや汚れをもたらす厄介なものと考えるようになりますが、子供にとってはいつでも楽しいものです。私は雪が降るのをただ見ているのも大好きでしたし、母に外に出て遊ばせてくれるように懇願しました。雪の中なら一日中でも遊んでいられたでしょうし、雪玉を作る両手がかじかんでも寒いと感じたことは一度もなかったようです。あるのはたくさんの雪ひらと自分だけ。人生は単純明解でした。
ある年、ひどい吹雪に見舞われ、あまりの積雪で窓から外を見ることもできませんでした。雪に閉じ込められたのです。
父がシスコップで玄関戸口から雪をかき出していたのを覚えています。その日は母に外にだしてもらえず、父を羨ましくおもいました。外にでて、雪の中で〝遊んで〟いるんですから...

Question Time:
1. What is a blizzard?
2. What is your favorite memory of the snow?
3. How do you make a snowman?

*Thank-you, Yaeko san for your translation!
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ブログをご覧いただきありがとうございます。 是非、お友達にも
のブログをご紹介ください。そして、あなたご自身のコメントも
寄せ下さい。今日も素晴らしい一日となりますように! 
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1/21/2019

January 21, 2019 High School Fashion

クラスありますよー😀
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High School Fashion



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Click here to listen. FAST

ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. SLOW

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Are you ready for today's fantabulous English blog?

New words & phrases:
  1. judge
  2. according to
  3. fret
  4. pants
  5. usually
Let's get started!

American students usually don't wear uniforms to school unless they attend a private school.  Now when I look back on it, I think it would have been better if we had.

Thinking about the clothes they wear causes a lot of stress for children. They are often judged by their peers according to the clothes they wear.

Everyday, I spent a long time in the morning thinking about what clothes I should wear. I worried if other people would think I am cool. I wondered if girls would like me. I fretted over if someone might notice I had just worn the same shirt last week. Should I iron it? Should I wear a coat? Does it match these pants? Will someone else be wearing the same thing? So much stress!

Have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day!
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ブログをお読みいだだきありがとうございます。
気に入った方は下記リンクをコピーして、友人と共有してくだい!



1/13/2019

January 13, 2019 My Brother's Birthday

OH MY GOD, IT IS SOOOOO COLD TODAY!

クラスありますよー😀
1月 14日 は休みです。 
Please study English at home tomorrow.
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My Brother's Birthday

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ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. FAST

ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. SLOW

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New words & phrases:
  • smelly
  • maternity ward
  • relatives

Let's get started!

I remember when ...

...my father came into my room one night and told me that there was a baby inside my mother's stomach. I thought "What?!?!? Why is a baby in her stomach? How did it get there????" I couldn't understand, but I just accepted it.

...my brother was born. It was a Saturday. I remember because my father went to the hospital. I couldn't go because there was a rule that children under 12 were not allowed in the maternity ward. I stayed home and watched Saturday morning cartoons. I think I was alone because I don't remember having a babysitter, but I was only 5 years old.  I was in heaven, though because I could watch all the cartoons I wanted.  I remember thinking, "Dad is gone a long time!"

...when he arrived.  I was so jealous.  Many relatives and friends came to see him. They were all gathered around him talking about how cute he was.  I was left alone playing with my toys.  I thought, "Maybe he is cute, but he is smelly."

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day!
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ブログをお読みいだだきありがとうございます。
気に入った方は下記リンクをコピーして、友人と共有してくだい!



1/08/2019

January 8, 2019 Cookie

クラスありますよー。😀1月 14日 は休みです。 
Please study English at your home on that day..
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Cookie

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ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. (slow)
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ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. (fast)
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New words & phrases:

  • disappear
  • suddenly
  • realize

Let's get started!

After Skippy disappeared, it wasn't long before I got a new dog.  I think I was around 5 or 6 when my parents suddenly brought home the cutest little chihuahua.  He was so cute, just a baby and he could fit in the palm of your hand.  He was white with brown spots, so I called him, "Cookie".  Cookie was a good dog and grew up to be a little fat.

Sometimes Americans make a joke that if you look very sad, they will say "What's wrong? You look like your dog died."  Well, one day when Cookie passed away, I was 19 and I remember crying and crying and crying.  I couldn't stop.  I felt as if I had lost a brother. When I thought about that joke, I realized I could understand the meaning.   Just thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes.

Have you ever had a pet who felt like a family member? コメントを残して下さい。

Have a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful day!
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1/03/2019

January 3, 2019 ABC - My Dog Skippy (UPDATED WITH AUDIO)

休校です。Sorry, no class today.💩

1月 1-6 は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.


My Dog Skippy

Let's get started! 

When I was a child, the first dog I remember having was a big german sheperd. His name was Skippy.  Sometimes I tried to ride him like a horse, but he didn't like that.  Skippy was a troublesome dog.  He was very noisy, always barking, and the neighbors would complain about him.  Even though he was bad, I still loved him.  One day when I came home from school, Skippy was gone. I asked my mother where he was, and she said that my father took him away.  I went into my room and cried.

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11/29/2018

November 29, 2018 Botcha botcha!

クラスありますよー。😀

12月 2, 6, 9, 10, 13,  23-31 は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. (slow)
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Image result for bocha

Botcha botcha!

New words & phrases:
- commemorative
- engraving
- wheelchair
- loan words

Let's get started!

Yesterday in class, one of the students brought in some Paralympic commemorative coins. One of the coins had an engraving of a man in a wheelchair. He was playing a new game called "Botcha".  I thought that I had heard this world before. My mother had said this word to me many times when I was out playing as a child.  She would say "Botcha botcha", which meant "bath time".

Why did my mother use this word?  I googled it and found the answer in Wikipedia.  It says that Hawaiian people, like my mother, use a lot of loan words from Japan. Botcha botcha is one of them. According to Wikipedia:

  • Bocha: Take a bath. Originally from bocha-bocha Japanese onomatopoeia for splashing noises.a


So, the next time you go to the hot springs, you can say, "Botcha Botcha"!


How did you like today's blog topic? (ここへクリック下さい。)

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11/12/2018

November 12, 2018 First Time Driving Part 2

休校です。No class today 😓

11月 12, 13, 18, 23, 27 は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. (slow)


ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. (fast)
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First Time Driving Part 2

In high school, the boys with cars attract more girls, so finding a girlfriend was a little challenging for me, but that is a story for a different day. I was lucky enough to have friends with cars, so I used to go to school in my friend's car every morning. At night, my friends would come pick me up and take me out.  We would drive out to the beach, or the shopping mall, or to visit other friends. It didn't really matter because it was just so much fun driving around.

We don't have driving school like in Japan, though.  Usually, people learn how to drive from their parents.  When I was 15, my mother used to let me drive here and there when we went out together even though I didn't have a license. In high school, we do have an optional course called Driver's Ed. I remember I had a cute girl for my driving partner, so it was difficult for me to concentrate sometimes.

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11/11/2018

November 11, 2018 First Time Driving Part 1

クラスありますよー。😀

11月 12, 13, 18, 23, 27 は休みです。
Please study English at your home on those days.

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ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. (Coming Soon)
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First Time Driving Part 1

The first time I drove a car was when I was 14. I had gone to the store with one of my mom's friends. On the way back, she asked me "Do you want to drive?". I was like heck, yea!

In the U.S. a person can get a driver's license at 15, but they can only drive if a licensed driver is in the car with them. At 16, they can drive alone.  That's why turning 16 is kind of a big day for teenagers in my country. Often, parents give their children a car for their 16th birthday. Not me, though. ha ha. 


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11/02/2018

November 2, 2018 NINJA!

クラスありますよー。

11月 3, 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 23, 27 は休みです。
Please study English at your home on that day.

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ブログを聞きましょう。
Click here to listen. (Coming Soon)
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Image result for ninja magazine


Image result for ninja magazineImage result for ninja magazine

NINJA!

When I was about 12 or 13 years old, I was crazy about ninjas.  At that time, Sho Kosugi was really popular in the U.S. I had watched nearly all of his movies including "Nine deaths of the Ninja" and "Pray for death".  I used to collect Ninja magazines.  One time I was in the hospital for about a week because I had severe asthma.  I remember my mother brought me Ninja magazines. I was so happy. I even had some real ninja stars しゅりけん and nunchaku.  I used to go outside in my backyard at night and practice using the nunchaku very seriously. I studied karate for about 2 or 3 years, too. I even bought a special ninja training course on a vcr tape from Sho Kosugi.  I remember his son was also in the video, but he was small at that time.  

Now you can tell your friends that you are learning English from an American Ninja!  ha ha ha

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