Christmas present

I knew that it is too late to give a Christmas present. I didn't have enough money to buy a Christmas present. However, my brother was still waiting for it. He said "I didn't get a Christmas present this year." I said "We don't have enough money to buy something. Santa Claus is financial crisis. Santa will be not coming this year. What did you want?" "I know we don't have money, but I think present makes me happy. To receive a present makes me happy, I prefer to receive not buy myself. I have enough money to buy headphones." he said.

He has got my beat. I went to the city with my friend to buy headphones for him yesterday. Actually, I don't know much about music, so it was difficult for me to choose good headphone. My friend helped me. We went to some store and I bought headphones. The color is blue. It looks great.

After I went back home, I didn't say anything about present. After my brother slept, I put the present on the side of the bed and I slept. I was looking forward his reaction.

In the morning, he realized his present. He looked very happy. I was happy too. He uses the headphones every day. I am glad that he liked it. I became Santa Claus this year. I wanted Christmas present...

230/8326

magic wands

I went to AEON Mall Kumamoto with my family. We went to Rakuichi-Rakuza where is a penny arcade. My brother played with token game. He like amusement parlour game which uses tokens, and he often play with it. I think he goes to the penny arcade every holiday. I cannot understand it.

Today, we enjoyed token game and then, we challenged crane game. We like claw crane, so we often play claw crane. My brother and I found some wonderful prizes there. I didn't think that is easy to get, but my brother wanted it. I thought if we play it and don't get anything, I never play it. I tried it, and I got a prize!! We were really exited because the prize is a magic wand!!

We got a magic wand which uses by Hermione Jean Granger in the Harry Potter series. We had had two magic wands which were Harry's and Sirius's and we got them at Universal Studio Japan, so we got Hermione's magic wand.

We played the claw crane one more time, and got a Harry's magic wand. It was amazing for me! We were more exited. Finally, we got three magic wands. Hermione's, Harry's and Ron's magic wands we got. All of them, the tip of the magic wand is twinkle. I really glad to get them. We want to Universal Studio Japan with them. We have five magic wands at home, we are very strong!! We enjoyed crane game very much.

248/8096

swiss

I went to swiss which is cafeteria with my friends on this Monday. We were very hungry because we walked to the city from my university and didn't have a lunch.



I ordered this picnic plate. There are quiche and mini doria. This quiche made with cheese, bacon and spinach. I have had it before when I was a fresh man. Then, I ate quiche made with smoked salmon and spinach. It was very good, so I wanted to eat again.

First, I ate salad. Lettuce and beans salad was good, but I didn't like dressing. Next, I ate quiche and dria. Doria is a rice casserole with a white sauce. This doria was not white sauce. It made with beef stew. It served with a small cup. It was tasty!! Quiche was also great!! I cannot make quiche, so I am glad to eat it.









My friend ordered dria. This is a beef stew dria. This dria is same the dria which I ordered small cup one. Rice is the five grains and a lot of meat in it. It looks very nice, and also taste was very good!! I like it, so I will order this next time. She was satisfied with it. We enjoyed lunch time.

209/7848

White bear

I found very cute cakes at a convenience store, 7-11. What are these? There were many cakes lined up. These are white and have round shapes.

These are mousse cakes which shapes are bear!! How cute these are. I cannot eat them because they are so pretty. I wanted to buy it, but I didn't have enough money. I couldn't buy it then. I really want it, so I am going to go 7-11 and buy it at an early date. It costs 328 yen.

I know that there were two types of cakes in Hinamatsuri season. Hinamatsuri is the Doll's festival. There were small cakes which shapes were a chick and pig. The other cakes were big and rabbit and bear shapes. They were very cute and popular among children. I have eaten two cakes that were chick and pig shape. I felt little apology, but these were tasty. I will try this white bear cake.

157/7639

31

I went to 31 ice cream shop in AEON Mall Kumamoto. I have been curious about new season flavors since they were bringing out new flavors. Specially, I wanted to eat "twinkle tree".

There are 4 new flavors of Christmas season, Mont Blanc and creme brulee, Sachertorte, holiday raspberry cake, and twinkle tree. All of them look very delicious, but I ordered twinkle tree. It is a pistachio ice cream and white ganache. Pistachio ice cream is green, so it looks like Christmas tree. Also red and yellow stars made from chocolate in it, so these remind us Christmas tree's ornaments. This ice cream looks cute!

The taste was sweet white chocolate. I think it was too sweet for me to eat up by myself. I wanted to eat my grandmother's flavor, matcha. It was a little bitter, but it was very good.

I want to try another flavor. I curious about new ice cream that flavor is Mont Blanc & creme brulee. I think it is great because sweet and bitter ice cream.

174/7482

The place where my family gather is...

Where do your family gather in your house? The answer is different in each person, but I think most people say it is living room. In my case, the place where my family gather is kitchen. I'm going to talk about kitchen of my house.

One of the favorite places is kitchen. We say kitchen in Japanese "daidokoro" and this word means kitchen and dining room in my family. I think no one dislike kitchen. I like kitchen because there is the most bustling room in my house. I usually get meal with my family, so my family is gathered in the kitchen. We talk and eat there. I often listen to my grandfather's talk or conversation with my little brother in the dinner time. I have a good time then. My grandmother always prepare meals. We love what she cooked and tastes very good.

Also, I think the kitchen always smells good. For example, smell of rice and miso soup hang in the air in the morning. The smell of cooking makes me hungry. I like eating and I am eating whenever I am in the kitchen. The kitchen has many kind of foods and snacks. I often root out something to eat in the kitchen and it makes me excited. I like that feeling.

In addition, I like to cook. In particular, making sweets. I sometimes make sweet because it's my hobby. I'm not good at making sweets, but I really enjoy. My favorite sweets are chocolate cake and florentins. Florentins is French cake that put nuts put which coated with a caramel on a cookie dough and bake it. Recently, I like white chocolate cake. When I cook or make something, my little brother is sure to come and willing to help me. I am happy about that, and cooking something together makes us smile.

Finally, I think kitchen is a most favorite place because kitchen makes my family happy. It is important to eat with the family members facing each other. Communication with own family is also important. I really like eating at home together with my family. I recommend to you eat and talk with your family. The kitchen and dining room is heartwarming and full of smiles place for me.

376/7308

Vietnam restaurant

Last week, I went to Vietnam restaurant which is nanpo small kitchen with my friend. We went there for lunch. I have been to there once, but my friend went there for the first time.

I ordered Vietnam pho. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup. It is served in a bowl with a specific cut of rice noodles in clear beef broth. You can drop lemon juice into the pho depending on the taste. I think it will be a refreshing taste when I drop it. I like rice noodles! I wanted to eat pho, and I was looking forward to eat pho for a long time. I was really happy to eat pho. I was satisfied.






This is a Nasi Goreng which is Indonesian fried rice. My friend ordered it. Nasi Goreng is fried rice with spices such as kecap manis which is sweet soy sauce, shallots, garlic, tamarind and chilli. Also, it topped with a fried egg. I have eaten it before, I think it was great. She was the first time to eat it. It was little spicy, but she likes it. 

This is a tea. We could choose one from three drinks. I ordered jasmine tea, it was hot tea, and she ordered tea. That tea's flavor was lychee. I and she haven't heard lychee tea. It was very good.

This is a dessert. These were coconut ice cream and waffles. It looks so good!! Actually, these were very delicious!! I was very surprised that how great these are. I have never eaten coconut ice cream such as very delicious. We love it. Waffles were also good taste. I like it so much.

If you want to eat dishes or dessert, you can find this small restaurant near kami-tori. There are some shop, for example, convenience store 7-11, "tuno cafe" and ramen shop. I'd like to go there again and I will try new menu. I recommend this restaurant, so please go there with your friends. I think it will be fun.

336/6932

Starbucks coffee

I went to starbucks coffee twice with my friends last week. I and my friend ordered Caramel Macchiato. I often order it and some light meals. This is the photo. That piece of cake was cheese cake. We got it for free. It was a new cake at the cafe. It looked so good. Strawberries are on the top of cheese cake. I didn't eat it, but my friend liked it. I want to eat it next time.
















Last Thursday, I went to there again. It was cold weather because it was raining, so I ordered hot cocoa. I ordered it for the first time. It was very good, and I like it!! My friend of mine bought cakes. I ate New York cheese cake. It was tasty but made me full. The other cake is raspberry chocolate cake. It looked nice. I enjoyed talking with my friends. It was a nice day!!

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Foreign countries

I have never been to other country. My friends have been to Australia for two weeks to study English. Other friend is going to study abroad in this summer. She is going to go to Canada. Many of my friends have studied abroad.

I want to go abroad, study English, learn culture, and sightseeing. I interested in other country's culture, but I don't have enough money. I work hard and save money for it. I don't know when I can go abroad, but I study about Japanese before I go abroad.

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At KGU Life!!!

I usually study in study spaces at the library. I have a lot of homework and reports, so I make effective use of free time. The library is very comfortable, because there has many kinds of books, the computers, and video viewing area. I use the computer for writing blogs and doing Power Words that is a vocabulary study. Also, I usually used video viewing area when I was freshman. AV room has many DVDs and CDs. I can study at AV room because there has foreign movies, so I watch movies with English caption or English sounds. Now, I am busy to do my homework, so I have not watched the videos since I was a freshman. If I don't have any homework, I want to watch the videos in my free time.

In the lunch time, I always come to school without bringing a lunch, so I go to the cafeteria or bakery. I almost ate the menu of the cafeteria and the bread of all types. I like all menu of the cafeteria. Noodles are always fresh because the noodles are boiled upon receiving the order. I look forward to the daily lunch special. There are three different menus for each day of the week. In the bakery, there are many kinds of bread, and the smell of bread is drifting. I think pizza is the most popular among the students. There are five kinds of pizzas. All of bread is very delicious and a reasonable price. I like bakery very much. At lunch time, there is always congested with students. You must be line up for cash desk.

After school, I go to part-time job. I have two part-time jobs. One is a convenience-store clerk, the other is a tutor. Part-time job at the convenience-store is twice a week and tutor is twice a week. When I was a freshman, I had part-time job 5 or 6 times a week. Part-time job has decreased compered to when I was a freshman because I have class until 5th period from Monday to Thursday. I am really busy, but I want to go on a trip with my family. I save money for it!

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Essay 1-02b: About KGU

We are going to introduce KGU. There are a lot of useful buildings in KGU. And there are many events there. This university has satisfying service.

First, Almost students who come to school without bringing a lunch use the gakushoku. It is a restaurant. There are many dishes there. Gakushoku has noodles, Donburi-mono (bowl of rice with food on top), hushed beef and rice, and curry and rice. Noodles are always fresh because the noodles are boiled upon receiving the order. Some students look forward to the daily lunch special. There are three different menus for each day of the week. And the dishes are very delicious and low-priced. So it is popular for students. Also, bakery is popular for students.

In the bakery, there are many kinds of bread, and the smell of bread is drifting. They like the bread of all types. Especially, pizza is the most popular among the students. There are five kinds of pizzas. All of bread is very delicious and a reasonable price. Every students like bakery very much.

And there is a LAWSON in the university. Students can use it any time. But the register is jammed in the lunch time. A food court is also beside the LAWSON. Students eat in the food court, after buying the lunch in the LAWSON.  Also, there is the yumeshoku that is restaurant in the sangoukan. The restaurant sells the bento. The bento is delicious. Especially, the deep-fried chicken bento is delicious. There are many kinds of bento, but these are sold out if you go and buy late. So, you must go there as soon as possible your class is over.

Second, there is the library in KGU. Many of students at KGU usually study in study spaces at the library. Second year students have a lot of homework and reports, so they make effective use of free time.  The library is spacious and very comfortable, because there has many kinds of books, the computers, and video viewing area.

They use the computer for writing blogs and doing Power Words that is a vocabulary study. Also, they usually use video viewing area when they have free time. Watching movies are one of the tools as language learning because they watch the moves with English subtitles or foreign moves without Japanese dubbing. Now, they are busy to do their homework, so they have not watched the videos since they were a first year student. If they don't have any homework, they want to watch the videos in their free time. Students can read the books, and study there. The library is convenient place.

Third, there are LL room and e-campus center in KGU. Students can borrow the workbook of the TOEIC and TOEFL in the LL room. Moreover, student can borrow the DVDs in there.  And there are study rooms. Students also can use PCs there. In the e-campus center, there are many PCs. Student can make the reports and PowerPoint, etc, using the PCs. And Students can borrow the notebook computers. They can use it at home. So, the university is good learning environment.

Also, there are pleasant school events in KGU.  For example, takumasai, freshman camp, field day, and so on.
Takumasai is school festival. Many clubs opens the stall. The stalls sell the crepe, takoyaki, yakisoba, etc.  And the concert of some music club is held. Famous guests also comes the festival.  It is very pleasant.

The freshman camp is an event of only eibeigakka. Students can make some friends and get along with them in the camp.

After school, many of students go to part-time job or their club. Some of them have two part-time jobs and have part-time job 5 or 6 times a week. Other students have a part-time job twice a week. They are really busy, but they have purpose theirs own. For example, someone wants to go on a trip with my family. Others pay own school expenses or save money!


There are a lot of club in this university. Kinds of clubs are music clubs, athletic clubs, culture club, and so on. Students who are in the music club are very busy to practice their band. They sing a song and play the musical instruments. Other students who are in athletic club are also practice their sports, tennis, basketball, soccer, tae kwon do, and swimming. Another clubs’ activities are playing outside, traveling home country or abroad, studying economic, and so on. They spend very busy school life but also find fulfillment in their school life.



Content for this joint essay came from previous blog posts: 

Sakata, Karin. (2014, 05, 22). The university Life [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://rin2882.blogspot.jp/2014/05/essay-1-02a-university-life.html

Toyoda,Haruka. (2014, 05, 23). At KGU Life!!!  [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://hrk34.blogspot.jp/2014/05/at-kgu-life.html

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My other classes

I introduce my other class. I like Japanese phonetics class because I have never learn about phonetics, so I interested in Japanese phonetics.

In this class, I learn about how to pronounce a word correctly and international phonetics signs. It is difficult for me to understand international phonetics signs because these signs are very strange shape. What's more, these signs have different articulation way and articulation place. At first, I was really surprised professor is Chinese because class was Japanese phonetics. However, he was good at speaking Japanese. He speaks Japanese like almost Japanese people. Students who take his class like him very much because his lesson is interesting and instructive.

I think it is really difficult. However, I really enjoy the class.

123/5227

How I study English

About three years ago, I went to English conversation class. I like there because there is so enjoyable place for me. Now, I don't have that class, so I have not study English.

 

However, I have to take some tests. For example, there are classes' exam, TOEIC, TOEFL, and so on. I want to get some qualifications. I must obtain the qualifications to get a job. I bought some textbook and study at home. Recently, I sometimes read a newspaper written in English and listen to English songs. I am not very good at speaking English, so I must practice it. I recommend listening to English radio. There are English radio applications for iPhone. I like it very much. I think it is very helpful to improve my English skills.

130/5104

BR 2-05: Skyjack!

"Your wife isn't stupid, you know. This game has not ended yet. Sit still, and be ready."(p45)

I read this book when I was a high school student. I like this story very much. This book is full of suspense story. A large plane is hijacked. The Prime Minister has to think and make a decision about what they should do. She was very disturbed at the list of passenger.  There is a name on the list that she knows very well. The person is her husband. The hijackers didn't know that, but if they know that he will be killed. If you are the Prime Minister, what are you do? I think I can't decide anything. The ending, there is a regret in my heart.

Reference

Tim, Vicary, (2008)Skyjack! Oxford, England:Oxford University Press.

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BR 2-04: The Snow Queen

"She is good and sweet and innocent. That will be all the magic she needs."(p.50)

I found this book in the library. I have read the snow queen when I was a little, but I didn't remember about story. This story tells me how important to believe myself and best friend. A girl who called Gerda helped her best friend, Kay who was caught by the snow queen. She is very bravery and has clean heart. I want to have pure heart like her. We must believe myself and go up against problem. I want to watch movie some day. I have found there is a movie of the snow queen in You Tube. I am looking forward to watch it.

Reference

Hans, Christian, Andersen, (1805). The Snow Queen, America, Multivista Global Ltd.

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BR 2-03: Magical Animals

"Thinks he's a god, huh? That's shown him!"(p17)

This book has four stories. In this book, mythical beasts, Pegasus, Chimera, griffin, cockatrice and unicorn, appeared. I don't know what cockatrice is. I heard it for the first time, but it is interesting story. I think this is good for children to learn magical animals another country. Do you know why Pegasus lives with the gods? There are interesting stories each mythical beast. You'll be able to know the wisdom and stupidity of human. If you are interested in mythical beast, I recommend this book.

Reference

Carol, Watson (2007). Magical Animals Saffron Hill, London, England: Usborne Publishing Ltd.

86/4758

ice cream?

Do you know this? It looks strange and perhaps I think you don't know what it is. At first, I didn't know and couldn't guess what it is. This is an ice cream. These are ice cream. My brother found it at festival. It is call "dippin' dot". 

This made from America. Dippin' Dots Founder Curt Jones was a microbiologist. His technique was great. He made little beads of ice cream by using super-cold freezing methods. I think the ice cream beads were delicious, but strange feeling and enjoy to eat. There are 12 kinds of flavors and we can mix flavors, so we are able to fun many flavors. 

This picture is soda flavor. My brother likes it. I want to try another flavor, specially, I want to eat honey cotton candy or caramel fromage flavor. If you find this ice cream, please try it! Maybe you will be surprised.

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chanpon

I ate chanpon at school cafeteria last week. I like chanpon because a lot of vegetables in it. Chanpon makes me warm and full. This chanpon uses many vegetables, so I cannot see noodles. I become full only eat vegetables. It takes a little more time to cook, but it is good taste. What's more, it costs 380 yen!! I think it's cheap. The picture of the bottom is taken when I have already eaten one third. Vegetable is twice as volume as noodles and good taste. I think almost people can be full. I recommend to eat chanpon if you come to the school cafeteria.

105/4521

broke my phone

I broke my phone before last weekend. When I was going home, I broke. I went up the stairs of the station, and I was thinking about steps. I thought how many steps of staircase are there from here to the landing of the stairs, but there were no steps. I lost my footings and dropped my phone.

I was very shocked. I broke my phone for the first time. I didn't know what I should do for my phone. I went to AEON Mall Kumamoto to fix it, but the store staff told me it costs about 38,000 yen!!!!! I think it is so high price for me. I changed store and I called service center. Finally, I received the box on Sunday. There was a new iPhone in the box. I was really happy then. Although I have to pay 7,500 yen for this new iPhone. I bought a new screen protection sheet which is tempered glass. I don't want to crash my phone any more, so I chose tempered glass. I felt relieved for the time being.





I had to buy a new case too, so I went to AEON Mall again. I had crashed my phone but also cover case too. I arrived at a parking lot and got off the car. When I got off the car, I heard some sounds. What!!! I dropped my phone again!! I cannot believe it. How stupid I am. I broke my phone twice in two weeks. I was very disappointment. However, thanks to the screen protection sheet, the body was safe. I was really glad my phone was undamaged.

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My hobby is...

My hobbies are reading books and watching movies. These days, I hardly read books and watch movies because I don't have much time. I have a lot of homework. I like Harry Potter series and ghibli. I like it so much that I watch it over and over again. If you have free time, try to watch.

58/4145

Amamiya

I went to Amamiya with my brother. Amamiya is a cafe in the Kami-tori which serves Japanese cakes and meals. This cafe has a lot of menu, for example, parfait, anmitsu, zenzai, kakigori which are the sweets, and udon, carry, donburi which are the meals.  Amamiya is small cafe. You have to go up stairs to enter the cafe, so you can see a banner on your left side.

I ordered set menu B. These are pictures. I ate coffee jelly, cold zenzai of matcha, and hot tea. I have come there for several times, but I ordered this for the first time. When I went there before, I and my brother ordered matcha parfait.

This is a coffee jelly. I was really surprised because I couldn't see coffee jelly. This coffee jelly was served with vanilla ice cream and kinako on it. Kinako is roasted soybean flour. I have never seen and eaten such a coffee jelly. At first, I thought it was strange and I wonder it is good. However, it was very delicious!!! I found this combination is good. I want to eat again. I like it.

This is a cold zenzai of matcha. Zenzai is a Japanese sweet made of azuki which is red beans, sweetened with sugar, and mochi that is Japanese rice cake or shiratama dango, sweet dumplings made of sweet rice flour called shiratamako. This zenzai is matcha soup and use shiratama dango. I like shiratama dango because it is springy and smoothly texture. It's easy to eat a lot. I ate zenzai of matcha for the first time. I like matcha, so I think it was good.

My brother ordered kakigori. This flavor is matcha. He was looking forward to eat kakigori since this summer. This kakigori has matcha source which pour when you eat before and shiratama dango. Also, you can see warabi mochi in it and azuki on the top. He tried to eat it with matcha source, but he found that he didn't like matcha. It was too bitter for him to eat, so he didn't pour the matcha. I ate it and I also thought it is bitter. He likes parfait better than kakigori of matcha. I want to eat kakigori in summer.

If you want to eat Japanese sweets, I recommend this cafe. There are private room and tatami room. The atmosphere was comfortable. I want to go there again.

403/4087

Movie review: Romeo + Juliet

I watched the movie, Romeo + Juliet. I have never read or watched Romeo and Juliet, but I had known main part of this story.

This classic story of Romeo and Juliet is modern version. Leonardo DiCaprio acts the role of Romeo. He was very young in this movie because this is a 1996 American movie. Claire Danes plays the role of Juliet. The scene was city of Verona Beach, and there are two hostile families. These families' children meet and fall in love at a party. Juliet is from the House of Capulet, but Romeo is from the House of Montague. They have to make a secret of their love because they know that their parents will never allow their love. They are in torment because of their identity.

In the movie, Tybalt who is Juliet's cousin fought with Mercutio who is Romeo's best friend. At first, Tybalt challenged Romeo to fight, but Romeo refused to fight with him because of Juliet. So, Mercutio accepted the fight instead of Romeo. In the fight, Mercutio was wounded. Then, he said that "A pox on both your houses." I think he was right and what he said became true. I think he wanted to stop their strife because he didn't want to increase people who embroiled in conflict any more.

Of course, the most favorite scene is the last scene. Romeo heard about Juliet's death and he was shocked. He bought poison before going to the church. He didn't know that Juliet's death was a fake. He drank the poison when Juliet woke up. I think they are passing each other and misunderstanding. I think this was a true tragedy, and also Father Lawrence had cruel end.

I enjoyed watching this movie. I cannot see this movie without tears. I was moved very much. If I hear about a lover's death, I couldn't believe it. I may choose death or I probably lost my hope of living.

326/3684

Fireworks

I played with fireworks with my family. We wanted to go see fireworks, but we couldn't see this summer, and we played with fireworks. I think fireworks are a Japanese summer tradition.

First, we went to the supermarket to buy fireworks. However, there were not them because summer has gone. We went to some shop and found them. After we went back home, we played with them. I took pictures of fireworks. It was difficult for me to take pictures of fireworks.

These are get fireworks. The fireworks were beautiful because the flame color changed. It changed over time.

My cousin set off fireworks and he left there. Sparks spread around. We have never played with jet fireworks, so we enjoyed them.

Also, we played with the sparklers. This is a type of Japanese sparkler fireworks. Japanese people called them 'senko hanabi'. These were so beautiful but frail beauty.

We did many different kinds of fireworks, but I think the Japanese sparklers were the best. I want to do fireworks next year too.

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Digging

My brother and cousins dug sweet potatoes in September. My grandparents have kitchen garden, and they enjoy their home garden. My grandfather grows vegetables, and my grandmother grows flowers in their garden. Grandfather grows many kinds of seasonal vegetables.

The weather was fine, so it was a good day for digging sweet potatoes. My cousins and brother were looking forward to dig sweet potatoes. They looked so happy. I took some photos and helped them. They used shovels and hoe. Actually, they dug sweet potatoes out from the ground by their hands. They used work gloves and had rubber boots on.

They enjoyed digging, and also I enjoyed digging too. We had a good harvest of sweet potatoes. After that, we ate steamed potatoes. It was very delicious! They brought the sweet potatoes their home. We had a good time.

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Lunch time!!

Last Friday, I went to "Ouchi cafe" to eat lunch with my friends. I went to there for the first time, so I was looking forward to go and eat.

This is lunch C set, curry and rice with many color vegetables. I didn't eat this, but my friend said it is very good.

This is lunch A set, potato croquette enter whole egg over demi-glace. I ordered this menu. Outside of croquettes were crisp and demi-glace was very delicious.

This is a pudding dessert. Cinnamon and vanilla ice had been topping. Caramel sauce was bittersweet and pudding was very soft. I think this pudding is the most delicious in that I've ever tried. I want to eat again.












This cafe has daily lunch, so you can enjoy whenever you go. I like cooking and atmosphere of the cafe. I want to go again. Please try to go there because it is very good place. This cafe is near the University. I recommend you going on a weekday.

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Essay: My Language Learning Story and Plans

10 years ago, I was in 4th grade. In my elementary school, there were English class, and ALT and junior high school's teachers came to my elementary school and taught us English. They taught us alphabet, how to pronounce it and how to write it. Also, I sang English songs. For example, Alphabet song, Days Of Week Song, Bingo Song, and so on. I didn't understand all English but I really enjoy the class. I could speak English a little, I knew the basic vocabulary just "Hello" or "How are you?" Also, I learned Japanese. First, I learned Hiragana and Katakana. These are words characteristic of Japan. I have thought Katakana is specially strange because they looks very strange mark. Then, I learned Kanji that is from China. I like Kanji because I interested in the structure of Kanji. I usually got a perfect score for the Kanji test.

5 years ago, I was 13 years old. I was junior high school student. I learned basic English grammar. I learned how to express own feelings and reading a textbook. I was studying in order to talk ALT. My English teacher advised me to take some exam. I planed to take the Pre-2nd level English exam. I studied hard, and English teacher helped me. I wanted to do my best to pass the English exam. Fortunately, I passed Pre-2nd grade of the English proficiency test when I was 3rd junior high school student. In addition to this, I learned literature of Modern Japanese, Classical Japanese, and Classical Chinese. I like Chinese classical literature because I like Kanji too. Still, it was very difficult for me to read a piece of writing that is done all in Chinese characters.

When I was high school student, I took the 2nd level English exam. I took the exam 3 times because I am not good at speaking, and I don't like interview. My school's English teachers spared some of her precious time to practice my speaking. I thank her very much. And I also took a TOEIC test for the first time. I was very nervous because I've never taken the TOEIC test.

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BR 2-02: A. Christmas Carol

"I'm as light as a feather, as merry as as school boy. Thank you, Marley! From now on, I'll keep Christmas in my heart all year round."(p.50)

This story is very interesting. I have not known this story until I became a university student. I picked this book because the season turns into winter. A man was very stingy person and ill-natured, so he was disliked by everyone. However, he is indebted to his previous worker for change his mind. I am very surprised that he had a cruel heart, and I was wondering about why he had such a heart. I think this book is read in the Christmas season.

Reference

Charles, Dickens, (1843). A. Christmas Carol, London, Usborne Publishing Ltd.

84/2427

BR 2-01: Beauty & the Beast

"How could anyone love a beast?"(p.41)

I like this story because I know this movie of Disney. I think this story is going to make into a movie at an early date. I want to watch that movie because a Hollywood actress acts the role of Belle. Beauty has a pure heart and very kindhearted person. I like her, and I want to be a humane person like her. Also, Beast is a gentle contrary his look. We should not judge a person by how he looks.

Reference

Gabrielle, de, Villeneuve, (1740). Beauty & the Beast, London, Usborne Publishing Ltd.

81/2343

Essay: School Life

Many of students at KGU usually study in study spaces at the library. Second year students have a lot of homework and reports, so they make effective use of free time. The library is very comfortable, because there has many kinds of books, the computers, and video viewing area. They use the computer for writing blogs and doing Power Words that is a vocabulary study. Also, they usually use video viewing area when they have free time. Now, they are busy to do their homework, so they have not watched the videos since they were a freshman. If they don't have any homework, they want to watch the videos in their free time.

In the lunch time, students who come to school without bringing a lunch go to the cafeteria or bakery. They like all menu of the cafeteria and the bread of all types. Cafeteria has noodles, Donburi-mono which is a bowl of rice with food on top, hushed beef and rice, and curry and rice. Noodles are always fresh because the noodles are boiled upon receiving the order. Some students look forward to the daily lunch special. There are three different menus for each day of the week. In the bakery, there are many kinds of bread, and the smell of bread is drifting. Pizza is the most popular among the students. There are five kinds of pizzas. All of bread is very delicious and a reasonable price. Every students like bakery very much.

After school, many of students go to part-time job or their club. Some of them have two part-time jobs and have part-time job 5 or 6 times a week. Other students have a part-time job twice a week. They are really busy, but they have purpose theirs own. For example, someone wants to go on a trip with my family. Others pay own school expenses or save money!

314/2262

Drink

I drank new drink. This is a basil seed drink. I found this at the Village Vanguard. Village Vanguard is a book store, but there are a lot of interesting goods. I bought it at the store.

In these days, chia seeds are popular food for Japanese people because chia seeds have dietary benefits. We can available dried, so we have to rehydrate them. And add them into juice or yogurt. They expand ten times, so give us sense of fullness. I have chia seeds because my brother is plump and I'm interested in them.

Basil seed also in water until tender and it expand into agar form. In Southeast Asia, basil seed are familiar to as healthy sweets. Furthermore, basil seed are rich in dietary fiber, so they are superior diet health drinks.

I bought basil seed drink because my brother wanted it. He watched YouTube and found it. I bought a lychee flavor. There were many flavors at the store. For example, white grape, mango, coconut and so on. Recently, new flavors come. New flavors are yogurt, acai, and pineapple. I think they are good taste.

I and my brother tried lychee flavor. Appearance of this juice is frog spawn, so it is gross a little. However, I got crispy feeling like aloe and juice has a sweet taste of lychee. It left a too sweet taste in my mouth, but it was good. It costs 350 yen. I think it's a little expensive. I like the texture of the basil seed. I will try another flavor. If you see this drink, please try it and tell me where it is.

273/1948

Cocoa

Do you like cocoa? If you like cocoa, I think this cocoa is good. 

I bought this at the KALDI. KALDI is a coffee shop, and sell many imported foods. I like there because there are a lot of snacks and sweets from overseas.

I thought this package is so cute and I bought it. I have never seen such a cute package. This cocoa has a rich taste. I would like to dilute this cocoa with hot water. If you want to buy it, please go to the KALDI. I haven't seen it other shop.

96/1675

Eating habits

I had eaten each meal before university student. I sometime don't eat dinner when I started my part-time job. I usually finish my job at around 10 o'clock. I think it is too late to eat dinner at that time, so I always worry. I eat something low in calories in order to conceal the stomach is empty. Also, I sometime skip the breakfast. I think my eating habits is disturbed. I must change my eating habits.

80/1579

Lunch

Last Sunday, I went to PRONTO with my friends. PRONTO is a cafe and bar. It is in Shimo-tori near the McDonald's. We ate spaghetti. I ordered spaghetti with tomato sauce and eggplant. I like vegetables, and I wanted to eat eggplant then. It was tasty, but it was too much for me to eat. So, I have gotten full.

There are a lot of menu, and most of them cost less than 1000 yen. Also the cafe contains about 120 seats. If you enjoy talking with your friends, I recommend there. I want to order risotto and Mont Blanc. Mont Blanc looks really delicious. Both of them are on sale for a limited time, so I have to go there at an early date.

125/1499

Movie review: Cool Hand Luke

I watched a movie "Cool Hand Luke". This movie's story is about a man who breaks out of prison several times. The main character is Luke Jackson. He was arrested for being drunk and destroying parking meters, so he is sent to jail. While he does a stretch in prison, he gets along with a gang of convicts. He challenged a lot of things. First, he challenged Dragline who is serving a sentence in a prison to a fight with. Dragline was very surprised because Luke has never gave up. He likes Luke very much. Luke is very good at poker. He always wins even when he had bad cards. I thought he knows how to play and win at poker. Also, he is the life and soul of the convicts. He can show the convicts to finish their work early, and give them free time in the afternoon. He was liked by everyone. He breaks out of prison for the first time when he heard that his mother has died. He was caught, but he escapes again. Everyone who was in the prison camp thought he is a man with a lot of guts and they don't have such a spirit. I think Luke is a symbol of hope. They are envious of him.

The scene that left an impression on me is when Luke ate 50 boiled eggs scene. He has to eat 50 boiled eggs because he makes a bet. He could eat all boiled eggs thanks to Dragline. After that, he lied down on the table. I think he looked like Jesus Christ. He didn't believe in God, but he looked like Jesus Christ. I thought this is an irony. Also, he went to church and prayed on his knees when he has been on the run. He prayed even he didn't believe in God. I think he turns to God only in trouble.

318/1374

Vietnam restaurant

I went to 南方小厨. Nanpo-small kitchen is a Vietnam restaurant near the Suido-chou. I went there with my friends, and she taught us this restaurant. We ate lunch at there. My friend ordered green curry, the other friend ordered pho. Pho is a Vietnamese soup with a beef base, typically served with rice noodles and beef or chicken. I ordered phad bai gaprao. That is gapao rice which is a Thai food. This was a little spicy for me, but it was very tasty.

I ate Thai food for the first time. I like this restaurant. I want to eat it again, but I prefer to eat pho. My friend ate pho and she said very taste. There are a lot of menu and those are an affordable prices. Those are around 600-800 yen. Dishes are taste and reasonable price. If you interested in Asian food, please try it!!

153/1056

Bagel

I like bagels. I like blueberry bagels in particular, so I often buy them at the bakery. I happened to hit upon an idea. How do I arrange this bagel?

I checked the Internet and looked for recipe. I found a simple recipe. I cut the bagel half and add cream cheese and blueberry jam. It looks so good, isn't it? It was very tasty. Cream cheese makes mild, and I felt blueberry pulp more. I think it is very easy to make. Also you can feel rich a little and feel like cafe at home. I enjoyed making and eating. I want to try again. If you like bagels, please try it!

113/903

Hakata station

I went to Hakata station this summer with my brother, cousin and aunt. We got on the Shinkansen for the first time. We got on the Shinkansen Tsubame in the morning. There are few people in the Shinkansen, so we could be relaxed. Our purpose was to go to the Pokemon center at Hakata station.

Pokemon center is a goods shop. There are a lot of goods about Pokemon. For example, stationary, stuffed toys, sweets and snacks and so on. I think Pokemon center in Fukuoka is small shop. Pokemon center in Osaka is bigger than Fukuoka, but both of them there are many people.

We saw a lot of goods and play the game. After that, we challenged quiz rally. We walked around the station to find panels.

We looked for those panels and wrote down to the answer sheet. It was difficult to find those panels. Then, we took it to the Pokemon center, and they gave us some presents. We enjoyed quiz rally.

After that, we had a lunch. We have already decided where we have a lunch because we planed. We went to a ramen shop which called ''Shin Shin''.  We ate Hakata Ramen and Takana fried rice. Hakata ramen has thin noodles and a little heavy soup. "Shin Shin" is famous ramen shop in Fukuoka. There are a lot of people lined up. I ordered lunch set. It took about 960 yen. These are very delicious. I will try gyoza next time because it smelled very good. Also, I want to eat ramen at the others ramen shop. 

After we ate lunch, we went to shopping to buy souvenirs. I bought Hakata Potato which is sweet potato cake, Yuki-Ichigo which is marshmallow, and durian soda pop. I have never eaten durian, but durian soda pop was very strange for me. I like Hakata Potato very much, so I always buy it when I go to Fukuoka. If you go to Fukuoka, please buy it. It is very tasty!!

333/790

Movie review: Glee 1st episode

I watched Glee for the first time. At first, actually I don't like dramas because drama has a story and a lot of episodes. So, I think I have to watch next episode. I watched Glee, however, I really enjoyed watching it.

The story is a musical drama. High school teacher Will Schuester who had belonged the glee club when he was a high school student at the same school takes over his school's glee club. He wants the Glee club to succeed in their performance. He collects member and Rachel Berry, Mercedes Jones, Kurt Hummel, Tina Cohen-Chang, and Artie Abrams try out to be singers. However, they don't get along with each other. When Will finds football quarterback Finn Hudson has a talent for singing, he thought Finn is a diamond in the rough. Finn was forced to join the Glee club and he is free to show his real self gradually. At that time, Will considers quitting his job because he finds a higher paying job to support his family, but he saw Glee club's great performance and got advice from his co-worker Emma, so that he decides to continue to teach.

After I saw this drama, I was very excited. I like Finn because he is so cool. He is a good-looking and nice guy. Also, he has a secret of his talent to singing, but he didn't like glee club. When he was singing at shower room, Will who is a teacher heard his song. Will brings out the hidden talent in Finn. When Finn was a child, he liked music and played the drums. He liked to sing with the gardener in front of his mother. I think he keeps his feelings under because he was in a fatherless family and he should be a good boy. I can understand his feelings because I am similar situated. He was freed to show his real self by singing and changes his mind. I was touched by his character.

In addition, I like music in this drama. Music makes me feel good. I was moved by the Glee club's singing. I want to watch more episodes and get more information about these actors. I recommend watching this TV drama. It is so fantastic!!!

376/457

New drink

I bought a new drink. I bought at AEON MALL. I saw this for the first time, I couldn't image of this milk. This is milk, but not normal milk. This made from rice!!! Rice milk tastes like rice. I think this is healthy because cholesterol-free drink. I could drink up this rice milk, but I like milk or soy milk more. I recommend this milk to people who have allergy. If you are interested in Rice milk, please try it!

<81/81>