Otto's blog

2019 Nitten Exhibition

2月

20日

On Sunday I went to the annual (= every year) 'Nitten' Japan Fine Arts Exhibition at The Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art in Sakae. I took my young daughter, but she got bored quickly. Also, she was impatient to eat ice-cream; I`d promised her beforehand that I would buy her one, so afterward, I quickly bought a few postcards (can you guess the two that my daughter chose?) then we went & ate ice-cream nearby.

Vocabulary:
- beforehand = (何か) する前, あらかじめ
- afterward = (何か) したから
- nearby = (何処か)の近い

#アート

SKE48 @ Teragoya

2月

15日

Here is a post on Gifu Channel`s website about the visit to Teragoya a while ago* by three SKE48 members:

http://backnumber.zf-web.com/tske48/p1812282715

In a while**, the video will be available on Gyao (https://gyao.yahoo.co.jp/). I`ll let you know when it`s there. While*** you wait for that, how about watching my Youtube videos for a while****? (I`m sorry that Tera-chan is not as pretty as SKE48 members...)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3SckO780YDy43cZhP9UBlQ/videos

Vocabulary:
* a while ago = しばらく前
** in a while = もう少ししたら
**** for a while = しばらくの間
*** while = 〜する間

#tv #ビデオ

End Table

2月

8日

I made this end table, using some of the wood I gathered at Biwa Lake a couple of weeks ago. It`s just wide enough to put our printer on, but narrow enough to fit in the gap between the sofa & a large cabinet in our living room. Also, it`s just the right height for a rubbish bin (ゴミ箱) to go underneath, & the drawer is just the right size for some A4 paper & spare ink cartridges. Finally, my wife judged that it looks nice enough to keep in the living room.

Grammar:
- ...just the right + 名詞 (e.g. size/length/height/amount/etc.) = 丁度いい
- ...just 形容詞* + enough (*e.g. wide/big/long/etc.) = 辛うじて

#アート #趣味

2019 New Years Greeting Card Design

2月

6日

I took this photo in December but I forgot to stick* it on my blog - they`re nengajo that I made with my my kids. Instead of printing directly onto the postcards, we printed our design onto origami paper, then stuck** the origami paper on the postcards.

Vocabulary:
*stick = put (casual/informal English)
**stick 現在形, stuck 過去形 = 張る

#アート

Osaka in Australia

1月

29日

Tera-chan asks Teragoya Otto about the 2019 Australian Open:

T: Did you watch the tennis on Saturday?
O: Yes, I did.
T: Who won?
O: Naomi Osaka won.
T: Who did she beat?
O: She beat a Czech player called Petra Kvitova
T: Where did you watch it?
O: I watched it at Marquee Australian Bar in Gifu
T: Did you drink beer while you watched it?
O: Of course.
T: Who paid for your beer?
O: Me, of course! Why?
T: I heard that you sometimes try to get other people to pay for your beer...
O: What? Who told you that?!
T: Oh, I forget. Bye...!

Grammar:
- Who + 動詞...? = 誰が動詞(する / した)…?
- Who + did + 誰か + 動詞...? = 誰かが誰に/を動詞(した)…?

#スポーツ

Chiune Sugihara Opera

1月

29日

On Sunday I saw an opera called 'Jindo no Sakura' at Gifu Seiryu Bunka Plaza. It`s about a Japanese official called Chiune Sugihara who helped Jews escape from Europe during World War 2. It`s a very moving story. A movie about him was made a couple of years ago (called 'Persona Non Grata' in English). I haven`t seen it but now I`d like to.

Two GifuTeragoya students were members of the opera cast. What talented people we have at our school! Well done, ladies!

Grammar:
- 「___」と言うの＿＿ = a ____ called "___"

#文化

Water Chestnut Seed Pods

1月

24日

I found these on the beach at Lake Biwa. They look strange, don`t they? They are seed pods from a water plant called the water chestnut. However, it is not the same as the water chestnuts that are sometimes used in Asian cooking; they are different. And of course, it`s not the same as the chestnuts ( マロン, 栗) that are eaten in Japan in autumn!

Hmmm. What should I do with them?

#アウトドア

Lodekka Bus Restaurant

1月

23日

This place is in Ichinomiya. I`ve blogged about it before: https://en.bloguru.com/otto/295431/lodekka-curry-noodle-restaurant

It`s a restaurant inside a London double-decker bus. Beside the bus there is a small building that looks like an English pub, but it`s just a foyer (玄関) ...unfortunately. Besides ramen or curry & rice, there aren`t many dishes on the menu, but it`s a fun place to eat, especially if you have small kids (or if you`re a big kid!).

Vocabulary:
- beside = 隣
- besides = 他に

#レストラン

Movie: E.T.

1月

16日

Over* the New Year holidays, I watched the movie 'E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial**' with my kids. I think I last watched it over*** 35 years ago. Even though it`s pretty old, my kids really liked it.

Did you know that there was an extra**** scene for the movie that featured Harrison Ford (Han Solo from Star Wars)? However it wasn`t included in the final version of the movie.

Vocabulary:
- *over = during
- ***over = more than
- **extra = outside, terrestrial = earth
- ****extra = more than necessary

#映画

Biwa Lake Driftwood

1月

15日

Have you been to Hikone Castle in Shiga Prefecture before*? I went there with my family yesterday. It`s very near Lake Biwa, so before** coming home, we went to a lakeside park to play & collect driftwood (漂流木), pine cones, & other junk. I`ll use the wood to make picture frames or display cases or something.

Now I`m at work. I gave the pine cones to my workmate Megumi just before***. She`ll use them for her own craft hobby. I hope she displays it in our lobby!

Vocabulary:
- *before = ever
- **before = 前
- ***before = 先ほど

#アウトドア #アート #趣味