Otto's blog

Roundabout

8月

1日

This trial roundabout is near Shiraito Falls in Fujinomiya. It used to be a normal intersection (交差点). Roundabouts are common in Australia, so I`m used to driving through them, but there aren`t many roundabouts in Japan, so Japanese drivers aren`t used to them. That`s why there are many warning signs for this one. For me, it`s funny - like seeing signs saying,"Warning! Trial Traffic Lights ahead! Drive Carefully!"

Grammar:
- 名詞 + used to + 動詞 = よく～したものだ、昔は～していた、以前は～したものだった
- (be) + used to + 名詞 / 動名詞 = 慣れている

#車

Black Raspberry Desserts

7月

27日

A couple of weeks ago I made jam with berries from this bush (灌木). Then more berries became ripe (円熟した), so I made these desserts. They look good, don`t they? Unfortunately they tasted pretty bad - the jelly wasn`t sweet enough, and the berries tasted sour. Next time I`ll make jam again.

Vocabulary:
- sweet = 甘い sour = 酸っぱい sweet & sour pork = 酢豚

#グルメ

PET Bottle Basil

7月

26日

PET Bottle Basil - A Poem

Now I`m growing basil.
You can see that I have lots.
Some are in PET bottles
Coz I`m too cheap to buy real pots.

Vocabulary
* Coz / cos / `cause = because
** 'cheap' usually means 安い, but here it means ケチ

#園芸

Could Be a Crown...

7月

14日

I spotted this car going past my school. It might be an old Nissan Cedric. Or it may be a Gloria. Or it could be a Toyota Crown. Or something else...? Could be!

Vocabulary:
- "Might/May/Could + be + ___" means we are not sure if something is true or not.

#車

Ducklings in a Ditch

7月

4日

While I was taking my 3 kids for a bicycle ride, I noticed this mother duck taking her kids for a swim. How many ducklings? 9? Poor mum!

Grammar:
- 'take + 誰か/動物 + for (a) + swim/walk/ride/drive' = 誰か/動物を + 泳ぎ　散歩　自転車に乗る　ドライブ + (し)に連れて行く

#動物

Totsuzen Eigo on Powtoon

6月

29日

Our Gifu school faces (向かう) a busy intersection (十字路). While waiting at the pedestrian crossing (横断歩道 ), many people face the school, so we set up a TV in our lobby, facing out. On the TV, we display school news, and 'Totsuzen Eigo' cartoons which I made using a free online program called Powtoon [ www.powtoon.com ]. To see my Powtoon creations, go to YouTube and search for 'Totsuzen Eigo'.

Hiroshi Transfer to the USA

6月

23日

Long-time Teragoya student Hiroshi is being transferred to Seattle in America, so last night was his last lesson. Good luck in the U.S. Hiroshi! Keep in touch!

Grammar:
- In/to + America/Japan/England/Holland
- In/to + the U.S.A./the Phillipines/the U.K./the U.A.E/the Netherlands

Unripe Grapes

6月

22日

My grape vine has lots of grapes, but I haven`t picked any yet because they`re still green, so they`re not ready to eat yet (they`re red grapes). I put a net over them to stop birds. I haven`t seen any birds trying to eat them yet, but I`m sure they`ll come and try soon. I think my chickens want to eat them too.

My chickens still haven`t laid any eggs. I`m still waiting... Come on, chooks!

Grammar:
- still + ___ = まだ ___
- not + ___ + yet = まだ ___ない
- still + is/are/have/do + not + ___ = まだ ___ない

#動物

Dong Khoi Vietnamese Restaurant

6月

20日

Yesterday I went to a nice Vietnamese restaurant in Iwakura, Aichi for lunch. It`s a bit far from Gifu, but not too far from where I live in Ichinomiya. My wife & I sat outside on the terrace, which was warm, but not so bad. The food was delicious, & not that expensive. I recommend it!

https://tabelog.com/en/aichi/A2302/A230201/23043474/

Grammar:
- not + too/so/that + 形容詞 = そんなに [形容詞] ...ない

#グルメ #レストラン

Chicken Coop

6月

3日

I made this chicken coop. I only have 3 hens, so it`s big enough, but I hope it is strong enough to keep out predators (捕食者) such as cats & weasels (鼬). Unfortunately I only had enough sheet metal to cover one side. The other sides are just wood. If I have enough time, I will try to strengthen the other walls.

Grammar:
- OK: ...enough + 名詞, ...形容詞 + enough
- WRONG: ...名詞 + enough, ...enough + 形容詞

#ペット #動物