Otto's blog

Postcard from Pyongyang

4月

26日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

Former Teragoya teacher Andrew told us he would visit North Korea. I asked him to send us a postcard from there. He promised to try. Today one arrived, addressed to our school mascot, Tera-chan. Tera-chan was excited. He said he wants to live in North Korea because he read (読んだ) somewhere that Kim Jong-un is a puppet leader (人形のリーダー).

Spelling:
- Be careful: read (リーd = 読む) & read (レd = 読んだ) have the same spelling

Why Did the Teacher Cross the Road?

4月

26日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

Across from Gifu Teragoya is the Gifu City Culture Centre. I noticed these paintings in their street-side display windows, so I crossed the road to take a closer look. Actually, they look better from a distance (遠いから), so this is a photo from my classroom across the road.

The top two paintings remind me of a print by Kyokichi Tanaka.

Vocabulary:
- Be careful: `across` & `cross` are different: across = 向い cross = 渡る

Getting Ready for Iwato Festival

4月

21日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

Now my neighbours (ネイバー = 隣人) are getting ready for my town`s festival this Sunday. In this photo, they are getting one of three floats (山車) ready. If you are free this Sunday, please come to the Iwato festival (一宮市・石刀祭). If you bring kids, tell them to get ready to hold the ropes which pull the floats!

Info: http://www.rurubu.com/event/detail.aspx?ID=12038
Info: http://dashi-matsuri.com/dashikan/owari/iwato/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1iGW8S6yl0

Grammar:
- be ready = 準備が整う
- get ready = 揃える
- get ready for + 名詞 = 名詞の準備をする
- get ready to + 動詞 = 動詞を整える
- get + 名詞 + ready = 名詞を整える

Second Hand Bookstore

4月

19日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

Not far from my school in Gifu is this second-hand (= used) bookstore. I sometimes go there to look at art books. Second-hand art books in Japan are far cheaper (断然安い) than in Australia. These 5 large books cost only ¥1,800.

Vocabulary:
- "far" usually means 遠い, but "far + (形容詞)er" means "断然 __er".

Tetsumei Gallery, Gifu

4月

14日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

This lovely old building is in Gifu City, near my school. It used to be a bank, but now it is a gallery.

http://www.juroku.co.jp/aboutus/tetsumei_gallery/

The other day I popped out to buy lunch, and noticed that there was an exhibition there, so I popped in to take a look. It was interesting. The event organisers were friendly & kind.

If you pass that building & there is an exhibition on, please pop in. Also, if you pass Gifu Teragoya, please pop in & say hi to me!

Vocabulary:
- pop + 前置詞 e.g. pop in, pop out, pop up = do/happen/appear quickly, so 飛び出す絵本 = a pop-up book

Studio Teragoya

4月

12日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

Have you been watching our new Travel English series on Youtube? Please look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbI1HAuxA1U&list=PLEL8h9GIzoeMx6KhtUzPwJnJoY6Hn6H1Z

As you can see, our studio is pretty high-tech!

Pronunciation:
- Be careful: studio (スタジオ) is actually pronounced `スチュデイオウ` in English.

Cool Cars In & Around Ichinomiya

3月

22日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

On Saturday night, after work, I went to a Thai restaurant* with some friends. It`s not far from central Gifu, & now it`s spring (春) it`s nice to walk at night, so we walked there. On the way, I saw this nice old car. It`s a 1960s Mazda Carol. What a cool little car!

I had a good time with my friends, but I didn`t stay out very late, so in the morning I felt fine.

Grammar:
- On Saturday... At night... On Saturday night...
- On Sunday... In the morning... On Sunday morning...

* http://tabelog.com/en/gifu/A2101/A210101/21011096/

Mihama Monkeys

3月

15日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

On Sunday I went for a drive to Fukui Prefecture. I took a walk on the beach, but of course I didn`t go for a swim - it`s still too cold.

After taking a look around Mihama Beach, I noticed a big group of monkeys in a field, so I took some photos.

Did you know there are no wild (野生) monkeys in Australia?

Vocabulary:
- Sometimes, instead of just `____(動詞)`, we can use `go ___ing` or `take a ____` or `go for a _____` e.g. swim = go swimming = take a swim = go for a swim.
- Note: the meaning might change a little e.g. walk = 歩く, take a walk = 散歩する

Costco Meat Pies

2月

26日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

Recently I went to the new Costco supermarket in Hashima. They sell things that Japanese supermarkets don`t usually sell, such as meat pies. Meat pies are not popular in Japan, but they`re popular in Australia. I like them - they`re convenient, pretty cheap, and tasty (usually...!).

Notice the brand - `Dad`s Pies`, so if you are a mum, or you are man without children, you can`t eat them. Sorry.

Spelling:
- `Dad` (UK & US)
- `Mum` (UK), `Mom` (US)

Music You Might Like - The Go-Betweens

2月

17日

• コメント(0) |
• コメントを書く |
• 固定リンク

Now I live in Japan, but originally (元々) I`m from Brisbane, in Australia. This group is from my hometown.

If you`ve been to Brisbane, you should* recognize some of the places in the first song`s video. If you`ve never been to Brisbane, you should** go - it`s nice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNLNErkQf1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mECBgNZt_k

Vocabulary:
- `Should` usually means `...した方がいいです` [**] but sometimes it means `probably can/will/be...` (恐らく) [*]