Congratulations to Cadel Evans, winner of 2011 Tour de France. He is the first Australian to ever win it.
The Tour de France is a world-famous sporting event with a long history, so this is big news for Australians.
Hubba Hubba!
I spotted this baby in a side-street while riding my bicycle home from Ichinomiya station recently.
I`m still suffering from whiplash.
It`s a 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8, a modern interpretation of the original models from the early 70`s. I think I prefer the retro originals, but it`s a hard choice - this is definitely a nice car.
Teragoya held another fun & fantastic party last Saturday night at our Gifu school. The theme was `Reggae`, so everyone wore resort wear, and there was a live DJ & reggae dancing. Also, Henriette from Gifu Teragoya made cocktails - I don`t usually drink cocktails, but the Pina Colada she made was excellent - good job, Henriette!
Everyone had a great time and I was able to chat with some students who I knew, & also meet some new people. I also got to see a strange new dancing style - thanks Parren!
I hope to see you at our next party - remember, everyone is welcome! Oh - and 10% of the money we receive for parties is donated to a Tohoku Disaster charity - another good reason to attend.
On the weekend I made jam with black raspberries from my bush in the garden.
Following my student Makie`s advice, I used the microwave instead of a pot/pan & burner [conro]. Here is the recipe if you`re interested (& if you`re not fussy about measurements & details!):
Raspberry Jam Recipe:
1. Put raspberries, some lemon juice, & about a cup of sugar in a microwave-safe bowl
2. Cook in the microwave oven for about 10 minutes
3. Mix/mash, taste, add more sugar if necessary
4. Keep cooking & mixing till it seems ready
5. Put in bottles
6. Eat on buttered toast - yum!
Easy!
Actually, I think I should have cooked mine a bit longer, but it tastes good. Also, I left the seeds in my jam, because they`re small & not too hard, but if you`re a fussy, over-sensitive person (i.e. not from Australia), maybe you should strain the jam when you make it, to take out the seeds.
What is it? Can you guess?
I`ll tell you the answer in 2 weeks.
UPDATE:
The answer is in Comments!
After 1-1 at full-time, & 2-2 after extra time, Japan beat the USA on penalties to win the 2011 Women`s World Cup Football final.
Well done! I think the USA were stronger, but Japan didn`t give up. Haha - I`m a little surprised but very happy about the result.
Congratulations Japan!
Japan have beaten Sweden 3-1 to reach the final of the Women`s Football World Cup. Japan played well & deserved to win.
In the final on Sunday, they will meet the world`s number 1 ranked team - the USA! It should be a good game - I`m looking forward to it.
By the way, don`t you think the Japanese uniforms are kind of cool? Instead of the red square at the neckline, like the men`s team, the women`s have a pink square. Nice idea!
Tarui is a small town between Ogaki & Sekigahara. I`ve passed it a few times on the train on my way to Sekigahara or the Japan Sea coast, but this was the first time I`d stopped there.
Just 5 minutes` walk from the station is the picturesque little Ai River, with well-maintained grassy parks on each side. This was one reason I wanted to visit Tarui - I always thought that the river & the parks looked so nice from the train window as I passed.
Not only is the river only 5 minutes from the station, but there`s also a McDonalds nearby - very convenient! We got our lunch there & ate it at a park bench near the river.
It was very hot, so we only stayed a couple of hours, but I might return another day, maybe by bicycle & without Owen, so I can explore the surrounding area (the base of a forested mountain is just 1km away).
If you live around here & you have a kid who`s crazy about trains, or you just want to explore a scenic little town, I recommend taking the train to Tarui.
Earlier this year, a student gave me a small raspberry plant, which I planted in my garden. It grew very fast & very big, & now it has lots of black raspberries on it, as you can see. If I can get enough (& stop Owen eating them), I might try to make some jam.
Thanks Makie!
Here are a couple of upcoming Teragoya events. If you`re free, please come along to the parties - they`re always fun, and also a stress-free way to practice your English.
If you have kids, how about sending them along on our annual Kids Day Camp? Shopping, cooking, outdoor games - all using English! They`re sure to have a great time.
*click on pictures to enlarge
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