I'm in U.S. now.

Hello!
It's been a long time when I posted a last blog.
Now I'm in U.S. as a exhange student in University at Buffalo.
I think I'm doing pretty well now :)

I made another blog to record my days in UB. For now, I'm posting that blog everyday in Japanese.
However, I think I came here to study English so It's better to write a blog in English also.
I didn't decided yet, but maybe I'm going to re-start this blog again.
Maybe I can't post everyday because a life in U.S. is busier than I thought.
I have three English classes everyday, and homework is pretty hard. But now I become get used to it.

So... I hope you stop by here sometimes, and see how I'm doing.
This is my blog that I writing in Japanese→http://daily-vege.blogspot.com/
Please check this blog also if you have time :)


See you soon.





Ayumi

Two months

2 months...

I watched two new movies. "TIME" and "The Iron Lady".
I had dinner and lunch with my friends including exchange students.
I went to bar first time.
I gave a speech about Tohoku earthquake.
I read some books "Jiro Shirasu", "古事記は日本を強くする", "旅する力‐深夜特急ノート‐".
I did a parttime job 4 times in a week.
I studied a lot about international relationship and politics in Koji Nakamura's class.
I went to Kiyoshikojin, Arima-onsen, Suma so on.
One of my lovable dog Fusa passed away.

That's all? I don't know.
I think I spend a great spring vacation.
But the last one...hmmmm....That was very very sad for me. I still feel big loss in my heart.
I think I need more time to fix this.

Actually, I went to Suma today. I had no class today so I planned to go to cyber library and do some reserch. But...weather! was so great today. so I called my friend and ask her to go to Suma beach.
Suma beach...wasn't so beautiful. no. It was dirty. But sea made us feel so open. We talked a lot. After that we went to cafe in Sannomiya, and talked a lot again. It was so fun.

It's already about one month left before going to study abroad.
I'm going to study and experience things as much as possible.

I'm ready to recieve your chocolate.

Today is St.Valentine's day, but also my mother's birthday. Happy birthday my mom!
Me and my parents went to crab buffet restaurant as mother's birthday party. I won't eat crab after 6 month, I guarantee.


I'm taking a class with some exchange students now. In this class, we have to speak only English. I think it'll improve my English speaking skill. However It's so difficult to keep up with their discussion. Every time class was finished, I felt so exhausted and little depressed by my ignorance. So recently I try to watch and read the CNN news and Asahi newspaper everyday to know what's happening in the world now. It's very hard to share one newspaper with my parents in every morning.

I think I must to know about geography. Honestly I'm completely not good at geography. I didn't know where the Syria is, and why Syria got strong effect of Arab spring. News and geography are closely related. I realized it.

By the way, I think CNN intensively focus on Syria and Greek(and Whitney Houston) now. In contrast, I think Japanese media doesn't much care about these issue. I don't know why, but I think it's a little problem.


Anyway, I will keep trying this. And I want to do a practice to making my opinion about many kinds of news in English here.

"Yuuenchi"

When you were child, maybe your parents sometimes took you to an amusment park such as Expo land, Kobe portopia land, Ayameike amusement park and so on. However all amusement parks, I stated before, were closed now because of depression, huge effect of USJ or an accident happened there. For me, most memorable amusement park is "Takarazuka Familyland". Takarazuka Familyland was opened in 1911 by Hankyu corporation near from Takarazuka station that is aimed to attracting customers to use Hankyu railway.

But this amusement park was also closed on August 31st, 2003. I remember that some TV channel broadcasted special TV programs about the history of Takarazuka Familyland and they also broadcast a last closing time of Takarazuka Familyland. I was maybe 12 years old, I watched one of these and cried. I had never realized it but I loved there so much. The memories of there were always so fun and so happy(Of cours I'm happy now!). Even now, I often use Hankyu Takarazuka line, and when I saw the site of Takarazuka Family land, I feel so sad. I know it's little odd, but I think if you had been to there, you may feel something for this place.

Anyway, what I wanted to talk about is one feature program in TV news"Cast" on January 16th. They focused on "the second life of play equipments". These days, many Japanese amusement parks are gradually closed. Then a Japanese company "Okamoto MFG" repairing play equipments in these closed amusement park, and import to other amusement park mostly in developing country such as China, Vietnam, Thailand etc...  Why developing country? It is because that these recycled play equipments are cheaper than new one, and "made in Japan" is well trusted.

I was so surprised that a ferris wheel in Takarazuka Familyland was also repaired and imported to other country. This ferris wheel was called "Flower Wheel".

It was very unique ferris wheel. Takarazuka familyland was only place that this kind of ferris wheel existed, and this was a symbol of Takarazuka Familyland. After Familyland closed, this Flower wheel devided to two parts, and one of them went to other Japanese amusement park "Beppu-Rakutenchi", and rest of them went to Myanmar(!).

This is "Beppu" one. I can't found the Myanmar one. I felt...very proud to hear that. I rode this some time when I was a child, and this time, this "Flower Wheel" amuse children in Myanmar! It's very wonderful thing. This ferris wheel made me to feel connect with children in Myanmar.

Wow It's very long blog. Anyway, I hope this movement will continue, and I really want to go to Myanmar to see this Flower Wheel someday.

Frozen days

Long time no posted.
My examinations were over in January 27th, so spring vacation is already started!
Yeah! ...but I know. There are too many things I have to do before going to studying abroad.
Thanks to Mr.Koji Nakamura(He is a professor in my university ), I'm attending a class that is aim to learn about Japanese customs and history with some exchange students. I thought this class is gonna be a good for my English study, and the first class was in January 31st.
However, when the class finished, I realized that I can't speak and listen English at all! Moreover, when teacher asked me "What makes Japan?", I completely didn't have any clear answer. Even I'm a Japanese, I've never re-thought about Japan.
I think I read and heard this kind of things before, but this time, I experienced. It was such a shock.

I disappointed myself, but I think I'm very lucky. Because if I didn't take this class, I couldn't have any chance to know how my English is awful. So...yeah, all I need to do is "Doing my best"!



Maybe you can't believe how my home is cold. In this morning, the water didn't came from a tap because all of our water supplies were frozen. And about 8cm ice covered my dog's water bowl.
I felt like that I'm living in Hokkaido(I've never been to Hokkaido, though.).

My resolution

It's a responce blog for my English teacher Mayumi Asaba.

My resolution for 2012 is...

"Just do it!"

Is it a resolution? I don' t know...
I mean, I should move, in any case.

I try to be active, and challenge many things.
In more detail, I want to...

    ・Learrn how to take a great picture.
    ・Read many kinds of books. (Both in English and Japanese)
    ・Be a specialist of something.
    ・Be a good English speaker (Of course!)
    ・Know what happening in the world→Read newspaper everyday.
   
                                                                                                                    etc...

I just wrote a loose list.

Happy new year!

Hi everyone! Happy new year!
I'm back from Kochi yesterday.
I can't believe that the university going to start tomorrow. It's too early! isn't it?

Anyway, I had a great time in Kochi.
I ate Oshogatsu food such as Ozoni, Soba, Sushi, etc...wow...I should go on a diet.
By the way, Soba(Japanese noodle) in Kochi is little different from others.

See? It's very big and short.
I was so surprised when I saw this first time, but now I'm get used to this.
And I think it's very delicious!
In December 31st, I try not to eat dinner too much. I make a space in my stomoch for this. haha...

And in January 1st, I went to shrine to do "Hatsumode".
We went to small shrine near from house. I think this is kind of like "secret spot".

My uncle told me that this shrine were made by our ancester. Wow...

I took this near from shrine.
I'm not interested in plant, but I think moss is cute and beautiful.



I introduced a dog "Hime" before. Do you remember her? (Check my last post!)
She loves to drive, so I presented her a goggles.

Soooo cool! Haha...!



That's all!

I hope everyone spend great time !
Happy new year! :)
                             
                                                                  Ayumi