ささはたドッとこむ

Today in Sasazuka Beginners class, we talked
about summer in Japan.  

I admitted that Japanese summer is too hot
for me.  Even though in New York, the subway
gets really hot, when out on the street it is cooler
 than in Japan.  

I think that if I didn't have to wear pants everyday,
 I would not be as hot, but as the Japanese
expression goes, it can not be helped.  
One does not really exude authority while wearing
 shorts.  I do enjoy the Japanese beach, it is much
 cleaner and the water is warmer, than in New York.
 
 The distance to the beach is about the same,
so I don't mind taking the train.
  Also since most Japanese people don't like to tan,
 the beach is not as crowed as in New York. 
 I for one, love tanning, so I am not afraid of laying
 out at the beach to catch some sun.
  I hope that by the time the summer is over,
I will have enough time to get a Hollywood tan.

The July weekend festivals have come and
gone. One happened in the park　just
outside my apartment window, so it was
easy to attend, but the heat!

Good Lord, it was hot that day!
The festival was a bit on the small side,

so there were no goldfish to catch, just
flavored ice and really soggy　okonomiyaki.

I always like watching the music and dancing.

I tried to take some polaroid pictures,
but　the black and white film I had　was
too slow.　The hanging lanterns were visible,
but the　dancers were just　faint blurs.  
I don't know if any of the negatives I
snapped　will come out, either. 
It was pretty fun, though.

Are there any fireworks shows over here on
the Shinjuku side of town? 
The Sumidagawa fireworks are great, but
getting　back home when they're done is　a
challenge.　If I go again this year, I'll
have to find a little　restaurant to hole-up
in, until the crowds dissipate.

Sun, heat, swimming, and the beach are
themes we've　been using with the　kids
this month.　We're going to have a sea-creature
theme next, and I hope　I have time to see
the big aquarium down by Yokohama, maybe
I'll be able to　find some good books
in the gift shop.

Happy July!

TT

Dear, Readers.

As you all know, my time at LamCorp is coming to an end,
I have enjoyed working with the teachers and learnt a lot
 of about Japanese culture from the students.

So I'd like to tell a funny story, The other day I went to
my friend's house in Machida, and we arrived at my friend's
apartment, which had a steep spiral staircase that led up
to the apartments.

As we got to the bottom of the staircase my friend
suddenly stopped, and told me "どうぞ", Now I didn't know
which floor her apartment was located on, so I insisted her
 to lead the way. So then she told me "I'm wearing a mini skirt".. 
So that was funny, embarrassing at the same time. 

In today's lesson we talked about festivals, basketball,
the differences in summer and winter, and the difference
in climate between the countries in the northern hemisphere
and the southern hemisphere. I think the students enjoyed
themselves. Some phrases and words that we learnt;
"hand out flyers", "flexibility", "This coffee has quite a kick"
 (This coffee is quite strong and gives me some energetic feeling".

Peace and good studying!!


そうなんです、、、もうご存知の方も多いですよね。
老若男女に人気だった、クリントンは今月末でＬＡＭを卒業してしまいます！
思えば、失敗やら何やらあり、生徒の皆様にもたくさんご迷惑をおかけした事と
存じます。
講師なのに遅刻しちゃって、、、なんて被害に遭った方もいらっしゃいますか？？？
とにかく、31日がラストデーなので、休会中やちょっとお休みがちだった皆様も
是非クリントンに会いに来てくださいね。
茶髪になってお待ちしてますよ！

百合子