Hi Tohru,

It's great to have you with us! I thought you ARE David's student. You are his ex-student, are you?

Can I ask you some questions?

1. How old are you? And what do you do?
2. Why did your father decided to move to America? (I listened to the interview again and again, but I couldn't catch that part, sorry.)
3. How did you like living in the US?
4. You said you went to Japanese elementary school only for 3 or 4 weeks, but what do you think of Japanese elementary schools? What's the difference between elementary schools in Japan and America?
5. I have heard that they have some interesting events in American elementary schools like 'pajama day'. Did you have it, too? Are there any other interesting events?
6. Have you had a frightening experience in the US?
7. Which do you prefer, living in Japan or living in America?

I asked many questions already. I think I should stop here for today.
Look forward to talking with you!

Tomo

PS David, I couldn't catch what you said after Tohru said, ‘It was much more relaxed..’ ‘Because everybody..’ what?

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 2日 16:48

Hi Tohru,

It's nice to have you here and listen to your experiences.Can I ask you some questions?

1. Before going to Arizona, did you speak English?
2. After returning to Japan, what was the most difficult thing to get along with students in Japan?
Did you experience kind of bullying?
3. How were students in Japan different from those in USA?
4. What did you miss most about life in elementary school or life itself in Arizona?

I'd like to ask you more later and I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Hi David everyone,
I rest myself over the weekend, and got the energy to start again here.
By the way, I went to Tsumago yesterday with my friends, had a great walking day. I walked from Tsumago to Magome about 9km and more. So my legs are a bit soring TODAY ,but not so bad. On the way to Magome, I watched a pair of wonderful waterfalls named 'man waterfall(男滝）and woman waterfall(女滝).David, if you haven't visited there yet, you should do sometime .

Hi Mai,
Nice to have you here. I watched a movie' Freedom Writers', but haven't read the book yet. I visited the website' Freedom Writers Foundation' and it made me feel I wanted to read it, so I ordered ! Thanks for your information, and looking forward to your next comment.

Bye for now,

Anne

•  匿名
• 2008年6月 2日 16:59

Sorry,
Not 'Arizona', but ' State of Indiana'.
I couldn't catch the part which Tomo pointed out as well.

Anne

•  Anne
• 2008年6月 2日 17:28

Hi Anne,

Glad to hear that you had a great time on Sunday. Your legs are a bit sore TODAY? You are very young!
By the way, I thought that Tohru was living in 'Indiana', but I might be wrong..

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 2日 17:28

Anne, we posted the comments at the same time!

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 2日 17:32

Hi Tomo,
Thank you for your comment, it's really true!
When I was writing comment, I was thinking of my friend who had been living in 'Arizona', and typed that way, but afterward I noticed it! But it's just my excuse^^;)

Anne
ＰＣの調子が悪いので同じコメントが出るかもしれません。

•  Anne
• 2008年6月 2日 17:48

It’s been a while since we had a guest on a recording!

Tohru,
Thanks for joining us. Others have already asked a lot of questions, so I’ll just wait for your answers for now :-)

Tomo,
I figure I just can’t pass up a listening quiz. I think David is saying, “Because everybody’s been through the same thing.”

•  Lily
• 2008年6月 2日 22:40

Hi David and Tohru, Everyone,

I listened to this interview. I could a few catch the conversation...
Here is the part I could catch.

*He was born in Nagoya.
*He had lived in America because of his fathers work. His father used to go to America very often, so when he was kindergarten he decided to move to United States.
*He went to American elementary school, and his life was almost English every day.
*He went to Japanese language school to learn basic Japanese on Saturday.
*He has younger sister. She is 8 years younger than him, and she was born in America.
*His father still speaks English, and his mother teaches English at home.
*He talks with her students in his house when she does lessons. His mother makes him sometimes speaking English.

聞き取れたのはこれだけですが、合っているでしょうか？
日本に戻ってきて日本の学校に通うようになって、アメリカと日本の学校生活の違いについて感じたことを話しているのはわかるのですが、内容を全く聞き取れません…。質問する以前の問題ですよね(--;)

Hi Tomo, Anne,　Lily,
先週は全く参加できなかったのですが、やっとコメントが書けました。やっぱりリスニングは全然ダメです。
正直な話、今話してるのがDavidなのかTohruなのかもわからなくなる部分があって、頭がグチャグチャになりそうでした。

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年6月 2日 23:18

Hi Lily,

Thanks for your help! You love a listening quiz and are good at it. I'll be counting on you next time too;-)

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 2日 23:19

Hello everyone,

This is my first time to write some comments here. I started reading EJ in this early April, I surfed the internet, and found the アルク HP.

To Tohru, what is your favorite American movie and Japanese movie?

Sun

•  Sun
• 2008年6月 3日 00:16

Hi Amica,
‘Because of my father's 'work'’だね！　Because of my father's ‘ブローク’って聞こえちゃって、｢？？　仕事じゃなくて別のこと？｣って思ってしまいました。　Amicaのおかげで聞き取れたよ～、Thank you!　

学校のことは、小学校の１年生から６年生までアメリカだったから、日本に戻って来て（６年生の時）３、４週間くらいしか日本の小学校には通わなかったけど、アメリカとは全然違うから他のみんなとうまくやっていくのがちょっと大変だったそうです。　そのあと中学から南山国際に行って、そこは小学校よりずっと落ち着けたって。(Anne, Lily, あってる？)　そしたら（これはLilyのおかげで分かったんだけど）Davidが｢ああ、みんな同じ境遇だからだね。｣と言ったみたいです。

Amicaちゃんと聞き取れてるよ～。　さすが音楽家、耳がいいね！

Hi Sun,
Welcome to the blog!

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 3日 07:34

Hi Amica and Tomo,
Amica,'全然ダメ’じゃありませんよ！
私も同じようなものでした。
いつものDavid一人の場合より会話になると聞き取りにくいですよね！Lilyのおかげで' ~'s been through　がわかってすっきりしました。
ありがとう！さすがです！
学業には関係ないけど、今パスポートがアメリカ、日本と2つある、妹さんは大人になった時点でアメリカ、日本の国籍を選択されるんですね？

Ｈｉ　Sun,
Nice to have you here!

•  Anne
• 2008年6月 3日 10:41

Hi Tomo and Anne,

"father's work"、私のコメントではコンマ(')が抜けてましたね(^_^;)
あともう一つ、"he decided to move to United States"は、"his father decided to move to United States"の間違いです。
リスニングは難しいですね。聞いている間中、私の眉間にはシワがよってました(>_Hi Tomo and Anne,

"father's work"、私のコメントではコンマ(')が抜けてましたね(^_^;)
あともう一つ、"he decided to move to United States"は、"his father decided to move to United States"の間違いです。
リスニングは難しいですね。聞いている間中、私の眉間にはシワがよってました(>_

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年6月 3日 15:18

Hi Everyone,

I will ask Tohru to answer your questions later this week. In the meantime, I have been watching You Tube again (when I should be working!) I just watched the song David Cook sang when he won American Idol. It's called 'The time of my life', and I love it! You can find it by typing 'David Cook Time of my life' into the 'search' box on You Tube.

And now I really have to do some work!

•  David
• 2008年6月 4日 11:15

Hello, everyone.

I'm enjoying to read David's blog and everyone's comments!!:D I'm gonna start to write some comments in here from today!!
Nice to meet you all!!:)
Have a lovely day!

ANNA

•  Anna
• 2008年6月 4日 22:39

Hi Anna,
Welcome to the blog! Are you enjoying? I think that's an important thing. Look forward to reading your comments!

Hi Everyone,
I watched the David Cook's video and fell in love with that song!(Is it his own song?) You can see it with the lyrics.(I didn't understand it well, though.) Type 'David Cook Time of my life w/lyrics' into the 'search' box on You Tube;-)

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 4日 23:37

Hi Tohru,
Can　I ask you some questions?
．what　is your dream in your future？
・what's the happiest moment of your life before today?

Hi Everyone,
本当はアメリカの学生生活で一番楽しかった思い出とつらかった思い出は？と聞きたいのですが・・・どう言うのかわかりません。

我が子はイギリスでwaitingが終ってやっと中学に通ってます。毎日大変みたいです。
hiki

•  匿名
• 2008年6月 5日 06:15

Hi Hiki,

I'm glad to see your comment!
｢アメリカの学生生活で一番楽しかった思い出とつらかった思い出は？｣
う～ん・・、難しいね。　the happiest moment と the worst moment とか、思い出だから memory？　なんて色々考えたんだけど、the best と the worst を使ってこんなのはどうだろう・・？

・What is the best and the worst thing of your school life in America?
　(アメリカの学校生活で一番良かった事と悪かった事は？)

でも全く自信なし・・。

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 5日 10:20

Hi Tomo,
Thank you always for your kindness.
言い方堅いのかな？とにかくいつもありがとう！！
hiki

•  匿名
• 2008年6月 5日 16:04

Hello. My name is Toru (David spelled my name wrong. Its not Tohru). I'm the one that was interviewed by David. First of all, I would like to thank David for giving me an opertunity to tell about my life in America. I would like to answer any questions as much as possible.

Tomo
Nice to hear from you.
First of all I am in the 2nd year of university.Last year, Davvid tought my reading class and I don't have his class this year so that is why David said ex-student.

1.I am 19 years old and I am a university stududent majored in international policy studies.

2. My father decided to move to America because of his work. When I was in kindergarden, he was in U.S. for about 3 or 4months and after he came home, the company made a decided to transfer him to U.S. where he can work more professionally.

3. I have lived in State of Indiana for 6 years and half(from 1st grade to 6th grade)

4.I think that Japanese elementry schools and American elementry schools has its own values.It was a little bit difficult to get along with the Japanese schools because I mostly went to an American Elementry school. I think that the teachers are more closer to the students in America. I strugled in English a lot when I was in 1st grade and my teacher thought about lots of activities for me to get along with it. Even my mother was like a friend with my teacher.

5.We had lots of events at our school in America. When someone in the class is their birthday,we had a party with everyone in our class.The parents brought us cakes and we sang the birthday song.Other than that, we had an expo when we show our parents the projects we made at school. But, this day is also a day for parents to talk with teachers.

6.First of all,I was. But, when I met my best friend it became very exciting His name is Brad and he took care of me a lot. And my teachers were very nice to me and really understood that I can't speak English. So, the daily life became very interesting.

7.When I was in America, I felt that I want to live in Japan because it was my own country. But, sometimes I fell that I want to live in America because the American people are so friendly to talk with. When I was one the train the other day,I was thinking that Japanese society isn't friendly enough to talk with other people or someone you don't know.

It was great to answer to your questions and I am welling to answer it if you have more
Toru

Anne
Very nice to have you on and I will love to answer your question.

1.Before I went to America, I went to Eikaiwa lessons once a week for about 2 months. So, I could speak a little bit but not that much. My English got really good after I got in the American elementry school.

2. The most difficult thing to get along with the Japanese students was to find the subject that will fit with us. I have experienced lots of things in America(sports,traveling) and most of the Japanese students never got out of Japan. So the most hard thing for me was to find the subject that fit with both of us.This was also one of the reasons by I was bullyed a little bit. But, I was only in the Japanese elementry school for 3 or 4weeks so I just ignored it.

3.The Japanese students are very different comparing with those are in U.S. One of the things that is different are the ways of getting along with other people. Normally in Japan, you get along with your friends by groups,but in America, you get along individually and that is my way of making friends. I don't eat lunch with a group all the time but eat with different friends every day.

4.The most thing I miss is the American Culture which is really relaxed. Japanese people are so busy everyday but in America, weekends are the
days that you spend with your family and get relaxed. I really miss those kinds of cultures.

Thanks for asking me a lot of questions and nice to hear from you.

Hiki
Hello. Nice to hear from you.
My dream is to get involved in a travel agency or an airline.. I want to work for a job that I can get along with lots of people around the world. And I really like to travel so one of the jobs that I thought will be intersting was ti become a flight attendant. I have traveled to many countries in my life and when I ride on the plane, I really think that the job was interesting. Not only the job but to commucicate with lots of people around the world. When I ride on a plane,I usually speak with at least one flight attendant and hear about their daily lifes.
I had a lot of happy moments in my life. I think that I can't tell the best one but I can introduce one. When I was in 5th grade, I came back to Japan alone. At that time, I really liked to travel so I wasn't even scared. When I flew on a flight from Detroit to Nagoya, one interpreter looked after me. Her name was Aki and she showed me a lot of things on the plane. After I came back from America, I went to visit alone. At that time, my fater was still in America and my mother and my sister went to see him. I went alone about 1 week later because of my club activity at Nanzan Kokusai. Well, when I was got on the plane, I saw an interpreter that I meet before and it was Aki.About 3 years later, my family and I went to Florida to travel. When we got on the plane, I remembered that the interpreter was someone I have seen before but I wasn't sure. About 1 hour before we landing in Detroit,the interpreter said to me "You have grown". At that time I was sure that it was Aki. Then the year after that, When we traveled to America,she was one again. Seeing the same interpreter for 4 times is really a miricle. And another thing. She was a graduate of my university. I couldn't believe it. So this is one of my interesting story in my life. I have a lots of stories but this might be the most interesting one for me.

Toru

I would like to thank a lots of people for asking me a lot of questions. It is really a good opportunity for me to think about my life. It has already been 7 years since I came back from America and I am getting weaker at English. My goal is to bring back the things I have lost.

Thankyou veru much and hoping to hear from everybody soon

Toru

•  匿名
• 2008年6月 5日 16:39

Hi Everyone,
さっきからずっとコメントをポストしようとしてるのですが、アクセス拒否されてしまうので、携帯から打ってます。 うまくいくかな。。？

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 5日 23:16

携帯からはポストできるけど、パソコンからだと「ページの表示を拒否されました」になってしまうので、今日は諦めます。。

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 5日 23:28

Hi Toru,

Thanks for telling us about you. The story you met Aki by chance many times is very interesting!
Your dream is to get involved in a travel agency or an airline? I hope your dream comes true.

Amica

•  匿名
• 2008年6月 5日 23:31

Hi Toru,
Thank you for your answer.
I hope your dream comes true.
すごい偶然ですね、彼女と同じ仕事につくという暗示では？？
本当はもっと色々言いたいのですが、まだ英語が・・・。
お母さんも英語の先生ってすごいなー。
hiki

•  匿名
• 2008年6月 6日 02:20

Hi Toru,

Thank you very much for answering our questions! It took you a lot of time to answer all the questions, right? It was very interesting to read your American life, your thoughts, dream, and your story.

I was very surprised to hear that you took a plane alone when you were in the 5th grade. You were around 10 years old, weren't you? I can't believe that!(or rather, I can't do that!) You were very brave. Actually, my father lived in America for about 5 years because of his work when I was in elementary school, we(my family) were going to move to America but we couldn't because of my grandmother's disease, so my father went there alone. If I had been to America at that time, I might have been able to speak English fluently like you!

‘Japanese society isn't friendly enough to talk with other people or someone you don't know.’ You are right, I think so, too. David said before that Japanese people have a narrow circle of friends, colleagues and family, and they never talk to anyone else. Do you think so, too?

Can I ask some more questions? You said that you had traveled to many countries, like where? Which country do you like most? Where do you want to go next?

By the way, you saw the same interpreter 4 times, and she was a graduate of your university?? What a coincidence! Maybe you could see her again next time you take a plane.

Thanks again for joining us and look forward to hearing from you again.

Tomo

PS I hope I will see you on a plane someday in the future!

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 6日 07:09

今日は拒否されませんでした＾＾

•  Tomo
• 2008年6月 6日 07:12

Hello Toru,
Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
It's interesting that we all have different background.

Hi Tomo,
Thank you for your advice. (sorry for my late repl
y.)　いつの間にかたくさんコメント入っていて、すでについていけてないかも・・また書きますね。

Mia

•  Mia
• 2008年6月 6日 18:49

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•  helptnw iunzsj
• 2008年8月16日 08:25