Hi David,

I don't think you mentioned this already. Anyway, lucky you;) you could avoid this hot and humid summer in Japan. Wish I could go somewhere a nice and cool place like you!!

Hi tsuneko,

☆Happy birthday☆
Have a wonderful day!!

amo

•  amo
• 2011年7月26日 08:19

Happy birthday Tsuneko! Hope you have a great day.

PS I got a message from Facebook telling me not only that it is your birthday, but also how old you are!

•  David
• 2011年7月26日 11:25

Welcome to the blog, Catherine. Look forward to hearing from you again:)

☆Happy Birthday, Tsuneko!!☆
Wishing you all the best on your special day!

Hi David and everyone,

It seems like you are going to have a long vacation soon. I think your mum is very exited and can't wait to see you.

By the way, did you read the discussion about the title of the article "It seems Japan has literally gone to the dogs"? I didn't know the phrase "go to the dogs", either, and I found it very interesting. As some members pointed out, I also think the writer deliberately used it for the title so that it would have two meanings. What do you think? It's really difficult for English learners to understand this kind of thing.

Anyway, here some parts of Animal Farm's comment.

『I also was thinking about the title.
"It seems Japan has literally gone to the dogs"

The most common meaning of this idiom "gone to the dogs" is things have gotten worse.

However, I think, in this case the meaning is also dogs have become popular in Japan.
(David, what do you think?)』

Look forward to hearing your feedback:)

Have a good day, everyone!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2011年7月26日 11:29

【Correction】

Anyway, here some parts of... → Anyway, here are some parts of...

•  Tomo
• 2011年7月26日 11:31

Hi Tomo,

The writer used that expression because it is a common idiom, but in this case, it had a completely different meaning, so he or she thought it would attract the attention of the reader. In this article, it doesn't mean "getting worse."

•  David
• 2011年7月26日 14:06

♥ Hi Tsuneko ♥

Happy birthday and many happy returns of the day!!!
I am wondering what your plans are for your b-day.
Please have a lovely b-day ☆☆☆ HUG&LOVE

Hi David and everyone!

Wow! Are you going back to the UK next week!?
You miss home-cooked meals don't you?
Are there any special festivals or events in the UK?
Please enjoy your time in the UK with DST!

I think my summer vacation is going to finish because classes are going to start next month.
I need to take an exam before next semester.
The test will help teachers know my English ability.
So, I just need to keep using English!
I think I will have to study twice as hard as American students....

It has gone very quickly since last semester.
However, I am thankful to have three months off from school : )

How about your summer everyone?

Hi Tomo,

Thanks for your rumination :)
Yes, as you mentioned, "It's really difficult for English learners to understand this kind of thing."
However, after we discover the meaning of titles, it feels like we become Columbus, doesn't it?

Please have a fabulous day!

Animal Farm

•  Animal Farm
• 2011年7月26日 14:07

Hi David and everyone,

I have a concert the next month. I must practice everyday, so now, I'm very busy. Some of them who sing on the concert are young. Yesterday, I gave lesson to them for 4 hours! I think they were very tired, but I was more tired than them!
I have no special plan for this summer, but I'm going to make an overnight trip to Osaka with my friend at the end of the next month. Maybe, it will be my only summer vacation. David, you are going to have a long vacation. 羨ましい！

Hi Tsuneko,

Happy Birthday!
I hope you have a wonderful day!

Amica

P.S. I have a question.
☆I have a concert the next month.
☆I have a concert next month.
この二つで迷いました。theは付けるべき？それともいらない？

•  Amica
• 2011年7月26日 14:31

Hi tsuneko,

Happy Birthday ♪
Your zodiac is Leo,isn't it?
Leo person has a strong leadership,I believe.
You must run your life aggressively like a male lion,care of guests at your guest house, gently like a female lion :)
I wish you have a fruitful year :)

•  noriko
• 2011年7月26日 14:31

Hi David and everyone,

Tsuneko, happy birthday. Do you have a special party for your b-day (^-*)?

David, it's very nice for you to get relief from the summer heat of Japan and to have a happy family reunion in a cooler country, Britain.
It is like the Japanese Obon season. Your family must be exciting to see you.

I stayed in Cambridge for one month to study business English and enjoyed a British summer. It was in 1997...in the same year that Princess Diana died. 14 years passed since then. Time flies. I miss my host family and friends.

Anyway, it is not so hot summer as of now, isn't it? Last summer we couldn't let a single day pass without air-conditioners. However, we(our family)haven't used air-conditioners at night so far.

I will be a little busy with study tours this summer. I have 3 tours visiting Shizuoka, Nara and Osaka
and learn history, Buddhism(Buddha images), English and etc.

I am also planning to have a family trip( 7 family members including me) to the lake near Mt.Fuji and stay overnight there. On my way back home, my husband is going to drop off me and my daughters at my sister's home and we are scheduled to stay two more days at her house in Shizuoka. It is exciting and can't wait.

How are your summer plans? I look forward to hearing from you all soon.

How are your plans for the summer?

•  Kyon
• 2011年7月26日 15:10

Please ignore the last sentence-

How are your plans for the summer? ←　I forgot to erase it.

•  Kyon
• 2011年7月26日 15:14

Hi David and everyone,

Are you going to back to the UK? I really envy you ;d
Britain seems to pretty cooler than Japan!
I believe that air conditioning system doesn’t spread over throughout the country.
Because there’s no use to have air conditioner for cool environment. Am I wrong?

By the way, here are my plans in this summer.

August will be a “summer festival month”.

First of all, I’m going to invite my mum-in-law and my niece to see the fireworks.
This has a meaning of “repose of soul” for the dead who died in series of floods and earthquakes in 2007, also has meaning of ”revival for the future”.
Anyway the fire works is must-watch master piece !

Second of all, I’m going take my son to the festival where the city my uncle lives, and another festival which held by residents where husband’s family lives.
First one has been continuing since olden times. You will be able to see big　山車　here and there.( can we say 山車　as a portable shrine, too? Does anybody know?)
At the second one, my son is going to pull up a tiny portable shrine this time.

I’m not a Shinto person but also a Buddhist, but finding Japanese cultures and hand over ones’ to successors are important, I think.
Above all, I always enjoy strolling in summer night after sipping some beer!

noriko

•  noriko
• 2011年7月26日 15:21

It's noriko again,

I had a huge mistake on my comment.
I mentioned" in 2007" ,but 2004 is correct .

•  noriko
• 2011年7月26日 15:24

hi David and everyone,

I`m Murun. I never had a chance to write my comment here.

I didn`t know that David going back to hometown for a while. August is the hottest month in Japan, so it`s good for you to go back to UK in this hot season. I wish I could go somewhere cooler place too. But I can`t. I have to be with my family here in Tokyo and my husband is going to be busy as a usual during all summer.

So I`m going to stay at home for the holiday and have to find some hobbies for myself. Recently I`m into playing piano and bought keyboard for practicing. I`ve been practicing it for only 2 months. Now I can play just kid`s songs like Omochano chacha and Nekofunjatta so on. Learning how to play piano is not for myself it`s also for my 2 years old daughter daughter . Because I can teach her when she grow up and wants to play piano.

What else I can do during hot summer? Well, I think some good idea come up with later.

Have a nice summer holiday!
Thanks.

•  Murun
• 2011年7月26日 15:40

hi David and everyone,

I`m Murun. I never had a chance to write my comment here.

I didn`t know that David going back to hometown for a while. August is the hottest month in Japan, so it`s good for you to go back to UK in this hot season. I wish I could go somewhere cooler place too. But I can`t. I have to be with my family here in Tokyo and my husband is going to be busy as a usual during all summer.

So I`m going to stay at home for the holiday and have to find some hobbies for myself. Recently I`m into playing piano and bought keyboard for practicing. I`ve been practicing it for only 2 months. Now I can play just kid`s songs like Omochano chacha and Nekofunjatta so on. Learning how to play piano is not for myself it`s also for my 2 years old daughter daughter . Because I can teach her when she grow up and wants to play piano.

What else I can do during hot summer? Well, I think some good idea come up with later.

Have a nice summer holiday!
Thanks.

•  Murun
• 2011年7月26日 15:41

Sorry, I mistakenly posted my comment twice.

•  Murun
• 2011年7月26日 15:44

Hi Murun,

Nice to have you with us.

Hi Amica,

I have a concert next month is correct.

•  David
• 2011年7月26日 17:31

Hi David,
Thank you for your explanation. I thought the writer used that expression so that it would be interpreted two ways: Japanese people are crazy about dogs; the situation is getting worse, but the writer really means "literally". I see. 　“文字通り”というのは表の意味で、裏にはやっぱりもう一つの意味を込めているのかな～と思いましたが考えすぎでした。 Thanks!

Hi Animal Farm,
Now I feel as if I became Columbus;-)

Hi Amica,
You don't need to put "the" when you just mean "来月".　もし、過去・未来のある時点を基準にして「その次の」という意味だったら、 you need to put "the". For example:

I started to going out with her in April, but she left me the next month.（彼女とは4月に付き合い始めたんだけど、翌月に振られた）←例文イマイチかも。。

あとはこういう時も...　I'll be busy for the next few months.（これから数か月は忙しい）

I hope that helps, but please ignore my explanation if it confuses you.

Hi Murun,
Is that your first comment? If so, welcome to the blog!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2011年7月26日 18:38

Hi tsuneko,

☆彡Happy Birthday!

　　Hoping that your day will be as special as you are. ☆彡

•  Maki
• 2011年7月26日 20:57

【Correction】

I started to going out with... → I started going out with...

やっぱりイマイチだった。。

•  Tomo
• 2011年7月26日 21:08

Hi David and everyone,

David, it’s nice to stay in a cooler place being away from the heat wave of Japan, and even more enjoyable to visit your family and friends. Are you driving up somewhere while staying at your parents place?

Well, my summer vacation…. I don't have a special plan like a trip or something this summer, but I'm planning the trip this autumn, instead.

I'm visiting my parents place next week. My parents are looking forward to my visit and so am I. I'm hoping they are in good condition in this summer’s heat. I'm going to Tokyo to see a Broadway musical with my friends this weekend. These two are the special plans this summer.

In Obon season, as a Buddhist family, there are things that I have to do for my family ancestors which I have been doing for many years. I’ll be busy with various things to do, but I’m not dreading Obon rituals; it gives me a chance to think about many things. Anyway, mostly,I'm staying at home and living an ordinary life.(　Which word should I use in this situation ? ordinary,normal, usual and something else?)

Hi tsuneko,
☆ Happy Birthday☆
Hope you are having a great day!

Hi Cathrine,
Nice to have you with us.
Looking forward to your next comment.

Hi Murun,
Glad to see your comment again.

Hi Amica,
Good luck with your concert!

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2011年7月26日 21:17

it's me again.
Hi Murun, are you another Murun? Nice to meet you.

•  Anne
• 2011年7月26日 21:20

Hi David and everyone
Are you going back to UK, David? Nice. You will feel easy at your home :-). I am looking forward to your photo of your country. I like your photo.

I have no plan for this summer because I have no summer vacation. But I am going to Summer Sonic 2011. That's all.
By the way, I got married last week.
Instead of no summer vacation, I have two-week vacation in October. I plan to go to UK for a honeymoon.
As time permitting, we will travel anywhere.

Hi tsuneko
Happy birthday!! Did you enjoy your birthday?

Hi Amica
You gave a lesson for four hours? Wow! It seems very hard! I hope your concert will go well.

Hi Murun
Welcome to the blog!

Good night.
trmr

•  trmr
• 2011年7月27日 00:10

Hi David and everyone,

I haven’t decided whether to take summer vacation or not, but I am going back to Okinawa on October for the thirty second anniversary of my grandmother’s death. I am hoping to stay there at least one week so that I could spend some time with my old friends. I’m looking forward to meeting up with them, especially my old boyfriend. I was thinking…when was the last time I saw him? It’s been for ages!! So I wander how he changed.
Also, my sister is coming back to Japan with her youngest daughter from USA. When I visited her place last year, her daughter was eight months so she couldn’t walk yet. But she can walk and speak a little now. I’m really stoked about seeing her again.

Hi trmr,

Congratulations:) That’s great news. I am happy for you.

Hi Murun,

Happy to have you with us:)

amo

•  amo
• 2011年7月27日 01:57

Hi trmr,
Wow! You got married? Congratulations!!
I'm happy for you. お幸せに＾＾）

Anne

•  Anne
• 2011年7月27日 05:47

My　message was rejected many times and I hope this will be sent smoothly.

（correction）
Anyway, it is not so hot summer as of now →　Anyway, it is not so hot as of now・・

Hi, Noriko,

I'm Kyon. Can I answer your question?

A portable shrine is called 'Mikoshi=神輿' in Japanese, not 'Dashi＝山車'

During a festival, the spirit of a deity rests in a sacred palanquin. After the festival is over, the spirit goes back to its home usually deep in a mountain.
Whenever the mikoshi is carried, a divine power is believed to purify the festive area, drive away evil spirits and spread blessings to people.

'Dashi=山車' is a festive float. Gion Festival or Takayama Festival are famous for beautiful floats.

By the way, Noriko-san, can I ask which festival you are going to join ? I like festivals and the idea of Shintoism.

By for now.

•  Kyon
• 2011年7月27日 08:35

✿Belated happy birthday!✿
Did you have a nice birthday?

Hi trmr,

☆Congratulations on your marriage!☆
It must be the happiest time in life for you and your sweetheart. ♥

Hi David,
Have a lovely time in UK. Your family must be so happy to see you again. I hope you can visit Hokkaido too.
I'm looking forward to hearing your stays there.

As for my family, we are going to Kyusyu. I found a very reasonable packed tour and booked it yesterday. It's a 3-nights and 4-days tour going by Shinkansen with accommodations, including 2 dinners and 3 breakfasts for 30,000 yen per person. It cost us less than we expected, we are thinking about going to a beach somewhere not faraway from our place for one night. Other than that, I am going to catch up with what I want to do which I don't have enough time to do during my work days. I have all summer off: no work during school's summer break. I have lots of time, maybe not: mothering keeps me busier than usual. I have to prepare 3 meals almost everyday, help children with their homeworks etc… sigh! Anyway, I do hope to find some time for myself and read some English books (one of it is “Outlier”) and study English and start Skype and Facebook. I want to make this vacation to the fullest and enjoyable one!

Hi Kyon,
You said you are going to study tours. Are you a tour guide?

Hi noriko,
I think portable shrine is おみこし and float is 山車。
Fumie

•  Fumie
• 2011年7月27日 08:50

Congratulations, trmr!! I'm so happy for you! Please give my best wishes to your lovely wife:)　末永くお幸せに♥

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2011年7月27日 09:08

Hi tsunko,
Belated happy birthday! Many happy things return.

Hi David,
I envy you, because you can spend during summer in much more comfortable place than Japan. I hope you will have a good time with your friend.

Hi trmr,
Congratulations on your marriage. May you and your wife live happily.

Hi everyone,
I watched a movie of Harry Potter (ハリーと謎のプリンス）last night. I haven't read it, so it was interesting,
My garage was broken by a man newly taken a driver's license. It was not 人身事故。 It takes　about two weeks to repair it. It's tough, because it is so hot and humid during this season. The construction includes electricity pole. So I have to sometimes endure without air conditioner or electric fan. ( I mean blackout.)
I will have my father's 13th memorial service.
For Obon season I will busy with Buddhism rituals.
I'll invite my mother who is now living in a care house during Obon.
The toughest thing is babysitting. (My granddaughter who is 2 years old)
Conclusion, I will have no vacation except eating out once with all my family including my mother.

•  Carrie
• 2011年7月27日 14:55

Hi Kyon, Fumie,

Thanks for letting me know about "山車”.
This is a very first time to find this word! "festival float", I got it.

By the way, nice to talk to you Kyon, this explanation was quite organised, made sense
Actually I'm not a shinto person(I may have write a wrong sentence on it(汗）)
However,I'm interested in the history includes "imperial family's history".
Their life is based on shintoism,you know.
And thanks for asking me which festival 's I'm going to join in :)
These are not famous ones ^^;
Nagaoka matsuri , Niitsu natsumatsuri and small range of festival for residents ^^;
たいしたものじゃないんです。単に地元の祭り行脚するだけですわ（笑）
But at Nagaoka matsuri,you will be able to see overwelming fire works named "Fenix" , or "Tenchijin hanabi ".

Fumie, I appreciate it you gave me the answer,too.
And I found your posted comment with interest.
You mentioned that you're going to look after the homeworks for your children.
I think that the contents of subject are really different from before( I mean, more difficult ).
Helping childrens' study seems quite limited,I think.
How is nowadays studying situation?

Hi Murun,

Nice to have you with us.
But haven't you ever posted here? I wonder but I thought I saw your name on this blog...
If you are another Murun,sorry about that ;d

Hi trmr,

This is my first message to you.
Congratulations!
Have a happy honeymoon^^

noriko

•  noriko
• 2011年7月27日 15:07

Hi David and Tomo,
Thanks for your explanations.

Hi trmr,
Congratulations on your marriage!　お幸せに＾＾

Hi Carrie,
ケガをしなかったことが不幸中の幸いですが、エアコンなしはつらいですね！

Amica

•  Amica
• 2011年7月27日 15:12

It's noriko again. I forgot to write something important.

Hi David and Mr.or Ms.system engineer of ALC.

I've usually thought that this website is quite often hard to access( rejected sometimes, or couldn't access).
Kyon's comment's first part reminded me this.
I tried it in father-in-law's pc the other day.
It rejected it again even though I used different pc.
Does this website have any trouble conceal??

noriko

•  noriko
• 2011年7月27日 15:40

Hi Fumie,

Yes . I'm a tour guide. Due to the Tohoku disaster I am almost jobless now(-.-).

•  Kyon
• 2011年7月27日 16:01

Hi Amica,
I only have to spend several hours without airconditioner, not other days.
Tomorrow will be tough for me.

Hi noriko,
It's first time to write to you. Nice to meet you.
Before, I had same troubles as you did. And someone, maybe tsuneko taught me to preserve the comment in the case of it is rejected. Then, when the first comment is rejected, you can copy the same message again.

Carrie

•  Carrie
• 2011年7月27日 16:28

Hi Carrie,

Nice to meet you,too :)
And thanks for your concern.

Acutually,Anne taught me the solution before(write it to the other place,in my case,to Word. Then copy it just in case).
I always do that.
But I thought this trouble is likely to happen to everyone.
Why does not this matter improved by SE?

When I post a comment recently, I copy it ,send it to my cell phone(cell phone is easy to access),then post it.
A long story though(汗）

I hope the situation would be improved and be more convinient.

noriko

•  noriko
• 2011年7月27日 22:17

Hi Mr & Mrs trmr,

Congratulations on your happy wedding!!! It feels like yesterday that we met you and your girlfriend at the restaurant in Ginza after David's seminar. How do you share housework with her?

Hi David and everyone,

Sorry for my late reply. It was the longest and busiest day in a while yesterday. Thank you so much for your warm-hearted message for me. All the messages sounded special to me.

David, so you already know how young I am because of facebook's too-good-function, right? That's OK. I had hidden my birthday on the internet until last time because I was not that pleased at getting older and also I thought it would be embarrassing if someone would congratulate me on the net.

However, I started to wonder how many times I would celebrate my birthday after the earthquake & tsunami attack on March 11 and then I began to feel like simply cerebrating my birthday and put it on facebook after that. It was amazing to receive many birthday messages from old and new friends on the net. I was not used to it, but I was truly happy.

Last evening, my friends and their kids, Ken and I(as a cameraman) made a few videos in which they were reading aloud a poem "Ame-nimo Makezu" both in Japanese and in English. It was written by a famous Japanese poet, Miyazawa Kenji who was from one of the affected areas by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami attack. If we successfully put the video on YouTube, its publisher will send money to those people. In fact, they did a very good job. That was the only greatest birthday present for me.

Let me share the translation of the poem here, however, I left my book at my work place so I can't write the name of the person who translated into English right now.

"I will not give in to the rain"

I will not give in to the rain.
I will not give in to the wind.
I will have a healthy body
that won't give in to the snow
or to summer's heat.

I will not have desire.
I will not get angry.
I will always be smiling quietly.

I will eat four cups of brown rice,
miso and a bit of vegetables each day.

In everything,
I will not count myself.
I will look, listen and understand well,
and I won't forget.

I will live in a small thatched hut
in the field in the shade of some pine trees.

When there is a sick child in the east,
I will go and nurse him.
When there is a tired mother in the west,
I will go and carry her load of rice.
When there is a person dying in the south,
I will go and say,
"You don't have to be afraid."
When there are fights or lawsuits in the north,
I will say,
"Stop it!
Because it's not important."

When there is a drought,
I will shed tears.
When the summer is cold,
I will walk around helplessly.

I will be called useless by everyone.
I will not be praised
or thought a pain.

This is the person
I want to be.

---Thank you for the space and your precious time reading till here. -----

•  tsuneko
• 2011年7月27日 23:10

Hi everyone,

> It feels like yesterday that we met you and your girlfriend at the restaurant in Ginza after David's seminar.

I just wonder if I had made persons who were not there confused. trmr's girlfriend at that time is, of course, the same person as the new bride.^^

Good night.

•  tsuneko
• 2011年7月28日 00:54

Hi Kyon,

Bingo! You are a tour guide. It must be tough time for tour guides. But it's an exciting job, isn't it? You can meet many people from the world. I hope the situation gets better. Hang in there!
BTW, I sent my comment yesterday morning without noticing your comment of 8:35.
You already answered noriko's question.

Hi noriko,

>I think that the contents of subject are really different from before( I mean, more difficult ).
Yea, I think so. But I only help them with subjects that I can help and I like, like English, Japanese, and工作. I have an elementary, a junior high and a highschool sons. Math and Science are beyond my understanding.お手上げ！

The content of English is much much better than that of when I was a student. But still some unpractical English are taught. They put more emphasis on grammer.
Here are one of my son's ( junior high school) homework.
1, I am from Canada.
疑問文にしなさい。
It’s easy, “Am I from Canada?” is the answer. But who would ask which country is he/she from??? Is he/she amnesia? These situation is so rare, right? Also they still teach these expressions: This/That is a pen. I never heard that native speakers use these expressions.

Hi Tsuneko,

Thank you for sharing the translation of Amenimomakezu. The poem is so beautiful!

Fumie

•  Fumie
• 2011年7月28日 06:19

Hi Fumie,

> 1, I am from Canada.
疑問文にしなさい。
It’s easy, “Am I from Canada?” is the answer. But who would ask which country is he/she from??? Is he/she amnesia? These situation is so rare, right?

Haha..., that's fun. I think so too and I thought the answer was "Where are you from?"

•  tsuneko
• 2011年7月28日 11:17

Hi David and everyone,

I finally put one of five videos on YouTube for trial. I would really appreciate it if you kindly take a look. Here is the link.

http://youtu.be/Ajr2RPx_V3w

I was not in the video. The man wearing a red T-shirt is Ken and the lady next to him is Kuniko who likes to translate the Beatles songs into Kansai dialect. Thank you for your precious time.

•  tsuneko
• 2011年7月28日 11:30

Hi Fumie,

Thanks for the info about the study situation.
>I am from Canada.
My answer was "Are you from Canada?"
Different from tsuneko's answer:)
I laughed when I read this part "Is he/she amnesia?"

So,the situation hasn't chaged at all as long as for English.
I've ever heard that English learning put its weight to the conversation,not to grammer.
I don't think grammer is less important,but real-life learning is much important,I think.
(If "real-life" is not suitable,please correct me)
"I have a pen"
Yes you have a pen. So?(笑）

noriko

•  noriko
• 2011年7月28日 14:19

Hi Tsuneko,

I saw your video of Amenimomakezu. It is so good! I am sure the poem and the music cheer people up. Kuniko-san read the poem with emotion. And your darling, Ken, looks very nice person.^^

Hi Tsuneko and noriko,

About that English homework, the answer is “Am I from Canada?" Because his teacher gave students papers which answers are written and it says the answer is that. Another example is:
“My sister's name is Amy.”
疑問文にしなさい。
The teacher’s answer is “Is my sister's name Amy?” What a stupid question!
このような英語教育（unpracticalな英語が教えられている）のは息子の中学に限ったことではないようです。長男の中学の時の塾でも同様の問題が出されていました。

Fumie

•  Fumie
• 2011年7月28日 16:38

Hi all,

That's sound great! I am jealous for you to have such a long vacation.

Actually, I have to study in my school until the middle of the September. After the end of course, I will go to the UK and France for a week. I cannnot wait!

However, I intend to study English during my vacation to prepare my new course. It is said that that course is really strict to survive:( This fact drives me crazy...

Anyway, have a fabulous vacation!

•  Rin
• 2011年7月29日 05:59

Hi David and everyone,

I almost forgot to write about the topic.
I'm going on a trip with my family in the middle of August, and we are also going to my husband's hometown to visit our relatives' graves. I didn't want to go on a trip during the Obon holiday because everything is crowded, but that's when my husband and my son can take days off, so we don't have a choice.

Hi Tsuneko,
Thanks for sharing the poem and the video. They are very nice:) I'm impressed with the older boy's pronunciation!

Hi Fumie,
I've seen questions like "Change the sentence 'You are from Canada' or 's/he is from Canada' into a question" in my son's and my niece's textbooks or workbooks, but I've never seen like those you mentioned. They are very strange questions! My niece who is a first grade junior high school student learned how to say "I'm from ～" as the answer to the question "Where are you from?" at school.

Have a nice day, everyone!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2011年7月29日 08:21

Hi David and everyone,

I also almost forgot to write about the topic. Well, I have no plans to go anywhere with my family because Ken has no summer holidays or even two-day offs. I'd like to wait for someone coming to our place instead.

Fumie, thank you for watching the video and giving us your feedback. I'm happy and they'll surely be happy as well.

Tomo, thank you for your time taking a look at it and giving us your impression. That boy hasn't been able to read English sentences yet, so he learned the part by his ears from the CD.

It's another hot day outside but it's quite cool inside the house because my parents in law keep the air conditioners on. (^^)/

I'm looking forward to David's new entry later. See you then.

•  tsuneko
• 2011年7月29日 10:39

What a fun pattern! It’s great to hear from you and see what you’ve sent up to. All of the projects look great! You make it so simple to this. Thanks

•  abercrombie and fitch
• 2011年11月16日 12:36