Shinjuku Eisa Festival

On the way to Kinokuniya bookstore after the class yesterday, nI suddenly heard strong and rhythmic drum beats. Isn't it an Okinawan music? Yes! Shinjuku Eisa Festival took place there! How lucky I was!! I could feel a beginning of summer!

Eisa, an Okinawan folk performing art, is a dynamic and spirited dance intrinsic to a midsummer festival called Bon.

You can hear some Eisa music here.

I remember I went to see Awa folk dance last summer... Oh! Just one year has passed? I keep writing blog in English here for one year? Great!

Piling Up!

◇A pile of cup noodles which I can get if I work overtime over two hours. It means I worked overtime everyday this week! Factory manager and TB production manager, my boss, has been out of the office as their summer holiday, so the air was clean (?) and I felt easy to work.

◇A pile of books which I borrowed for my dramatic debate class from the municipal library last month. I keep them after the return day as a matter of fact. Mmm, anyhow I have to read them.

◇A pile of The Japan Times which I take from my office free! the next day of the issue. I wanted to start reading the front page and national news everyday from this week, but I couldn't do it...

Working Holiday

Yesterday after work, I met the workmate at the locker room who is a translator and interpreter of my age, and is going to quit next month. She said she is going to work abroad. I heard on the grapevine that she's going to go to Singapore where her boyfriend lives, though. Well, I will move to Tokyo in September, but why don't I go ahead and go abroad? Why, I can do it, when I put it like that anyway.

But I must not forget my ultimate goal, to guraduate from a university (actually I'm going to study by a correspondence course, so I don't need to move in Tokyo. I just want to get out of Gotemba?!), and master French as my English level. The second goal is to experiece some jobs that requires English.

Yes, I know. But many people say you should go aborad at 20's, not just a sightseeing, but rather a long stay for at least 1 year. If so, why don't I try the working holiday program?

Now Japanese aged from 18 to 30 could get working holiday visa to undertake employment in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Korea, France, Germany and United Kingdom. I've been thinking that I'll go to UK someday, but this program covers people under 25 years old. I should have known it earlier! Anyway, I want to go to UK to get a degree, so it's not matter. But I need to hurry up! Only 3 years are left for me.

I'd like to consider it more. It's not late after I graduate from a university which study will take 3 years at least. Then, I would go to France as a graduation trip and an internship!

Association for Working Holiday Makers
http://www.jawhm.or.jp/jp/index.html

Chain Reaction?

One of my colleages sitting next to me is going to quit in a week. She told me that last week, and at that time I revealed to her that I'm also going to quit in September. Now we have to prepare each takeover work which takes much time and really bothers me.

In the afternoon when I was chatting with one of my workmate by email (what a lazy worker!), I got to know that a woman in WCM section wanted to quit soon. Her boss changed several times these days and now she seems to meet difficulty in speaking English with her boss. No wonder. Soon after that I also got to know that another woman in Administration section, a specialst of Education & Technology, is going to quit next month applying early retirement program.

Well, it's a kind of chain reaction? I hope top managers get something from this... it's a result how you have been dealing with female employees!

By the way, I chatted with my friend about our trip in September. Maybe we'll go to one of Asia countries, Thailand, Cambodia or India! Sorry I'm an indolent worker!!

First Day of the New Term

Yesterday was the first day of the summer term this year. Now I take only 3 classes.

Current Affairs
Project work Ⅰ(dramatic debate)
Intensive input A

I finished Project work Ⅱ(debate) as a required subject at the last semester. I really liked Mrs. Inagaki's "Are you ready?" class because everytime I could get important messages for life from her. For example,

*Speak to myself "I'm weak, I'm weak, I'm weak..." Admit my weakness and then place myself in the tightest position.
*Fight against the terrorism! which is another name of my own narrow mind.
*Broad and open minded person can welcome others' "No".
*Pressure is just a ghost which you make yourself.

In the Current Affairs class, students have to report one short news everyweek, and read some articles related to recent news. I keep checking NHK World Daily News everyday, but I haven't got any chance to wrap up the info and really speak to others until now. So it's a good chane to improve my active vocabulary!

And Dramatic Debate class. In autum we have to make a presentation! This is the first time for me to give a dramatic debate presentation, so I don't know how to proceed to the last form of the show. Anyway it's not so different from making a drama with regard to preparing a script. I'd like to enjoy it as much as possible.

On the way home, I came across one of my best friends who belonged to my last drama class. What a coincidence! We talked many things and I realized (or I had to admit) that the last drama was the best for me and nothing could be more. I suppose I have to get a sense of achivement in another way.

Fragments of a Dream...

☆A top-level study is a kind of art.
真にトップ・レヴェルの研究とは一種のアートだと思っていますので、そういうものに全てを賭ける場合は、教養を養っている無駄な時間はないというのが正直な感想です。(BH)

☆I went ahead and bought it recently.

Ernst Robert Curtius
"European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages" (1948)

Don't tell me it's a waste!


☆Greek literature is the source of western literatures.
ギリシャ文学が西洋文学の源泉といわれています。従ってフランス文学・英文学に限らず、西欧文学を専攻する人にとってギリシャ文学の研究は最も重要なことです。(Athenee Francais)

☆Interpreter? or translator?
Interpreter is realistic, I could make use of what I learn now (think in English), but translator is also attractive to me. →Amelia: Flavor of the Month
Anyway I have to graduate from a university!

☆I want to live in Koishikawa area...
春になれば、小石川植物園の桜の大樹が眼前に

☆Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes the furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The "sure thing" boat never gets far from shore. (Dale Carnegie)
いちかばちかやってみろ。人生はすべてがかけである。だれよりも先まで行く人には実行する意思も勇気もあるものだ。「確実に安全な」船 は決して岸から遠く離れはしない。(ビジネス英会話Quote... Unquote)

All-Night Karaoke

After the awarding ceremony of the English festival on Sunday, I joined in the party of my last drama class. I was supposed to stay at Aprecio Shinjuku, one of "manga kissa" (manga and net cafe) in Shinjuku as one of the research ( you know, the theme of my dramatic debate class is Japanese Subculture) after the party. But I ended up spending all night at a karaoke with 2 members. I didn't imagine I could do all-night karaoke!

Well, what kind of songs I sang there?

*Dancing Queen
*Mamma Mia
*Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
*Stand By Me
*You Can't Hurry Love
*Top Of The World
*Que Sera Sera
*Save The Last Dance For Me
*Your Song
*The Loco-Motion
*La Bamba
*Hello, Dolly!
*What A Wonderful World
*Daydream Believer
*L-O-V-E
*Take Me Home Country Road
*Leaving On A Jet Plane
*500 miles
*We Will Rock You
*Sound Of Silence
*Alone Again
*Mais Que Nada
*Wonderful World
*Poupee De Cire Poupee De Son
*Genghis Khan
*Irresistiblement

Only old songs... I don't know recent Western music.

1 min presentation script

Here's the 1 min presentation script I wrote for our team!

Title: French boy and girl tried to go to Japan

Girl: J'aime beaucoup Japon! Everything in Japan is "Kawaii"!!
Boy: "Otaku" is cool! I wanna go to Akihabara someday.
Mom: Are you crazy? Shame on you, guys. That's stupid!
Dad: Stop doing such naughty things. Time to go sleep!
Girl: They don't understand us.
Boy: Why don't we go to Japan?
Girl: Oui, Je voudrais aller au Japon!
Boy: Yeah! Let's go!!
Narrator: Then, they ran away from home in Paris. They passed Belgium, Germany, but in Poland,
Girl: Pardon, monsieur. We'd like to go to Japan.
Police: Do you have visa?
Boy: Do we need visa?
Police: Boy and girls, you're under arrest.
Boy & Girl: Oh, no!
Narrator: Well, this is a real story. Japanese subculture is welcomed overseas. Then, our title is…
All: Japanese subculture! Should we promote Otaku culture or not?
Narrator: Come to see our presentation next time.
All: Thank you!

You've Got a Friend

Last weekend, I had a farewell party of one of my last drama classmates. She decided to leave Japan and go back to her home, Korea.

I was really happy because lots of members got together again. I know that all of the members have taken time from each busy schedule to wish her good luck. I really appreciate this members and I'd like to keep this atmosphere as a home like a nest to have a fellow feeling.

One of them told us one thing. She really got into drama and was told by others that she misunderstood the purpose (getting English) and means (making a drama). I could answered it on the spot. If you did improve your English including all of things (one is making a drama) in the end, it would be okay. That is the real process of acquiring English, I think.

This morning, I read an article about Ogata Issei.
http://business.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/person/20060707/105894/
This is a sequel to another article on which I wrote something before.
http://nabocha.blogspot.com/2006/04/ogata-issei-benefits-of-drama.html

I felt I'd like to take a drama class again...
This term I take a dramatic debate class, and we're going to debate on Japanese subculture. Well, can we debate on such a theme? Just wait and see the result!

Next Sunday is the last day I can meet her. I'd like to give her the lyrics of "You've got a friend" by Carole King.

The 42nd Phoenix English Festival

Here is the timetable for the 42nd Phoenix English Festival.
Come and see our fun-loving entertainment!!
http://www.eigozuke.co.jp/festival.pdf

☆Saturday, July 15
13:30-14:00 *Unification of Public Pension Plans 1
14:10-14:40 *Unification of Public Pension Plans 2
14:50-15:20 *Unification of Public Pension Plans 3
15:30-16:00 The Radio Time
16:10-16:40 HOLLYWOOD ENDING
16:50-17:20 Madam Butterfly
17:30-18:00 3 Angels (To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything)
18:10-18:40 Spooky House
18:50-19:20 The Graduate
(* mark means Logical presentations. The others are Drama presentations.)

☆Sunday, July 16
12:00-12:30 Spooky House
12:40-13:10 The Graduate
13:20-13:50 3 Angels (To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything)
14:10-14:40 *Unification of Public Pension Plans 4
14:50-15:20 *Unification of Public Pension Plans 5
15:30-16:00 *Unification of Public Pension Plans 6
16:20-16:50 HOLLYWOOD ENDING
17:00-17:30 Madam Butterfly
17:40-18:10 The Radio Time
19:00-20:30 Awarding ceremony & 1 min. presentations

Here is the map to Phoenix English School.
http://www.eigozuke.co.jp/address.html

Lieutenant Watada

Ehren Watada, who is 28 years old half Japanese and half Chinese from Honolulu, Hawaii, is a First Lieutenant in the United States Army who publicly refused to deploy to Iraq for the Iraq War in June 2006, saying that he believed the war to be illegal and that it would make him party to war crimes.

Here's his website:"Thank You Lt. Ehren Watada".
http://www.thankyoult.org/

Witty remarks 12

*The finest words is the world are only vain sounds if you cannot understand them. (Anatole France)

*Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision. (Peter Drucker)

*If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. (Frank A. Clark)

*Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it. (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

*A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (a proverb)

*Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. (Jim Rohn)

*Never bend you head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye. (Helen Keller)

*Stand up to be seen; speak up to be heard; wind up to be appreciated. (Toastmasters Manuals)

*Oh, I'm so inadequate and I love myself. (Meg Ryan)

*One of the oldest human needs is having someone who wonder where you are when you don't come home at night. (Margaret Mead)

*A proliferation of new laws creates proliferation of new loopholes. (Murphy's law)

*If you like it, they don't have it in your size. (Murphy's law)