If I were...

If I were a physically challenged person, how would my life change?

Obviously, I couldn't live by myself. If my legs were disabled, I need a wheelchair other than someone's help. Could I move around in a town? Maybe not, especially here in Japan, even though this country is aged society now. There are still lots of barriers to physically challenged people. For example, there are lots of bumps and stairs which prevent them from moving everywhere, and there are still a few buses and taxies which wheelchair users can take. Moreover, they are sometimes looked differently than ordinary people, especially by innocent children. Even adults would do so unconsciously, though they know it is bad. I would feel sad everyday under the situation. I would learn that world is so inconvenient and recognize the badness of discrimination. This statement also can be discriminative for them... Ohhh, what should I do?! I'm confused!

Reaction to "30 Days"

I think I can't support myself on minimum wage here. Actually, now I live a normal life on $1200 per a month, including the rent, lighting and heating expenses, and Internet charge. Though it's enough to live a normal life, I want more money for amusement and luxury. If I began to live on a minimum wage, I would have to spend much time working everyday. I wouldn't even spend time with my friends, much less go shopping with them. Just working and sleeping. I can't endure. I don't wanna even think about that.

Also, I was very surprised at the fact that 20% of children in Ohio go to bed hungry!! Though I'm not good on American government, I wonder why American government doesn't help them. If American government try harder, they should find a good solution. Go ahead!!

Scooter Trip to Tokyo

As you know, I went to Tokyo by scooter with my stupid friends. On the First day, I went to Nagoya to meet my friends, one is who live in Nagoya, the other is who came from Fukui by motor bicycle, and we stayed for the night in Nagoya.
On the second day, we got up at 5a.m. and left Nagoya for Tokyo! After long, long, long time, 14 hours, at last we were able to arrive at our friend's apartment in Kanagawa near Tokyo. We were exhausted incredibly so went to bed early.
After long sleep, we began to enjoy Tokyo! We went to Machida, Shimokitazawa, Shinjyuku, Harajyuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, Kabikicho, Daiba, Yokohama, and meet our friends who live in Tokyo in three days!! Remember, we took trains instead of scooter in Tokyo:) We had a good time but our money flied away;(
...oh,,, I don't wanna remember the return road... It was too tough because I had to come back to Osaka directly!! I mean I had the first class of secomd semester on the following day!!! Jesus!! We left our friend's apartment at 6:30a.m. Since I rushed, I was likely to crash into a car. I couldn't turn completely at the corner on the downhill of mountain road, and knocked a pole down, then rushed toward the oncoming car at full speed. If the driver hadn't dodge me, I would not be here now. Thank you, God. After that, we had a heavy rain. Because of it, one of my friends slipped on the white line while driving his scooter, and hurt himself. If a car had followed him, he would have been run over and killed by the car! Dangerous! At midnight, we were still driving. I was about to doze while driving and it looked very dangerous so we slept on the ground for 20 or 30 minutes. After that, I was struck by a terrible chill. I wanted to cry. My brain didn't work. I just really wanted to reach my apartment in Hirakata. Finally, I was able to reach my room at past 4a.m.!! I went to bed as soon as possible. Then I wake up at around noon. That's why I missed the Adam's first class...
I swore never to go far by scooter!!

too long posting...

Japanese Gesture

A common gesture in Japan, especially for middle-aged or elderly men, is putting our opened hand in front of the chest or chin. The thumb is the closest to our body. This action means, “I’m sorry.” or “Excuse me.” It's made when expressing apology or regret, or making a request to others. At the same time, the face should express "sorry".

Also, it can be used when we try to make our way through the crowd in a train. In this case, additionally, you had better say "Suimasen.(Excuse me)" so that the others can notice you are trying to do that. When you do that, you can feel Japanese. Let's try!

Horrible Disaster

When I read the article mentioned that the death toll from "Katrina" climbed to thousands, I was astonished and turn on TV the next instant. The cruel sight made me be struck dumb and rivet on the sight. I realized what happened in New Orleans then. As I knew about the fact deeply, I came to know the background. There are lots of abandoned poverty people in New Orleans, and that's news to me. Actually, I had thought there are few poverty people in America, except for in the slums because America is one of the best advanced nation. I became sad to know that.

Moreover, the next hurricane "Rita" is coming to Florida, and what is worse, it's gonna be as strong as "Katrina"!!!! Oh, my God!!!! I really wish Americans' safety.

Happiness Inventory Questions

#1 How important is money to your hapiness? What do you want to buy?
Surely, money is important to my hapiness. However, I haven't thought about the reason why money is important and how important money is. I thought about that this time.
If I have no money, I can't go shopping, have dinner with my friends, and join to my club activities. In other words, I wouldn't be able to contact with the others, and I would stay indoors even on holiday. That's why I can say money has an important role for me. If I have enough money, I want to buy a ticket for going abroad in order to have good experiences and improve my English ability.

#6 What do you want to do to maintain your health?

I want to have a balanced diet because I tend to eat meat too much. I have to eat more various vegetable and fish. Moreover, I often eat something like snacks at midnight, so I must change my eating habit. Next, I want to exercise regularly. Though I like sports and bought a basketball recently, I don't have the opportunity to play sports very much. Oh, yes, I want to sleep more! I'm really worried about that now because the second semester began already. I need to do my homework regularly.

#7 What is your vision of a satisfying job?

First of all, I want to work with English. That's why I'm majoring in English. Next, I need plenty of pay not to live a poor life, and I feel like living a rich life, too. Also, I think challenge and great bosses are very important to carry on with a job. I don't care about a little bitterness as long as I can feel challenge in a job. I want my bosses to instruct me properly so that I can feel challenge, then I want to be a great boss who is respected by staff. If I can seek more, I want to work at a famous and worldwide company to be recognized by everyone.

Homestay in Canada

I had a really good time in Canada.

I went to the school. The class were something like IES class. We students often talked and interviewed each other in class. I made friends with lots of overseas students. They came from Taiwan, Italy, Saudi Arabia, France, Mexico, Russia, Germany, Brazil, etc. Wow, wonderful!! They were able to speak English much better than me though we were in same level class... Actually, I was shocked about the fact... Ohh, Japanese!!(not all) What's going on!!
My host family was very kind. They spoke slowly, and mom often washed my clothes and clean my room. I and mom often talked over a cup of tea and cookies at night:)
Also, I had a roommate who was a French guy, Simon. He came to Canada to study English, too. We often go out together and had a good time.
When I went to the nightclub, called "Foam Party", for the first time in my life, I was bouncing around in a trance and I plunged into the mountain of foam that was being made by special machines. I got soaked to the skin eventually... Anyway, it was so fun!
I also had a lot of culture shock. I thought.. "How convenient Japan is!" though this is a prejudice. Now I'm glad to learn something new from this experiences.
To be honest, I didn't want to go back to Japan. My stay for two weeks was tooooo short! But I was able to have a really good time even for only two weeks.
Thanks, my friends! Thanks, my host family! Thanks, Canada!

You can see lots of photos. Click HERE