2008年3月9日

今週の漢字:

Spring:
It’s on its way. It’s getting warmer here. I still sit under my kotatsu sometimes, but I don’t need to use an electric blanket at night until it gets cold again. The winter wasn’t as cold here as it is in New Jersey, but with the lack of insulation, it wasn’t much better. It seems that everyone is happier these days. I’m guessing that the weather plays a big part in people’s lives. When I first arrived in Japan, I thought that everyone’s conversations must be very interesting with all the laughter and dramatic shifts in volume. However, I noticed that 90% of the conversations are about the weather. How long can people talk about the weather? It seems for hours. I walk away and return with the same people still talking about the weather. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but you get the point.

Spring brings warmer weather, cherry blossoms, and a lot more outdoor activities. I wonder if there’s significance between the meaning of spring and the start of the Japanese school year being in spring. I think now that the bulk of work is finished for the students plus the nicer weather, students are so much livelier. I hope it continues for a while. Of course I prefer cold (outside) or hot weather, but I know many people usually like the moderate temperatures of spring and fall.

I’m making yet another section for my blog posts. I will shorten my English section a bit to make way for a French section. I’ll probably only write a paragraph each week in French, but I want to continue practicing my French. It is not a translation of the English section, and I will not provide a translation of the French section (for now). If you want to know what I write, please use an online translating site.

Stay tuned next week for another update!

En français:
Je pense que mon français est horrible maintenant. La semaine dernière, le professeur de français du lycée a parlé en français avec moi. Pourtant, j’ai oublié beaucoup de la langue. Je crois que ce blog a des problèmes. Une autre difficulté était que je pensais en japonais et en anglais avant la surprise. Il est très difficile de parler une autre langue quand on apprend trois langues (chinois aussi). J’espère que l’année prochaine, je peux parler meilleur.

今週の聖書の詩: “How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.”
- Proverbs 1:22-23 (NIV)

What is the point of work and money? Why do people love money so much? I think money and work are distractions for people. It’s amazing how people just shun God's gift, which is so easily attainable and for what? It seems that work and money are the most important for many people. I wish people could listen—truly listen. I’m not talking about just hearing sounds, but I want people to focus on the content. I want people to emotionally and spiritually connect to the knocking. Will you listen?

今週の写真: Here are pictures from Asakusa in February and the Square-Enix store, which was a quest for fantasy accomplished.






1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Is that last picture a surprised cactus...hmmm.

Well, for others' convenience, (perhaps), I have included Altavista's babelfish's translation:
I think that my French is horrible now. Last week, the French professor of the college spoke in French with me. However, I forgot much the language. I believe that this blog has problems. Another difficulty was that I thought in Japanese and English before the surprise. It is very difficult to speak another language when three languages are learned (Chinese also). I hope that the next year, I can speak better. (end)
----
Being quad-lingual is great...yet the price to pay is that one (at least) is going to be on the back burner, so forgetting is easy.