Free Writing

Looking back over the past, writing something in English has been kind of panic for me, and in fact, I couldn't write anything. Our teacher, MaryJo and Caleb, have always encouraged us to make efforts. When I made mistakes, they NEVER scolded me. In my high-school days ( many many years ago) if I made a grammatical mistake, I got a examination paper with a BIG cross. I had bad grades in English. Naturally, I lost my confidence. I have been convinced that I could't write anything in English. However, free writing got rid my panic. Now, I feel encouraged by MaryJo, moreover I am looking forward to getting my mistakes corrected by her. Free writing has been very helpful, thank you very much, MaryJo!

When the phone rings.

I have two daughters, both of them live within a stone's throw of my house. Sometimes(very often?), we enjoy having dinner with them at my house. (They seldom invite us.) The problem is, when my grandchildren are sick, my daughters taking their children come to my house one after another to leave them with us.( They have full-time jobs.) As I am usually out, my husband has to take care of them. Early in the morning, when the phone rings, he gives a sigh. For four straight days, he has a lot of sigh. The baby on my lap now, was born on July 7 at 7:00,in 2007.

Katekin

Have you ever heard of Katekin ? Green tea contains a lot of Katekin. It is said that this substance is effective in preventing cancer, aging, and food poisoning. Commercials say it reduces cholesterol in the body. By the way, the meaning of Katekin is "Conquer the germ!", that is to say, KATE-KINN! When I read this article first, I burst into laughter. A Japanese seems to have given the name. A cup of green tea in a day keeps the doctor away.

The ginko tree

The other day, at the presentation class I said as follows. Legend has it htat Yoritomo's second son, Sanetomo, was assassinated by a nephew of his who was hiding behind the old ginko tree to the left steps. I'd like to add to the ginko tree. Several years ago, I read a article about it. A foreigner asked a Japanese, "What is that?" There was a tree in front of the bank. A Japanese said it was "GINKO"(the bank). A foreigner learned the name of the tree was the ginko. From then, ICHO was called the ginko. This is a true story.

Love Child

The other day, we practiced the conversation,"What's your name? My name is......." in speaking class. That reminded me of a bad memory. Many years ago, I went abroad. During the trip a foreigner asked me, "What does your name mean?"I answered,"AIKO means Love Child. He laughed a meaning manner, so I felt something strange about it. When I got back home, I looked up Love Child in a dictionary. I found love child meant a child born out of wedlock.(SISEIJI) I should have said "Lovely Child."Ignorance is a awful thing.

Again, a natural calamity.

This time, in China, nearly 10,000 people were killed by the earthquake, which was the 7.9 magnitude quake. This may be an obsolete word now (maybe, young people don't know), the three biggest fears in Japan were an earthquake, a thunder, and a bald-headed man. ( children were scared of thier father, fortunately, or unfortunately not now.) To be sure, we are afraid of an earthquake. The big earthquake in Kobe is still fresh in our memories. In case of the typhoon we can usually know when it will come to Japan by the weather sysytem, but the earthquake suddenly happens. Nobody can't warn us in advance when and where it will happen.

The Cyclone.

I was surprised to see the news that the Cyclone attacked Myanmar. A friend of mine lives in Yangon.( It used to be the capital of Myanmar.) The newspaper says, the Cyclone claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. I sent her a e-mail, she answered her house was damaged by the Cyclone. We are unfamiliar with a Cyclone, in Japan always Thphoon. Natural calamities occur when we least expect them.

The oldest memory.

What is your oldest memory in your childhood? Yukio Mishima ( a novelist ) insisted that he had remembered his first bathing after his birth. I cann't believe it. However, it is said that some child remembers the time when he or she has been in his or her mother's womb. How I rack my brain, I cann't remember, I swear. How about you?
Aiko Nishimura

Ten fingers.

I read an article about a pianist in a newspaper the other day. The pianist, whose name is Lee Hee Ah, comes from South Korean. She is different from an ordinary pianist, for she has only two fingers on each hand. She says that her favorite tune is Chopin's "Fantasie Impromptu". I have to reconfirm what a good thing it is to have ten fingers. So, I have to do household chores without complaining. Especially the ironing!
Aiko Nishimura

A deep sigh

My tears are not crocodile tears but real ones. About this time last year I was really in trouble, for I had never before experienced a blog. However, teachers and classmates encouraged me to make efforts. Thanks to them I was able to write something on my blog. This year a blog will strat again. One deep sigh followed another.
Aiko Nishimura