Sean > At Tobe Zoo with Matsudai!

Yo!

This weekend I went to Tobe Zoo with some students from Matsudai. Part of my class is to speak English in a situation outside of class. Of course, it's for extra credit.

Some of us met at Shieki and went by bus to Tobe Zoo. Others met us later either at Tobe Zoo's gate or inside. In all, there were 14 members of our group including me. It was VERY hot and muggy (Humid, じめじめ) at the zoo, but we had a good time. If any of my Matsudai students want to download the pictures of the event, you can CLICK HERE.

We toured the zoo for a few hours then went top the Tobe Kid's Castle (Kodomo no Shiro). I was surprised by the main sign at the entrance. When you look at it from one direction it says, in Japanese "Kodomo no Shiro" (I think)...from another direction, it says "Kid's Park".

We walked around the park, rode the water-boats and the bobsled. I had a blast ("had fun")- time was flying (時早く過ぎる) by and soon it was time to go home.

After everything, some of us went to Freshness Burger for a bite to eat ("a snack, to eat") and then we called it a day ("finished"). All in all, a fun day...but I was completely exhausted Monday!

Again to any of my Matsudai students, you can download the pictures HERE.See you guys in class!

Vocabulary: Muggy (じめじめ), had a blast ("had fun"), time flies ("時早く過ぎる" ), bite to eat ("To eat"), called it a day ("Finished")

Sean > In a Jam!

That's right! I was "In a Jam" this week. The phrase "In a Jam" means: A person who is in a difficult situation.

I went to a friend's house to help pick Loquat (枇杷), or in Japanese "Biwa". Her grandfather was too old to do it himself and needed help. After we finished picking the fruit, he gave all of it to me- about 2 bags full!

What on earth could I do with 2 bags of loquat... they would go bad (腐る) before I could eat them all!

I had a great idea, I could make jam out of them...but...how do I make jam...?

I checked the internet for a good recipe(レシピ) and found a few good ideas. Finally I made my own recipe, try it if you like!

Ingredients (材料):

16 Cups of unpeeled (剥ける) loquat
1 Cup of water
1 Cup of lemon juice
20 grams of gelatin (ゼラチン)
3 cups of sugar (糖)

You will need:
2 large pots
A electric mixer or potato masher
A plastic or wood spoon to stir (混ぜる) the jam
Glass jars (ジャー, 瓶) for storing the jam
A Plate

This recipe will make 2 jars of jam (about 900cc total)

Ok, now how to make it.
1) Put the water, lemon juice, pectin and sugar in 1 of the pots.

2) Put the plate in your refrigerator (冷蔵庫).

3) Peel (皮) of the fruit and remove the seeds (実). The seeds can make you sick, so make sure to remove them all! Place the fruit into the second pot with a lot of water to keep them fresh.

4) Heat the sugar-water with LOW heat!

5) Drain (干す) the fruit and use a mixer to break the fruit into small pieces, or use the potato masher.

6) After the sugar is all melted(溶かす), add the fruit to the mix.

7) Turn up the heat to medium and cook slowly, letting the water and lemon juice boil (沸かす) away.

8) Keep boiling and stirring. Take that plate from the refrigerator and put some of the jam onto the plate. If the jam turns hard quickly, you know the jam is ready!

9) You're finished! Put the jam into jars or whatever you want.


After you make it, keep it in your refrigerator.

If you plan to keep the jam for a long time (more than 2 months), you should read about canning.

Vocabulary: In a Jam, Loquat (枇杷), Go bad (腐る), recipe (レシピ), ingredients (材料), unpeeled (剥ける), gelatin (ゼラチン), sugar (糖), stir (混ぜる), jar (ジャー, 瓶), refrigerator (冷蔵庫), peel (皮), seed (実), drain (干す), melt (溶かす), boil (沸かす)

Sean > Long Time No See!

Yeah! Long Time No See! (久しぶり)

This month has been busy with events!

My university students turned in their book reports and had a test last week, so I have been busy grading those. In addition to that, Word Up had a summer picnic at Ishite River Park! You can see the pictures of the event here! It has been a fun and exciting three weeks.

So, my news happened on June 1st, about 2 weeks ago.

For fun I went for a long bike ride from Ishite river to Tobe Town, then to Toon and finally Shigenobu. On this trip I had some exciting and interesting experiences.

First I went to a small park near Tobe. The name of this park is, I think, "Jo no Fuchi". I went before and it was very beautiful. This time, though, there was almost no water. Matsuyama has had a very dry spring.

At one of the shrines near Shigenobu, I met a dog whose leash (革紐) was tied (羈縻) to a tree. It looked like he had been left there for a few days- all the grass around him was broken and the area had a bad smell.

I sat with him for about 30 minutes, sharing some snacks I had brought with me- he ate them very quickly and I could tell he was happy. I decided to take a chance and untie (解く) his leash. I knew from his eyes I could trust him. I took him to a nearby pond (池) and let him drink as much water as he could- I was surprised that he could drink for a full three minutes!

After he finished drinking I took off his leash and set him free. I don't know if it was the right thing to do (正しい), but I imagine he is happier now.

After leaving the shrine, I continued my ride towards Shigenobu Fuji and one of the 88 temples near there. I didn't have a lot of time to stay, because it was beginning to get late. I made a plan to goto Ishite river park at dusk (日暮れ) to try and see fireflies (蛍). I had to get to the river before it was too late!

I went back to the red bridge at Ishite river and relaxed, eatting my packed dinner. It was very quiet and relaxing, but I didn't see any fireflies. I imagine it was too soon to see them - maybe I will have better luck near the end of June.

I did get to watch two cats trying to catch fish at the river. One of the cats, larger and pregnant (身重), was doing all the work. Of course, with of the kittens (小猫) inside her she was too slow to catch the fish. The other cat, who I imagine to be the father, just sat and watched and whined (駄々をこねる) about his dinner being late. Eventually the mother cat smacked the father cat and ran off into the bushes (かん木)... he followed slowly and quietly - maybe to say he was sorry for whining.
:-D

I don't know the true story here, but it was fun to watch how animals are a lot like people too.


Vocabulary: Leash (革紐), Tied (羈縻), Untie (解く), Pond (池), Right thing to do (正しい), Dusk (日暮れ), Firefly (蛍), Pregnant (身重), Kitten (小猫), Whine (Whined/Whining) (駄々をこねる), Bushes (かん木)
Review: Shrine, Temple,