Hello September！

There are only three months left until 2023 ends.

Are you satisfied with what you’ve done since the beginning of this year? 

さて、今年も残すところあと3か月となりました。

Time has flown so fast！

Most of our students asked me what I did during Obon.

Our summer vacation has two weeks off which is unusual in Japan.

Most companies in Japan don't have such a long vacation, but we do！

2週間のお盆休みが終わりました。

夏休み明けのレッスンでは皆さんにお盆はどうだったかお尋ねしました。

「おじいちゃんおばあちゃんのお家に行きました～」「〇〇に行ってきました～」など楽しいお話を聞かせて頂きました。

While I was on summer vacation, I was staying at my apartment or my parents' house, which might sound boring to most of you.

So, I have been thinking about what I could share from my summer vacation with you all day long！

皆さんは長期のお休みの時に生活リズムが変わったりすることがありますか？

私は長期のお休みの時には「必ず」と言っていいほど生活リズムが乱れます。

普段から遅くに寝るのですが、長期のお休みの時はより遅く（というより朝..？）に眠ることもあります。

生徒さんは生活リズムが乱れることはないそうで（すごい...）「やはり朝方に直すべきか」と思っていると、クラスの中で Rさんがこんなことをお話してくださいました。

私が朝型か夜型かを尋ねていた時です。

私「Are you a night owl or an early bird?」

Rさん「I'm a night owl.」

私「What makes you say so？」

Rさん「I have a tendency to get up late and sleep late during my long vacation」

私「I can't agree with you more！！」

仲間を見つけるとこんなにうれしいのか...と思った1日でした！   

Everyone in Okayama knows about the Uraja festival that takes place each summer, but I’m always surprised by the unexcited response I get when I ask people about it. Many NEO students and other friends tell me they’ve never even seen the festival, or they dismiss it as boring or too hot.

While it’s true that the heat is a problem, I think Uraja is an event that can be fun for anyone. In fact, for the past few months, I’ve been following a dance team known as Waon (環温) and working on a photo project related to the festival. I’m interested in how dancers practice and prepare for Uraja, and how they operate as a group. It’s been an enlightening experience.

For one thing, I learned that there are a lot of differences between the dance teams, which range in size from a handful of people to large groups of 80-90 dancers. The atmosphere within each team can be wildly different, with some being more precise and focused on winning a prize, and others encouraging a fun, more communal spirit. Prospective dancers can find a team that suits their level of interest.

A lot of thought goes into the performance and appearance of dancers. Hand gestures are very important, as is the make-up and costume design. This year, for instance, Waon’s dance features two “characters” from the legend of Ura – the king and the ogre. Half of the dancers wear a white happi, and the other half have a red one. Halfway through the dance, the performers turn their happi inside out to make them a matching purple color. This symbolizes the nature of Ura: he was a benevolent king to some people, and a monstrous ogre to others. Those two roles were filled by one person.

It's small details like this that make Uraja a unique, worthwhile experience. Of course, it’s also just a fun festival for the whole family, complete with food stalls and face painting. If you’ve never seen the incredible dancers of Uraja, give it a try next summer!

Dave-sensei was on "Let's Enjoy English!" on Radio MOMO (79.0 FM). Dave and D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu talk in English and Japanese about their summer vacations. Click the button below to listen.

Dave-sensei will be on Radio MOMO (79.0FM) with D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu on Thursday, August 31st (today!), at about 6:15 pm. They will talk in English and Japanese about summer vacation.

8月31日（木）6時15分ごろにDave先生がRadio MOMO (79.0FM) に出演します（DJは上別府千晶さん）。英語と日本語の両方で夏休みについて話します。

http://www.fm790.co.jp/

Ever since coming to Japan I always wanted to eat at an expensive sushi restaurant at least once. During the Obon break I decided to finally go to one. I went to a sushi restaurant called “Miyako” in the downtown area. The chef said he would provide us with a meal of around the value we asked for, but he seemed fairly generous with how much he offered us.

I was surprised that most of the fish he had I had never heard of before. There were all kinds of fish from different parts of Japan that even most Japanese are probably not aware of. The chef also had quite an interesting personality, often making very silly jokes, and chatting non-stop throughout the night. After telling some students I went there, the few who have been before all talked about how interesting the chef was.

As someone who frequently goes to Sushiro, the difference was certainly clear. You can tell the fish is of higher quality and prepared to a different level. Almost everything I ate was super delicious (though sea urchin is not really my thing). It is hard to say if the experience is truly worth the additional cost, however I would not mind going to a nice sushi restaurant again someday. But it is not something that I will do frequently, that’s for sure.

我が家のばぁちゃんは変わっている人だったそうな。孫の私たちにはあまり分からなかったけれど、大人たちは分かっていた模様。それでも血のつながりは水より濃いため、多少の変人ぶりは血縁者にとってはあまり気にならない。背中がひん曲がってただでさえ小柄な姿が更に小さい。そのわりに言いたいことがあれば言う。ただ、嫌味だか皮肉だか、本音であっても憚られるようなことも言って相手を「うっ」「むっ」と思わせてしまうことがあったようです。変人だったばぁちゃんが私の目にはあまり変人だとは映らなかったのは、転勤で遠くへ行ってしまった息子家族のことを思って俳句を詠み、それを新聞へ投稿したり。土間からお座敷の上り口に必ずちょっとしたお花を活けて、そのお花の横に色紙にしたためた句を一緒に飾ったり。それを「拙い字じゃからそげんに見んでええで」と。そういう情緒的なことをする面もあったからでしょう。

夏休みになると小学校からの課題で「戦争体験を聞いてくる」というものがありました。テレビでもその時期になるとそれもう常に特集が組まれていたので私の世代であれば無意識でも当時のことは耳や目に入ってきます。それでも課題として話を聞いてきて、内容を書いてまとめて提出するとなると、お年寄りに聞いてくるより仕方ありません。双方の祖父母に聞いたりしました。

食べる物がなくてイナゴを食べた話も聞きました。今ほどの性能の良い自転車ではなく、重くてクッション性のない自転車を必死でこいで、空爆がくる中、遮るものもない中、自転車をこいで自宅を目指したとか。ふとある瞬間にそのばぁちゃんが言いました。「なんでそんなことを言わにゃあおえんのんかな。思い出しとうもないわ」（※注：方言炸裂中）

今年の8月15日は台風が本州直撃とあって災害に備えたテレビ報道でした。お盆帰省や遠出をする人のためにテレビは空路や陸路の情報をずっとです。その中でひっそりと終戦記念日らしい番組が入っていました。かく言う我が家も今日は終戦記念日だ、としみじみと振り返っていません。

あとで調べましたが、イナゴって実は昆虫の中でもタンパク質があり栄養価は高いそうです。こんなことを言うとばぁちゃんに「ほんならアンタが食べてみぃ」と言われそうです。