Happy February!

もう2月です。

寒さがだんだん厳しくなり、寒さに弱い私は週末は週末は引きこもっています…
そして2024年が始まり早1か月が経ちました。

20歳を超えてから1年があっという間に過ぎていきます。

今年もあっという間に過ぎて行くんだろうな〜と思うと1日1日大切に過ごしていかなければと感じます。

12月中にAyumi先生に「テニスはいいよ〜」とおすすめをされました。

「テニスなあ…運動音痴なのにテニスなんて出来るかなあ…」と思っていました。

スポーツのお話をクラス内ですると、皆さん羨むほどの抜群な運動神経をお持ちでした。

私の運動音痴は誰譲り？？

23歳を境に体調を崩すことが多くなってしまいました。

ボールスポーツはどれも苦手で、ボールが予期していない方向に飛んでいくタイプの運動音痴です。

個人スポーツの方が周りに迷惑をかけなくてすむ、という理由から今までは走ったり歩いたりという運動をしていました。

が、せっかくAyumi先生がおすすめしてくださったんだから行ってみようと思いました。

体験レッスンに申し込みをしました。

まさかの既存のレッスンに入ることになりました。

どれほど運動神経が悪くなっているのか、多少ましになっているのか！

新年1回目のレッスンでお話をさせていただこうと思います！

we'll see!!

Do you like playing any ball sports?

Did you belong to a sport club when you were a student?

Let’s share your experience in class with me!

＜おまけ＞

One of our students baked a very tasty muffin for me 涙

She is well-known for her exceptional baked sweets.

Her great muffin brought so much happiness!

Thank you a lot, S さん！

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 the the Year of the Dragon and winter sports. Click the button below to listen.

Dave-sensei will be on Radio MOMO (79.0FM) with D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu on Thursday, January 25th (today!), at about 5:40 pm. They will talk in English and Japanese about the new year and winter sports.

1月25日（木）5時40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辰年と冬スポーツについて話します。

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

Just before New Year I went on a trip to Tokyo for a few days. I had not been to Tokyo for a long time, and the last time I only passed through for an international flight. While I only spent a few days there, my trip ended up being an interesting mix of new and nostalgic experiences.

The first day we did not arrive until after three in the afternoon. We immediately went to our hotel. After that we headed over to Odaiba. The last time I went to Odaiba was about 15 years ago when I came on a trip to Japan with my high school class. It was nostalgic to go back there again, some of my memories of the area were familiar, particularly the miniature statue of liberty by the bayside, and the mall next to it. I also had some first-time experiences. I went to Team Lab Tokyo. I had heard so much about it, so I was very curious. It is a unique art experience you feel through your body’s senses such as sight, touch, hearing and so on. There are rooms where you walk through knee-high water, and others where you can jump against the walls. It is a hard experience to explain in words and it is best to go and check it out yourself.

The next day my high school memories continued. We went to Disneyland. Some areas had not changed at all, while others had become entirely new areas. The entrance, castle, and so on were the same as I remembered them. But I was excited to go on the rides I had never experienced; Monsters Inc., Big Hero 6, Toy Story and Beauty and the Beast. Monsters Inc. is one of my favorite animated movies, so I was very interested in checking out the ride. Some rides I went on again for the nostalgic experience, though they sometimes surprised me. The Star Wars ride for example had the same queue area, however once the ride started, characters from the newer trilogy of Star Wars movies appeared in the video. I had no idea they had redone the ride experience and changed it from the original trilogy to the most recent one. It is a strange feeling that places can change so much yet also still be the same in so many ways.

The last full day I experienced different kinds of nostalgic memories. We spent several hours of the day in Yokohama. I went there with some of my friends about 7 years ago. We revisited the China town, Yamashita Park, and the Red Brick Warehouses. Later that night, I had plans to meet a friend of mine who lived in the same town as me for many years. Before that, however, I had a very sudden meeting with another old friend who I had also not seen for about 7 years. I had no idea he was in Japan, but an acquaintance of ours saw my posts on social media and told me he was currently in Tokyo. I did not think I had enough time to meet up, so I did not reach out, then suddenly when we were thinking of leaving Yokohama to head over to Shibuya, he sent me a message. I had to organize a very spontaneous and short meeting with him. It is amazing that even if you do not meet or talk much with someone for many years, you can meet them again and it will feel the same as it used to. I have experienced this a few times in the past few years now. But while it may be a little strange, it is a nice feeling when you know someone is a friend forever.

Happy New Year！

2024 has finally begun.

What new years' resolutions did you make?

I'll talk about mine in class.

Until what age did you believe in the existence of Santa Clause?

In my case, my dad told me that he would never come to me again because I was becoming an adult... although I was 11 years old then lol

Some of my students sometimes give me something special.

In most cases, it's food, but one of my sweet students, F さん, is extraordinarily generous to me!

One day, she gave me some gorgeous clothes in a very good condition.

She brought me so much happiness!

I can't thank her enough for her kindness, but it's not the end!

In the last lesson for 2023, she gave a very beautiful handbag!

I didn't expect her to bring me anything exceptional. so I was very happy to receive this very sweet gift.

She brought me a lot of happiness and no words can express how much thankful I am to her!

Thank you a lot, F さん！

明けましておめでとうございます、と記すにはもう恥ずかしいくらい年始は過ぎてしまいました。

元日に全国を走った能登半島の地震は思ったよりもずっと被害が酷く、やはり古い家屋がまだまだ多い地域があることも被害原因の一部でしょう。それに追随して起きた二次災害のような、海上保安庁の航空機と民間機の羽田空港での衝突事故も衝撃的すぎました。

海外の友人たちが気にして連絡をくれたりしましたが、それが有難いと同時に暖かい部屋でぬくぬくとしている己が何とも言えない気持ちになりました。そうSNSにちらりと書いたらそれを読んだC子さんがメールを送って下さいました。彼女も同じような気持ちで、朝目覚めると温かいお布団にいることが申し訳ない、ニュースを見るのも辛く心が沈むと。

そんな今年の始まりですが、我が家ではこんな漫画本を購入することにしました。Billy Batという作品です。平素より生徒さんのT子さんが我が子たちに色々な面白い物を持って来て下さるのですが年末にこの漫画シリーズを貸して下さいました。たまたま1巻と2巻が無いとのことで、それならお正月に買ってやろうと中古品の探せるメルカリで検索。全シリーズを出品されている方が殆どの中で1巻だけを出品されている方がなかなかおらず、たまたま見つけた方から購入することにしました。

メルカリのシステムをご存知の方には説明は不要かもしれませんが購入したい物があれば出品者と画面上で文字入力にてコメントのやり取りができるのです。私から購入希望の通知がその出品者へ入ると、彼女からお返事がありました。なんとその方は今回地震のあった石川県在住とのこと。幸いにも被害には遭われていないものの配送体制がいつ復旧するか不明です。それでも購入されますか？どうしましょうか？と聞いて下さいました。我が家の子供たちは早く読みたいから新品を本屋さんへ買いに行こうと言い出すかもしれませんが、これもご縁だと思って「待ちますので是非購入させて下さい」と伝えました。そして待つこと5日。到着したことが本当にありがたかったです。この漫画が今後も何かあると我が家ではちょっとした意味を持つ1冊になりそうです。

その地震ですが、さて、どこへ寄付をしようかしら…