I saw the South Korean President on a TV talk show last night. I did not watch it all, but he talked to over 1,000 people on the show. He said, "I'm not the best person, but I desire to be a person who tries to do his best all the time." Also, he thinks that we must not forget the past history between Korea and Japan, but we should develop close friendly relations together. I think that he made a good impression on us. I really hope we can be closer.
Speaking of which, I have something on my mind. The reason why the President made a good impression on us was that he was humble. Then, why do people, especially Japanese, like such a humble person? In Japan, modesty is a virtue and we have several kinds of honorifics such as respectful, humble and polite language. The book, "The Tale of Genji", which was written in the tenth century, already used a lot of honorific expressions so that it has a very long history. In addition, we should not express our emotions openly, but why? I would like to know why humbleness and not expressing our emotions are important for us. In spite of the fact that I tried to find it out on the Internet, I have not got any information yet. Is there anyone who could tell me about it?
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
TOEIC
IIBC sent me an e-mail so that I was able to check my TOEIC score on their website from today that I took on 23rd March. The Official Score Certificate will reach me next week.
I scored 770 this time; listening section 405 and reading section 365. It was slightly higher than before, but my listening score hardly grew. I have been listening to the BBC News and Newsweek podcast programs, but it did not bear fruit. Therefore, it is time to change my method of studying. Before that, I tried to analyze my problem.
Firstly, I usually fall asleep while I listen to the the BBC or Newsweek. The reason why is that I listen to them on the train when I go to work. It takes more than an hour and it is my precious sleeping time, which means I do not concentrate on the news very much. Thus, I need to make time to concentrate on it for at least 10 or 15 minutes.
Secondly, I need to enrich my vocabulary. I think that the “ESL Podcast” program is useful.
Thirdly, I found an English study club, which practices dictating the CNN News and learns new vocabulary every Saturday morning. I am going to visit them this weekend and observe how they study.
I do not think that the above is enough to improve. However, I have completely no idea what to do. I would like to know what the best method is for me!
I scored 770 this time; listening section 405 and reading section 365. It was slightly higher than before, but my listening score hardly grew. I have been listening to the BBC News and Newsweek podcast programs, but it did not bear fruit. Therefore, it is time to change my method of studying. Before that, I tried to analyze my problem.
Firstly, I usually fall asleep while I listen to the the BBC or Newsweek. The reason why is that I listen to them on the train when I go to work. It takes more than an hour and it is my precious sleeping time, which means I do not concentrate on the news very much. Thus, I need to make time to concentrate on it for at least 10 or 15 minutes.
Secondly, I need to enrich my vocabulary. I think that the “ESL Podcast” program is useful.
Thirdly, I found an English study club, which practices dictating the CNN News and learns new vocabulary every Saturday morning. I am going to visit them this weekend and observe how they study.
I do not think that the above is enough to improve. However, I have completely no idea what to do. I would like to know what the best method is for me!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Cherry Blossoms
Many Japanese, including me, like to see cherry blossoms. Why do we like them? Maybe it is because we can feel spring has come physically.
Last weekend I went to see cherry blossoms with some friends in Maizuru Park, which is one of the most popular spots to see the blossoms in Fukuoka. In this season, we bring some food and drinks and have parties under the trees. I actually went to my company's cherry blossoms festival and had a beer the day before, so it was kind of hard for me to have a beer for the second straight day.
It might be crazy for non-Japanese people that we paint the town red and drink alcohol outside, but this is our spring! I love this season. How about you?
Last weekend I went to see cherry blossoms with some friends in Maizuru Park, which is one of the most popular spots to see the blossoms in Fukuoka. In this season, we bring some food and drinks and have parties under the trees. I actually went to my company's cherry blossoms festival and had a beer the day before, so it was kind of hard for me to have a beer for the second straight day.
It might be crazy for non-Japanese people that we paint the town red and drink alcohol outside, but this is our spring! I love this season. How about you?
Start
I've started this blog to practise writing English. I actually have been kept my diary in English in "analog" way, and my English tutor corrects my errors. However, she is going to leave Japan soon, and I haven't found a nice new one yet. Therefore, I take this opportunity to have my blog and continue to keep my diary in English. So now I can upload my pics on here, which makes me more interesting.
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