英会話(名古屋・金山) BRIDGE - About Us(スタッフの紹介)

2010/09/02

Are you a pack rat?

So it looks like I will be moving house next month! I have kind of mixed emotions about it. The new place is nice and in a more convenient place, but there are a lot of things that are involved in moving! Probably the most difficult and time consuming task is packing up all of your belongings.

When I moved to Japan about five years ago, I only came with a few bags of clothes and items. Over the years, I have bought a few things, but I still really don’t own much in Japan. Over the last year however, we have bought and received many clothes and items for our daughter that we will need to pack.

At my family’s house back in the States, I am sure I have lots of old things that I no longer need or use, but haven’t thrown out for one reason or another. I don’t think I am much of a pack rat, but I guess I do keep some things that I should throw out. Some of the items I think I might use again, and some others might have some special memories. But the bottom line is junk is junk and it all takes up a lot of space.

I heard somewhere that if you aren’t sure if you need an item or not, that you should get rid of it. That makes sense to me! You should know what you need and if you don’t need it then you should get rid of it. This is especially true for clothes. We all have clothes that we think we might wear again, but we know we never will.

Hopefully we will be getting rid of all of the items that have been sitting around for the last two or three years. I think we will need some extra trash bags in the coming weeks!

（つづきはこちら）

2010/08/01

There once was a lady from Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger
They came back from the ride
With the lady inside
And the smile on the face of the tiger

The above short poem is called a Limerick. A limerick is a short poem
that has a strong rhythm and rhyme.

Rhythm:
The rhythm for this limerick is o(weak) O (strong)
oOooOooOo
oOooOooOo
ooOooO
ooOooO
ooOooOooOo

Rhyme:
The first, second and last lines rhyme (Niger, tiger, tiger)
And the third and fourth lines rhyme (ride, inside)

Now after you read this limerick, then look at the meaning. We sometimes
talk about "riding the tiger", which means to be in a dangerous
situation, and to have trouble getting away from it.

Imagine you are riding a tiger. The tiger cannot get you from its back,
so you are safe as long as you are riding it. It can be very fun and
exciting up there, moving along quickly nad feeling the powerful animal
beneath you, but, as soon as you get off, the tiger can easily attack
you with its claws and bite. So it is hard to get off, or at least very
dangerous.

Have you ever felt that way in your life? You were in a situation where
things were fun, but you were a little worried or scared about the
situation? Perhaps you knew that this situation was going to stop being
fun soon and might turn dangerous. If wo, you were riding the tiger,
just like the poor lady from Nier, who apparently did not have a good
ending to her life.

Hopefully things will not turn out so bad for you.

Douglas Moore

（つづきはこちら）

2010/07/01

Hello, Nice to meet you. My name is Yuki. I started working at Bridge in April. I like traveling abroad. What countries have you traveled to? Where have you lived?

I lived and traveled in many foreign countries. Among them, I lived in Hawaii for 6 months.
About 15 years ago, I began taking Hula lessons with my friends. The harder I practiced Hula, the deeper my interest in it became.
Let me explain a little about Hula. Hula is a dance accompanied by a chant or song and consists of two styles –Kahiko (ancient hula) and Auana (modern hula). In comparison to Kahiko’s more brisk and fast-pased movement, Auana is slower and more graceful. Movements are used to tell a story.
So, I was inspired by it. After practicing for three years in Japan, I decided to go to Hawaii to learn more about the home of Hula and see how far I could get. Although 6 months was a short time, I could see not only the genuine Hula, but also know Hula’s culture. The most wonderful thing was that the Hula class I belonged to had a chance to perform in front of locals at a festival. One thing I regretted was I hadn’t studied English enough before going to Hawaii.
In 2008, I visited Hawaii for the first time in 10 years and stayed there for a month. This time was more enjoyable. I think it was because my communication skill in English got better and I had more knowledge of hula than before.
This year, I had an opportunity to take my parents to Hawaii. It was the first time for them. They really enjoyed the island, except for the food. Since then, my parents repeatedly say to me, “When shall we go there again?” Now we all love Hawaii.

Where are you planning to go this summer vacation?

Yuki

（つづきはこちら）