Hi, everyone!
Today is the first of August.
A powerful typhoon will come to Japan again.
My family make a plan going around in Hokkaido this weekend.
I hope nice weather...
So I'm sorry I can't post this blog for 4 days from tomorrow.
Do you enjoy your summer vacation?
How can you survive Nagoya's hot summer?
So, good night, friends!
See you later.
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20 comments:
Dear Cherry and friends,
Cherry, you are coming back on Sunday, aren't you? I'd love to hear about Hokkaido.
You're flying away from hot and humid Nagoya before the typhoon comes. You're lucky.
Plum, please let me attend your lecture about feminist theories. I'm interested in feminism and its various points of view.
Today, I took a cool path from the campus to its nearest station. I found it last week by chance. I usually walk along a busy street where I always worry that I might be hit by a dump truck. The path I took today is quiet, and a few cars passed by. There was a shrine and an old red bridge on the way. I crossed it. It's cool there because it's along a creek. Two ducks live in the water. They were sleeping this evening. What impressed me the most was a sarusuberi (crane myrtle). It has a lot of pink flowers. They almost reached the water, hanging from the riverbank. They were just gorgeous.
This is the second year at school. I had such a narrow perspective that I didn't notice the path.
Talk to you later. Good night.
August 2, 2007 0:57 JST
Hello, Cherry and friends!
How gorgeous to fly to Hokkaido where there is no typhoon with all your family! I wonder what part of Hokkaido you’re going to. I hope you stay cool and relax yourself in a vast land surrounded with magnificent view.
Plum, hearty congratulations on a boy baby!
Ulala-chan really did a great job!
I can easily imagine that she had a difficult and painful time to have her son. I heard a Cesarean section gives a much burden to a mother than a painless delivery. As a result, she had to stay in a hospital a few more days for special medical treatment than the case of a normal childbirth.
I can depict a picture of how Ulala, Yoji and Plum welcomed a sweet and adorable newly born creature with joy and excitement. I remembered clearly that I hugged each other with my son-in-law just after a boy baby,“Manato” was born after a hard and long delivery.
The exquisite and gorgeous pots of cyclamen and orchid will surely comfort Ulala who worked very hard. I really understand the great efforts plum tried to comfort her daughter.
It may sound awfully strange but I realized that I sometimes worried about the condition of my daughter than that of a new born baby, especially when she looked exhausted due to insufficient sleep. In that case, I said to the baby when he began to cry and keep screaming, “Please sleep soundly so that your mommy can get enough sleep.” I felt a little anger at this little creature.
Plum, it was so kind and thoughtful of you to invite us to a lecture about liberal, Marxist and radical feminist. I’d be very happy and enthusiastic to be aware of the differences between the three feminist theories.
Thank you.
Sunflower
Hi, everyone.
The book's title is The sea around us. sorry.
When I read the comment of Sunflower, as if I could hear the voice of you. Your English reminds me of very you. So I want to say that you can express at will what you want to say.
Today, for the first time, I saw an odd-eyed cat. I haven't known even the existence. One is blue, the other is brown. If you keep it, you would be happy from the legend in Europe. My friend keep the cat. Exactly, she is very happy. Do you know the cat?
Dear Azalea, Sunflower, and friends,
Azalea, good point!
Yes, I also feel as if I hear Sunflower talk to us while reading her comments. Maybe it's because of her glamorous voice. Once you hear it, you can't forget it.
I've never heard about odd-eyed cats.
I didn't know a cat can be a lucky charm. It's like gem stones with mysterious power. Although cats are pretty, any cats cannot bring me happiness because I have an allergy to animals.
Interestingly, some animals and plants bring us bad luck. My aunt said shuro no ki (Chinese windmill palms) were not good. I said, “I don't believe it. We have one in the garden for so many years. Nothing terribly bad have happened yet.” My aunt said, “that's the reason why you can't get married!” What a mean lady she is!
August 2, 2007 10:32 JST
Hi, everyone!!!
How are you?
On Thursday early afternoon, my daughter returned home, carrying her baby in her left arm and pulling her bag with her right hand. She is fine, but as soon as she got into the lounge, showed me her horizontal Cesarean cut of 20 or 25 cms long on her lower tummy, which got a lot of “staplers” crossing it along with a number of narrow tapes between both ends of the cut. The doctors call them “clips” instead of “staplers”.
A white tape of 5 cms wide and 30 cms long was pasted over the cut, but at the medical check this morning at the hospital, the tape was removed and about half of the clips and narrow tapes were also taken off. Hence, she’s got only the rest of the clips, but they numbered in probably 10 or 15. She is going to visit the hospital on Friday morning and get her doctor to remove them, which means the cut is completely cured.
We had a big dinner consisting of hand-rolled sushi and others, celebrating my daughter’s coming home with the little ojizosan, and had sparking wine, which was fruity, sweet, and easy to drink. (My daughter loves raw fish but was not allowed to eat it during her pregnancy by her GP. She was tremendously excited and happy about eating it.) Probably I drank too much, and when I realized it, I already felt dizzy and my head was spinning. Oh, goodness, I was drunk. It never happened it me before, because I normally never drink alcoholic beverages. Anyway I went to bed without changing my clothes and lay down, and eventually went to sleep. When I woke up, it is around 3 a.m. and the baby was crying.
I will go to bed again… What a day to me!!! That’s life, isn’t it?
Hi, everyone!!!
It’s a bit cloudy in Sydney, but pleasantly warm nonetheless.
It’s Friday today. Three of them have gone to the hospital, and I had breakfast, which was cereal plus milk (I’m on a diet, and would like to lose 3 kilos while I’m here), and began to read Fujiwara Norika’s Diary. Her English is pretty good, but there are some to be improved, don’t you think?
I will paste it. If you want to improve her writing, please try to do it. It could be very interesting.
******
From July 25, “The Juni-Hitoe (a twelve-layered ceremonial kimono) Charity Exhibit” has been held in Hotel Nikko Princes Kyoto. Please let me explain how it started…
When I first saw my Juni-hitoe kimono, which was carefully made by some craftsmen in Kyoto by their hands for me for my wedding, I was so impressed and could feel how deep the intricacies of the Japanese traditional culture were. The kimono was truly awesome!
And I could vividly remember the Afghan children I met; they were all poor but each of them was proudly wearing their colorful folk costumes, which looked like they had been wearing for years in rugs. In East Timor, I had an opportunity to visit the small factory, where they make hand-woven textiles, called “Tais”, by the local women. The money they make is not much, but is very important source of their revenue. I still treasure the “Tais” I purchased there, and it’s been up on the wall in my house. Through my journey, I learned that their traditional culture is their pride, which should not be taken away. They should not lose it. And I was thinking whether there is any way I can make use of the beautiful Juni-hitoe kimono, which was carefully made by some craftsmen in Kyoto with their warm wishes, and whether this could be one of the motivators for some young generation to carry on the torch of traditional craftsmanship…
I mentioned such a plan in my book, “Norika damashii”. Fortunately, some people in Kyoto kindly gave me an offer of the exhibit, so I could set up the education fund to support the children in need in other countries. I’m grateful for your generosity and kind support. I sincerely hope this exhibit may be the good opportunity for many people to realize how wonderful our Japanese culture is, which came down continuously, and also we pay more attention to those children all around the world.
When you are in Kyoto, please stop by ＾＾.
p.s. Today I visited the head quarters of Fuji Film in Roppongi Midtown. I’ve been doing business with them for a long time. I had an opportunity to display some of my photos at their recent photo exhibit. I was so impressed with their Fuji-film Square. Very nice place!
From next month, they will kindly hold the Charity Photo Exhibit using my photos I took in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and India. (From August 31 till September 26.) The photos I took in India in my recently trip will be displayed in public for the first time＾＾.
Hi, everyone.
I don't know the ''Shuro no ki''legend. I will carefully look for it.
When those who don't normarlly drink indulge, that is, condiderably good things happen to them, or they are supremely happy.
At least, it's good liquor.
Do you know Pico Island? If you know, please tell me.
I will try the Fujiwara Norika's English, but would you give me a time? Well, one year? half a year?
One week? Which is the best?
Hi, everybody!
It is interesting to read the story of the exciting daily life with a new member of your family, cute Jizo Prince. Everything is a fantastic experience for a new mother, a new father and a new grandmother. All of you got nervous about the cute baby. Please enjoy the thrilling precious time with your angel.
On the other hand, I have spent dull days without any changes these days. Well, I have resumed swimming in August. It is very good rehabilitation for my hand. I feel refreshed after swimming. To tell the truth, I used to be very poor at playing sports and have an inferiority complex about sports. But now I realize that I disliked it without even having tried it. If I had challenged any sport in my young days, I would have enrich my life more. But there is nothing too late in life. It is very nice to know a pleasure of sport before dying.
By the way, I didn’t know about Norika Fujiwara’s English diary. Thank you for letting me know that, Plum.
Hi, everyone!!!
Alice, I’m glad to hear that you are interested in our meeting about feminist theories. Let’s get together when we have time after I get home. I’ll write to three of you, asking your convenient time for the meeting.
Azalea, thank you for your interest in Norika’s English. Please try to improve her English writing. I am sure that proofreading is one of the best methods to better, refine, and sophisticcate our English skills.
Cosmos, it is fun to read Norika's English Blog. Yes, it is.
Norika’s English writing skill is pretty good. In a way, it’s splendid. Her English is much better than the English of most (at least, many) of the junior or senior high school English teachers who are currently teaching English to our children throughout Japan. Most(at least, many, again) of them cannot write better English than Norika, who is not a teacher but an actress. (I know it’s, sort of, tautology, but I would like to emphasize this point.) (I also would like to point out how our children can write better English than Noriko, since their teachers are worse than Norika.Don’t you think?)
Nonetheless, something is funny or not just right, or a bit strange, or … There is something in common with our English writing, isn’t there? Something like, sort of, “Japanese English”…
We can see and understand what she wants to tell us in Japanese, can’t we? Because she has written her message thinking in Japanese, I suppose. It is, kind of, a direct translation from her Japanese words, and she ignores, not entirely, though, normally-seen English writing patterns, or basic or common sense rules or expressions, or syntax, etc. etc…
There are prototypical expressions in English as viewed in any language around the world, and so we must learn them and put what we want to say in these prototypes. Do you understand what I want to say? By prototypes, I mean expressions such as “It is fantastic to …”, “I’m pleased to explain…”, or “It’s so nice to talk to you again.” Mainly they are used in socializing scenes, but still they are important to make your English look like “real” English, and native speakers of English feel comfortable and happy about your English, which means English learners of other countries feel the same way.
Another thing is that her writing is made of “skin and bones”, which are essential to a body structure, but something like muscles is missing. Don’t you think? (What do you mean by muscles? you may ask. I mean sufficient amount of modifiers, which are equivalent to “more information” normally recognized in ordinary informal English compositions. (Please, please, do not mix up informal English and formal one, please. I know this way of saying is considered to be redundancy. But it is very important, and hence I will repeat it until you really understand it.)
“Skin and bones” sentences sometimes give strangely cold (of course, not warm) or blunt (probably, as if the speaker was treating her listener/s with scornful indifference, although she does not intend to) impressions, don’t you think? They never, I think, give affectionate impact.
My message is getting very long, but please, please, please just be patient and listen to me.
Norika’s English teaches us, Japanese English learners, a lot of things. Please look at the greeting letter (attached with a photo of her and her kids), which I found in a certain brochure, written by Susie O’Neill, who was formerly a world-famous Olympic swimmer, probably in her 30s. (Please keep it in mind that she is not an English teacher or linguistic expert but a swimmer.) Then, please compare her English words and expressions and sentence structures with those of Norika’s message.
********************
Hi everyone
It’s fantastic to continue in my role as the Ambassador for Babies Galore for another year.
I can’t believe how quickly the last year has gone and both Alix and William are growing quickly. Being a parent is truly rewarding but I’m sure you will all agree it can also test you at times! You really get a great appreciation of the commitment our parents made to us as children. It also brings to mind the great importance of having a good support team around you when you are a parent.
I have found Babies Galore to be a fantastic support to both me personally and my family. It really is a one-step store with everything you need for your baby. I’ve become great friends with the team at Babies Galore and I can assure you they definitely have our best interests at heart. For a great range of quality products for every conceivable need you must visit your local Babies Galore store. All the staff are great and they truly understand our needs. Their feedback and suggestions are both insightful and comforting.
Of course if you find it hard to get the time to visit the store you can always shop online at www.babiesgalore.com.au where all the latest products are showcased. I’ve used the online service a few times when on holidays and have found it very easy to use, secure, and with a prompt delivery of my goods, its always a satisfying experience.
Please enjoy this catalogue, its packed with all the latest products from the best suppliers as sourced by your team at Babies Galore. Enjoy being a parent, its an amazing experience! Hopefully I’ll see you in a Babies Galore soon.
Kind regards,
Susie O’Neill
********************
If you have any question about my writing, please let me know.
Bye, now, my dear friends.
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Hi, Cherry and friends.
I tried many times to reach you and this time I could finally send a message. I'm glad to join you again.
Plum, congratulations on Ulala-san's safe delivery of a baby boy. You are a very lucky grandma to have both a baby girl and a baby boy this year. Please take care of yourself as well as your family members.
I'd like to study feminism, too.
I'm looking forward to seeing you in September.
Hello, everyone!
Plum, each word of you deeply touched my heartstring; you stress the importance of proofreading and compare Japanese English to “skin and bones” sentences, (what an apt metaphor you used!) which are lack of sufficient amount of modifiers. Then you highlighted the importance of making our English look like “real” English, that is, we must use prototypical expressions in English. What you want to underline is that we must learn prototypical expressions as many as possible and put what we want to say in these prototypes. I really understand you and I completely agree with you.
At first I had no idea that Norika has a talent to write English and moreover, I was surprised that her writing skill reached the level of publishing her diary in English. That was a surprise to me.
Several English paragraphs you had posted from her diary sounded very interesting so I became anxious to read it.
But at the same time, I was puzzled about an exorbitant and extremely high assignment you kindly suggested to us. You said that her English is pretty good, but there are some to be improved. I wondered what it meant. In my opinion, her English was very good; it was much better than my English, to say the least. And NOW that I finally understand you.
I can assure you that proofreading her Japanese Engllish diary will surely lead us to improve our English writing skill.
Plum, thank you for your suggestions.
I was really impressed with your clear and thoughtful comment.
sunflower
Hi, everyone.
For me, affectionate impressions are an imminent subject. This is why I dislike to write a letter in English to friends who are English natives. I am fumed over my ''skin and bones'' English as if I was a three-year-old child. I am also afraid of the words I use being misunderstood or interpreted wrongly. Which applies to even my Japanese expressions. I am so far apt to avert them. Besides, when I read the brochure written by Susie O'Neill, I noticed I have not chosen reading materials like this. The books I like are full of objective sentences.
Hence, that I try to proofread Norika's English is like a mummy going to catch a mummy?? (As you know, mummy is dried, consisting of bones and skin.) However, I don't mean I give up to improve my English. I would like to put the first step with reading books filled with affectionate impact.
Dear Plum and friends,
Thank you for the sincere advice on writing better English, Plum.
What's the big difference between Norika's English and “real” English which you and Susie O'Neill write? I wondered. I don't know why, but I can see difference. Both Plum's English and Susie's English are easy to understand. Even though Norika uses easy words, her English sounds difficult. Plum, you excused your redundancy. The redundancy might be the key answer to the difference. You repeat same things by using many different expressions. Not only do you know various expressions to describe one thing, but also you always care whether everybody is following your stories. You are literally writing to us. Your kind consideration makes a good flow of stories.
Norika writes this and that intuitively. She takes readers here and there wildly. She sounds like that. I make similar mistakes, especially when I talk, I sound blunt. Once, in a certain session of English conversation, I was told, “in your story, the conclusion comes so quickly that your story finishes quickly. In conversations, we should tell stories step by step so that we need to use more expressions.” As for Susie's message like Plum's messages and other native English speakers' letters, we can move our mind's eyes more smoothly. In her greeting, we first look at her family, and then the shop and then the promotion, She uses good transitional expressions in between.
These are good case studies. I'll try to use more modifiers. I wish my English will sound “real” some day.
Good night.
August 5, 2007 1:30 JST
Hello, everyone.
Af first when I read Norika's English diary, I was amazed that such an actress could write that and proud of her because I graduated from the same private school in Kobe, but Plum, you are right. Comparing with Susie's writing, Norika's sounds monotonous and the other has a vivid feeling, so I could easily understand Susie.
I learned that we should read native speakers' writings more in order to improve our writing skill.
Thank you very much for your advice, Plum.
How was Hokkaiko, Cherry?
I went to Koyasan to hold my husband's brother's memorial service with 8 people including relatives from Kobe and the next day we went to Shirahama, Wakayama pref. and stayed a night at XIV. I enjoyed Adventure world in Shirahama which has a lot of equipments and facilities in one place. I could see twin baby pandas, white tiger, sebra, elephants and so on in its safari park and a dolphine show in the pool, penguines and polar bears in the aquarium. I wanted to stay longer. I recommend you to go there once though it's far and ittakes long hours by train.
I wish I could drive far by myself.
Hi, everyone!!!
It’s Saturday, and it’s sunny and extremely warm in Sydney. The three went out to see Yuko-chan (my daughter-in-law’s younger sister who is currently studying at an English school in Bondi Junction, Sydney) and take a walk on the beach. The baby is now almost one week old and his mother took him out to the beach. Unbelievable to me, but it’s OK, since he is not my baby but theirs.
Thank you for all your kind and warm feedback, agreement to my assertion, favorable opinions about my message concerning Norika’s writing, which I greatly appreciate. (Norika’s English is really good as many of you have now assented. I just want to repeat that I am not critical of her English at all. Rather, I would like her to keep writing her blog, and at the same time, encourage her to study a little more about informal English so that her English would be more sophisticated and we would be happier about it.)
Magnolia, thank you for your heart-warming congratulatory words. I also appreciate your interest in feminist theory.
So, Cherry, Sunflower, Alice, Magnolia, let’s meet at our house to talk about the subject. I will send you all my essay, but could you just take a look at “Timeline of Legislation, Events, and Publications Crucial to the Development of Victorian Feminism”, when you have time before we meet?
In order to go to this site, just copy the title which I have listed above and paste it in the search box, and then click. I think it is a useful timeline to get some knowledge about the development of feminism, since actually feminist philosophy, sort of, started in England.
I went to a Japanese beauty salon called Hanavie in Martin Place for the first time this morning, to get my hair dyed. Virtually the shop was recommended by Yoji, and, as I had expected, it was an incredibly stylish salon, and there were four hair dressers working today. The one who did my hair sounded like a person from the Tohoku area, since she had some Tohoku accent, but she was tremendously skillful although she looked quite young, probably in her early 30s, and besides she was polite and gentle. I was glad about it. (I am not derogatory to Tohoku or young people, by the way.)
I paid 75 dollars, although the normal price was 80. (I put Yoji’s name in an “introduced by” box, and so I got a 5 dollar reduction.) On my way home I dropped by into David Jones, which is a department store. There were a number of brand name clothes shops on the second floor, where I walked around looking for a dress, since my husband is coming to Sydney next week and we will dine out. (I need a new dress, although my husband would not think so.) All the clothes in these shops were for summer, and it felt as if summer had come, although spring has not completely come yet in Sydney.
Anyway it is good to buy new clothes, since shopping not only refreshes us but also gives us a feeling of exaltation.
Bye, bye, my dear friends. I will talk to you again tomorrow.
Hi, everyone.
It is hot, isn't it? If you write a net which is used for grilling fish on the ground, you can realize how hot it is!
I can not enter a part of my yard.
There, a snake and a pack of mosquitos wait for me. I think my blood is not good taste. To go to the part, I must wear a shirt for winter and a pair of pants for winter. If you are in a sheer shirt, it does not work. A mosquito's sting can reach your skin. Then you must burn a mosqito coil of incense, taking wind into consideration.
Yesterday, I saw an incect which flied but somewhat the flight fluctuated. Then it rested on a red-post-money box. Ar first, I thought it was a fly. Soon I could identified it as a mosquito of which abdomen bulged with blood.
It was once my blood. You know then what I did. Vendetta!!
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