Hi, ladies!
Peach, I was very happy to hear from you after a long interval, and at the same time, moved by your positive attitude toward such hard days. Now I sincerely hope your husband will overcome the illness as soon as possible. We are all waiting for you…
Today I’ll talk about the article from the TIME this week.
Heroes of the environment:
They introduce a Japanese woman Someya as a recycler, who turned used cooking oil into fuel. While 200,000 tons of used cooking oil was thrown out in Japan every year, she thought that Tokyo was a big oil field and every home was a spot for drilling.
Her father was running a family-owned recycling company, and began turning cooking oil into fertilizer and soap. But the real breakthrough came in 1992, when she learned that biofuel had been successfully derived from soybean oil. In just nine months, in cooperation with other researchers, they produced the world’s first biodiesel derived from the oil.
Named Vegetable Diesel Fuel (VDF), it emits no sulfur oxides and just half the particulate matter of conventional diesel. VDF currently fuels her fleet of oil-collecting trucks, as well as some city buses and service vehicles that maintain Tokyo’s expressways.
Now the company collects about 100 tons of oil a month, and she has a grand plan that will recycle all the used cooking oil in Tokyo within eight years.
… Encouraging news, isn’t it?
So, see you next.
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Hi, ladies!!!
Thank you so much, Peach, for letting us know what is happening to you and your husband. It might take a lot of courage to talk to us about his illness. It is beyond my imagination to live with a husband, who is on medication for cancer.
Please write to us about your life whenever you feel like doing so. Writing is good, as you mentioned, to sort out our mind and freshen up our lives.
My friends, do you remember that I told that one student left so that I was looking for a new student in my class at TCLC?
A new student joined us in the spring, and she is very unique, stunning and excellent. I believe that she was, sort of, one of successful career women in Japan. She wrote her self-introduction and handed it into me. I would like to introduce her to you. Read it, please, and you will be impressed…, my precious friends.
I will list her self-profile in the next message box.
My name is Kiyo. I was born and grew up at Saya-cho, Aichi Prefecture. When I was a junior high school student, I met a smart teacher and wanted to a teacher like him, being very impressed by his lectures and teaching methods. I studied chemistry and science education at the Aichi University of Education, and my graduation thesis was about coordination compounds. My professor at that time recommended me to work at a junior college after graduation, and I worked at Ichimura Gakuen Junior College for four years. Then, I got married and we lived in Chiryu. We still live in Chiryu. We have two wonderful sons who are now married and have their own families.
Two years after marriage I was given a teaching position by Aichi Konan College. I asked my mother-in-law to take care of my sons so as for me to work. She kindly accepted my request, so I was able to teach for 35 years at the college. At the age of 39, I took a PhD (Doctor of Science) course at graduate school of Gakushuin University in Tokyo where I graduated with a PhD degree after the completion of two-year study. Gakushuin University teachers were very kind: I was fortunate that I could study at the university.
Our college planned to found a new department and I was given the work to prepare all the related official documents to be submitted to the Ministry of Education. We succeeded in founding Liberal Arts Department in 1992. In 1998, we founded another department, Social Welfare Department, and I was also assigned the primary job of leading a task force for the foundation of the department and the preparation of the necessary official documents. I was delighted that we were successful. Appreciating my hard work, our College President gave me an opportunity to study abroad and I studied the educational system and atmosphere at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, USA, for 5 months. I was very amazed to know that American university students studied very hard. Learning various elements about American university life, and having the chance to visit the Amish community in Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Harvard in Boston, and Houston, Texas, I spent as many happy and exciting days as I could imagine in the US at that time.
As a member of the faculty at my college for 20 years, I chaired the Department of Liberal Arts where I had ten members under my supervision. At one time, I served as Vice President and adviser to the College President for 4 years, a job that I took with as much seriousness and responsibility as I could.
I taught chemistry and science education and did researches in chemistry when I had some time for myself. I usually gave advice to students who wanted to make progress in their studies. I attended different kinds of meetings and chaired a number of committees too. Sometimes, I went to high schools to recruit new students. Indeed, with multiple positions of responsibility, I spent many busy days. However, I enjoyed being with young students and working with all the teachers and administrative staff of the college.
I published two science books jointly with five other scientists. I had successfully published 66 research papers in the field of coordination chemistry covering more than 200 new coordination complexes.
I retired from the college three years ago. At present, I am enjoying studying English and I sometimes make overseas trips for relaxation and enjoyment. I love cooking very much and now that I have more time, I prepare more dishes than before. Recently, I bought a bread maker and now I can make bread and cakes. I hope to bake many kinds of bread.
I have four grandchildren. They sometimes visit us especially on special occasions. My husband also retired from the university. Therefore, everyday, my husband and I work in our garden and fields. We plant different kinds of fruit and vegetables that make us very busy especially when we have to pull the weeds and clean the garden. Very often, I distribute our harvest to our friends, family and neighbors.
Hi, ladies!!!
It’s Wednesday, October 7, 2009. It has been raining since early morning and a bit too chilly for the beginning of October.
Do you know much about Belgium? Me? No, nothing. I have never been there. The only connection between Belgium and me is Poirot, one of the well-known characters created by Agatha Christie. He is, of course, Belgian. He is one of the funniest characters appearing in English novels, isn’t he?
One of my students lived in Belgium for eight years from 1999 to 2008 with a year of break in Japan in-between and made a composition about Belgium, which is fantastic and marvelous. I would like you to read it, if you are interested in Belgium.
I will post her composition in the following message box.
Have a lovely and delightful evening, my precious friends. Night, night…
My Second Hometown Belgium
Why am I here? When I went to Belgium for the first time, I missed Japan very much.
I lived in Belgium twice for a total of 8 years. In 1999 my family and I went to Belgium for the first time and stayed there for 4 years. In 2004 we went back to Belgium and stayed there until last year.
Let me introduce Belgium.
Four countries borders Belgium: France, German, Netherlands and Luxemburg. The size of the country is a bit smaller than that of Kyusyu. The official languages are French and Dutch. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is
where the EU headquarters is situated and is called “the heart of Europe.” Therefore Brussels is an international city with the European Union and the NATO.
At first, people don’t appear to be frank or open but once we get close to them, we realize that they are very friendly, kind and caring. One thing we should know about Belgian history is that a number of battles were fought in this country by many foreign countries.
When I arrived at Brussels Airport, the weather was always bad. It was usually raining and often cloudy with very little sunshine. The biggest difference between Belgium and Japan is probably the weather, and because of that, I easily became sick for the first 6 months when I went there for the first time. It’s always nice to have a little bit of sunshine from time to time.
As you all may know, Belgium is famous for its chocolate. In fact, Belgian people are said to eat about 6.8 kg of chocolate a year. Beer is also well-known and, surprisingly enough, the price of a can of beer is the same as that of a bottle of mineral water. Belgian people drink more beer than Germans. Of course, waffles are very good in Belgium. There are two types of waffles: the Brussels waffle is crispy and the Liege waffle is heavy with sugar. Waffle stands are found anywhere at tourist places even in front of a school.
French fries are famous as well. Even though potato chips are called “French fries” people always say that they are Belgian, and sometimes people eat only fries for lunch. Potatoes are considered as important as rice for the Japanese. At school potatoes are always included for lunch. Fried potatoes, mashed potatoes and boiled potatoes are some examples.
Mussels cooked with white wine is a traditional Belgian dish. It is said that mussels are tasty when the name of a month has an r in it, such as November (novembre in French), October (octobre), and September (septembre).
There are more working women than in Japan and women can work more easily than in Japan, because husbands can return home earlier and look after the children.
In Belgium people have to be able to speak French and Dutch to find a job, so children start studying their second language in kindergarten.
Summer in Belgium is short. In autumn the sun sets early. When children go to school in the morning, it’s often still dark. After school, children can’t play outside because the weather is often bad. So instead, people enjoy music concerts and operas.
Christmas is a traditional family occasion. On Christmas Day, family members would have Christmas dinner together and afterwards they would exchange presents. In Japan, we wait for Santa Claus, but in Belgium, Saint Nicolas is more familiar to them.
On the 5th of December, children have to prepare beer and sugar for Saint Nicolas and carrots for the donkey. During the night, Saint Nicolas and his donkey will enter the house through the chimney and put presents on the fireplace.
Winter is so long that people always wait for spring to come very eagerly. In fact I was always very glad when spring came. I always missed sunshine.
People kiss 3 times on the cheek when they meet.
If you go to Belgium, eat Belgian chocolate, Belgian waffles, French fries and Belgian mussels, and drink Belgian beer. If it rains, don't use an umbrella. You can surely enjoy life in Belgium.
Hi, ladies!!!
It’s Thursday, October 8, 2009. After the typhoon was gone, the weather cleared up and even the sun came out late in the afternoon. Now the sky is blue and it’s quite warm and pleasant. I hope all of you are happy, having a delightful time.
As the Japanese, especially women, advance in age, they become more conscious of and have more interest in funerals and graves, though I myself do not have as much interest in these matters as other people, I suppose.
Japanese style funerals and Buddhist services are very familiar to us, and therefore it is quite difficult to write about them in English. However, some middle-aged women are so keen on these types of topics and try to express their ideas and opinions in English. Not so many English learners are successful in writing about topics such as Japanese traditional customs, religious practices and the Japanese conventional concept of life and death, unfortunately.
One of my students tried to write about funerals and graves in Japan, and I think her composition is quite good, though it is still not thorough and far from perfect.
I would like you to read her writing, and if you have some thought about this subject, please let me know in this blog.
I will post her composition in the following box.
It is not easy to die: Funerals and graves in Japan
Today I would like to speak about something that you don’t talk about much
in your daily lives. It is funerals and graves in Japan.
You might be interested in the movie Okuribito or Departures. Or you might
have already seen it and found that it’s not easy to hold memorial services
for the souls of the departed. As you are well aware, most funerals are
conducted in a Buddhist style in our country.
Over the past 10 years, my husband and I have attended a number of funerals
and we held ones after the death of his father and mother. And now funerals
and graves have become one of my most important interests and
concerns.
Funerals involve detailed customs and formulated rituals in which most
people are inexperienced. Therefore deceased family members tend to entrust
funeral rules and regulations to professionals so as to ensure that
everything runs smoothly. (There shouldn’t be any mistakes in a funeral.)
Therefore, a funeral becomes costly and sometimes too costly, I am afraid.
How much will it cost if one dies?
According to a recent feature concerning funerals in Japan in the weekly
magazine The Economist, average funeral expenses amount to 2,370,000
yen and the most prevailing price is 1,800,000 yen. This is definitely not a small amount of money. The article concludes that death makes exceptions for no one but
you need to be rich enough if you just want to have an AVERAGE funeral.
However that’s not the end of the story. We have to make an offering to the
priest to receive a Buddhist name for the deceased. We have to bury his or
her ashes in the family tomb. If your family doesn’t have one yet, you will
have to buy one that will cost you from several hundred thousand yen to
several million yen.
Moreover we are supposed to have a memorial service on the 7th day after
death, and then 49th day, 3rd year, 7th year and the list goes on and on.
We also hold Buddhist services in summer to welcome the souls of the
departed that visit our families in this world and to send them back to
heaven after some days of stay with our families.
Now then, the next inevitable phase is who will take over the grave.
We are supposed to visit our family grave to comfort the souls of all dead
family members including ancestors we have never seen or heard of. Most of
us believe that life is handed down from our ancestors and many Japanese
people have inherited their family tombs from their previous generations.
As for us, we have two graves that need our care and consideration. One is my husband’s parents’ in Shizuoka and another is my parents’ in Kyoto. My son, our only child already has two graves on his shoulder at the age of 15. I really don’t want to imagine what would happen if he marries a woman who has an obligation to look after her family grave.
People have fewer children, and family structure becomes more diversified
and complicated mainly due to repeated divorces or marriages, and family
members have a variety of feelings, opinions and lifestyles. These
demographic elements make it difficult to continue the traditional family
system.
I argue that it’s about time to change our mind and to begin to consider a new
style of funeral and memorial service.
Finally, let me tell you about an anecdote of Mr. Soichiro Honda, the
founder of the auto company, Honda. He told his family members and people
around him what they should do after he died.
He said: “I don’t want to receive any Buddhist name. I have never ever asked
Buddha or God for help. Do not hold a funeral for me. I don’t want people to spare
their precious time for me and also don’t want to cause any traffic jams.
Thanks to their purchase of our motorbikes and cars, I could make a living,
and I lived encouraged by their favorable interest in our products.”
Instead of holding Mr. Honda’s funeral, gatherings for paying the last
respects to him were held in several places where Honda factories were
located. He hoped to have his ashes scattered from a helicopter or something
like that, but it didn’t come true. His ashes were buried in a beautiful
cemetery where Mt Fuji can be seen.
Cases like the one of Mr. Honda are still less common in contemporary Japan,
but we are beginning to observe new kinds of funerals and graves such as
natural funerals where the ashes of the deceased are scattered into the sea
or elsewhere, funerals held while a person is still alive, joint graves with
“perpetual memorial services”, and indoor burial places including locker-type ones and ones that we can visit on the Internet!
All people die and death comes only once.
I hope the day will come when most people don’t have to worry about old
customs or traditional practices but choose how their spirits go to the
afterlife as they wish.
Hi,ladies,
Talking about funerals, I went to the newly opened funeral facility, where they held a lecture on Kazokusou, fumeral among families.
The number of people who conduct kazokuso has been increasing. The lecturer talked about some points to be considered. To whom should we inform the death? How about relatives, who live very far and we have never seen? Should we tell to the local community? He says it would be better to prepare in advance.
I paied a visit to mourn the deceased. They have (had) an advancing idea and the wife( the deceased) chose not to change her name after marriage. They (he) held a funeral without any religion, so called Owakare-kai.
So she does not have Kaimyo( Buddism name). He bought a grave for their daughters because he thought they need a certain place to talk to their mother after their father die and if their house is sold.
Scattering ashe is prohibited now. People who do it are fined now..
I was shown a necklace with a capsule filled with ash by him.
I thought it was very unique.
The funeral facility I visited is Tear. The president thew a stone to the funeral industry. He says some funeral company tells a different cost seeing the customers, which he cannot accept.
Anyway it is good that we have many choices.
Thank you for reading. Good night. I would like to listen English Garden by Nana. I will try to search the Internet.
I gathered much imformation. The name of the facility is Tear. I was so moved by the president of Tear. He worked part time for the funeral company because the payment was good. As he worked there, he had experienced when he started study
Hi, ladies
Please do not read the last paragragh. I did not delete.
Plum, you have a wonderful new student, don't you? I was much moved by her career and the life style.
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