Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

National Flag

     Every country has good things and bad things. One of what the U.S. has and Japan doesn't is the national flag in the original and proper sense. I believe that Americans mostly love and are proud of their national flag, but most Japanese don't think like that about their national flag.
     Nationalism and patriotism are expressed with one word "Aikokusin" in Japanese. I mean, these two notions aren't distinguished in Japanese. Therefore, the Japanese people often confuse patriotism and nationalism. The national flag that encourages the patriotism often symbolizes the nationalism in Japan. Leaders in the field of education are afraid that instilling patriotism in children lead to stir up the nationalism. Some groups of leftists show strong hostility against the national flag in various events or ceremonies, like a commencement ceremony.
     Besides, the Japanese children are taught that Japan was an evil country. The education system has been still influenced by the Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals, which is already demonstrated as the travesty of justice today. The education of Japan is depriving children of confidence as Japanese. There has never been such funny country in the world.
     I hope that Japan become the country that could be proud of its national flag. Though northern territories and Takeshima (Liancourt Rocks) are obviously the traditional Japanese territory, Russia and South Korea are controlling them effectively. In order to repel invaders, first of all, every Japanese person should become one who can feel proud of his own national flag.

(Vocabulary)
original meaning of the word  その言葉の本来の意味
in the proper sense of the word  その語の本来の意味で
Tokyo Tribunal of War Criminals   東京裁判
instill  人に感情などを植え付ける
commencement ceremony   卒業式
control effectively  実効支配する
travesty of justice  茶番劇の裁判
a travesty of   インチキの～～
repel invaders  侵略者を追い返す

Challenge to Me

     My youngest daughter, A, came into my room and declared that she had become above me in English skill. It was kind of flinging down the challenge to me. I said to her, "Very funny! Impossible!" She replied, "Shall we take the TOEIC test together?" "Alright!" I accepted her proposal.
     By the way, it was when she was 12 years old that she went overseas and spent a week in an English-language environment for the first time. I took her to Whistler B.C., in Canada.
     She likes animals and was amazed to see how gentle dogs were in Whistler. We met lots of dogs when we took a walk in the village. She was eager to touch them and take pictures of them, but she couldn't speak any word in English, so I taught her the following sentence; "May I take a picture of your dog?" She practiced pronouncing this sentence again and again, and after that she went out.
     She started trying to speak to native speakers who were walking their dogs while I was watching her at a distance. I couldn't listen to their conversation, but I saw her take a picture of the dog. It looked like she could make herself understood in English. Finally, she collected more than 20 pictures and this incident must have made her motivated to learn English.

(Vocabulary)
spend time in English-language environment   英語環境で時を過ごす
at a distance  離れて

　三女の杏里が部屋に入ってきて言った。お父さんの英語力を抜いたと。そんなことはあり得ない、不可能だと答えたところ、一緒にＴＯＥＩＣを受けろと言う。二つ返事でＯＫした。

　杏里が初めて海外へ行ったのは１２歳の時。当時彼女は英語を全く使えなかった。スキーリゾートとして有名なカナダのウィスラーへ行ったのだが、動物好きの彼女は散歩中の犬たちがしつけをキチンとされていることに驚き、どうしても触ったり写真を撮りたいという。それで、「あなたの犬の写真を撮っても良いですか？」という英文を丸覚えさせて外に出した。

　果たして杏里は出会う散歩中の人に次々と声をかけ、遠くから観察しているとなんとか会話をしているように見えた。最終的に２０頭以上の犬の写真を撮った。この出来事が彼女の英語の習得に対する動機付けになったことは間違いない。

NHK

     NHK stands for Japan Broadcasting Corporation. This company is the largest broadcasting company in Japan, and one of the world's leading broadcasting institutions, along with the BBC in Great Britain. NHK has been broadcasting programs favorably for China and the Beijing Olympic Games, on the air on all channels of NHK during the Games. NHK announcers were extolling the fake virtues of China. It was just like propaganda. They were screaming that this Olympic was very safe and secure with a great success at the closing ceremony.
     While they were praising China, ethnic minorities have been feeling the bitterness of the Chinese Communist Party and the press restraints were strict. Don't they know it? The Olympics finished without accident? It's not true. The authorities had strictly oppressed the freedom of the people. On the other hand, western medias were criticizing Chinese policies all the time. NHK didn't air this fact and closed the door to the truth.
     I sometimes watched the BBC. In Great Britain, the public and private sectors were denouncing Chinese move to suppress the freedom of people and abuse of human rights. The BBC officially condemned the Chinese Government and Beijing Olympic Games.
     I realized, and carved into my mind, that I have to keep my eyes open to the world and that NHK is a long way behind the BBC, and I have to be cautious not to be brainwashed by dominant medias.

(Vocabulary)
extol   （美徳／美しさなど）を褒め称える
extol the virtues/ benefits of sth
experience hardships / feel the bitterness of　辛酸をなめる
ethnic minority 少数民族
press restraints　報道規制
safe and secure, in one piece  無事に
abuse of human rights　人権侵害
the public and private sectors  官民挙げて

ＮＨＫとＢＢＣ

　ＮＨＫとは日本放送協会を意味する。日本で最も大きな放送局であり、英国放送協会（ＢＢＣ）と並ぶ世界有数の放送機関である。ＮＨＫはこれまでシナに好意的な放送を続けてきた。そして北京オリンピックについてもその全てのチャンネルと使って放送し、アナウンサー達はシナの偽りの美徳を褒め称えていた。まるでプロパガンダ放送だ。閉会式でもこのオリンピックは無事終了し、大成功だったと言っていた。彼等がシナを褒め称えている間、シナは少数民族を弾圧し、報道規制を敷いた。ＮＨＫは知らないのか？オリンピックは無事終了しただと？本当は当局が人民の自由を厳しく押さえ込んだということではないのか。一方で、欧米メディアは一貫して五輪批判を続けていたが、ＮＨＫはこの事実を報道せず、真実への扉を閉ざしてしまったのである。 　時々、ＢＢＣを見ていたのだが、同じ時期にイギリスでは官民挙げてシナ政府の人権侵害、自由の抑圧を批判していた。またＢＢＣはシナ政府と北京オリンピックを公然と断罪していた。ＮＨＫはＢＢＣと比べると遙かに遅れており、視野を海外にも向けて広く保っておかないといけない、そして有力メディアに洗脳されないように用心していなければならないのだと思い知らされた。

Idiot Box

     I found an interesting expression, "the idiot box", which means the T.V. Cable TV, satellite broadcasts and compucastings are getting popular, and there are a lot of channels on them 24/7. I think it is great, but it is also true that many of those channels are absurd and "for the birds."
     I used to have a TV in my office, but I put my TV away in the stockroom three years ago. I didn't want to waste time watching silly programs. Some of you might wonder if I never watch TV. If I want to watch a certain program, I've only to send an e-mail to my DVD recorder in my house. My recorder will faithfully record the program on DVD, and I can check it on the PC in my office later, sometimes skipping commercials, sometimes summing up.
     I don't remember what made me this way, but it gave me more time to do more things by throwing the TV away. Starting this blog might have been one of the reasons. I could even have enough time for reading books. Watching the TV without any special interest is just a waste of time, a portion of my lifetime, I believe. Plentiful programs will make people idiots.
     So the TV is called the idiot box. I'd like to clap my hands to the wit of the English speaking people.

(Vocabulary)
compucasting     インターネットテレビ
be for the birds   くだらない

　面白い表現を見つけた。「馬鹿の箱」、これはテレビを意味する表現だ。

　最近はケーブルテレビや衛星放送などが普及し、数多くのチャンネルが用意されている。素晴らしいことではあるが、その多くが実にくだらないものである。

　以前は職場の私の部屋にテレビを置いていたのであるが、３年ほど前にこれを片付けてしまった。くだらない番組を見て時間を浪費したくなかったためである。誤解の無いように付け加えておくと、テレビを絶対に見ないわけではなく、見たい番組があれば自宅のレコーダーにメールを送ると忠実に録画してくれるので後日、ＣＭをとばしてみたり、要約してみたりするのである。

　なぜテレビを片付けてしまったのか直接的な理由を覚えていないのだが、いろいろなことをするために時間が欲しかったのだろうと思う。このブログを書き始めるのもそのひとつだろう。特別な目的意識を持たずにテレビをだらだらと見るのは時間の、言い換えれば人生の一部分の浪費だと思う。多くの番組が国民を白痴化していると思うのだ。

　それにしても、このようなテレビが「馬鹿の箱」と呼ばれるのが面白い。英語をしゃべる人々の機知に拍手を送りたい。

Continuous Computer Screens

     I didn't know that such a thing could be done. That is, a single computer can control plural screens at the same time as in the picture below.
     I found the article about the adaptor to add one more screen to the computer; up to 16 screens. You can see the same view on a different screen at up to 16 different places, and besides, if you want you can use the screens as a single big screen. I ordered this adaptor immediately and have used it for over two months. I'm writing about my feelings.
     When I write blog entries I use both screens. The left side one shows the text on the editor and the right one is for quick reference. When I feel uneasy about the usage of words or phrases I directly google those on the right screen. I can easily check how those words are used among native speakers. This double screens system (I named it) is very convenient. I can also launch other softwares, like iTune for music, an e-mail program, a DVD player and so on.
     Two almost square 17-inch screens change into one rectangular screen with the horizontal length doubled. In the picture below, I'm dragging the internet explorer and its window straddles both screens. Don't you think it is wonderful?

(Vocabulary)
sentiment   ある事柄に対する意見、感情
rectangle  長方形
in a rectangle shape   長方形に
square  正方形
in a square shape   正方形に
straddle   〔～の両側に〕またいでいる、位置する
・The city straddles the river. : その町はその川にまたがっている。
add on // install more   増設する

　こんなことが可能だとは思いませんでした。１台のパソコンで複数のディスプレイをコントロールできるのです。

　雑誌の記事でこのアダプターを見つけて即注文、２ヶ月ほど使ってみました。同じ画面を１６個のディスプレイで表示できたり、一枚の大きなスクリーンとして見ることも出来ます。その使用感を書きます。

　僕がこの記事を書くとき、左側のディスプレイには文章を、右のディスプレイには辞書などの参照資料を表示します。iTuneやメールソフトなどを同時に起動しておくことも出来ます。実に便利です。

　ほぼ正方形の１７インチディスプレイ２台を横長の長方形のディスプレイとして使うことが出来ます。写真に示したのは、インターネットエクスプローラーをドラッグしているところで、二つの画面にまたがって表示されています。凄いと思いませんか？

I Accomplished!

     When I started writing this blog in Nov. 2005, I set a goal that I would write 100,000 words within 3 years and stick with it. It was not easy, but I finally accomplished my goal this month four months earlier than I expected.
     I wanted not only to improve my English skills but for people all over the world to see my albums and travel notes. If I could become friends with many people on the globe and visit them after my retirement it would be my great pleasure.
     Don't hesitate to send an e-mail to me!

(Vocabulary)
stick with one's goal   目標をあきらめない

　このブログを書き始めたのが２００５年１１月。その時、３年間で１０万語の文章を書こうと心に決めた。そして絶対に諦めないと決めた。それは決してたやすいことではなかったが、今月、予定よりも４ヶ月も早く達成できた。今、とても満足している。

　英語の修練だけではなく、世界中の人に自身のアルバムや旅行記を読んでもらい、それらの人々と友達になり、リタイア後に実際に訪問できたらとても楽しいことだろうと思う。

　どうか、皆さん、おっくうがらずに僕にメールを下さい。

 

A New Acquaintance

     When I wrote about irori, the Japanese traditional hearth in the previous entry, I didn't have a picture of the irori and looked for it on the internet. Finally, I found one on the net. I liked it and I sent an e-mail to the owner of the website to ask permission to use his picture in my blog. Two days later the reply saying ok arrived.
     I was surprised to see his signature. He was Japanese, but his address was in Chilliwack BC in Canada. There are many countries on the earth. Nevertheless, there's a high possibility that my foreign acquaintances have something to do with Vancouver or BC in Canada. The person who advised me to write this blog for brushing up my English skills was a Japanese pilot who was living in Vancouver.
     It was in Victoria that Mr. Inazo Nitobe passed away, whose writings had inspired me to travel all over the world when I was a university student.
     I'm thinking about my next vacation plan in Canada. My wife and I are interested in a houseboat. I'd like to stay on a lake without doing anything special, just enjoying the time passing. The present first choice is Okanagan Lake, because it is narrow and long. If it was a round lake I wonder if I could easily lose the way.
     Anyway, my life is getting happier.

　前の記事で囲炉裏のことを書きました。その際に利用した写真をネットで探し、使用許可をもらったのですが、その人は日本人でカナダに住んでいるのです。それもバンクーバーから１時間半ほどの場所にある市です。世界には多くの国があるのにどういうわけか僕の知り合いはバンクーバーに関係のある人が多いのです。このブログを英語の勉強のために書いてみろと勧めてくれたのもバンクーバー在住の日本人パイロットでした。
　若い頃、その著書から多大な影響を受けた新渡戸稲造が客死したのもここBC州の州都ビクトリアです。
　今、次の休暇の計画を考えているところですが、妻も僕もハウスボートに興味があります。湖の上で何もせずに過ごしてみたいのです。今のところ第一候補はオカナガン湖です。細長い形なので丸い湖よりは迷子にならずにすむかなと考えています。この湖もバンクーバーのすぐそばにあるのです。
　ま、とにかく、我が人生、ますます面白くなってきました。

A Picture from Yuri

     Yuri is my second daughter and 20 years old. She is a college student in Nagoya city, one of the biggest cities in Japan. She is learning German culture.
     A picture arrived today from her. A cell phone with a digital camera is really useful. Yuri is a girl with a green skirt at the furthest right in the picture. She was visiting a folk museum with her classmates. I was relieved to see her smile.

(Vocabulary)
folk museum   民族博物館

　yuriは次女の名前で、２０才。名古屋でドイツ文学を勉強しています。今日、写メが届きました。犬山市にあるリトルワールド(野外民族博物館)でドイツの民族衣装を着ています。一番右にいるのがそうで、元気そうなのでホッとしました。

 

August Rush

     I watched the movie "August Rush" on the flight to Japan in March. Robin Williams starred in the movie and he is one of my favorite actors. He is always the protagonist, but he wasn't in this movie.
    Anyway, I have wanted to catch it again. I found the ad poster on the street today. This movie had already been released in my city in June, but I didn't notice it because of an inappropriate translation. "August Rush" is the name of the hero, so the title in Japanese should be オーガスト・ラッシュ (August Rush) without changing it. For your information, the Japanese title is "A miraculous symphony."

(Vocabulary)
for your information  ちなみに

　オーガスト・ラッシュという映画を３月、帰国便の機内で見た。ロビン・ウイリアムス主演の映画で、彼は好きな俳優の一人でもある。彼は常にいい役だが、この映画ではそうではなかった。

　ま、とにかくまたみたいとずっと思っていたのだが、今日、歩いていてたまたまポスターを見つけた。なんと、６月に既に封切りになっていたのにタイトルの翻訳がうまくなくて気づかずにいた。オーガスト・ラッシュというのは主人公の名前なのだから、日本語でもそのままタイトルにすれば良いのにと思ったがどうだろう。ちなみに、日本語のタイトルは「奇跡のシンフォニー」だった。

Bucket List

     I often feel that I'm lucky to have learned English. While watching American movies, I really get the feeling. I caught the movie "Bucket List" starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. I think both are great, talented and are the people who were born to become actors. By the way, the original title is translated into Japanese with a different title. The Japanese title is 「最高の人生の見つけ方」. If retranslated into English the title would be "How to find the best way of life". Japanese and English are completely different languages and such a translation of the title might be inevitable.
     When Morgan wrote "Bucket List" on the memo pad, "棺桶リスト" which means "coffin list" in English, appeared on the Japanese subtitles. I wondered why bucket had the meaning of coffin or the translater might have made an association of ideas from bucket to basket and next casket. As soon as Jack found the note, he shouted "kick the bucket" blah, blah, blah. I dare to expound my opinion here to get the criticism of native speakers.
     There's a phrase "kick the bucket" that means "die". To tell the truth, I had an image about "kick the bucket" in which a man trips over a bucket and fall down and finally hits his head and dies. I investigated the real meaning of this phrase in the big etymological dictionary and found the origin of the phrase. The bucket indicates the stepstool of the hanging platform. If you kick this stepstool, you would be hung up from the tree or something. If so, "kick the bucket" would mean only suicide, but this phrase looks like it's used in any type of death, like death from illnesses, accidents, or even murders. It's funny, but coming back to the right track, let's think about the kicking. Just after kicking the bucket, the man will die. That is to say, kicking the bucket is the last intentional action in his life. This is my conclusion. Can I express things that we want to do at the end of our life as the buckets? 

(Comments from my teacher in Canada)
"To kick the bucket" does indeed mean to die in a general sense, but it comes from rhyming cockney slang.

(Vocabulary)
be translated into Japanese with a different title
原題とは異なるタイトルで日本語に翻訳される
make an association of ideas　連想する
trip over a log　丸太に蹴つまずく
etymologic(al) dictionary 　語源辞典
ladder // platform // step ladder // stepstool　踏み台

　英語を勉強していて良かったと思う瞬間がある。アメリカ映画を見るときがそうだ。
　先日、「Bucket List」というアメリカ映画を見た。邦題は「最高の人生の見つけ方」だ。これを更に英語に訳すと、「How to find the best life」とでもなるだろうか。映画のセリフは原題とは異なるタイトルで日本語に翻訳される。これは仕方のないことであろうが、残念なことだ。

　Morgan Freeman がメモ用紙にBucket Listと書いたとき、字幕では「棺桶リスト」と出た。bucket にそんな意味があったのか？bucket からbasket、そしてcasketというような連想で間違えたのではないかと。その直後にJack Nicholsonがbucketの意味を言っているのに翻訳者はその語感を訳出できていない。ネイティブの批判に晒すために敢えて英語で持論を述べてみる。

　"kick the bucket"という慣用句がある。バケツを蹴飛ばすということだが、これが死ぬことを意味する。数年前まで長い間、バケツにつまずいて転んで頭でも打って死ぬと言うことかと思っていた。この言葉がジャックの口から発せられたので改めて語源を確認した。バケツは首つりの踏み台であり、これを蹴飛ばすことで死ぬことになる。では自殺することを意味するのかというとそうでもなく、病死でも事故死でも使えるのが不思議だが。で、改めて語源を考えてみると、バケツを蹴ることはその直後に死ぬことを考えると、死ぬ直前に意志を持って行う最後の行為ではないか。つまりbucket listとは死ぬ直前にする最後の行為ではないのか。そして映画ではそのリストについて描かれている。きれいな理論ではないだろうか？

Get The Door

     Every time I see a comic conversation between comedians, I feel the difficulty of acquiring a good knowledge of English. I'm writing about a TV show that I saw recently.
     A middle aged couple were talking about their kids in the show. There was a loud knock at the door at that time and the wife went out of the picture. I thought that maybe someone had come back home and the wife went to the door to open it. The scene of her opening the door didn't appear on the screen, but I imagined it like that. A few seconds later she came back to her husband with the door and the laughter of the studio audience. I understood this conversation like this; the door had something wrong with it and didn't work well and she couldn't open it. She finally must have taken the door out of the wall to let the kid in.
     Today, I figured out the real punch line of this story. I happened to find the idiom "get the door" in my dictionary. The "get" of this phrase means "to open" but the "get" was used as "to bring" in the show. When I saw the show, I didn't realize the punch line because I didn't know the idiom "get the door."
     I'm sorry not to be able to feel the funny thing directly. I have to think about the punch line theoretically now. I wish I could naturally enjoy the comic conversation some day.

(Vocabulary)
comic conversation  漫才
get the door
〔来客を迎えるため〕玄関に出る / 〔人が通れるように〕ドアを押さえる
Get the door!
玄関に出て！◆お客さんがきたときに誰かに出迎えに行ってもらいたいときに使う。このgetはpay attention toの意味。ドアが開いているときに "Get the door!" といえば、「ドアを閉めて！」の意味になる。

Korean Eating House

     I went to a Korean eating house near my office today. It looked shabby and unclean, but the taste was great. The owner is a Korean, but he speaks Japanese well. Whenever I drop in at this restaurant, I use Korean to practice it as much as possible. Visiting there serves a dual purpose, eating and practicing Korean conversation.

(Vocabulary)
serve a dual purpose   一石二鳥である

  This is 参鶏湯 (Sangetan).

  This is 部隊チゲ (Pude Chige)

African Fiesta 2008 In Yokohama

     I got an e-mail from my eldest daughter, Eri, a university student who lives in Tokyo. The following picture was attached to her mail.
     African Fiesta 2008, sponsored by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, was held in Yokohama City and Eri visited for fun.
     Her mail says.....
     She happened to see the booth of Senegal and tried to dance the newest style of sabre dance from Senegal in front of the booth to their ethnic music. The Senegalese in the booth were so astonished to see her dance, because her dance steps were the most recent ones. "How do you know this dance?" She was asked. She took some pictures of her and them and sent me one of them. She sounds like she enjoyed African culture and food and chatting in French.

     By the way, I don't know how she knew the dance, but she had practised jazz dance for more than 10 years since she was in short pants. She was so talented that was selected at the age of 12 as a member of the dance team dispatched by my city to Sacramento in California, USA. Sacramento is the sister city of my city and both cities have been mutually exchanging cultural envoys every two years.
     I guess when she was watching the performances on the stage for the first time, she might have picked up their steps. She likes dancing and I'm showing an old picture in which Eri and Yuri, the second daughter, were dancing at a campground in Canmore, near Banff in Alberta in 1995.

(Vocabulary)
in short pants: 幼少で
I've known Mike since he was in short pants.　子供のころから、マイクを知っている

(KW: サクラメント セネガル ダンス)

A Dropout Dog

     This dog is always sitting near the concierge. It was being trained at a guide dog school, but it dropped out of the school for some reasons. It was so adorable that many tourists wanted to touch it. A is crazy about animals and was so happy to be with it.
     She wondered about its sex. I made her ask someone. I was interested in what words she would use. Did she know the words, male, female, or something like those. Annlie just said, "She or he?" pointing to the dog. Great! A simple question which was enough. These experiences would make her confident.

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

     Our bus went over the Lions Gate Bridge. I like the scenery of Burrard Inlet from here too. Suddenly our bus got into the natural forest and modern buildings appeared in front of us a few minutes later. Our bus was drawn into the downtown and stopped at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.
     When I visited Vancouver for the first time, I saw this hotel on the way to Whistler. It is located along the way. One of my mentors, who was with me at that time, told me that this hotel was the most historic and gorgeous hotel in Vancouver. Having heard his words, I hoped that I could stay at least one night some day. The some day was today.
     I had an appointment to see an English teacher who was Canadian and who was correcting my entries of this blog on behalf of me. To be honest with you, I was psyching myself up for meeting him. I prepared a rough draft in the bus because I had not enough time to talk with him, but, , , , what I wanted to tell him disappeared from my mind the moment I saw him. I might have been unnecessarily tense. I could only spare a few minutes for talking with him, but it was great to meet him in the real world. Before March in 2008, these entries had been sent to Texas, in the U.S.A. and he had corrected them from Canada, Thailand or wherever he wanted to stay, and the corrected drafts had been returned to me in Japan from Texas. After I checked my mistakes, I sent these drafts to a blog server in California with pictures. All the people in the world, except for a few people, can access my blog. This system was incredible 20 years ago. Therefore I really wanted to meet him, a key person of this system.
     Writing a blog brought about many changes in my life. I'm going to write about this topic again and again later.
     The picture shows our leader (Hiroko) and A at the front desk of the hotel. A is eager to learn English. Every time Hiroko talked to foreigners, A was with her to listen to the conversation.

(Vocabulary)
psych /saɪk/
psych sb ↔ out [句動詞]
(インフォーマル) ＜相手＞をびびらせる
psych sb/yourself   up
(インフォーマル) ＜人［自分自身］＞に気合いを入れる
tense 〈状況・雰囲気などが〉 緊迫した, 張りつめた
a tense silence 張りつめた沈黙

Arrival in Vancouver

     I arrived at Vancouver International Airport. How many times have I been to Canada? I remembered the first time I went there. I have a few mentors in my life. One of them loved skiing and Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains. He took me to Vancouver in the 1980's. It was my first time to visit this country. It was one of the luckiest things in my life to encounter him. I've stayed motivatied to learn Engish and other languages since then. Communication with people who have different cultures is important and fun for me.

Rudy

     I watched the stirring movie titled "Rudy" today. I like such types of movie. On the contrary, I feel scared and don't like to watch horror movies. The story of "Rudy" was very simple but I was moved.
     When I watch movies made in the U.S., I always use it as a kind of textbook of colloquial English and as a means to know how the people are in the U.S.. The story was about a boy who was really eager to join the football team of Notre Dame University. He was not gifted mentally, and the university was a high-class one. It was utterly impossible for him to pass the entrance exam. However His Dreams Came True!
     At first I thought this was a story from France, because I recalled that France has the name of Notre Dame. When I saw the Greyhound bus in a scene, I found it was in the U.S. Anyway it was also my pleasure to see inside the university, the students' daily lives and the buildings themselves.

(Vocabulary)
impressive / moving /stirring   感動的な
utterly  まったく, 完全に

(KW: アメリカンフットボール 映画 ルディ)

Rubber Stamp

     The Japanese language has three types of characters, which were originally born in ancient China and came to Japan. Japanese characters have subsequently and independently developed in Japan. Each is called Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana. I'll write about Kanji today.
     Kanji is an ideogram. I've no idea how many Kanjis there are, but I can say that the number is at least more than 5000. The average Japanese has to learn 1500 Kanjis in compulsory education. It's not an easy task to memorize these Kanjis, but what Kanjis mean is more perceptible rather than what alphabets and Hangul letters mean because Kanji is an ideogram. Besides, Kanji saves the space to be written on, I mean Kanji can express the same meaning in a smaller space than alphabets and Hangul letters need. This is an advantage of Kanji.
     However, it's frustrating to use Kanji in daily routine work. It takes time to write Kanji, and if I write Kanji in a hurry, the character would be distorted and it would be difficult to make out what it says. When it comes to writing prescriptions of Chinese herbal medicines, Kanji makes me crazy.
     Therefore we often use rubber stamps that are shown in the picture. I wonder if it is only Kanji-using countries like Japan that needs this many stamps in the medical field.

(Vocabulary)
ideogram (漢字などの) 表意文字
make out [句動詞]
1 make sth ↔ out (かろうじて) ＜…＞を見分ける, ＜言葉など＞を聞き取る
He could just make out a shape in the dim light.
ほの暗い明かりの中，彼はかろうじて人影を認めることができた．
I couldn't make out what he was saying.
彼の言っている事が聞き取れなかった．
2 make sb/sth ↔ out(インフォーマル) ＜…＞のことがわかる
I couldn't make him out at all.
彼のことがまったくわからなかった．
I couldn't make out what I'd done to annoy her.
私のした何に彼女が怒っているのかわからなかった．
as far as I can make out (from what I can make out とも)
私にわかる限りでは
[同意] figure out, work out(英)
rubber stamp  ゴム印
Chinese character   漢字
make out what it says  それがなんと書いてあるのか判読する
The letters are distorted.　　字がゆがんでいる

Farewell Party

     I've attended an English conversation class for a year. I had the opportunity to talk in English for one hour a week. I can understand TIME magazine and listen to the TV news, but it's hard to speak English with easy words like "get", "make", "come", , , and also hard to listen to colloquial English. I can hardly follow the comments made by baseball players after an exciting game. They speak rapidly and use informal or slang English.
     At any rate, my teacher decided to go back to the U.S. after 18 years' stay in Japan. Today was his informal farewell party that was held by his class. Though the formal one will be held on 29th sponsored by the school, I will be flying over the Pacific ocean at that time on the way back home from Vancouver and I can't make it to the party.
     I wish him success in his new business and we'll see each other again some day.

This Year's Big Events

1. Winter Vacation in Canada (English)
2. Welcoming Party for a Korean Postgraduate Student (Korean)
3. World Rally Championship in Sapporo (English, German)

     Many of my good friends from my high school and medical school sometimes tell me that I must have nothing to regret in my career and life even if I died right now. They pre-supposed that I've done everything I wanted to do, but it's not true. I have many things that I'd like to do.
     At first, I'm planning to go skiing at Whistler in Canada in March. I'm learning English harder these days. I think I'm good at reading English, but not so good at speaking. I'm a slow starter in English conversation. It takes about 30 minutes to be able to think in English. The picture shows the DVD library in an English conversation school which I belong to. I have often borrowed and watched these for training to hear.
     After returning to Japan from Canada, I have to switch my priority of learning a language from English to Korean. It's because a Korean rider will come to my house on the last Saturday of June. He is a postgraduate student and his major is Japanese culture! He's going to travel across Japan on his motorcycle. I hope he will see what Japan is like.
     In October, I'll join the WRC as one of the medical staff. If I had an opportunity to talk with German drivers, I'd like to try to use German. I'd like to know how much I can make myself understood in German. During 4 months from July to October, I'll be immersed in learning German.

(Vocabulary)
pre-suppose …を前提とする
immerse …を熱中［没頭］させる
immerse sb in sth
＜人＞を＜…＞に熱中［没頭］させる
immerse yourself in sth
＜…＞に熱中［没頭］する