5 Tips for Typhoon Preparedness

1. Don't forget to have a flashlight and a portable radio ready in case of blackouts.
2. Keep extra drinking water in case the water supply is cut off.
3. Prepare a survival kit in case of evacuation.
4. If you have any potted plants on your balcony, make sure to bring them inside because they can be blown off by strong winds.
5. Watch out for sign boards outside that may fall.

Disaster Prevention Drill

1. The projector on the ceiling displays storm, flood, landslide, and tsunami risk areas throughout the city and surrounding areas. This is displayed on the floor when operated by the switch on the wall.
2. The search machines on the table enable you to acquire lots of general information about disaster prevention.
3. Learn how to use a fire extinguisher and know the limits of handheld fire extinguishers by practicing an extinguisher training exercise.
4. Some quizzes will be shown on the screen randomly, so you can learn basic knowledge while having fun!
5. The theater room with has a 3D video system which provides you an opportunity for to learn about the dangers of a disaster that may occur near you.
6. Experience a realistic earthquake simulation similar to past earthquakes.

Summer Festival

Hey did you know there will be a summer festival this Saturday?
This coming Saturday? No I didn't know that. Are you going?
Yes, I am. I can't wait!
What will there be there?
There will be lots of fireworks, food, games, and a live concert!
Sounds so fun! I wish I could go.. If only I didn't have to work that day.
________________________________________________________________________

Hi, are you on your way home?
Yes, which way are you going?
I usually go this way but I'm gonna stop by a nearby bakery today, so either way is ok. Let's walk together.
Sure. So how was the festival?
Oh it was great until about 7 o'clock.
What happened at 7?
It started raining. So we couldn't see fireworks.
Oh I'm sorry.
Plus we didn't have an umbrella. So we got soaked. We should've checked the weather before we left.
Oh I hope you'll be able to have fun next time. There'll be many more festivals this summer.
Yeah I already checked on the next one. It's on this weekend. Maybe we should go together!
I'd love to! I'm off that day. So what day and time will we get together?
Hmm, how about this Saturday evening? I prefer around 6 PM.
6 PM is perfect! I'm looking forward to it.
Me too! I can't wait! ....oh wait!! I heard typhoon is coming and it may hit Okinawa this Saturday!
No way... Maybe we should just stay in and study English.

How I Make Miso Soup

I will explain how I make miso soup.
First, I put a handful of dashi into a pot of boiling water and leave* it about one to three minutes, then take it out of the water.
For those who don't know what dashi is, it's flakes of bonito fish. We use them in order to add flavor to soup.
Second, I dice tofu (I prefer a silken tofu) and cut a green onion into small pieces then put them into the pot. I also add some dried seaweed. Some people soak the seaweed in water beforehand but I'm too lazy to do that so I just put it as it is. It rehydrates very quickly.
Third, I put in about one tablespoon of miso paste then stir to mix the miso and the water. After I make sure every ingredient in the water becomes soup has become soft enough, I finally serve it in a bowl.

*you could also use the verb "steep" which means to soak something in water to extract its flavor. For example: Steep the tea leaves for 5 minutes in the pot.

Great use of English. I added the bit about the bonito to make things a little more clear. Maybe not everyone knows what bonito is, or that it is a fish. Some people grow up only eating catfish and tuna (like me)!!! Also its not necessary to say "in order to" it sounds very formal, you can just say "to." Also I added the bit about the pot at the beginning to establish that there is a "pot" that you can refer to later, e.g. "add X into the pot" since it's a little confusing to say you "put X in the water." And after that you can just say "put in X" since its very clear from the situation what you are doing and you don't want to be too repetitive. The clarity of your writing is excellent. I'm happy to have the opportunity to make your English sound more natural!

P.S. check out these interesting kitchen cutting verbs in this picture: https://d17ese100x1uvo.cloudfront.net/attached_images/35368/7a112395232e6e855b8492b8e8b6e60689f9948d/large.jpg

A Brand New Perspective

I started teaching Japanese in February. It's my first time to teach my native language to people from abroad. I'd like to tell you about how I sometimes come across a brand new perspective whilst teaching. 

The day before the first day of the class, my English speaking friend advised me to tell my students that each Hiragana characters is always pronounced the same way. When I was given this advice, I was not exactly sure what he had meant, but as I started the class, I realized that each letter of English alphabet has several pronunciations which was why I needed to tell the students that Japanese doesn't have multiple pronunciations for each character. I found it interesting that I hadn't thought of it before.

The other day, I gave my students a handout for a Hiragana practice. When the students started it, some of them began writing from “わ” which is the last character of the Hiragana chart, and was on the very left side of the chart. Even though I knew that English speaking people write things horizontally from left to right, I failed to tell them beforehand that they should start from the right side. That's when I realized I was unconsciously assuming that they would start from “あ” and write from right to left.

This experience reminded me the fact that something that is so intuitive for me is actually not normal for some people. I feel like my students are giving me lots of brand new perspectives. I'm so glad to have this opportunity to teach Japanese.

An Interesting Article

I read an interesting article last night. It was about the shape of our noses. According to the article, the shape of our noses has something to do with the climate of our countries.

Researchers in the U.S. investigated people's noses around the world and found that those in warmer and more humid countries seem to have wider and shorter noses. In contrast, people in colder and drier countries seem to have narrower and longer noses.

The researchers said the length of noses and width of nostrils help to make sure that the air we breathe is warm and moist when it reaches our lungs. So noses play an important role in regulating our body temperature.

I had never even thought about noses like that way until I read the article, but I have always felt everything has a reasons as, even the shape of our noses.

How do you motivate yourself to study consistently?

Everytime I see people who speak English better than I do, I'm always amazed, feel jealous, and really wish strongly that I could be like them in the future. Listening to them speak English with ease made me wonder to myself ''What have they done to improve their English that I haven't?'' But when I listen to their stories, they always make me realize that nobody cannot speak their target languages without practicing consistently (except for geniuses those who are genius, talented people ). And they remind me that consistency is the most important element to improve a language skills and also the hardest thing.

So how do you motivate yourself to study consistently? Some people say that we need to immerse ourselves in our target languages. In my case For me, watching TV in English, listening to English songs, reading English books, and so on. By doing such things, With these things we can learn many expressions while having fun enjoying everyday activities. I agree with this idea However, we still need to memorize lots of vocabulary words and grammar. Because Most of times, I think it is its not as much fun as when we do the same things in our native languages if we don't understand most part of its contents the context. Sometimes, I make a rule to set a goal for myself such as like: ''I should do read at least three pages for in this book and two pages for that book everyday, and at least three articles on iTalki every month.'' But it is its always really difficult to keep that promise reach that goal because sometimes I'm too tired, too sleepy, or just don't feel up to do it.

So I think what I should do to change that habit and go up to the next level is to set a specific goal, make a concrete plan, and have fun talking to my friends. In addition to that, I need to take action not based on my feelings but based on what I want myself to become like in the future. It is easier said than done... just hang in there...me! ><