Drawing to an End

I haven't had the time to read your entries as often as I would have liked to, but I've had a lot of fun with this project. Sometimes it's been difficult to come up with a topic but it's been great practice for me. I hope you were able to practice too by reading my entries.

It feels surreal that 2013 is drawing to an end. December always feels kind of funny because it doesn't feel real that the year is almost over. This time last year, I was studying for finals and preparing to go to Japan. I flew to Japan on December 31st last year. This year, I'm going to Vienna, Austria on December 11th. I'm going to spend two and a half weeks in Austria with my best friend. She's visited me in the US twice and once when I was in Japan. It's time I went to see her in her home country now! We're going to go to the Christmas markets and she's going to teach me some German. I'll probably have an awful American accent and I can just picture her grimacing over my pronunciation. But it'll be fun and I'm looking forward to seeing Austria. I have a long flight with 2 layovers (not fun). One is in Paris so that'll be interesting to see how much French I'm able to recognize. I've been studying French and Japanese. I keep trying to slip Japanese words into my French, oops.

Good luck to everyone else with their exams or other end of year projects. I've still got another week left but then I'm free to enjoy my break. I'm excited! It's been a long semester. Fall semester is always the toughest.

Surprise from a Stranger

Good evening, everybody! It's Danielle again.

Yesterday (December 3rd) was a very special day for me because it was my 21st birthday! It was also the birthday of a girl who lives on the same floor as me in our dorm. Two days ago I was really stressed out, so I decided to make a birthday card for this girl since I knew that we have the same birthday. I slipped it under her door yesterday morning, and this afternoon... I found a card under my door! She had made me a card in return! I was so surprised.

Isn't it cute? She wrote me a nice message and even taped candy canes inside it. I think it's wonderful that strangers can turn out to be so kind, supporting and celebrating each other even if they do not know one other well.

In a way,we have done the same thing on this blog. We are all still strangers to each other to some extent. But we have also shared our opinions, ideas, and experiences so that we can all learn more about each other's cultures. I personally want to thank all of you for taking the time to participate in this project. It has been so much fun for me, and I hope it has been for you too! As 2013 comes to an end, I hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy the winter, spend time with loved ones, and reflect on good things that have happened to you this year. Be sure to keep warm, too!

Plans for Winter Break

Hey everyone! Emily here.

This semester has gone by so quickly; I can't believe this project is over already. I really enjoyed reading everyone's blog posts!

Although I'm a little bit sad that the semester is ending because it was overall a very enjoyable semester for me, I am very much looking forward to winter break! I have so much stuff to do.

One thing I am looking forward to is the release of the movie The Hobbit.

Everyone in my family are big fans of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books, so we all cannot wait to see this movie when it comes out. The movies have all been very good so far, but if you haven't read the books, I would strongly recommend it. I hope one day to be proficient enough to read the books in Japanese! (That may take a while though.)

Another thing I am planning to do during break, ironically, is study. It's pretty normal for people to not want to study, but I am weird in that when it comes to foreign languages, I find studying to be quite fun. I want to focus on speaking during break and help my Japanese and Korean listening and speaking skills, which are really my weakest areas. I am going to find tutors/language partners on italki.com, which is a site I highly recommend for practicing foreign languages. There are lots of really great teachers on there, so if you want language practice, that's the place to go!

I hope you all enjoyed this project as much as I did. And thanks to everyone who read my blog entries! Have a great winter break everyone!

秋学期の終り

こんにちは、皆さん、タンジンーです。

 

２０１３年の秋学期はすぐ終わりますね。今は冬が来たみたいです。私にとって、今学期はとても速くても、たくさんいいことをできました。まず、私は学期の始める時、専門を広告に変わって、今まで、この専門を楽しんでいます。それで、先学期から、私は大学の食堂でアルバトをしていて、今学期がもうプロモートをしました。食堂のアルバトは時々つまらないだけど、友達と話せるしり、お金をもらえるし、仕事の経験をできるし、大丈夫だと思います。このブログのプロジェクトのおかげで、私は色々な知識や楽しめることを知られました。

一週間ぐらい残りますから、もう頑張れば、期末試験を上手にするような気がします。

Christmas is coming!!

Hi, I'm Yuri. It's getting colder outside in Japan and I'm becoming lazy.haha Today, I want to ask you a question.What are you going to do on Christmas? In my case, I'm planning to have a party with my roommates( I live in a share house with another 7 people). One of them from England will make a turkey for us!!  I've never had one before. I heard it tastes like a chicken..that's all. So I'm really looking forward to having it! Last year, I was in Vancouver, and spent Christmas with my friend. Unfortunately, we both didn't prepare any special foods like a turkey. We tried to buy something, but all supermarket was closed because it was Christmas:( Finally, we found one restaurant and we had curry instead.

I know we are stupid, but it's funny story now:D 

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Depature

Hi, This is Iori. It's my final blog I think...

In this semester, I was really busy (still now so busy ) and  study hard for getting good grade.

Everyone says to me that you are always busy. (This is one of the reasons why I burned my relationship with ....) I am not rich person and my family is either. if I were from average family, I did not have to work 5 days a week.  Our world is  unfair. In global south, many children who could discover something good for human being are dying. while in global north, some people complain their situation. Life is not fair yet beautiful and joyful. Actually, I feel down because of my hard life. However, I'm so happy to be with my family or get chance to go Holland. If I had everything that i wanted, I never study hard. I never met my friends or good teachers. Life is unfair. so What?
Nobody can define happiness. I am what I am. I love my perfect life even thought it looks hard for somebody.

haha, I am a little emotional because this is last.
i hope everybody has good winter break and new year. In Christmas, I will be in Vietnam and drink good coffee or beer. It's my first time to  go Asian country. It's necessary for me to go there because I have to know what the world looks like.
anyway, I was really happy to join the blog team!! Thank you so much!!
hope Happy Christmas and New year from Japan.

ありがとう！！

The end...

Hi everyone,

It's Anna. For the last time I guess.

I think I'm going to miss doing this. It was nice practicing my Japanese by talking with everyone and reading what everyone wrote. Having Japanese class is nice, but this was really good practice and I'm sad it's over. It's interesting learning about Japan from a students point of view. I feel like we really don't get that very often, it might be nice if we had to do something like this for our class. I think it would help our studies.


Anyway. I guess this is good bye. 
I kind of feel like we're Japanese students graduating and going to the next grade or something. I'm just being overly sentimental I hate good byes. I guess it's easier to talk about happy things.


So on to happier things... the year is almost over! We only have two weeks of school left and it's very exciting! I want to fill out applications for studying abroad next summer over the break. I also want to study my Japanese a lot, read some books, and play video games. I never have enough free time during the school year to do fun things like that. 
I think I went over board with Christmas gifts for my fiance. I just saw a bunch of things he might like and couldn't help buying most of them for him... I don't really care if he buys me anything though so I kind of feel bad in a way. Once he finds out what I got him he might feel bad, but I don't really want anything so I'll feel bad because he'll feel bad. It's a little silly really... I know people think that gift cards are impersonal but really they are one of my favorite gifts because I don't have to decide on one thing I like I can just pick anything. 


Christmas can be so fun because I get to go play card games with my siblings while we eat dinner. Does anyone else have holiday traditions with their families, or friends?
My friend made a really silly tradition. We all go shopping together and buy one thing we want for ourselves but we just say our friends got it for us. That way we get what we want, and by saying our friends bought it for us we don't feel bad about the money we spent. Plus it saves the trouble of finding out what our friends would like without them knowing. 
Now that I write it down it seems really silly... Anyway. I guess this is really good bye. I hope everyone has a great rest of the year, and the best of luck in your future endeavors!  
-Anna

つけま

お久しぶりです！今日は日本の「つけまつげ」を紹介します。みなさんは知っていますか？これはここ数年若い女性に人気の化粧品です。きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅの歌にもなったので、有名です★

日本人はまつげにボリュームをつけるためにこれをつけます！(他の国にもあるのかは不明です…誰か知っていますか？)

ちょっと怖い…笑

実は私も今日はじめて買いました。なんとなく挑戦したくなって(^ー゜)私は手先が不器用なのでつけるのに時間がかかりました。慣れるまでは大変そうです…

どうですか？怖いですね、笑

驚いた人、ごめんなさい(>_<)

みなさんも日本に来たときは、試しにつけてみてくださいねー！？

それではよい夢をzZZ.        Yuri

オランダ留学と不安

こんにちはー。伊織です。さて、今日はうれしいお知らせがあります。オランダに来年から一年留学することになりました！！
でも、実は不安だらけなのです。初めてのヨーロッパですし、今まで、そんなに長い期間住んだこともありません。それに、言語も不安です。どうしよう、勉強しなくてはと非常に焦っています。本当に勉強しないとまずいです。これは！！
でも、楽しみの部分もあります。オランダに住むからには、ヨーロッパのいろんなところに行ってみたいです。イギリスにも行きたいですし、フランスにも行ってみたいなーー。

でも、最近は忙しすぎるので大変です。あ、それと今度ベトナムにも行きます。楽しんで来よう！
みなさんはクリスマスはどこで過ごしますか？今度いろいろ写真をupしますね！！

ペットのこと

こんばんは！ギャリソンです。今日、ペットについて書きたいです。皆、ペットを飼っていますか。実は、自分のペットを飼っていませんけど両親の家で猫を二匹と犬を一匹飼っています。毎週のように、週末の時、両親の家に帰って、ペットと遊びます。とても楽しいです。

この猫は「リーナ」とつけます。家の姫で９歳です。リーナを触ったら気持ちがよくなります。よく私のパソコンの上やそばに寝ることが大好きです。一番好きなおもちゃはネズミの形のです。

これは私の犬です。「ロエン」とつけます。８歳です。私は１３歳の時、ロエンちゃんを飼ってきました。実は、ロエンは子犬の時、もう私の家で猫を二匹がいます。だから、ロエンはちょっと猫らしいです。キャットニップが好きとか、猫の方が犬より好きで、よく猫と遊びます。面白いですね、この犬。

今年の夏、新しい猫を飼っていました。両親と日本の猫の番組を見たら、お父さんは「ああ、たまという猫の名前が好き」と言って、たまちゃんになりました。ロエンと同じでたまは８歳です。でも、ロエンと違って、たまはいつも眠いです。おもちゃとあまり遊びませんけどとても優しいです。いつも私かお母さんのそばにいます。週末の時、私のベッドで寝ています。とても可愛いです。

今年の春学期に本で留学しました。ペットがいないことは大変ですけど、三重県に住んでいるいとこは猫を一匹飼っています。「すきちゃん」とつけます。日本に着いたばかり、一週間ぐらいいとこのアパートで泊まりました。いとかはアメリカに帰って家族に会い行きました。私はいとこのアパートと猫を留守番しました。すきちゃんは私のことが好きだったんだから、いつもわたしのそばか上にいました。

私に一番影響を与えた人

私に一番影響を与えた人は、テコンドーを学んでいた時の先生だと思います。八年間ぐらい私にテコンドーのことを教えて下さって、スティーブシンという先生はすばらしいテコンドーの選手だと思います。四十代の韓国人の先生で、テコンドーを始めた時には、私にとってまるでアクション映画のスターのような人でした。

シン先生はいつも学生に厳しく教えていて、私は毎回練習の後で痛みがありましたが、だんだん強くなったような気がします。体の教えだけではなく、心の面でも成長できるように、いつも私のことを励ましてくれました。今でもシン先生を本当に尊敬しています。

この写真は私が十七歳の時のテコンドー授業です。相手はシン先生じゃありませんが、他の先生です。^_^

皆さんはスポーツをしますか。本当に尊敬している人がありますか。

春休みの予定

皆さん、こんばんは。ダニエルです。ちょっと早すぎかもしれないんですが、今日は私の春休みの予定について書きたいと思います。入学して以来、毎年の春休みに他の州に行きました。2012年はワシントン、そして今年はアリゾナ州のメサと言う都市でした。2014年の春休みは、先週決まったんですが、旅先は。。。

サンフランシスコです！！！

楽しそうですね。でも、楽しいだけでなく、私にとってこの旅行は特別です。どうしてかと言うと、母と一緒に行くつもりですから。子供のときからお金が足りなかったし、余裕の時間もなかったし、したくてもタイミングはいつも悪かったので、私と母は二人で一緒に旅行や休みを楽しめたことがありません。

今、「ついに、そういうことはできるようになったね。ずっと夢だけだったが、もうすぐ現実になれるなあ」と思うだけで、感動します。泣きたいほど嬉しくて、感動します。

皆さんは長い間ほしいものが手に届いたことや、夢がかなったことがありますか。そのときは、どんな感じになりましたか。

３月にサンフランシスコへ行くのを楽しみにしています。皆さんも春休みの予定がありますか。それなら、どんな予定ですか。カリフォルニア州かサンフランシスコに行ったことがありますか。

楽しみたい年

皆さん、こんばんは、アンナ　です。


　私の大学生の四年は終りに来ます。一月と三学期だけがあります。春と秋と春の学期を取った時、卒業できます。とてもうれしい年だと思います。


すぐとても忙しくなります。たくさん色々な卒業の前する物をしにゃきゃいけますん。GRE　をとらなきゃいけません。早く勉強すればいいせいせきを取れると思います。来年のJapanese Proficiency Test　も取りたいです。そして、大学院 のアプリケーションもかくかもしりません。来年の夏にならないうちにどこと何をしたいことがきめなきゃいけません。忙しいことは忙しいけれど、楽しくてりっぱな年をすると思います。 


実は旅行するのが好きだから ミシガン州立大学のうちに楽しみたいです。それに、たくさん色々な所にいきます。せん夏休の時 Disney world に行きました。来年の一月Niagra Falls, と　Kansas city と Cleveland　に行きます。来年の夏休日本にも行きたい。とても楽しいと思います。

  

Bruce Lee My Idol

Hello, everyone, it is Zhenqi Tan (Bruce).

Is there anyone of you wondering why my American name is Bruce? The reason I chose Bruce as my American name is because that I am a huge fan of Bruce Lee and his Kung-Fung.  

Bruce Lee was a well-known movie star, world-class martial artist and philosopher. He was an icon of the world. He is my idol. I became a big fan of Bruce Lee in 2009 during my high school days. I was always a troublesome student in school. For example, I did not want to attend math class because I thought it was boring and the only fun part of school is to talk when the teacher is talking, play with my PSP when the teacher is talking and do whatever when the teacher is talking.

I started trying to know him in a larger and deeper scale in order to find out what makes him so unique and incomparable. Meanwhile, I rethink to myself why I like Bruce Lee and what kind of person I want to be in future. Through his movies and interviews, Bruce Lee showed me confidence, gave me encouragement and most importantly lightened my life.

There is a recent movie “I am Bruce Lee” about Bruce Lee’s life and his great contribution to the world. And in the movie, there is a scene which quotes Lee’s words. “Here is the natural instinct and here is control. If we have one to the extreme, we will be unscientific. If we have the other one to the extreme, we will become all of a sudden a mechanical man. We humans are to combine the two into harmony.”

Hello, today I will write about classes that I took in this semester. In my university, we have to take 124credits for graduation. However, many students have to prepare for job hunting in junior. So we have to take about 20 credits per a semester. I take 13 classes in this term. (23 credits).

I am taking Russian language, peace study, international labor, international relations, film study, global issue, media, and so on. Most of the classes are taught in English. I have to read many books, write many paper and presentations. Now I’m writing about Horry Potter’s Christianity and Discrimination in the Disney movies. Sometime I just feel to run away from the situation… so much homework….. so busy life…haha

I have a quiz tomorrow… Anyway, Japanese student’s life is quite busy.（It’s just my opinion）

 

By the way, Russian literature is interesting. Do you know Tolstoy? I like his maxim.

 

‘if you want to be happy, be’

‘the person who love a person deeply knows true love than a person who dates with many people’

 

I thought Russian literature was kind of gloomy or depressive. However, it’s not true.

If you feel tired, you should read some poem or maxim from Russian literature.

My Japanese friends are studying in Russia now. I’ve never been to there. So I will talk with them when they come back.  Studying on the paper is helpful for understanding the country but visiting there is also important.

 

Thank you for reading J   

 

日本語のクラス

こんにちは皆さん、
アンナです。

　最近日本の授業はとても大変だと思います。勉強のし方を忘れてしまいました。毎日のようにクイズか試験か宿題があります。しかし、クイズや試験の日の前にはあまり勉強しません。たいてい私は仕事にいるし実験をするし時間があります。でも、忙しくない時リラックスしたいで時々食べ物を食べたくて寝たいです。いい勉強法が見つけなきゃいけません。今学期いそがしいですが、楽しいと思います。私の五クラスはとても面白くて楽しいからいい学期と思います。

アニメの人物になる気がします。。。
　　将来の私

皆さん　文句を言うことを聞いてくれてありがとうございます。
でわ
アンナ・ストーファ

Knitting

Does anyone know how to knit? Or wants to knit but doesn't know how? Or has knitting just been something that never interested you?

I used to not care about knitting. Then, last year, I decided to learn how to do it. Mom was happy to teach me. My mom's side of the family is very creative. Baking, sewing, knitting, drawing... we're a very crafty bunch. I bought two skeins of thick, fluffy yarn the last time I went yarn shopping. Because it's so cold, I'm working on knitting a scarf. I have to go buy more yarn tonight though. I just used up the last of my pink skein and my scarf isn't quite long enough to finish.

I don't have much money this year so I'm trying to knit presents for my family members. I'm making a scarf for my dad and I'm going to make arm warmers for my sister. She always complains about being cold. I was supposed to give her a pair last year but it didn't work out.

I learned to knit with bamboo knitting needles and they're much nicer than metal. Metal knitting needles are colder and more slippery. The bamboo knitting needles have a better feeling.

If you like to knit, please show pictures of some things you've made before

ロックンロール

こんにちは、皆さん、タンジャン一です。

今日は、中国の一番有名なロックンロール歌手について紹介します。２０世紀の９０年代、中国で色々なロックンロール歌手が起こりました。その中で、ワンフン（汪峰）は一つ代表的な人物です。彼は歌詞と音楽が自分で書きます。彼の歌詞はよく中国の社会の状況を表して、人々のレゾナンスを影響しています。彼の有名な作品は今３０以上があるはずです。

私は彼の作品の中で、三つが大好きな気がします。まず、光明と言う歌はとても暖かくて、生活の意味を大切するの歌です。二番の花火はちょっと速くて、自分の気持ちを言います。最後のは彼の最新の作品、一起摇摆　（let’s rock and roll） です。彼はこの歌で、別なスタイルがあります。

それはリンクです。

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UQhkAGErMA　 光明

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B0Lv-NcqWc      花火

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlSiK6Ez7wk  一起摇摆

Parents' Halloween Prank

Good evening everyone, it's Danielle here. Today I would like to talk a little bit about Halloween.

As you probably know, Halloween was last week.  Here in the States, Halloween means costumes and trick-or-treating. Little kids (and adults too, sometimes) go door to door collecting candy, and when they get home they are so proud of the amount of goodies they got! Trick-or-treating makes Halloween a very important day for children, and they take their candy very seriously! But sometimes they take it way too seriously.

In America there's a comedian and late-night talk show host named Jimmy Kimmel. Every year since 2011, Jimmy has had parents tell their kids that they ate their Halloween candy, record their kids' reactions, and then post the video on YouTube. Then Jimmy puts the best videos together and airs them on his show for the whole nation to see. It is pretty hilarious. Some kids really take the joke poorly. They scream, cry, throw things, and even say mean things to their parents! Other kids take it better. They forgive their parents and do not get angry at them, even though they are sad and disappointed. Below is this year's Halloween prank video. (Please know that not all American children behave this way.)

It is all in good fun, but I wonder if parents realize that these videos make them look bad. I watch these videos and laugh at first, but then I wonder, how well are some of these parents raising their kids? When kids act out like that over something as simple as candy, doesn't that reflect poorly on the parents? I guess it is easy for me to judge since I do not have kids. Raising a child is really hard, so I've heard. And throwing fits is completely normal, because that's what kids do! But I still think parents need to teach their kids about what is really important in life. It is also important for kids to learn how to forgive others.

What do you all think about this video and how the children behave in it? Does this reflect poorly on their parents or is this just a funny joke? How is Halloween celebrated in Japan?

Piano

Hey everyone, Emily here.

Since I was six years old I have played the piano. I really love it now, but back when I started I absolutely hated it. I hated practicing but my mom made me learn it. I remember getting so frustrated when I was young, and I really wanted to quit. I'm glad for this now, but my mom kept encouraging me to keep practicing and get better.

I absolutely love playing the piano now. I don't have time to take lessons anymore but since I enjoy playing now I have the will to do it on my own. Since I don't take lessons, I can play whatever songs I want. Since I am a big KAT-TUN fan, I play lots of their songs, as well as Final Fantasy songs by Nobuo Uematsu, Kingdom Hearts songs, and Kpop songs.

Aside from the piano, I have always wanted to be able to play guitar or the violin, but since learning a new instrument takes a long time and a lot of work, I haven't been able to learn a second one yet, but maybe sometime in the future I can. What instruments can all of you play, and what instruments would you want to play if you could?

This is a recording of me playing Akanishi Jin's song "Murasaki." I play it much too fast here but I did my best. I hope you all enjoy it.

日本のイメージ

はい、そろそろ海外かどこかに旅行が行きたい伊織です。最近日本はめっきり寒くなり、かつ台風も多くて大変です。今日は何について書こうかなかなか思いつきませんが,とりあえず、今日は僕が住んでいる三重県について話してみます。

三重県は愛知県の隣にあり、日本のだいたい真ん中にあります。で、日本の天皇の先祖の神様である天照大神が三重県の伊勢神宮というところで祀られています。
詳しくはwikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mie_Prefecture
他にも有名なのは鈴鹿サーキットです。F1の時は外国人の方も多くレースを見にわざわざ三重県まで来てくれます。
実は、日本のイメージは京都や東京に集中しているのでなかなか、三重県やほかの県に興味を持つということは難しいのかもしれませんね。東京でオリンピックが開かれますが、それが日本の地方に影響を与えるのかということが大きな課題ですね。アメリカではどうなんでしょうか？
以前、アメリカののニューオリンズとシカゴにいたときはすごく違うなと感じたのですが、、、

地方の格差はどこでもある問題なのかもしれませんね。
少し重くなってしまいましたが、もちろん東京も京都もみんないいところですよ！！みなさんがおすすめの日本の場所はどこですか？またアメリカのおすすめも知りたいです。
ついでに、もし書いてほしいテーマがありましたらコメント
お願いします！！

Winter

Hi Everyone! It's Anna.

It's getting colder here. My fiance said it snowed today, but I didn't see it. I love winter. Winter means the year is coming to an end and it will start over again soon. For some reason that's so peaceful to me. Plus the snow is so beautiful. It's like a huge blanket that covers everyone and tucks them in for the end of the year,



and when we all wake up we throw off our snow blanket and spring is here to great us with flowers and sun.


I remember when I was younger me and my friends would spend hours playing in the snow. There were mounds of snow at our school and we built snow forts.  I grew up surrounded by snow every winter, and I think I would die if I never got to see it again.

I heard about how much snow Hokkaido gets and I was so amazed.
The next time I go to Japan I have to go to the Sapporo
snow festival! 
I really want to see the sculptures! I've seen pictures from my friends and from the internet. They look so amazing.
 
I wish Lansing had more winter festivals. I know up north in Travers city they have a cool winter festival where they make sculptures, but the only thing I think Lansing has is Silver bells. It's a parade where cars, trucks, floats, and even a bus are all decorated with Christmas lights and other colorful decorations. (Bellow is the CATA bus Caterpillar)

 Then at the end of the parade is Santa clause and then they light this
big Christmas tree and set off fireworks.                           
 The tree sits in front of the Capital building until after Christmas. Then there are a few other small events that happen at a few different places Down Town. There are even street venders! The whole point , I think, is to symbolize the Christmas season coming and the parade is to escort it into town. It's kind of nice but it's still not as cool as Japanese festivals.


How do you guys feel about Winter? I there anything you look forward to, or maybe things you really hate about it? What're your guy's favorite seasons?



Anyway thanks a lot!
-Anna