Learn English, or else...!

According to the following article, in Amercia, the LPGA(=Ladies Professional Golf association) is tepping up the requirements for English ability! Bascially, "If you can`t speak English, go home." There are many foreign players in the LPGA tour, and recently communicating in English during play and in interviews has been a problem. Momoko, and Ai, Sakura and Fudo all better watch out and start improving their English fast! The following is a link ot that article: http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/8490440/LPGA-requiring-players-to-learn-English#

On another topic, did you see the news about the new baby panda that was born in the zoo in Hyogo. It was soooooooooooo small!! Very cute!

Below are some more pictures from Ms. M`s India trip. I wonder if the fella leading the goat herd and the guys on the truck can speak English...

Shoes or sneakers?

Which do you prefer to wear when you go out?
I prefer sneakers or beach/sports sandals every day. But for work, or for going out for a nice dinner, I like to get dressed up and wear some stylish shoes. But for me, buying sneaks/shoes on Japan is not so easy. It is really difficult to find my size, and 29 centimeters, a size 11 in Amercia. In Japan, 27.5 centimeters is usually the max. So, I usually buy my footwear when go back to the States for a vacation. I almost always buy New Balance sneaks, because I have a wide foot, and New Balance specializes in wide sizes.
What size sneak do you wear?
What kind of shoes do you like to wear? When you go out? At work?

Olympics and India

Yesterday the curtain closed on the Olympics. The new fastest man in the world is from Jamaica, and his last name is Bolt. Do you know the meaning of the following sentences:

1. I have to bolt.
=I have to get out of here(leave) now/right away.

2. The boss bolted out of the office.
=The boss suddenly/quickly left(ran out of) the office.

3. Did you just see that lightnening bolt?

Anyway summer feels like it has passed, it is a little cooler every morning and night, and the cicadas have stopped crying/singing every morning!

Enjoy the week!

Below are photos from Ms. M`s trip to India. In the bottom picture, they look like Royalty!! Like a king and queen!!

The High Temperature in my place!!! 42 Degrees Celcius!!

Just before I left for Kyushu last week, that was the temp in my place in the morning with no airconditioning! 42 Degrees Celcius! It was like a sauna! There were puddles on the floor from my sweat!! (Is that a nice image? ;)) Thankfully, when i returned from Kyushu, it seemed like it cooled off a little in Osaka. At least the mornings and nights feel cooler. Probably after a few more weeks, and a few more rain storms, the temp will cool off in the afternoons too.

My Obon vacation was really nice and simple. I ate good food, slept a lot, drank a little too much but to counter the negative effects of the alcohol, I walked in the rice fields for about two hours every day and also went to a local hot spring for about 2 hours a day. The rice fields were everywhere I looked, all a beautiful green. Unexpectedly, it rained almost every day while I was in Kyushu. The rain is good for the rice fields and other vegtables and fruit in the farms, and good to cool off the temperature, but it wasn`t good for my barbecue!! But somehow, the barbecue managed to be a success!

Other than that, I watched a lot of the Olympics and high school baseball. It was fun and exciting, but to be honest I am a little sick of the Olympics now...It is the ONLY thing on tv...So please forgive me, but no Olympics talk today.

Also, I watched some good DVDs, but I will tell you about them next time, so look forward to it!

The Land of Ramen!

That`s where I am going for my Obon vacation. I love ramen! And Kyushu ramen is really the best! It isn`t the best/most healthy food in the world, but it is the best tasting!! Heavy and oily pork-broth soup, fatty pork, and some scallions on top! That pretty much describes Kyushu ramen!

Actually, I plan to eat very healthy and do a lot of walking in nature, and just take it easy. Also, I will watch a lot of the Olympics and the last couple of games of the Japanese High School Baseball tournament. Maybe also visit a couple of bath houses or hot springs if I am lucky.



Other than that, I want to stay out of trouble...watch some of the Olympics... Speaking of the Olympics, it`s a shame that the reigning Olympic gold medalist, Noguchi, had to withdraw from this year`s race. Many people, including me, were really looking forward to watching her run...But she injured herself, so there is nothing she can do about it. Hopefully she can recover and run again sometime in the future. But I was disappointed that there will be no "alternate runner." The Japanese Marathon assosciation should have done a better job of preparing for this situation.



But I don`t want to complain now, because from now I will depart! :) If everything goes as planned, it should be a relaxing and good time over the vacation. Talk to you when I get back!

I also love fried rice!!
And fried dumplings aren`t so bad either!!!

Stress---Rasberry Tart Cake


Yesterday I read on the net an article about stress. The survey targeted Japanese females, and asked a few questions. Question number 1, "Are you stressed now?==Do you feel stress now?"

46.2% of the women said "They are pretty stressed." 36.7% of the women said "I am very stressed." 15.3% said "Not really." And 1.8% said "Not at all...zero!"

And some of the reasons for feeling stressed were the following:



27.7% said "Human relations at the office/job/workplace.=The relationships with my peers/colleagues"

18.5% said "My job itself."

12.6% said "Romance/love"

5.9% said "Family-relative relationships"

5.5% said "Money."


How about you? What do you do to releive/release stress?
For me, exercise and going outside, spending time in Nature, always does it!


However, my image is that many women like to eat sweets or chocolate or cake when they are stressed?

Personally I like to exercise, HARD exercise!!

If you are a cake person, how about the delicious looking tart below!?

Real men cry

Just moments ago, Japanese Olympian swimmer Kitajima won the gold metal in the 100meter breast stroke, and he also broke the world record!!! He was awesome!! His swimming was so impressive!! He blew away all of the other competitors! It wasn`t even close!!
AND I WAS LUCKY because I could watch it LIVE!
And then, in his after-race interview, Kitajima was so emotional that he really could only barely manage to say a few words...He was very choked^up...He was crying. He has been under a lot of pressure over the past few months, from the Speedo swim suit-Mizuno controversey to the many comparisons to Hansen, the strong American swimmer. But he overcame it all, and today he could achieve one of his goals! It was great to watch! Thanks!

So, here`s to Kitajima!! Cheers!!!

Let the Games begin!!

Yesterday was the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics! I watched a little of it, and I was surprised~~Because there were many countries which I had never heard of before! (I was never very good at geography, and I have a terrible sense of direction too...) Actually, some of thew events already started a day or two before the opening ceremony. For example, both the men`s and women`s Japanese Soccer teams already played. The women`s team came back from 2 goals behind to get a draw versus New Zealand. The men`s team were not so fortunate, and lost a crucial match versus America 1-0. America is strong :)
I will be glued to the tv every night watching the highlights of these Olympics! For about 2 weeks, there is a lot to watch on tv...I am busy!!!

After the Olympics, when I have more free time, I want to cool off and go white water rafting! It looks fun!!!

How about some vanilla ice cream with that Shortcake!!

Most Japanese people can NOT pronounce "Vanilla" correctly. Most people say "Ba-nilla," but this is incorrect!!! Can you pronounce "vanilla" correctly?

Please check out the "comments" for Ms. e`s answer to the shortcake question.

Shortcake?

"Why is shortcake called short?" Ms. Mai asked me. She added, "I don`t think that shortcake is very short at all..."
Mai`s question is brilliant! I don`t know why or when or how she thought of such a thing, but she is correct! Why do we call short cake "short"? I tried to find the answer by looking up the word on Wikipedia, a very useful English Internet dictionary, but in the definition, no where idd it mention why it is called "short." Does anyone know the answer? If you do, please let me know, because Mai is dieing to know the answer!!!
In Japan, people say "Fried Potatos." But this is one of the many Japanese-English words. In America, we say "French Fries." After 911, some people referred to the below dish as "American fries," because of some trouble between the French and America, but that was only a phase. After a little while, everyone began calling the below dish "French Fries." But why do we use the word "French"? Was this dish invented in France? Did it originate in France?

The above is today`s food for thought. Enjoy the evening!

Korean Food is good for stamina in the summer!!!

Last night I ate Korean food. I went to a new restaurant which my friend just opened! I ate grilled pork wrapped in a variety of really fresh vegetables! It was my first time to try such Korean food, and I liked it! And today, I feel POWERFUL! :)

I am happy because I like high school baseball and the National High School Baseball tournament, held right around the corner from me at Koshien Stadium, began on Saturday. I am psyched to watch the highlights every night when I get home!

Speaking of Koshien, a high school and pro baseball legend of Japan, Kiyohara, from PL Gakuen High school, a baseball powerhouse which cranks out superstars every year, announced his retirement at the end of this season yesterday. He injured his knee and has been doing rehabilitation for a while now. Tonight he will play in his first game in a very long time...I hope he hits a home run!!

To change the topic, the other day when I was hiking, I saw two snakes!!! Some Japanese people say that to see a snake is good luck...In America, we do NOT say that, BUT...I hope so!!