My new blog☆

This class will finish soon. But I want to continue my blog to improve my English and talk with you from now on. So I started my own blog "Kumi-Gumi". I will write in my dairy or things that happened to me. Please come to my blog and comment without reserve! Here is the link.

Japanese eating manners☆

There are many differences between Japanese culture and American culture. One of them is food culture. I think food culture has close relations to our daily life. Japanese have traditional customs peculiar to Japan in eating. You would not know about it so much. So I will tell you our food habits.


As you know, we eat meals with "chopsticks". It is a typical Japanese custom. But do you know how to use chopsticks? Have you ever used them? When I was child, I used to be said about how to use chopsticks by my parents that we grip one chopstick as we grip pencils when we use chopsticks. Next, we put another chopstick into the circle with the thumb and forefinger. And we put it between the second finger and ring finger. You can understand them well in this youtube video !(But this video may be too funny...) http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=RF7i0Rg7HVA
Then there are some bad manners with using chopsticks. They are called "Kiraibashi（嫌い箸）". For example, we must not stick chopsticks in rice or foods. It is called Sashibashi(さし箸) in Japanese. We stand chopsticks up a rice offering when we put it on Buddhist altar. Therefore it is not good manner for Japanese. And we must not pass foods from chopsticks to chopsticks. This manner is called Hashiwatashi（箸渡し） in Japanese. Survivors pick up bones of dead people and pass them with chopsticks. So we had better not do so. Besides it is common rule in Japan to raise rice bowls or other dishes when we eat something. And it is important for workers to pour alcoholic drink for seniors at the drinking party. There are many many strict rules at meals in Japan !!


So Japanese have to be careful during meals. But recently there are many people who can't use chopsticks well or don't know such eating manners. I think recent parents don't teach them to their children. Anyway I feel envious of American dinners because you have them happily talking with your family. In Japan (only in my home?) many families have dinner watching TV !! So there are not much conversation. (つω-`*)

My happy life☆

I will tell you about "my daily life". I live in Yamanashi by myself. I have a club activity and two part time jobs. There is both busy days and free days in my daily life. I think my daily life in Japan is different from one in America. So I introduce my daily life in Yamanashi.


I have sixteen classes at the second semester in a week. A period is ninety minutes long in our university. I have at most four classes in a day. I am especially busy on Tuesday and Wednesday. I must go to school by 8:45 AM on Tuesday because I have one period only on Tuesday. It is very very cold in this season, so I sometimes can't get up early and go to school(^_^;). The second period finishes at 12:00 AM. The lunch time is from 0:00 PM to 1:00 PM (only one hour!!). I heard that you could have long lunch time in America. We usually buy box lunches at a convinience store or have lunch at a school canteen. And I attend third and fourth periods. The fourth period finishes at 4:15 PM. I go to a ground for the club activity after fourth period. The club activity is from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Then I usually go home about 10:00 PM after eating out with my club members. I usually go home about 10:00 PM on the day of the club activity. I can't do my homework and preparation for tomorrow's lessons on the days of the club activity. Then I have six period on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the second semester. The six period is from 6:15 PM to 7:45 PM!! Do you have any classes after 6:00 PM? So I can't have part- time jobs on weekdays. Then after the six period, I go home and cook my dinner by myself. I often try to cook because I think now is good time to improve my cooking skill.


Although I have some classes in the university, I also have free time more than in high school. But many students have club activities or part-time jobs in their free time. I think Japanase students are too busy.(>_<) I don't know what the daily lives of American college students are like. So I want to know about your daily life in the university. Please tell me about this!!

Precious experiences☆

I have two part-time jobs now. One is a temp worker, the other is a tutor. I don't have a lot of time to work because I have a six period class(from 6:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.!!) and a club activity three times a week. I am soooo busy now.（；_；） But I have to get the cost of living. So I found two part-time jobs that have high hourly wages. I will introduce them to you.


Do you know temp workers? Temp workers don't decide one place to work. I work with people who I don't know in various places every time. I often work at some wedding ceremony halls as a waitress. I decided this part-time job because I could work part-time whenever I want to do(only once a month is OK) and the hourly wage was high!! I can earn a hourly wage of 1000 yen. But the job was harder than I expected. First, wedding receptions are so formal. So I can't make any mistakes such as spilling drink over the guests, breaking dishes, forgetting the order. People who work there are very nervous. Second, the dishes used at a wedding reception are heavy. We have to carry three big dishes at a time. I always have muscular pain the following day. However there are also happy things at the job. Wedding receptions always move me. Brides are so beautiful, and a newly married couple look happy. Every time I work at the wedding reception, want to marry soon!!(*´Ｕ｀*) I put a image of two people wearing a costume of a waitress(waiter). I always wear similar clothes!! The image is by http://www.servicewear.com/item_page/ITS-AP-042.php


I have the other job as a tutor. I teach a junior high school student all subjects once a week. I can earn a hourly wage of 2000 yen!! I mainly teach English and Math because she is poor at them. When I was a junior high school student, I didn't like Math and was also poor at it. So I can understand her feeling very well!! I teach the subjects as I talk my experience. I think it's important for teaching. Then I found it was difficult to teach another person even if I understand well. So I can learn many things that I didn't know by teaching. But I teach a third grade student, that is to say she is a applicant for a high school. I am anxious whether she passes entrance examinations of high school.


Part-time jobs are hard for students. But we can find how hard it is to earn money and experience working in the society. I think the most important work for children is learning!! So we should work part-time ordinarily（＾＾；）

Two school festivals

There are two school festivals in Yamanashi university. The one is a faculty of education and the other is a faculty of medical. The reason is that two colleges are in different places. I belong to a medical rugby football team as a team secretary, so I can take part in the both festivals!! The school festivals are held only once a year. So I was very looking forward to them. Then I will introduce the each two school festivals.

First I will tell you about a medical school festival. It took place on October 26th, 27th and 28th. A most characteristic thing of the medical school festival is that the students can drink!! The students continued drinking for three days. The school festival eve was heated up the most. In the morning we had a softball meeting. (Unfortunately the meeting was called off this year because of rain. So I will tell the meeting last year.) I played a catcher in the game, and we were a runner up!! We could get some beers. In the night, the members of all club activities got together and drank at a school gymnasium. There was some events such as an uniform contest, an arm wrestling meeting, a karaoke by each club members etc. And we can talk with anyone there even people who we don't know!! We can make friends in this party. On 2nd and 3rd day, there were many boothes by each clubs. My rugby club runs a pie throwing booth every year. You choose someone in my club team members and throw a pie to their face thoroughly!! You can throw a pie once only fifty yen. Of course our club can't get a lot of money, but we enjoy it very much☆(。￫∀￩。)

I will tell you about an educational school festival next. It took place on November 2nd, 3rd and 4th. The member of International Culture sold "Agetako(あげたこ)" It is like "Takoyaki(たこやき)"(Do you know Takoyaki? Takoyakis are octopus flitters. We use flour, octopuses, leeks, red pickled gingers and water. And we mix them and grill in round shape.) but the difference is that Agetako is fried. It was hard to run the booth because we must closely consider money, places, the number of goods and so on. I was very anxious whether the foods sold. But Agetako sold well for two days. Then we sold out all Agetako and we got a lot of money than we expected!! I took a photograph with my friends wearing a T-shirts of the same design with pink color.

These two school festivals had some varieties. So I could have a really good time in each of them. These several days were my precious memories!! How about the UNH school festival? Please tell me about your school festivals★

The photograph is by http://www.pasela.co.jp/food/akiba_grandmenu/index2.html

Beautiful place,Joetsu

My home town is Joetsu city in Niigata prefecture. It lies the middle of Japan and faces the sea of Japan. I will tell you about the special products and nature and the occurrence in Niigata. I love my hometown very much!! So, I introduce how special place it is.

The special products of Niigata prefecture are rice.There are a lot of vast rice field there. "Koshihikari" is a famous brand-name rice in Japan. Sake and rice crackers are also known to people as the special products because they are made from rice.

We have heavy snow in Joetsu city every winter. The ground used to be covered with snow as much as three meters!! But thanks to snow, we can go skiing and snowboarding whenever we want. And there are beautiful sea near my house. I used to go swimming there in summer. When I return my hometown, I often go there with my friends. Here is my most favorite place in my hometown.

I had a very very sad occurrence three years ago. Niigata prefecture was hit by a strong earthquake of about magnitude seven. Nagaoka city that is the middle of Niigata was caused extensive damage. There were the heavy earthquake last year again. People in my hometown are frightened when the heavy earthquake happens again.

There are a lot of special places in my hometown. We have beautiful mountains, seas, rivers, fields etc. My hometown is a little countryside, but I love there because the place makes me calm down. If you come to Joetsu city, you can eat very delicious rice drinking sake!!

Rugby football★

Hello. I will talk about my club activities. I belong to a rugby football club team as a team secretary. Rugby football is not so popular sports in Japan. I want Japanese to know how rugby is exciting sports!!

We have the club activities three times a week. Our team players practice very hard for a league match. They play hotly in every practice. They occasionally run as much as three kilos at the end of the practice. The work of team secretary is preparing drink, timing, keeping the score, etc. I have the important part to treat the players who are hurt in a match. I often treat the players in the match because rugby football is so active sports.

The members of this club are very cheerful and funny. We are friendly and often drink together!! I really enjoy drinking with them. They always cheer me and I have a good time. Then I have a school festival soon. Our club team will run a pie throwing booth there. So I look forward to it very much.!!(*^_^*)

I put the picture of my club members. The homepage address of my club team is http://ymurfc.web.infoseek.co.jp/

My favorite things

Hello!! My name is Kumi Hosaka. Nice to meet you. I am 19 years old and a second grade student in Yamanashi university. I am majoring in International Culture. I study English hard to get an English teacher's license.


I will tell you about myself. There are seven in my family. It is my mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, sister, a dog and I. We have a toy poodle named Nana as a pet. I put the photograph of Nana!!


And I like watching sports very much. I belong to a rugby football club team as a team secretary. I like the work as a team secretary because player's effort moves me. And the rugby football match greatly excites me. We train hard for a league match. Then another my hobby is playing the piano. I have learned the piano for twelve years. Now I can't play the piano because I live by myself. It is very unhappy for me.


If you are interested in sports or music, please give me some comments. I want to talk with you. Thank you for reading. See you!!