Ryanair

I travelled to Ireland from Thursday to Saturday. It was really an enjoyable trip. I joined some guided tours and had no problem understanding Irish English. The best food I had in Dublin was oysters. I like raw oysters, however I’ve never tried it in Manchester because I didn’t think it was fresh enough to eat raw. I really enjoyed tasting it with Guinness beer which is a good match. I’m not a big beer fan however I visited Guinness Store House which is the most popular sightseeing spot in Dublin. After having a good time in Dublin, I headed to the airport. I had no problems until the last moment. After passing the security check at the airport, I still had time until departure so I tried to spend all of my euro cash. When I bought an item at the shop, I was asked to show my boarding pass. The shop keeper scanned the boarding pass and said nothing about my boarding time. Anyway it was close to my departure so I rushed to the gate. Unexpectedly, the shop was quite far away from the gate and I started to feel nervous. When I arrived at the gate, there were nobody and I saw the sign ‘CLOSED’ at the gate. I was devastated but I could still see my airplane door opened with stairs over the window. So I rushed to the other gate where another Ryanair flight flies. I told the staff, “I fly to Manchester but the gate is closed.” Her answer was, “The gate is closed and I can do nothing for you. You need to go back to the Ryanair service counter and book another flight. There’s no Manchester flight today but there is a Liverpool flight at 11pm.”
I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I was just walking around the gate and noticed a man approaching the gate and showed the same shock as me. He also went to talk to the same Ryanair staff but she repeated the same thing to him as well. The man shouted, “Ryanair is the worst airline in the world!” To be honest, I felt the same way but couldn’t say it out loud so I was glad that the man showed his anger to the staff. Anyway the staff was helpless and if I stayed there any longer, I would have missed the Liverpool flight as well, because the planes tend to fly earlier than departing time.
So I headed to the service counter which was located outside of security check. This meant that I needed to pass from the opposite direction. The security staff guided me to get back to the service counter. It was embarrassing. The officer told me, “Don’t worry this kind of thing happens a lot, especially with Ryanair.” I went to the service counter and the staff asked me to pay €110.00 per person from Dublin to Liverpool. My original return tickets only cost ￡135.96 for two people. An extra €220.00 for one way sounds really expensive. I suspect Ryanair may do this on purpose. They are a low cost budget airline however, if people couldn’t follow their priorities, eventually it becomes the most expensive airline.

Continuing Leaving Procedures

After 30 people came to check my place, finally someone took it. My estate agency won’t bother me by viewing my place anymore.
I started to make phone calls to the water company, electricity company, internet provider, TV license and council tax to inform them about my leaving. I also tried to find someone who can use my items such as bookshelves, a music keyboard, a microwave, a desk, a printer and so on. Some of them were taken by my friends, and my English teacher gave me information on how to donate useful items for a certain organization. I will arrange this.
I try to meet up with my friends in Manchester however I found out that two of my friends are on holiday and won’t be back until the end of September. So I can’t see them before I leave. I also try to meet up with my friend who is living in Italy. However she has made plans to visit Japan so we couldn’t make plans to meet up. Now I have booked a trip to Ireland instead where I always wanted to visit.
The day I am leaving Manchester is confirmed to be on 21st September, which is in less than three weeks. I have some good friends in Manchester and the fact that I have to leave breaks my heart.

Japanese Food

I have a friend from my choir. She is British and my parent’s age. She took me and my husband to many National Trust places as she is a volunteer gardener at one of the National Trust places. Therefore she can visit for free with two companions. My husband and I really had a good time visiting National Trust places like Tatton Park, Dunham Massy and so on. She also took us to Buxton for the concert that our former conductor of the chorus performs as a solo baritone singer. She knows a lot about music, British history and gardens and is fantastic company to have on a day out together.
I wanted to do something for her to show how much I appreciated her kindness so I invited her to my place for a Japanese lunch. My friend loved my idea and she said, “My taste-buds are already tingling!” This sounds fancy but what shall I cook for her? Japanese restaurants in Manchester serve Sushi and Teriyaki Salmon as typical Japanese meals, however Japanese people don’t eat Sushi much. In addition, I never heard of Teriyaki Salmon before coming to Manchester.
Authentic Japanese food is a bit different from the image British people have, I assume. Anyway my friend doesn’t like seafood so it’s a bit difficult to find something good for her. I remember an article written about popular Japanese food among British people. It said, “Oyako-don is chicken and onions with egg cooked with special sauce served on top of a bowl of rice. This is popular for British people trying something other than sushi.” So I chose to cook this and I also made miso-soup, Hiyayakko which is a chilled tofu and a salad with wasabi seasoning. My friend really enjoyed all of them except the Tofu. She said, “I was very impressed by all the different delicious dishes you made, and it feels very good to have had a real 'taste of Japan'.” I’m very happy to hear this. I’m also happy to know that I could do something for her.

My stay in Manchester

Time flies and I’ve been staying in Manchester for four years and two months. Finally, my husband got a job in US and we are leaving in September. I started my leaving procedures, at first; I went to my estate agency and notified them about my leaving as the cancellation should be mentioned one month prior to leaving. Just after I mentioned about my leaving, the estate agency put my apartment on their web site and people started to come to view my place.
On the first day, I wasn’t sure what kind of people would come so I was a bit scared. However, people were nice and they greeted me and said “thank you” when leaving. I started to enjoy letting people view my place for a while. However, on the second day, 12 groups came to check my place. Each of them came in five minutes and I became totally fed up of answering the interphone and opening my door. The thing which annoys me the most is that some people don’t request the type of room I live in, but they also came. It means the agency staff waste their customer’s time and also my time. I understand it is a busy season where many people look for places to live, and the agency is busy, however they kept calling me and asking me to stay home for this hopeless viewing. On Friday, the agency asked me to stay at home on Monday. I told them I’m available after 5pm. Then he rang me again and told me about some re-arrangements. “No Monday viewing but 10am and some other viewing on Tuesday.” On Monday, the agency rang me again and told me, “10am and 2pm on Tuesday” and he said, “See you tomorrow”. However he came to my place at 5pm on Monday and said, “You told me you’re available after 5pm on Monday.”
It is said, Japanese can’t say “No” in general but now I can say “No” if it’s necessary. So I told him, “You said there’s no viewing on Monday so I can’t let you show my place now.” Then he said “OK, bye.” and left.
On Tuesday, a different staff member came. This time, he came with five people at once and finished the viewing within ten minutes. They came on 2 occasions at 10am and 2pm. So I didn’t have to answer the interphone and open the door repeatedly. It’s much less stressful for me. However this endless viewing will continue. Now I notice that my place isn’t as popular although I’ve been living here for four years!

BBC Proms

The Royal Albert Hall is very beautiful and the music was fantastic!

A Riot

A riot occurred in Manchester last Tuesday. It is said, it was the worst day in Manchester in 30 years. On the evening, my Japanese class was canceled and many shops were closed earlier than usual. Many police officers were patrolling to prevent the riot however, it still happened. It was shocking.
In Japan the riots were broadcasted as riots in the UK, so my friends and families were unaware of the situation in Manchester. So I received some emails from them to make sure I am okay. Now things seem sorted out although many window glasses from shops are still broken.

Oh No!

For the security reason, the language institution will be closed this evening and my Japanese class will also be canceled. Hope nothing serious will be happening in Manchester.

Holiday in Poland

I have been to Krakow, Poland from 27th to 31st July. The reason to choose the place is simple. My husband and my friends were planning to travel to Krakow and asked us to visit there together. We have traveled to Paris, Amsterdam and some other places in the UK before with them and had a good time. So it’s a perfect opportunity for us to take a holiday. Although Auschwitz is not a pleasant place for Polish people, it is my first priority to visit there in Poland. I was also interested in Wieliczka Salt Mines and visiting other historical places like castles and churches.
On the first day that we arrived, it was raining so we went to a church. I’m not a religious person but I like to visit churches because each of them has different atmospheres and makes me feel spiritual. The church in Krakow has a very high blue ceiling and so much gold is used for decoration. It also has some stories from the Bible shown on the walls.



On the second day, it was a fine day so we went to a castle on the hill. In the castle we saw many armors and weapons, which told us the battle field history. After that we enjoyed walking around. The city is surrounded by a park so it is lovely to have a walk there.



On the third day, my husband and I went to Auschwitz while our friends joined the “Communist Tour”. The tour sounded interesting to us but I didn’t want to miss my first priority so we split into two pairs during the daytime and met for dinner. Before my visit to Auschwitz, I’d already watched a film called “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”, so the landscape was familiar in some aspects. However it was very special to visit there and to listen to the story from the tour guide lady.



On the last day, we went to Wieliczka Salt Mines together. In the salt mines, there are a lot of sculptures made of salt rock. In the main hall, the floor and chandelier crystals were also made of salt rock. In olden times, salt was very expensive so Polish people could build castles using the money earned from salt mines. However, it became much simpler to get salt and nowadays people can walk on floors made of salt rock. People can even have a wedding ceremony in the main hall, although it’s still expensive.




Hotel staff is very helpful and speak good English. The food is delicious and public transport is punctual. In addition, all of these are cheaper than in the UK.

Hot Pot

In Manchester, I can enjoy having hot pot in July. Unbelievable!

Japanese Level 1

I’ve started to teach a Japanese Level 1 class since last week. Before this job offer, I experienced teaching Japanese at the International Society. As the institution’s name suggests, all of my students were non-English native speakers. However this time, I teach at a local language institution so all my students are British. Among non-native speakers, speaking English is rather relaxing. However it’s a bit hard for me to speak English in front of British people as a teacher.
I started to explain with how to introduce your name in Japanese. I explained it as usual and said, “As the characteristic of Japanese grammar, the verb comes last. So, you say Watashi wa Eriko desu, and Watashi refers to ‘I’. Wa is a topic marker and desu refers to the be-verb.” However, the students seemed to not understand what I said and asked me, “desu refers to ‘am’?” So I said, “Yes, desu refers to ‘am’ and other be-verbs.” After the class, I noticed that English native speakers do not refer to them as the be-verb. It’s the word for non-native speakers to understand English grammar. This week I found out that the word “copula” in the textbook refers to the b-verb, however my students said “Never heard of it.” Finally they said, “the be-verb make sense, no problem.”

A Music Concert

Last Friday, I went to a music concert held in Victoria Baths. My friend from the chorus always finds interesting concerts and introduces them to me. Victoria Baths opened in 1960 and was used until 1993 for swimming pools, Turkish Baths, laundry and so on. These days the facility doesn’t work as it used to and is just open for tourists. The place was used for a music concert. There is no water in the swimming pool and instead they put in a piano and other instruments. Musicians play instruments or sing songs. The place used to be a swimming pool or bath, so the sound echo is great and it is very interesting. The baths used to be used for female pool, male pool, male second class pool, and so on. However, on the concert day each pool was used for different music performances. Around 150 musicians gathered for the performance and some performances were played at the same time in different spaces. So I had to choose which one I should listen to. I don’t know much about music so I usually rely on my friend who is a piano instructor, and has joined two or three chorus. However she always asks me for my favorite and I found out a Japanese composer’s name Toru Takemitsu on the program. It was my first time to listen to his music live. I thought modern music is beyond my understanding however it sounded very nice. I feel some European instruments sound like Japanese traditional instruments, for example, the harp sounds like the Koto and the oboe sounds like the Shakuhachi. Therefore, I enjoy listening to it very much.

A New Job Offer

I got a job offer from a language institution to teach a Japanese beginner’s class. My Chinese friend who taught Chinese in Manchester introduced me to the institution a year ago and I got the job interview and passed it then. Since then, the institution hasn’t had enough students to study Japanese. The minimum number of students to open the class is four. This summer term, there are five students and I finally got the job offer from there. At the moment I teach one-to-one with a private student. It’s very efficient for some levels of students, however I think it’s very good to join group lessons for beginners. Sometimes studying another language is just like mathematics. You can find your formula and control the language. Nowadays I don’t think Japanese is very difficult. It’s quite unique and different. It’s like using chopsticks. For Japanese people, we learnt how to use it since we were young so it was very difficult. We still remember how difficult it is for beginners however for adults it may not be so difficult.

You know who

I got a postal mail with this stamp. There is no sender's information. To be honest, I was a bit scared to open the envelope.



Actually it was a letter from my English teacher and it's not surprising that people do not write on their address as a sender in UK. In Japan, it's quite normal to be written sender's name and address. So if it's not written, I think whether the sender forgot to write or on purpose. Anyway I'm happy to know this letter is harmless.

The Royal Wedding

They are beautiful! I bought their stamps:)

A photo walk

I joined a photo walk. Most of photo walkers have proper cameras and I was hesitated to join it.





When I took this photo, a lady told me that "Men used to play crickets in the field and women picked up daisies and made a crown, a bracelet and a necklace." It was lovely to see beautiful sights, take photos and chat with friendly people. I really had good time although my photos need more practices.

Magnolia

My favorite flowers:

York

Finally I went to York on Sunday.

Comic Relief

Comic Relief is a charity which was founded in UK in 1985. The typical difference from the other charities is that people do something funny to collect money.
I bought a music CD for Comic Relief. A popular singer, Susan Boyle and a popular comedian, Peter Kay (as Gereldine McQueen) sing a song together. This charity cares Japanese earthquake disaster as well.

An electronic Dictionary

My favorite electronic dictionary was poorly broken:'(



The problem is that I cannot buy it here in UK but I need it. Even though the joint part was broken, there is no problem on software so I keep using it however it is not comfortable to carry something half broken. Finally I decided to ask my father to send a new electronic dictionary for me. My friend told me that she was required to pay tax to receive a delivered electronic dictionary even though she bought it and use it for herself. The reasons were it was a new product and sent by her brother so it was regarded as a gift and charged tax. To avoid this situation, I asked my father to rip off all packages and price tags before sending and wrote my name as a sender. I've been crossing my fingers to be able to get it without problem. Today, the package was delivered without tax claim letter. Yes, we made it!

Harrods

My friend asked me “Is the memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Al-Fayed, located in the Harrods still there after the owner of the department store had changed?” To tell you the truth, I didn’t even know there is the memorial however I had a chance to go to London on Monday so I dropped by. There is still there:



I also wanted to get the collaboration item “Hello Kitty and Harrods”. I checked it on web site and liked it however the actual item seemed very cheap. Well it costs around 8pounds so it’s not expensive but I can find better quality purse at 100 yen shop in Japan. Anyway I can’t come to London often so I decided to buy it. On the next day I was a bit hesitated to use it because it’s for kids and people may think I’m childish. However the clerk at the shop saw my purse and said, “I like your purse.” Now I enjoy using my new purse.

Hiking

Although it was not warm enough for an ideal hiking day, I enjoyed walking around a lake in a park.

Shopping at Market

Recently I enjoy shopping at Market. The main reason is that I can buy fresh foods. Once I buy fish at fish market, I can’t return to buy them at supermarket any more. In addition, I can buy vegetables from Asian countries which I can’t find at supermarket. Yesterday I went to Market and checked eggs before buying. Sometimes eggs are cracked in a carton box so I always open it and check them. During my careful checking, a man in the shop talked to me, "All packages have 6 eggs each, you can't find seven or eight, love." I laughed and bought one package and then he pointed the other package and said, "If you chose this one, this package has eight eggs in."