Eriko's “Lost in translation” in Manchester

Ryanair

2011-09-14T23:52:00.001+01:00

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

2011-09-02T17:29:00.002+01:00

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

2011-08-29T19:06:00.001+01:00

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

2011-08-26T19:33:00.001+01:00

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

2011-08-24T16:46:00.001+01:00

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

A Riot

2011-08-17T15:39:00.001+01:00

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!

2011-08-09T14:39:00.003+01:00

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

2011-08-04T11:21:00.002+01:00

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

2011-07-23T22:46:00.003+01:00

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

Japanese Level 1

2011-07-15T13:17:00.001+01:00

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

2011-07-08T18:40:00.003+01:00

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

2011-06-30T18:43:00.000+01:00

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

2011-05-11T12:34:00.003+01:00

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

2011-05-03T09:07:00.002+01:00

They are beautiful! I bought their stamps:)

A photo walk

2011-04-23T22:10:00.003+01:00

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

2011-04-12T22:05:00.003+01:00

My favorite flowers:

York

2011-04-12T22:01:00.002+01:00

Finally I went to York on Sunday.

Comic Relief

2011-03-22T16:33:00.003Z

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

2011-03-01T17:11:00.005Z

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

2011-01-27T17:04:00.002Z

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

2011-01-19T23:25:00.003Z

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

Shopping at Market

2011-01-19T11:24:00.002Z

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."

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T22:17:00.001Z

I'm back in Manchester from my holidays in Paris.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T18:05:00.001Z

Annual Concert

2010-12-17T18:24:00.001Z

I have been a member of The University of Manchester Chorus for two and a half years and there was an annual concert on 5th December.
I joined the chorus with my husband so I was not alone. However, when we practice, we sit apart from one another and I take a seat in the middle of strangers. Naturally we say greetings before rehearsals start and during the rehearsals we basically are not allowed to chat so it took a long time to find a friend at the chorus. One year after joining the chorus, I now find a good friend and one of the good points about taking time to form a relationship is that, once we are friends, the relationship lasts longer. Both the Japanese and the British live in islands so I find some similarities in our personalities. People are polite and shy in general although it depends on the individual personality. Some people change their personalities after drinking too much. I feel comfortable talking with British friends.
Still there are some differences. In Japan, we normally line up on stage according to the height. It is practical and everybody needs to see the conductor on the concert day. However, here in the UK, people stand wherever they like. Even in Japan, I’m short so in the UK, I’m very short and I need to find a good place to stand on stage. Where you stand is fixed “first come first served” so I need to go to rehearsal one hour early for getting a good place to stand. It is different from how we do things in Japan but it is acceptable. Nobody cares whether I am short or tall. This could be said to be a kind of freedom!
On the day of the concert, a girl next to me asked “You’re not British, are you? ” I have been asked many different kinds of questions since I came to the UK. However, this is the weirdest question. At first I didn’t get her point so I did not answer her. She said, “I mean I’m also not British. I’m from Costa Rica.” It is very difficult for me to tell someone’s nationality if they speak very good English. Because I am not a native English speaker, I just speak English if it is necessary. However, this girl kept saying whatever she was thinking. Maybe this is one of the reasons she can speak English very well.

My journey to Seoul

2010-11-15T15:08:00.003Z

I visited South Korea on my way back to Japan. I enjoyed sightseeing and tasty foods!

British Jokes

2010-10-19T12:24:00.002+01:00

I listened to the raid and heard that "Johnny Depp had never appeared in Manchester. It was a joke."
Now I take an Academic writing class. My teacher is a retired gentleman and he said, "I'm 96 years old." None of my classmates laugh nor surprise. My friend says "it's his joke." What's the point of these jokes if no one laugh at about it?

YUZU (Japanese restaurant)

2010-10-01T18:05:00.003+01:00

I had a "Tendon" lunch at a Japanese restaurant "YUZU". The restaurant opened in August 2010. It's a new restaurant and a web site isn't ready yet but taste is very nice! This Tendon lunch costs only 5.95 pounds. I'm happy to find good quality and reasonable price Japanese restaurant in Manchester.

Filming

2010-09-24T23:19:00.003+01:00

On raid, I heard a Hollywood movie was shooting in Manchester Piccadilly. They said Johnny Depp was coming and shooting the film. So I went to the location with my camera and binocular.

Yes, they are shooting.

However it's blocked...

I could have a look of shooting location from distance however I couldn't see Johnny Depp...

Surprise!

2010-09-22T20:52:00.003+01:00

They are in a show window at DEBENHAMS. At first I thought they look so real and eventually I noticed they are human beings! Soooo cute!!!

Edinburgh

2010-09-20T23:51:00.003+01:00

Edinburgh is one of the most popular sightseeing places in UK. There are many beautiful places to see.

Edinburgh Castle

The Royal Yacht BRITANNIA

Rosslyn Chapel

TUNISIA

2010-08-31T17:15:00.005+01:00

I had wonderful summer holiday in Tunisia. There are so many beautiful places to see. I show some of them.

El-Jem

Carthage

Mosaic

mosque

Olive trees

fish market

Beach!

Foods: salad, Brik and Couscous (from left)

Liverpool

2010-08-09T09:48:00.003+01:00

I went to Liverpool and joined Liverpool F.C. stadium tour. According to Wikipedia, "Liverpool Football Club are a professional football club who play in the Premier League and are the joint most successful team in the history of English football, with no other club having won more trophies."
So the stadium tour was also very popular.

Many kids are dreaming of being a player for Liverpool F.C. They may be future premier footballers.

I also visited the museum and found our mistaken Japanese expression. Probably, it meant "Be the world best Club". It should be written 世界一のクラブに however it's written 世界が一つのクラブに and it means, "The world unite to one Club".

Dunham Massey

2010-08-04T22:56:00.004+01:00

I visited Dunham Massey today. Unfortunately it was a typical British rainy day however hydrangea was lovely under rain.

I love English garden because I see many pretty flowers.

Deer are very peaceful here.

I luckily saw Peter Rabbit!

1Q85?

2010-07-20T16:46:00.002+01:00

I finished to read 1Q84 Book3. I was wondering whether Book4 would be published or not so I searched website and found interesting comment. Some people say, "Book3 describes from October to December, so if Haruki keeps writing the story, the title may be 1Q85 in Book4?" So some others say, "Probably, the Book4 would describe in the past. Book1 starts from April so Book4 would be from January to March but not after Book3 but before Book1." Well, we'll see.

Twilight Eclipse

2010-07-15T10:06:00.003+01:00

A vampire and a human love romance is very popular in UK. It started in cinema from 9th July. The showing schedule is amazing at ODEON, the biggest cinema in citycentre, they show it at 12:30, 13:00, 14:00, 14:15, 14:30, 15:00, 15:30, 16:00, 16:30, 17:00, 17:15, 17:30, 18:00, 18:30, 19:00, 19:30, 20:00, 20:15, 20:30, 21:00, 21:15, 21:30, 22:00, twenty-three times in one day!
Before the film starts, we need to watch boring commercials and some trailers. Until the film started, people were eating snacks, chatting with friends and it was very noisy. However once the film started, it was very quiet and people were concentrated on watching it. I felt many people were addicted to the film and I'm definitely one of them.

1Q84

2010-07-12T18:49:00.003+01:00

I borrowed "1Q84" from my friend. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Haruki Murakami however I really enjoyed reading this. There are some particular attractive facts. One of them is music. My friend from Manchester Chorus let me listen Janacek's Sinfonietta as her favorite. In this book the music is described as a hard to notice as it is. Thanks to this book, nowadays many Japanese recognized it but thanks to my British friend, I knew Sinfonietta before reading the book.

The other fact is one of character's name is Eriko. It's common name and I found my name in some different books. I don't know the reason but usually the character named Eriko is not normal. If you read "1Q84", it's obvious. As another example I add Eriko in "Kitchen" written by Banana Yoshimoto.
I assume the main reason that I enjoyed reading Haruki's novel is that now I'm getting used to his writing style. In this book, one person said, "If you need some explanation, it means you wouldn't understand it with explanation." Hum, tricky isn't it?

LEGOLAND

2010-07-10T23:03:00.003+01:00

Many of landmark building in Manchester are made with LEGO blocks.

The Cloud

2010-06-30T19:16:00.003+01:00

This is the hottest and the most beautiful summer in this three years. My friend took my husband and me to such a beautiful place called The Cloud.

World Cup 2010

2010-06-30T18:41:00.003+01:00

On Sunday I went to Chester with a group of friends. The World Cup match for England vs Germany was held the same day. I saw some people who are ready for supporting England.

All pubs were crowded with England supporters. One of our friends brought his radio and updated the match for all of us. Everybody knew England has many good players however they lost the game. On TV, people analyze the reason and blame about the misjudged goal.
To tell you the truth, I was not so much interested in World Cup when it started. I didn't watch the match even Japan vs Cameroon. It didn't mean I didn't support Japanese team but I was afraid to watch Japanese team lost. However after the victory to Cameroon I started to watch and couldn't stop watching it. Even they lost, the match was fantastic. I really enjoyed watching Japanese games.

Happy Reunion

2010-06-22T11:08:00.003+01:00

My friend emailed me and told about her business trip to Liverpool. It takes about an hour by train from Liverpool to Manchester so I was very excited to see her. Although her stay was only four days, she could make to come to Manchester! It was happy reunion.

Little Moreton Hall

2010-06-16T22:21:00.002+01:00

Is this house strained?

Yes, there is crack in the house.

Windows are also curved. It's amazing that this house is well preserved for many years.

Summer has come!

2010-06-04T12:28:00.002+01:00

Summer in UK is really beautiful.

Great Manchester Run

2010-05-30T22:59:00.003+01:00

On 16th May, I waited my bus with my friend however there was no bus coming. A boy told us "there's no bus today due to the event." and I remember Great Manchester Run was held on the day. We had no choice and walked to the museum. On our way back, I saw 150m competition and Ms. Jessica Ennis joined it. She is the current world pentathlon and heptathlon champion. I just watched her documentary program on BBC so I was very excited to see her running!

England vs Japan

2010-05-30T22:32:00.002+01:00

I enjoyed watching a football match England vs Japan on TV. I've been in Manchester for three years and now I can recognize more English footballer than Japanese ones. However I support Japanese team. I also enjoyed brand new flavor "Japanese Teriyaki Chicken" crisps.

I Lost My Wallet.

2010-05-11T01:43:00.001+01:00

It was very unlucky day today. I lost my wallet and I don’t know how and when. It wasn’t a small lady’s purse so if I drop it, I would notice it.
The last time I used my wallet was at cafe. I paid my cuppa and put it back to my backpack. When I seated at cafe, I put my backpack behind my seat and covered it with my coat. My friend seated in front of me and she didn’t recognize any one came close to my behind. After we left the cafe, we went to a drug store and I noticed my wallet was lost. My friend and I went back to the cafe and asked the staff and customer service however there was no information.
Even in Japan, once you lost your wallet there is few possibility of returning. Things that I lost are difficult to get back but I can minimize my damage. So I went back home quickly and started calling to stop my credit card functions. Fortunately my husband insured all our credit cards to “Card Guard” so I called the office. For identifying me, I needed to tell my address, date of birth and even my mother’s maiden name. They also required full credit card number. However how can I tell full credit card number if I lost it? Even the document sheet which the insurance company sent to me, four digit number is blanked for the security reason. I didn’t copy credit card numbers however I could tell them sort code and account number of my bank. The service woman said “we can block your card and re-issue it for you.”
I lost my Japanese credit card as well so I called to Japan. Their service is 24hours and fantastic customer service. It was easy to stop the function however it would be difficult to re-start it. I need to ask my family to go to bank for me to complete the procedure for me.
An hour later I got a phone call from “Card Guard” and he said he couldn’t find my credit card information. After another two hours another staff called me and said he still can’t find my credit card information and he just let me know the telephone number of my bank and asked me to make a phone call by myself. I could have done it earlier but they said “we can guard your cards” so I didn’t call my bank. Anyway I did it and they could immediately stop the credit and debit functions and started re-issue procedures. I simply wasted three hours with the insurance company.
The last thing I need to re-issue is UK driver’s license. I don’t drive car in UK but I use this as my ID in Europe. My address and residence can’t be proved with my Japanese passport but UK driver’s license. Fortunately there is online re-issue form. Although I need to pay 20 pounds, my driver’s licence will be re-issued.

MUSASHI

2010-05-07T10:04:00.004+01:00

I went to London to watch MUSASHI.

I thought 90% of audience would be Japanese but actually 30 or 40% of audience were non-Japanese. There was projectors on both sides of the stage and showed English subtitles however it was hard to read and watch the show at once.

This is typical polite Japanese vowing.

I'm happy to watch Japanese play in London. To tell you the truth, I'd already watched this show by DVD however watching it as live at the theater was wonderful experience!

Airplane Track

2010-04-23T11:25:00.003+01:00

I see some airplane tracks in the sky. Now the Manchester airport seems to be getting back to normal.

Japanese-Style Glass Top Coffee Table

2010-04-21T21:21:00.002+01:00

bizarre

Ash from Volcano-2

2010-04-19T20:02:00.001+01:00

My boss came back to Manchester on Saturday from Amsterdam. He was supposed to come back on Thursday however because of ash from volcano his flight was canceled. When he got on an airplane in Japan, nothing had happened. After taking off, he heard the announcement about volcanic explosion in the airplane. It said, “we’re landing Amsterdam without problem however all connected flight will be canceled due to volcanic explosion in Iceland.” At first he thought he would be able to fly next day so he stayed in Amsterdam. However on the next day the situation didn’t change any better. Luckily he has many friends in Europe because of his work. One of his business partners was planning to move from Czech to London by car so he got on a taxi and moved to Brussels to get on his friend’s car there however his taxi was not fast enough to catch up his friend. His friend had already booked train ticket for his car so he couldn’t wait my boss. My boss gave up coming back to UK with him and stayed another night in Brussels. From Brussels, there were still available Euro star tickets for business class so he bought it and somehow came back to Manchester. He spend 600-700 euro for taxi, hotel and train fee. These are not refundable. His luggage from Japan is still trapped in Amsterdam. Even so he is very happy coming back to Manchester anyway.
Manchester airport is still closed. I really wish my friends will come back to Manchester ASAP without spending extra fee.

Ash from a Volcano

2010-04-16T14:55:00.003+01:00

So far it's nice weather and I see no ash from a volcano in the sky. It takes only 20minutes by train from my place to the Manchester airport however the airport has been closed and my boss has been trapped in Amsterdam. He isn't sure when he can come back to Manchester.

stuck in working....

2010-04-12T12:26:00.002+01:00

Now I'm re-writing my report. Actually I'm trying to re-write my report however there is no progress so far. The problem is that in case I re-write my original report, it would be much easier. My boss modified my report and got some comments from our client and then he just forwarded the comments to me and I have to answer them. It's not fair. I'm struggling to manage my current work...

North Wales

2010-04-12T11:48:00.003+01:00

I visited Conwy castle in North Wales. It takes 2 hours train trip from Manchester and the atmosphere is very different. The castle was completed in 1287. Fantastic!

Amsterdam

2010-04-06T22:41:00.001+01:00

I had a good time in Amsterdam.

MUSASHI

2010-03-30T19:03:00.002+01:00

MUSASHI comes to LONDON in May!!
I booked the ticket for the play, reserved train and hotel. In the Barbican theater in London, stall seats are still available however I wasn't sure how many British people comes to see this play. If a British person took a seat in front of me, I may not have a good vision so I decided to buy the first row ticket in circle seats. Tickets for theater are usually cheaper than Japan. I pay 35pounds for my seat and the best seat costs 40pounds. Round train tickets between Manchester and London costs 33pounds. They are reasonable price however staying at hotel costs 110 pounds.... Oh it's expensive. The play will be finished at around 11pm so I have no choice. Anyway, I can't wait to see them!

Easter Holiday

2010-03-30T18:57:00.001+01:00

It’s an Easter holiday from 2nd April to 5th April. My husband and I are planning to travel somewhere in Europe with our friends. It’s difficult to find a good place for everybody because each one of us has different tastes. Our first possible destination was Florence in Italy. I travelled Venice last year so my friends asked about my impression of travelling in Italy. I said, “As everybody says, Venice is a wonderful place however if I would tell my personal opinion, I expected too much there and wasn’t impressed like everybody else.” It was the first time for me to visit Venice but was the second time for my husband. Before our visit, he explained the place as “a wonderful place and I can’t believe it still exist in real world.” So I expected “fairyland”! Although it was a very beautiful place I could see it as one of beautiful places in our planet. After telling this story, all my friends started to say:
“Hey Eriko you know Florence isn’t impressive.”
“Yes, Florence stinks.”
Some weeks later, despite this discussion eventually our destination was fixed to Amsterdam.

Alice in Wonderland

2010-03-22T14:25:00.003Z

I watched "Alice in Wonderland" 3D film on Wednesday. It was good and interesting for me. One of my friends told me he loved the original story so he couldn't have enjoyed watching it. I didn't read the whole story so I bought the book for better understanding.
On Sunday I went to Speke Hall in Liverpool. They had an event of "Join the Mad Hatter for a Tea Party." They are pretty!

Roses

2010-03-18T11:18:00.002Z

Lovely!

Season of Farewell

2010-03-16T18:23:00.003Z

March is a season of farewell. The other day I cooked British style(?) Japanese food for my friends. Hum, this looks just lots of prawns....

Left is Yakisoba and right is Chirashi-sushi. Well I used British mayonnaise for my Chirashi-sushi surprisingly the taste really matched! Now I like English mayonnaise than Japanese mayo. As a party meal, I also cooked Tonkatsu (fried pork cutlet) and Karaage (fried chicken) however they were gone before becoming cool enough to be taken photo.

Winter Olympics

2010-03-02T12:34:00.002Z

My British friend who lives in Japan tells me “I’m surprised to know all teachers and students in my school watch Winter Olympic Games.”
I want to say “I AM surprised that many British people do not care about Winter Olympics.”
I managed to record live Men and Ladies Figure Skating however I couldn’t watch Figure Skating Exhibition Gala. Actually BBC didn’t broadcast it instead they broadcast Curling Match. I didn’t complain about broadcasting Curling Match but I was not happy because they broadcast the same Curling Match in two channels. BBC had extra channels for broadcasting some competitions at one time during Olympic Games. I thought it is very good idea. However if they broadcast the same program on the extra channel, it was just useless. I was wondering why they didn’t use one for Curling and the other one for Figure Skating Exhibition.

Talk Past Each Other

2010-02-26T12:50:00.001Z

I chatted with my English teacher and Italian friend about football. My English teacher said “City lost yesterday”, I said “Yes, I watched TV last night and Milan won.” then my Italian friend said “Yes, I was happy AC Milan won Manchester.”....

Actually my English teacher meant:
“Manchester City lost the match with Stoke.”
I watched the match “International Milan versus Chelsea”
My Italian friend mentioned:
“AC Milan won the match with Manchester United last week.”

All of us mentioned about different matches. I thought my Italian friend would be happy to hear that International Milan’s victory but she was a supporter of AC Milan so the victory of the rival team in the same area was rather bad news for her.

Surprise Prize

2010-02-23T18:22:00.004Z

I won a prize and got a DVD called "Tokyo Sonata". I watched it on TV with English subtitles and thought this would be a good material for getting to know real Japanese family and society. Although Kyoko Koizumi is too pretty to be an ordinary mother, recession in recent years and fragile family bond are well described. I wanted to share this DVD with my friends who are interested in Japanese language and culture. However in the DVD I received the English subtitles are not available ... Anyway I'm happy to win a prize.

Good Luck to my Friend

2010-02-23T00:09:00.002Z

One of my friends, K decided to go back her country and would take a bar exam. K is taking the first exam in February and will take the second one in June. My other Japanese friend, M is planning to go back to Japan in April. K said if she failed the first exam, she would come back to Manchester in March and see M again. M and I were wishing to see K again but also wishing her pass the exam. We were complicated situation and did not know what to say to K. Before her leaving, she sent email to us and told which airline she would get on. M and I were thinking about going to the Manchester airport to see her off however we did not want to bother her to fix time for meet up on her departing day. Eventually we decided to go to the airport without appointment. We searched website and checked her possible flight and estimated her arriving time at the airport.

On our way to the airport M asked me “By the way do you know which Terminal, K would take off?” My answer was “I’ll check it at the airport.” Although we were not sure whether we would find K at the airport or not, I was optimistic. After we checked the Terminal number and headed to the check-in counter, I found K’s husband in the crowd. I said “I can see her husband.” And M replied “I see him holding someone’s hand, it must be K.” YES, it was K! At first K did not understand what we were doing at the airport. After she knew we came for her, she looked so happy. At the moment I was sure that I will see her again somewhere someday in the future.

Ponyo

2010-02-22T19:11:00.000Z

At last Ponyo, 崖の上のポニョarrived in UK. I’ve been waiting it since April last year. According to Wikipedia, it was on a show in Europe on April 2009. My friends told me they watched it in Paris last year with French subtitles however the film didn’t come to UK. I was wondering for a while and recently almost forgetting then suddenly it was on the show last weekend. I checked three cinemas in Manchester city centre and knew that all shows are English-dubbed version. My Japanese friend complained why do we have to watch a Japanese anime in English? Anyway I’ve been waiting for long so I went to watch the film. As it was said, it was a nice but not as good as the other Miyazaki’s works like “Spirited Away”. Although he drew the characters not fine on purpose, I expected something more. Some scenes and characters were described very fine but some were not, so I felt they could create better work but they just didn’t.
I should mention about songs. Even it was an English-dubbed version, opening tune was the original one and I heard Japanese lyrics. On the other hand, the title tune was dubbed. A girl who sang the original title tune was actually out of tune however she was pretty and popular in Japan. I assume this kind of cutie wouldn’t be accepted by Hollywood. The actors and actresses for voice over were Matt Damon, Liam Neeson and Cate Blanchett so I actually enjoyed watching English dubbed one very much.

Chinese New Year!

2010-02-15T11:09:00.004Z

I went to China town for celebrating Chinese New Year -- which this year coincides with Valentine's Day.
To tell the truth, I went there to have some food sampling. I didn't get free foods there but I enjoyed fire works and the atmosphere. I thought China town would be packed with Asian people but there were many non-Asian people as well.

Some rides for kids were also available.

The Olympics

2010-02-13T23:17:00.000Z

I caught the Olympics Opening ceremony on the TV and athletes from Georgia, Ghana and India came into the stadium. I thought Japan would come soon so I kept watching however after Ireland, Norway came in! Wasn’t this alphabetical order? After a while I noticed this TV program was a digest version and it was a shock for me that BBC skipped Japan. I hope they will broadcast Japanese figure skaters’ performance.

An Effective Blog (?)

2010-02-07T22:27:00.001Z

I posted about a Japanese hairdresser in October 2007 and still I’ve received some requests for reaching her. In the beginning I hesitated to tell my hairdresser’s contact to someone who just read my blog however she told me it was no problem so I kept sharing the contact email address. I didn’t ask any feedback from anyone so I wasn’t sure whether any of them actually got hair cut or not.
Yesterday I got my hair cut and talked with my hairdresser and she told me, “Thank you for introducing good people who came and said that they read Eriko’s blog.” Is my blog effective?

SENTO-kun

2010-02-03T17:23:00.004Z

When I saw SENTO-kun which is a character for the honor the 1,300th anniversary of the transfer of the national capital to Nara, I gasped because in general characters are pretty or cool. However I'm getting used to this and nowadays I feel this is very nice.

Wow!

2010-01-26T16:04:00.002Z

My friend had her birthday party last weekend. One of her friends is a sushi chef and he prepared gorgeous sushi for her guests. It looks fantastic and tastes also fancy.

Do I Like Working?

2010-01-22T17:53:00.001Z

Finally all snow melts in Manchester. Now my boss is in Paris so I’m waiting his return with my new work due. When I get a new work to do, I feel “oh no, this work is over my capacity” and suffering from it however when I have no work to do, I’m waiting for it. My boss is a very interesting person. He has been living in foreign countries more than 20years and his mind does not belong to a Japanese business man. He always tells me, “Enjoy your work and earn more money.” However my mind can’t catch up with his idea so I sometimes tell him, “Please let me think about it whether I can do it or not.” Then his reply is, “Never think about it but just do it. It’s the way to do this kind of business.” And repeatedly he tells me “Enjoy your work.” However I can’t enjoy working if I’m not sure whether I can manage it or not. I’m not sure whether I like working or not still I’m sure one thing that it is nicer to work with a super positive boss than a negative person.

Snow Again...

2010-01-05T10:02:00.010Z

It's snow again. This time is heavier than the last time...

In Japan, there is a famous song, "When it snows, dogs are running around backyard but cats stay under the heater." What happens to this cat??

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T15:36:00.004Z

Happy New Year from Manchester city centre!

This is the third New Year day in Manchester but this is the first time for me to go to watch fireworks. I don't like freezing weather and crowds so I was afraid of being there at midnight but it was really enjoyable atmosphere. Everybody said "Happy New Year" and smiled.

Merry X'mas!

2009-12-25T17:34:00.002Z

Merry Christmas from snowy Manchester!

SNOW

2009-12-22T10:34:00.001Z

It's snow in Manchester.

Something to Complain

2009-12-20T23:33:00.003Z

I can easily find something to complain in UK. The other day, I bought a package of crumpet. It should be packed 12 pieces in one package however look at the following photo and if you would count it, there were only 11!

Do you think I’m angry? I don’t know why but I rather think “why didn’t I check this before buying?” than claiming to somebody.

Christmas Holiday

2009-12-18T19:06:00.000Z

Finally I finished my work due on Wednesday and I’m in Christmas holiday! To tell you the truth, I was struggling to cope with my work. I’ve been working as a marketing researcher since August. As a good point, I can work at home and use my extra time efficiently. On the other hand it’s very difficult to fix my working schedule by myself because I should let me work during my free time. The fee is paid depends on my reports so it doesn’t matter how many hours I took for it. If I can work efficiently I would make certain amount of money however I’m not used to this kind of work so I need more time than my boss estimated. I need to make time for it and even though I can work on my own schedule, I’m expected to reply email immediately if my boss has any question about my data. Sometimes I need to work till late at night for meeting up the due date. Even I work hard and catching up the due date, I should keep working otherwise I’ll be behind the schedule quite soon. My working style is always “working very hard”, “taking a break”, “working very hard again...” I should think about self discipline. Well I’ll think about it after Christmas holiday.

X factor

2009-12-12T20:47:00.002Z

Every year I watch only the final of the X factor, TV program. It's a kind of singing competition for 10weeks. Every week the least favorite competitor leaves the show. They measure their popularity by votes with telephone call. I haven't been interested in voting for reality show however I just vote for Joe tonight. His voice is amazing and I really want him to be a winner!

Annual Concert

2009-12-07T17:16:00.004Z

Last Saturday and Sunday were concerts of my chorus. This is the second year for me and I thought about last year one. At that time I didn't have any friend in the chorus members although everybody was kind in general. In audience, I saw no familiar face there, however this year, I saw my friend's face on Saturday and another friend found me on stage by chance on Sunday.
After the concert my friend from chorus gave me a pretty present. I was impressed by her kindness and this wrapping. She is a piano teacher and this present remind me of her very much.

Paris 2

2009-11-24T14:26:00.003Z

I was traveling Paris last weekend. I saw beautiful Christmas lighting up.

Inside the department store, there is a huge Christmas tree and fancy presents are hang down from the dome shaped ceiling.

Outside the department store, there are many fancy window displays. The theme of this year is "ginger bread". All displays have ginger breads.

BTW, did you know there is a "Statue of Liberty" in Paris?

WHY?

2009-11-08T23:27:00.001Z

I keep working as a marketing researcher on phone. Last Thursday I ringed a world famous company; at first my phone connected to “customer service” and she put me through “human resource” and she told me she put me through “communication service”. I didn’t get why “communication service” so I asked “I’m doing marketing research and do I have to speak with communication service?” then she said “I’m afraid so” and she put me through there. “Communication service” told me that I should contact "fleet service" and hung it up. Oh dear, I didn't know the phone or extension number of "fleet service" so I ringed “customer service” once again and asked to put me through "fleet service" then she said she could put me through "switch board" and I could ask him/her to put me through "fleet service" so I did it eventually my phone connected to a fleet manager however it was a voice message service. It was wasting time.

Halloween the third year

2009-11-01T16:37:00.002Z

It’s been the third time for me to spend Halloween in Manchester. I’m gradually getting used to this custom and finally I was invited Halloween party this year.
Unfortunately I didn’t bring my favourite Ninja costume which I put on at Halloween party in Japan and in America. I needed to find something and went to “One pound shop”. I bought a “Glitter Fashion Poncho” which wasn’t scary but it was matching with my funny sun glasses very well.
One of participants put some boxes in the following photo on his shirt. At first sight I didn’t get the meaning. Do you have any clue?

It’s a serial killer (cereal killer). I like it!

Before and After

2009-10-27T19:04:00.002Z

Before I went back to Japan, I got temporary work which was marketing research in UK. My work was making a phone call to UK companies and filling out the survey in Japanese. It wasn’t easy for me to talk with native English speakers on phone in addition no one wants to cooperate with the survey which isn’t profitable for them. So it was very difficult to avoid hearing “I don’t have time.” or “As the company’s policy, I can’t answer your questions.” After being rejected by 20 companies, I was almost giving up my work but my boss trusted me to do it and somehow I could manage this work and got enough money for my travel expense to Japan.
I like work not just because of income but because I can have a link to real world. Through any kinds of job I can learn how the society works and get new knowledge. After coming back from Japan, I got new kind of temporally work from the same boss. It was a translation work from Japanese to English. I enjoyed it very much. I didn’t need to make a phone call so I can work till late at night if I want to. I could do it with my own pace and to the level which I feel comfortable. If I would get this kind of job, I can do it anytime however the work finished in one week. It’s irony but when I work, I wish I would finish it as soon as possible on the other hand once I finished it I feel I would like to get a new work to do. I had been waiting a new job and got email from my boss last week. My new job is again marketing research on phone! Although I waited translation work I have no choice. My challenge will start and will be continued.

OKONOMIYAKI

2009-10-21T17:31:00.004+01:00

During my stay in Japan, I didn't have a chance to eat Okonomiyaki. Instead I bought some ingredients for it and cooked it in Manchester. I haven't had a proper Okonomiyaki more than two years so I couldn't evaluate it well but I thought this was OK.
Since I came back from Japan, I keep writing just about foods. I'll write something else in my next post I promise.

Apple Crumble

2009-10-13T09:30:00.003+01:00

My English teacher gave me cooking apples from his garden. They were fresh and looked very tasty however I didn't know how to cook cooking apples.
My friend brought caster sugar, a scales in ounce and a pyrex dish for baking and helped me to make typical English sweets "Apple Crumble" in my place. It was very tasty! My friend told me it's easy to make but I didn't think so. Hum... I'm not sure whether I can taste this once again or not.

Japanese Foods

2009-10-10T17:30:00.003+01:00

Before I came to UK, I wasn't a big fan for Sushi or Sashimi. Now I can't eat fresh and tasty ones here so I enjoyed them in Japan very much.

I had "Maccha Latte", green tea latte, at Starbucks in Japan. Although I find many Starbucks coffee shops in Manchester I can't find Maccha Latte in their menu. So I call this as Japanese food.

I love Japanese food which is served with small dishes and tastes nice.

Italy

2009-10-02T10:27:00.004+01:00

I traveled Venice and Trent from 5th September to 14th September. And I also traveled Japan from 17th September to 28th September. Now I'm totally refreshed!

Etsu

2009-08-31T18:17:00.003+01:00

I went to an authentic Japanese restaurant "Etsu" in Liverpool.

I had sea bass which was very tasty.

Katsu curry is popular in UK although I'm not sure it's authentic Japanese food or not.

A Building

2009-08-25T17:54:00.003+01:00

Can you imagine what this building for from the outside?

This is a Catholic church in Liverpool. If you’re interested in the inside, you can have a look from the following web link:
http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/tour/panoramas.html

The 45th House of Representatives Election

2009-08-24T15:23:00.002+01:00

I tried to use the system which started from May 2000 and vote for the 45th House of Representatives Election. Each one of procedures isn’t difficult but there is many procedures and took time. At first I need to go to the Embassy of Japan and register for my right of voting from UK which takes two to three months. After this register, I get a card and if I go to the Embassy of Japan in London or go back to Japan with this card, I can vote there immediately however I wished to vote in Manchester so I had to require ballots from Seika town where I’d registered before coming here.

For getting ballots from Seika town, I had to send snail mail with application form and the card. Unfortunately I made a mistake here. Do you notice it on my envelope? Yes, I forgot to write “JAPAN” on the envelope so this one returned to me. I needed to use another envelope with a new stamp. It’s all my fault but waste of time and money:’(

After several days of my second snail mail, I received registered mail and it was ballots. In UK even my driver’s license was delivered by normal mail. I’m surprised that Seika town officers spent 1,500yen to deliver ballots by EMS. They put a big envelope for return and said, “we recommend you using EMS because it’s safe, fast and you can also track your delivery although you need to pay the fee by yourself.” What a kind and useful information. Why do I have to send it back to Japan not London? Because we can vote in London so they’ll report or send those ballots to Japan. Why I can’t get ballots from London or website? I don’t know how many Japanese people vote from foreign countries however I’m sure there are many ways to simplify and saving money and time.
This time I use normal delivery and cross my fingers to arrive my ballots by weekend.

Volunteer Work

2009-08-19T19:21:00.002+01:00

In return for teaching a Japanese class at the International Society, I can attend the other language classes for free and can also get a free lunch per week at the cafe. In addition they have a party for all language teachers. I took Spanish class, Arabic class and English class for free and became friends with French and Chinese teachers at the party. I also enjoyed having lunch at cafe without doubt. These were what I expected from my volunteer work as a Japanese teacher and I thought it was satisfactory. Fortunately, I got something much more from it.
During two years in Manchester, I took English classes in all terms and noticed 10 lessons doesn’t help to improve my English, however, after taking Spanish class I admit 10 lessons give me some particular idea towards the language. I recognized that studying language from a native speaker affect my understanding a lot. My Spanish teacher tried to speak as much Spanish as possible during the class, so I gradually understand which words sound natural. In the 10th lesson she prepared an exam and I got better mark than I thought and it was amazing experience.
After starting volunteer work, I got some paid work offers. Some of them were Japanese teacher as paid work. My Japanese class is held on daytime so people who work regularly can’t attend it and asked special arrangement in private. Their spouses are Japanese but they usually communicate in English so they didn’t have an opportunity to study Japanese.
I also got a job offer of marketing research work which I’ve never done it before. Although I gave up attending Arabic class, I started marketing research work. Many interesting things started from one volunteer work.

Japanese Archery

2009-08-16T22:39:00.000+01:00

When I arrived in Manchester two years ago, I tried to find a place for practicing 弓道, Japanese Archery. I searched web site with key words “Manchester, Japanese Archery” however I couldn’t find any place where I could join.
Recently one of my friends told me that he practices Japanese Archery in Manchester and the organization shows their information on web site. I wondered whether the facility was built in two years however he told me it’s not a new one and it’s been there at least more than five years. Why didn’t I find them on web site two years ago? He told me if I would use key words “Manchester, Kyudo” I would find it. Oh dear, I didn’t have to translate “Kyudo” to “Japanese Archery”. I found it without problem and I saw some photos; only one difference from Japan I noticed is there are no girls. My friend told me only two girls join Kyudo practice in Manchester at moment. My problem is that their practice starts from 8:30am on Saturdays. It would take one hour to go there so I just hesitate to join them. I know it would be worth to get up early in the morning and practice Kyudo in Manchester but I’m a lazy.

A Japanese language teacher

2009-08-04T00:12:00.002+01:00

I’ve been thinking about becoming a Japanese language teacher since I came to Manchester two years ago. There is an international organization and they always welcome volunteer language teachers. Each one term has 10 lessons and one lesson is 90 minutes. In every term, I felt that I wasn’t ready for teaching Japanese. Finally I notice I would never be ready for teaching Japanese in future so I decide to start this term.
I thought it would be the most difficult to teach beginners class because Japanese is different from any other languages in characters and grammars. I had no idea which I should start to teach so I asked possibility to teach intermediate class. However the Society told me there were no intermediate Japanese speakers in Manchester. I had no choice but to teach beginners class.
In my first lesson, I was planning to teach Japanese pronunciation with Hiragana letters, how to introduce ourselves, some standard greetings and counting numbers. I thought it would take 90minutes.
My students are from China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Germany. They evaluated their Japanese levels were almost zero however all of them pronounce Japanese without problem. I noticed Japanese pronunciation is quite easy for them. In addition their quick answeres and understanding amazed me. If I teach them how to count numbers in Japanese, they immediately understand the rules and remember them and use them without problem. So I finished everything within 90minutes so I prepared more curriculums from the second lesson. I’ve already finished seven lessons.
The other day, my Japanese friend bumped into my Korean student. He spoke to my Japanese friend in Japanese and she thought he was Japanese! This is a big progress and it made me happy. Just three more lessons are remaining and I’d like to form some particular vocabularies and useful phrases in their mind.

Hospital

2009-07-24T10:41:00.003+01:00

I felt strong pain in my body. I waited to be cured naturally but the pain became stronger day by day. I finally decided to call GP which is like a home doctor. My doctor recomended me to go to hospital and wrote a letter for me. After I went to the hospital, my doctor explained about my treatment. She asked me, "Do you admit......?" I thought I had no choice to say "No" to a doctor so I kept saying "yes". Then a nurse asked me "Do you understand what's happening to you?" I said nothing then she said "you can't go home for two days." It was a big surprise to me. Anyway I stayed in the hospital:

This is my lunch. This looks like a meal in the airplane rather than at hospital.

I also got travel kit like this:

All doctors and nurses are very kind and my stay at hospital wasn't bad. Still staying at home is much better.

Lake District

2009-07-07T18:12:00.002+01:00

I travelled Lake District one month ago. I've not updated my blog for a while. Since last month, I started to study Spanish and Arabic. Of course I keep studying English. In addition, I started to teach Japanese! It's very interesting so far. I'll write about it in my next posting.

Lyme Park

2009-06-02T15:04:00.002+01:00

It was a lovely day to stay outside.

Shakespeare's Globe theatre

2009-05-28T10:38:00.002+01:00

I went to London and watched "Romeo and Juliet" at Shakespeare's Globe theatre. It's an outside theatre and very good atmosphere. Finally I watched a Shakespeare's play in UK!

Where's Eriko?

2009-05-18T09:55:00.006+01:00

I performed in this concert!
My friends came to listen to the performance and took this photo for me. Approximately 1,800 people visited there and it was a huge success. I was very lucky being on the stage as one of 280-member chorus.

TV program about Japan

2009-04-20T10:49:00.002+01:00

Recently some documentary programs focusing on Japan have been broadcast on BBC4. One of them is named “Fish! A Japanese Obsession” in which Charles Rangeley-Wilson, a British author known for his books on travel and fishing, travelled in Japan and reported about the Japanese obsession for fish from his point of view. The TV program was 90 minutes-long and started with him finding his guide in Japan. He wanted to recruit a Japanese resident who would be able to introduce him to Japanese fishing. Some candidates gathered and he interviewed them; one of the candidates just wanted to be famous, his dream was becoming a rock star, another one spoke English very well but didn’t know about fishing at all. It seemed difficult to find a satisfactory guide for him and when I heard one of candidates say “I like eat fishing” in English with English subtitles on TV, I changed the channel and stopped watching it.

The next day, my English teacher told me, “I watched an interesting TV program about Japan.” and asked some questions about fish and birds, however, I couldn’t answer them because I didn’t watch it. The other day I joined choir practice and my friend also said, “I watched a TV program about Japan reported by Charles Rangeley Wilson.” I felt ashamed because they watched the program with interest because of me and they prepared topics to talk with me.

Thanks to the wonderful internet I can watch some TV programs on the BBC iPlayer up to one week after broadcasting. I watched the program from the beginning to the end and found it was interesting. Somehow, Charles Wilson chose a good guide from the candidates and they visited some interesting places. The first place they went was a restaurant which serves fresh fish; actually the fish is still alive. I could never imagine eating beef or chicken from an animal whose head was still alive and moving however in the case of fish, I say it’s definitely fresh and looks tasty. Charles asked, “Isn’t it cruel?”, but the Japanese guide, Aki said, “Just eat it. It’s tasty”, he didn’t hesitate to tell his honest opinion. Sometimes we Japanese try to hide our feelings from others, especially when a person has a strong opinion. When Charles pointed out about eating whale, Aki answered “We eat it because it tastes good” Charles said “Aki would never get my point” his purpose is to observe and learn not to change Aki’s opinions on whale protection, Japan's opinions on whale preservation may be changed by a documentary but not by one comment. The British and the Japanese probably have many areas where we don’t understand each other, that’s why it’s interesting to know both points of view through this TV program.

North Wales

2009-04-14T00:25:00.003+01:00

It only takes two hours from Manchester to North Wales by bus.
Llangollen

Plas Newydd

Powis Castle

My favorite magnolia

Mangas

2009-04-10T20:55:00.002+01:00

Some people say mangas spoil children, however, my parents never believed this and let me read any books I like. I enjoyed reading a monthly girl’s comic book; it costs around two pounds and I could read about 10 different stories. Some of them were short stories, but many of them are continued in to the next month. So I bought it on the day it came on sale and wanted to read it earlier than my friends. There are several girl’s comic books and I enjoyed talking about some of the stories with friends who read the same one. This formed groups and we sometimes fought with other groups who read another comic book. Everybody believed “my comic book is the best one.”

After passing from childhood I stopped buying mangas, instead I enjoy reading them at a manga cafe. One manga costs around 2 pounds, staying at a manga cafe for an hour also costs around 2 pounds so if I can read more than two mangas an hour, it works out cheaper.

After coming to Manchester, I was surprised to find mangas at the Manchester public library. I borrowed “動物のお医者さん” which means “animal doctor” but the main story is about the life of students whose major is veterinary science. The author didn’t have any knowledge of animal doctors, but she researched it and interviewed some students so the story is interesting and at the same time has some reality to it. I also enjoyed reading “Death Note” which I bought second hand from a Japanese business man in Manchester.

Recently my friend told me there are translated Japanese mangas in the public library so I went to see. She told me there’s not any particular series or famous ones; she was right I found few familiar titles there. I picked up “RAVE MASTER” because there are volumes 1, 2 and 3 so I could start reading the story from the beginning. I was also into the characters they are beautifully drawing and the best thing is the English vocabulary used is just at my level; I understood the story without using a dictionary. I searched for the manga online and found the Japanese title is “RAVE”; it’s a popular series and finishes at volume 35! It’s a long adventure story but I could only find 7 or 8 books in the library. I can read the first 13 to 18 pages on a web site free of charge but every volume of the story stops at a dramatic scene and directs me to the shopping site. If I pay around 2 pounds, I can read a whole book, however, it’s 35 volumes in total and even though each one of them costs only 2 pounds, it would cost a lot in total. I hope extra “Rave Master” comics appear in the library soon!