RICKY DLS 英会話 blog

Catch ya at Kochoo

RICKY — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:39:09 +0000

Picante got competition: Soup curry cafe Kochoo opened just around the corner and even though less elaborate, it is quite attractive especially for small budgets. Lunch chicken starts from 790 yen for a decent bowl of soup with rice. Add 100 yen if you want it spicier. I chose 11 on a spice level from 1 to 13 and I’ll go higher next time. The texture is neither creamy nor thin, just right, and the soup has a sweet aftertaste similar to Lavi. As for the beverage that’s included in the lunch menu, tomato juice is available and that’s a big plus. The service is fast, friendly and efficient. Great place, I’ll definitely go back. Kochoo, N13, W4. Phone 011-737 6655

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Find the switch

RICKY — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:19:13 +0000

One of the hardest things to do when learning English is to start thinking in English rather than translating back and forth between the two languages. But once you find the switch that resets your brain mode from Japanese to English you will become a fluent speaker in no time.

This is especially important for native Japanese speakers due to the fact that the Japanese language structure is completely different from the English one. Therefore when trying to translate word by word from Japanese to English, the outcome is odd at best and incomprehensible at worst.

Find the switch. Before entering the classroom, program your brain to think in English only, and once you master that technique, watch your English take off.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Cat-in-the-box

RICKY — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:03:14 +0000

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Alta is no more

RICKY — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:09:45 +0000

Today is the last day downtown department store ALTA is open. Built in 2002, it originally catered to fashionable twentysomethings and then evolved into a haven for late-teen-girly fashion. Not a smart move: The number of teens has been decreasing slowly but steadily and hence the mini-mall went out of business.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Flamenco at the Art Park

RICKY — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:51:04 +0000

This was a flamenco show at the Art Park yesterday. The performance was part of a new festival called Sapporo City Jazz with venues in Odori Park and Art Park. Great way to spice up the Sapporo summer!

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

This summer is long …

RICKY — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 04:35:54 +0000

… and it is one long party!

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Odori Park at dawn

RICKY — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 09:44:44 +0000

The boys had a cooking event at the TV Tower last night and after that we had our own private party in the middle of Odori Park. We had an entire open air bar with a cask of Sapporo Classic, Rioja wine and Spanish tortilla. Well the party was not that private actually: several young rappers who were practicing their skills in the park joined us and rapped for us in Japanese … great memories! This is one of the things you can only do in Sapporo. Having a party in a park in the middle of the city in the middle of the night and it is one of these things that make Sapporo truly unique. The photos are underexposed unfortunately but I think you get the picture.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

That WAS the undercover mouse!

RICKY — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:38:24 +0000

Zafiro’s summer
That WAS the undercover mouse. My three destroyers reduced it to pieces within a few weeks. And I had it shipped here all the way from the US … that’s life with cats.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Changing nation

RICKY — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:53:07 +0000

Tired of being cute (left). Is this what Japan will look like in the future? (feminist demo, right) What do YOU think?
The new Miss Universe was crowned in Las Vegas yesterday, and while in the Americas this was a huge event, in Japan it went unnoticed. There are even voices and organizations in Japan that call for a general abolishment of the Miss Japan contest. Their argument is that women should be judged by their brains, not by their looks.

True, that’s a strong point, but American Hollywood culture and beauty obsessed Latin America would not be what they are without beauty pageants. Girls train from pre-school age to become beauty queens and once they take home the crown they move up in society to the highest celebrity ranks.

Having lived in Japan for eight years, I feel this country is increasingly becoming like a Northern European nation. The recent feminist movement demanding a ban on swimsuit competitions is just a tiny indicator. What already exists is a health and welfare system that rivals those of Scandinavia in progressiveness. Unemployed citizens receive monthly paychecks that allow them a more or less comfortable lifestyle. Anybody living in Japan is entitled to public health insurance at a reasonable cost. People over 65 enjoy decent lifestyles due to relatively high retirement pay, low healthcare fees and free public transportation. Parents receive a child support allowance of 13.000 yen per month per child - this was enacted by disgraced PM Hatoyama.

Signaling a shift in the structure of society at large, Japanese women are becoming increasingly independent from men. The current generation of female twentysomethings is active and highly productive in the workplace, a sharp contrast to the generation of their mothers who were dependent stay-home moms. The term “housewife” is so unpopular with young Japanese women these days that it seems to have vanished from their vocabulary completely.

This tendency of active, hard-working women striving to be equal is very similar to what happened in Northern Europe decades ago and what has now manifested as one of the most advanced civilizations on the planet. In Scandinavia, beauty pageants are viewed as exploitation of women and feminist groups regularly protest against them.

On another note, now that Japanese women are becoming increasingly self sufficient they just need to take it one step further and get real equality by gaining access to executive positions in the workplace because the percentage of decision-making women is still very, very low. Japan is changing, and this is a very exciting time to be here. Let me know what YOU think OK!

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Mexico, bursting with beauty

RICKY — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:20:30 +0000

Miss Mexico, Jimena Navarrete, has been crowned Miss Universe 2010. The sultry brunette represents her country gracefully, a country that is blessed with everything amazing this world has to offer: the best white sand beaches on the globe, a crystal-clear turquoise sea, tropical rainforests, snow peaked mountains, cactus clad deserts, colorful birds and marine life, ancient ruins that provide vivid evidence to a rich pre-Columbian history. Not to mention a world class cuisine that is completely unique and extremely varied in flavors. The list is so long, I might as well start a blog that deals exclusively with Mexico.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。