RICKY DLS 英会話 blog

About once a month I get a visit from Jehovah’s witnesses. They ring my doorbell and when I answer the interphone a woman starts talking - or should I say blabbering - about doomsday and that the end is near and that we’re all going to die soon unless we join the Jehovah cult. I always politely decline the invitation to attend one of their meetings but in spite of that, they keep coming back month after month. What’s funny is that they seem to have singled me out cause they never ring any other doorbells in the building, as far as I know. Also, from day one, they talked to me in English which means somehow they must have known that I, a foreigner, live there. I guess I have a stalker, lol. Well, even though I detest doomsday babble it didn’t affect the rest of my day. Come to think of it, today is the last day of September and it was amazing, blue skies and temperatures in the mid 20’s. In Sapporo somehow September has more sunny days than July or August. Hmmm.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Top: Sweden, Russia and Korea. Middle: Mexico and Japan. Bottom: England and Australia. Caught my attention: A magazine article about the G20 First Ladies. Here are seven of them - look for yourself.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh. Ouch … that’s what I call a fashion faux pas …

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

I stumbled into Sama by pure coincidence and was actually on my way to a different soup curry eatery in North Ward. Hungry and a bit tired - I was on foot - Sama popped up in front of me like a gift from heaven. The interior of this recently opened branch is cozy and divided into two parts. One part has “horigotatsu” tables and the other part large tables and benches next to a huge Hokkaido-style heater (as big as a refrigerator!). I thought I wanted to sit next to the heater during the winter months but since it was relatively warm on that day I opted for the horigotatsu (dig-kotatsu!). What’s interesting at Sama is that there are three choices of soup: coconut, tomato and the traditional Japanese asari. I ordered coconut soup with veggies and soup omori (extra soup). Big surprise when the waitress served a huge bowl of soup curry filled to the top! I usually leave hungry after eating soup curry but this time I left satisfied and well-fed. I picked spicy level 25 on a scale of 1 to 30 - not spicy enough. Sama also offers delivery. Other soup curry restaurants I’ve visited recently are Ajanta, Run and Surya. Ajanta is a well-established, spacious eatery in East Ward, selling its own line of instant soup curry. While eating the first thought that came to my mind was “men must like this” - heavy and a bit oily, kind of like ramen. Ajanta also has an outlet in Ebetsu and as far as the branch in Sapporo is concerned, it is the proud owner of Sapporo’s best mural (see pic). Another curry shop I found through plain coincidence is Run along the streetcar line. Run is run by an Indian family, it is clean and the food is very good. I ordered a small nan bread with my curry instead of rice and was surprised about the size of the “small nan” … it was huge! The service was excellent and I’ll definitely go back there. Surya in Zenibako crossed my path on my way back from Dream Beach. The food is good and the staff nice but the highlight is the terrace where you can watch spectacular sunsets over the Sea of Japan. Sama, N16, W3 and three other branches. Ajanta, N23, E20. Run, S7, W6. Surya, Otaru Zenibako, across from the JR Station and four other branches.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

The second Autumn Festival is being held in Odori Park right now. The main part consists of - what else - Ramen! Sapporoites value their noodles more than any other food. Minor players are Japanese food stalls, a kebab shop, a curry stand and two of Sapporo’s most popular soup curry eateries, right next to each other: Spark and Crazy Spice. I had a glass of red wine but switched to beer soon thereafter. Hokkaido provides the perfect environment for beer, no doubt about that. I also had grilled komai fish and a vegetable soup and was about to get something else, only to realize that last order time was up and everybody was getting ready to go home - at 8 PM! I thought it was “very Hokkaido”. Early bird … Autumn Festival, Odori Park, until October 4.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Tapas tour II led me to a new wine bar named Village, to M’s Space and around the entire Odori area. We left the last venue around midnight and were baffled by the lack of people around town, on a Saturday night! Odori looked like a ghost town, like an abandoned stretch of land with only a few windows lit in even fewer high rise buildings. Even the TV tower, Sapporo’s top landmark, was completely dark. Eco, I guess. My friend, Yumiko, mentioned how much Odori had changed, and that especially during the bubble era everybody was out in the streets, moving from restaurants to clubs to bars, eating, drinking and singing the night away. My friends and acquaintances often tell me about the land of plenty that Japan used to be during the bubble years, and I really wish I had been here to experience the excitement and enthusiasm of those days. Nowadays there seems to be a new trend among young people, “cocooning”, which means staying at home rather than going out. A byproduct of technology? It feels a bit empty though and doesn’t help the already hopelessly low birth rate (fewer chances to meet people -> fewer couples -> fewer children. Did you get my reasoning?), at 1.37 kids per married couple the lowest in the world. Runner-ups in low birthrates are Germany and Italy, and an article in a magazine suggested that it might be a curse that has been placed on the three major perpetrator countries of WWII … hmmm … superstition, that’s all I can say.

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In Japan, fall is the season to read, eat and do sports. In Mexico, where I lived before coming to Japan, it is the patriotic season. So what is the result of patriotism applied in the kitchen? Chiles en nogada! The dish consists of poblano chiles stuffed with a meat-fruits-spices-mixture called “picadillo”, topped with a walnut-based cream sauce and pomegranate seeds, giving it the appearance of the Mexican flag (green-white-red). The dish not only looks stylish, but also tastes great. Learn how to make this masterpiece of Mexican cuisine.

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Hoy las festividades del Día a de la Independencia en México culminan y, para que me recordara de mi estancia en este país maravilloso, un amigo me trajo una caja llena de delicias mexicanas! Entre ellas mis dos tequilas favoritos, Herradura Reposado y Don Julio Reposado (añejo también es rico), salsa Valentina que se come con totopos, pan o palomitas (en el cine), café Blason organico y Sevillanas Glorias: sabrosos dulces de leche de cabra con nuez. Que bueno que el “otoño del buen provecho” haya empezado … asi podré disfrutar de estas ricuras sin culpa.

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Decoraciones patrióticas en San José del Cabo, Los Cabos
En México, el mes de septiembre es conocido como el mes de la patria porque se festejan importantes acontecimientos que se relacionan con la lucha por la libertad y la soberanía del país. Al llegar este mes el país entero se empieza a vestir de los colores verde, blanco y rojo, toda la gente saca su bandera más grande y la coloca en la ventana mas grande, los arreglos y festones adornan la ciudad y todos los mexicanos se preparan para dar el grito de Independencia frente al Palacio de Gobierno de todos los estados el 15 de septiembre.
Los siguientes son los acontecimientos más importantes que se festejan en el mes de la patria:
El 13 de septiembre la heroica defensa del Castillo de Chapultepec por los Niños Héroes
El 15 de septiembre del 1810 el grito de Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla que inició la lucha por la Independencia de México
El 27 de septiembre del 1821 se dio la Consumación de la Independencia de México.
El 30 de septiembre recordamos el nacimiento de uno de los grandes caudillos de la guerra de Independencia: José María Morelos y Pavón.
El grito se da en la noche del 15 pero las festividades siguen durante el dia 16 de septiembre.
¡VIVA MEXICO! http://www.dls-eikaiwa.com/

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Four more days to go to Yukio Hatoyama’s inauguration as Prime Minister of Japan. While he’s getting ready for the big event, his wife Miyuki is making international headlines due to her claims that she was once abducted by aliens and taken to Venus, and also, because she thinks she knows Tom Cruise from a past life. The international media - particularly the US - is outraged. In the States a first lady is endlessly briefed and debriefed on what to say and especially on what NOT to say. The result is a great deal of hypocrisy. In Japan first ladies, politicians or anyone, for that matter, can speak their mind freely without being judged or severely criticized, and that makes it the land of freedom. Japan is lenient on its citizens in many other ways, such as alcohol policy and jail sentence - and yet the crime rate is among the lowest in the world. As far as alcohol is concerned, US laws are strict but alcoholism is widespread like anywhere else in the world. In Japan people drink mostly for pleasure and alcohol acts as an important social lubricant, literally. Of course binge drinking or overdrinking are a no-no, but I like the Japanese approach, accepting occasional drinking as a natural part of life - as long as it’s done in the company of friends or coworkers.

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