RICKY DLS 英会話 blog

The judges have ruled, and Korea won her first gold in Olympic figure skating ever. Yu-Na Kim skated an almost perfect program and won with a record score of 228.56 points. Mao Asada scored 205.50 points and took silver. Bronze went to Canada’s Joannie Rochette, so there was no change compared to the short program. I saw the Olympic ice show in the car on my way back from the vet, and again Yu-Na’s program was flawless yet playful, whereas Mao skated with technical perfection although she messed up one spin, and that cost her a lot of points. Again, Yu-Na acted and expressed herself, whereas Mao went through the motion without much drama and that’s why, even though she pulled off two triple axels, she didn’t win. Mao certainly thought that was not fair. The tears running down her cheeks during the following interviews were not tears of joy, and she couldn’t seem to manage to smile when making the rounds on the ice with the Japanese flag wrapped around her. While Yu-Na and Joannie were cheering to the crowds, Mao looked really sad, and I think that kind of attitude is what might keep her from winning gold. I know she trained hard and did her best and she badly wanted that gold, but a silver medal in the Olympic Games at the age of 19 is still outstanding, and she has every reason to be happy! She has several Olympics and her whole life ahead of her, and I hope she realizes that and cheers up. Mao Asada is a technically perfect figure skater, but when it comes to attitude and confidence, she has a long way to go. Then again in the Japanese education system children are not taught to express themselves or to believe in themselves, and to learn that as an adult is a lot tougher. Not impossible though. So, I really hope Mao wakes up and becomes a well-rounded adult and athlete to complement her already well-developed skating skills.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Here are some pictures from Raf’s birthday party at Latin bar Caribe. The drinks and food were awesome - oysters Rockefeller, steamed mussels, Parmesan chicken, Mexican salad etc. - but the most exciting thing was dancing all night. Thanks everybody for being so fun and see you soon!

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Breathtaking: Today’s performances in the Olympic figure skating short program. I’m talking about Mao Asada and Yu-Na Kim who took silver and gold, respectively. I watched Mao’s much anticipated show today and I was amazed. She delivered a flawless program, graceful, beautiful and with perfect technique. I didn’t think this could be beaten - but I was wrong. Yu-Na Kim of South Korea, only 20 days older than Mao and her arch rival ever since they started skating, was not only graceful and her technique perfect, but she was also sassy, and sexy, and that blew the judges away. I think that Mao Asada is adorable and I badly want her to win. The thing is that glamour and sensuality can’t be learned, and if that’s what it takes to get those few extra points that will decide between winning and losing, then Yu-Na has an edge. Bronze went to Canada’s Joannie Rochette who fought a battle of a different kind: Her mother passed away three days ago.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Today is 2/22, cat day in Japn - nyan nyan nyan. In English that would be meow meow meow. It’s not a happy day for me though: Zafiro was diagnosed with lymphoma, a type of cancer. He’s on chemotherapy and I am trying to prolong his life as much as possible.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Hokkaido has been hit hard by the recession and in Sapporo that’s all too obvious, from people moving to Tokyo due to a lack of job openings up here, to the incredible number of vacant apartments (people moving in with their parents). For me personally the most visible sign however is the number of times I wanted to visit a particular store or restaurant and found myself in front of closed doors. Over the New Year’s holidays me and some friends headed to Kentos live music bar only to realize the place had gone out of business. I used to go there a lot in its original location on Road 36 and enjoyed fun times listening to - and looking at - the band dressed up as Elvis lookalikes and dancing the night away on the dancefloor. In their new location in the middle of Susukino they didn’t last long unfortunately. Then last week me and a friend made plans to hang out at the Oriental Grill at their Susukino branch and the entrance, big and usually lit up brightly, was completely dark and the door closed. We entered the building through a different entrance, went down the stairs to get to the Oriental Grill’s main door and then we believed it: It was closed. We headed one block west and got reconfirmed what our grandparents used to tell us - if you don’t get what you want that might actually be good for you. We found an amazing typical izakaya on the basement on one of those bottomless buildings in Susukino, and I say typical because there was a large counter where the main action took place, then tables around the counter and eventually a few private booths. Quite a bit different from the now trendy izakayas that mostly provide small booths for two to four people. We sat at the counter and not only did we have our personal, very attentive waitress in kimono, but we were also able to watch what was going on around us, and that was quite entertaining. At the other end of the counter there were two women and one of them ordered beer after beer, we counted five in all, but she was extremely skinny! We were like, wow, how can she be so thin with all the beer she’s drinking … But when we saw that she was only eating edamame soy beans the whole night it hit us - it must be true what they say: beer won’t make you fat as long as you don’t eat anything with it! And I guess that’s a secret of Japanese people, they drink as much beer as Americans but keep their waiflike bodies effortlessly. Anyway, we DID NOT drink beer, we decided to have a lot of food with sake instead. And after telling a Japanese friend about it she laughed and told me “Sake is a very high calorie drink!” I might as well have had that beer, lol. Shunkashuto, S4, W4. Phone 011-242 4040

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Congratulations on the bronze medal in men’s figure skating (short program)! To tell the truth, I saw Daisuke Takahashi for the first time last night, or was it the early morning hours lol, in a documentary about his career. I learned about his knee injury 1 1/2 years ago and his tireless fight to make it back to the top. Well he did it! I watched the competition this morning and he was amazing. His jumps and spins are breathtaking and the bronze medal at the Vancouver Olympics well deserved. Nobunari Oda was great too and placed fourth. But what Japanese people are really waiting for is the women’s figure skating competition. Expectations for Mao Asada are high to bring a gold medal home. As for myself, I just turned into a Mao Asada fan today after a clerk at the convenience store handed me a clear folder with Mao’s image, a gift with purchase. Must be some sort of sign I thought, lol! Well I hope it’s a good omen for her performance.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

The start of the Chinese New Year coincided with Valentine’s Day this year, and almost immediately after the celebrations took off the Chinese got an even better reason to go crazy: pair figure skaters Zhao Hongbo and Shen Xue won the first Olympic gold ever for China, and Pang Qing and Tong Jian brought home silver. The married and once retired couple had been training together for 18 years and made a comeback this year to pursue the gold that had eluded them in the previous Olympics. They also broke Russia’s stronghold on pair figure skating, and this is the first time in 46 years that Russia didn’t get a medal. On another note, Hokkaido is becoming increasingly popular among Chinese people as a travel destination. During last week’s snow festival in Odori Park Chinese seemed to outnumber Japanese visitors. And even now that Sapporo’s famed festival is over I can still see many Chinese tourists here. Just this morning I saw two women near Sapporo Station and one of them caught my attention cause she was wearing a Guess jacket - a brand that’s unavailable in Japan. She must have noticed that I was checking her out cause all of a sudden she turned around and asked me in fluent English for directions to the Sapporo Beer Hall. They were Chinese an I thought boy oh boy it’s not even 11 yet and they are already in the mood for a beer!

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

Do you know purikura? It’s short for “print club” and it’s fun. Customized colorful photo stickers. Check them out!

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

This morning I turned into a Hokkaido early bird when I took Atomo to the veterinarian. He had his ears cleaned again and got a leukemia shot. Interestingly today cats were in the majority and what I always enjoy at the vet’s office is that pet owners start conversations with each other effortlessly. It seems that a pet is a powerful ice breaker. On my way back home I passed by the recently relocated Sweets Cafe Hanako and got two cakes to go. This cafe has gained popularity similar to Cherry Merry’s success in the North 18 neighborhood. The good thing is that the cakes are so tiny there’s no danger at all of getting fat. Also thanks to all our students that brought us chocolates today, all teachers enjoyed them. And that was our early Valentine!

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。

This is the eve of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and I bet you are as excited as I am to see fierce competition, glamour and glory for the next two weeks. Canada has the reputation of being one of the most progressive countries in the world, with a social system as developed as Scandinavia’s and open-minded people who welcome change as long as it’s for the better. I’ve never heard anyone say “I don’t like Canada”, or Canadians for that matter, and that’s why the following fact puzzles me even more: In a country with a reputation as clean as Canada’s, how is it possible that tens of thousands of baby seals are beaten to death every year? In the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth those baby seals are brutally killed while their mothers watch helplessly. They are then skinned on the spot, their little bodies left on the ice, and their fur made into coats, purses or trimmings. The seal bloodbath starts right after the Olympics. Click here to read more.

私は英語とスペイン語の先生です。