The Environment and I

 Of course, the earthquak is the worst problem in Japan now. On Friday March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the 10 meter high tsunami hit Japan, as I've already introduced. The earthquake's epicenter was off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture. It caused strain on the Pacific Plate strain as it moved into Japan. As a result, it is said that Japan moved 5.3 kilometers east-southeast and 1.2 kilometers in a downward direction. Relative to the earthquake, the tsunami caused much heavier damage. What's more, Fukushima 1 nuclear plant exploded and there were several fires throughout the Tohoku area. Therefore, a large-scale power outage hit several prefectures. The Tokyo area and the affected area are having sporadic blackouts. For this reason, planned outages have been conducted.
 I thought about what I could do and I participated in the fund- raising campaign here. The earthquake have various impacts globally but we can't predict when earthquakes will happen. I think that recovery is going to be a long process. I want to proactively do what I can.

Hanami ~Cherry blossoms viewing

 In Japan, we have a "Hanami" custom. Hanami is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms season is from the end of March to early May but, it's difficult depending on a region. We can enjoy hanami only 1 week or 2 weeks. People make a outdoor party during daytime or at night. Hanami at night is called "yozakura". Yozakura is also popular. They spread a ground cloth under the cherry blossoms and enjoy the party. The hanami traditional is a long one, originating in the Heian period. The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court. But soon spread to the common people and by the Edo period. Under the cherry blossoms, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.
 Today, the Japanese people continue the tradition of hanami.

Contrast between male and female speech

 In japan,we have a lot of different ways of using language. For example, men and women use different word endings. Men use "neeyo" or "neeyona". It sounds more masculine. An on the other hand, women speak with lengthen the end of their sentences.
 An other example, men say "umai" and women say "oishii". Those words mean "delicious" in English. we have two ways of saying between men and women even one word.
 When we are children, we are taught that we should be careful in speech. Women need to speak more feminine and men need to speak more masculine. However, nowadays, there is few difference between men and women. Especially, teengirls use a male speaking structure. Using masculine words give people negative impression. Speaking with perfect diction is the most important thing. Though we have a different male and female speech trait in my country.

Different ways of using language

 I have had times when I had difficulty understanding men. Most men don't say anything when they have a problem but women want to talk about their problems so, I can't understand what the man's problem is about. And I'm somtimes annoyed when the man say something bossily.
 However, I believe men and women use language differently. In Japan, we have a lot of different ways of using language. One of the most typical example is to add "chan" and "kun" at the end of a name when we are children. Girls use "chan" and boys use "kun" but using "chan" and "kun" is a little childish. Instead we use "san" as a member of society. Using "san" is formal and useful. There are situations, such as between close friends where using "chan" and "kun" even in adulthood is normal.
 An other example, the subject in English is "I", "You", "They", "He" and "She" but we have a lot of words for subject. Women often use "Watashi". Men often use "Boku" or "Ore". Those words mean "I" in English. Using "Boku" is formal. In business, everybody uses "Watashi" even men. But if women use "Boku" or "Ore", it is strange and unfeminine.
 I think it is interesting that women appear more feminine and men appear more masculine. In doing so, men and women become attracted to each other.

Joni Mitchell (Writting Practice)

 Joni Mitchell was born in Fort MacLeod, Alberta in 1943. She went to art school and started playing guitar and singing to make extra money. She started writing songs and people liked them. When she was at 9, she got very sick with polio and when she was in the hospital, she started singing. In 1964, she got pregnant and had a baby girl but she couldn't take care of a baby. She put baby up for adoption so, she didn't see her daughter until 1997.
 She married Chuck Mitchell. Chuck took her to the US, they sang in coffeehouses together. Michell started writing songs for other singers. She wrote "Both Sides Now", and it was a hit for singer Judy Collins. After many hit albums, she moved to jazz music. She retired in 2002 but she made a comeback in 2005. She released 18 albums and she won 9 Grammies. She worked with many artists in folk music and jazz.
 She lived as a singer and songwriter in Canada and around the world. 'Both Sides Now' was played at the opening ceremonies of the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver.
 I didn't know about Mitchell but when I heard her song, I could remember that I've heared. I like her voice and listening to his music relaxes me.

Earthquake

 On Friday March 11, 2011, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the 10 meter high tsunami hit Japan. First I knew the news about the earthquake from my friends. Till then I didn't know that. When I arrived at the school in the morning, everybody asked me "were you ok?" "were your family ok?" like this. I wondered why everyone asked seriously. I comfirmed which part of japan the earthquake had. It was the north-east of Japan so, I said "it was ok" because Japan have had a lot of earthquakes and my hometown is in the west area of Japan. I thought that this happends all the time.
 However, it was really terrible. After school, I came back home soon. Then I checked about the earthquake. I was very surprised when I watched videos on the internet. I discovered the overwhelming destruction. They suffered catastrophic damage. I sent my parents e-mail immediately. After a few minutes, my mother called me. She was ok but we didn't know that my father was ok. My father is a captain and he usually works around north-east area. I was really worried about him. After a few hours, fainally, I could contact with him. He said that he was sailing southward from Hokkaido to Sendai when the earthquake happened. If the earthquake happened late, he would have died. I felt relief at the news.
 However, the extent of damage has not to be determined yet. Recovery is going to be a long process. I hope that they achieve full recovery as soon as possible.

Feng Shui

 Have you ever heard about "Feng Shui"? Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese system. You get your bearings and get a lucky break. For example, If you put on a mirror on the left side of the entrance, you can get a good luck.
 When I was in Japan, I tried to arrange the entrance by Feng shui as in the following example. But I couldn't it at that time because I didn't have a shelf on the leftside of the entrance. My parent's house had a ploblem also. There was a mirror on the right side of the entrance so, I told my mother about Feng Shui. And then, she hung a cloth on the mirror. If the mirror is on the right side, it is not good. You need to cover the mirror with cloth or take away.
 However, I don't know about whether we got a good luck or not. Do you want to try Feng Shui? Whether you believe it or not is depending on you.