Where are you from? For me, where I was born is very much a part of who I am. Some people view their hometown as just the place they grew up. I think it is more than that. It is the place that helped make you the person you are today. I was born and raised in the New Orleans area of Louisiana in the United States. It is a city with a rich history, beautiful architecture, and some of the best and most unique food in the world.

Food is one of the most important parts of the New Orleans culture. The food often takes hours to cook. Influenced by French and African cuisine, the food is a mix of local ingredients and traditional cooking methods. New Orleans is often called “the melting pot” of the U.S. This means that cultures and people all come together here to create something different and new. This is the same for the food. It is a place where rice and bread are equals. A place where people love meat as much as seafood. In New Orleans, you learn the history of food, not just how to cook. Every time you cook, you can remember the stories and background of the food you are cooking.

New Orleans is a musical city. You can hear music everywhere you go. The history of jazz began in New Orleans. It has evolved over the years in New Orleans, and it is where some of the best musicians perform. Jazz holds an important position in the culture of New Orleans. Slow smooth jazz to upbeat fun jazz, jazz music shows off the charm of the city. A place to relax, but also a place you can have fun, dance, and party.

However, it is not the perfect place, but the people have learned to adapt and adopt its flaws. Some of its history’s worst parts are remembered and used to make it and even better place. The people are some of the kindest and most patient you will meet. Being from such a place, adopting the bad and creating good, is one reason some people might label me as an optimistic person. I like to see the good in things.

Your hometown follows you everywhere. It is important to learn as much as you can about where you are from and carry respect and love for your hometown, even if you think it is not the most exciting place. Maybe you will be surprised by how much more interesting it is than you think. Take a look at the people and history one more time. You never know what beautiful stories you will find.

Photo Credit: Oliver_Weidmann@Pixabay

nicolebauer3004@Pixabay

Blog Quiz

Q1. What city is the blog about?

Q2. What places influence New Orleans’s food?

Q3. New Orleans is the hometown of what kind of music?

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers

Q1. It is about New Orleans.

Q2. It is influenced by Africa and France.

Q3. It is the hometown of jazz music.

You may have discovered that reading about one topic will get you interested in others. Recently I read the novel The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins (1975). The style is what some call ‘historical fiction’ meaning places, people and events used in the book may have really existed, but the drama is a fictional story.

This particular story relates an account of a secret plan of Nazi Germany to send soldiers to England in order to kidnap the Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill.

While reading, I first became curious of the location of some scenes in the book. This led me to research more about Norfolk and Norwich, England by looking at maps and pictures. I also wanted to see pictures of war time Berlin and England.

I became interested in the historical characters including Adolf Hitler, Churchill, and Benito Mussolini, the former Prime Minister of Italy. These are names I grew up hearing, but I never learned the details about what kind of people they were, or what they did during the time of World War II. I also become interested in the political problems between Ireland and Britain which have a long history and are one component of the story’s background.

The internet is a great resource for following up on topics. We can see pictures, videos and find other materials related to what we are reading. 

After finishing the book, I learned about a movie that was made based on the novel. I read about the actors featured in the movie and how it was reviewed by movie critics. From now, I would like to read more ‘historical fiction’ novels to see how the authors combine real and imaginary events or people. In fact, there have been many historical dramas produced for TV in Japan. They are often based on historical characters and events, but they can show us a human side to the events we read about in history textbooks. I recommend reading some historical novels and checking out some historical dramas as well. It is an interesting way to encounter people and events from the past. Maybe you will also be inspired to expand your interests and views about various related topics.

Photo Credit: Caio @pexels.com

Blog Quiz

Q1. Which book did the author read?

Q2. Who were two famous people in the novel?

Q3. Why does the author recommend reading historical fiction?

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers

Q1. The Eagle Has Landed

Q2. Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill

Q3. It can give you a new perspective on history.

Due to the stay-at-home period, I experienced a radical change in my lifestyle. I worked at home, ate at home, engaged in some physical exercise at home, and only ventured out to buy some essential things at the nearest supermarket. It was stressful, but it did encourage me to think about my lifestyle, particularly my diet. Thankfully, the supermarkets and grocery stores did not close, and supplied food as usual. Although some items were out of stock, they were not crucial for survival.

I gained weight because I stopped walking to the university. I did not change the portion sizes of my meals, so weight gain was a reasonable consequence. I did do a little exercise, but the amount was obviously insufficient to allow me to consume extra calories! I sought ways to make my lifestyle healthier, and dieting was an appropriate choice at the time.

I learned to eat ‘brown foods.’ In Japan, brown foods refer to fried or baked foods, which are not usually considered to be healthy. However, the brown foods I am referring to are foods that are brown in colour, such as nuts and whole-wheat bread, and those containing fibre and minerals. 

First, I tried to eat okara, which is a by-product of tofu production. It is cheap, and does not affect the flavour of foods; I put raw okara into soups and cooked it with rice. The texture of the dish was a little gluey, but it is easy to add okara when cooking at home. You can add it to the meat used to make hamburgers, curries or white stew. 

Although brown rice is chewy and does not taste as good as white rice, it does contain a lot of fibre and vitamins. White rice is produced by removing the outer husk of brown rice; white rice is tasty and has a pleasant texture, but it is less nutritious than brown rice. I had trials and errors when attempting to cook brown rice and found that the best way to cook it was with some white rice. Now I am a fan of brown rice. You should soak the brown rice at least 6 hours before you cook it with an auto-rice cooker. 

I cannot neglect to mention a particularly nutritious Japanese food, which is natto. As is well known, natto is dark brown in colour and has a strong, fermented flavour, which sometimes causes people to avoid it. It was not previously popular in the Kansai region but, as people have come to understand its nutritional value, can now be purchased at local supermarkets and convenience stores. It contains fibre and vitamins and a significant amount of protein. 

There are other types of healthy diets across the world, including the renowned Mediterranean diet, which is eaten in countries around the Mediterranean Sea, and Chinese medical cooking. Eating is an enjoyable experience that is linked directly to health. Thus, I hope you will consider eating a healthy diet!

Photo Credit: Polina Tankilevitch @pexels.com

Blog Quiz

Q1. What is a problem of the author during the stay-at-home period?

Q2. What are brown foods introduced in the article?

Q3. What is a common ingredient of okara and natto?

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers

Q1. Gaining weight

Q2. Okara, brown rice and natto

Q3. Soy beans

As we all know, moving our lives online can be burdensome on our mental and physical health. Many of us have gained weight or heard our friends complain about gaining weight. With the ease of food at home and the lack of gyms to attend, our bodies are taking the full force of this new lifestyle.

While there are different ways to keep the weight off, most share two common themes, move! Whether you move your body through exercise or move your body in the kitchen, two key ways to succeed in living a healthy physical life at home are through movement.

Try to exercise! Exercising at home can be seen as troublesome. There is not a lot of space and no equipment. There are plenty of workout videos online that can help you exercise at home using different types of exercises. Many of these videos do not require any equipment, and they make you feel like you worked hard at the end. Taking advantage of the weather with a long walk or a good distance bicycle ride is also a good option. Furthermore, stand up from your computer and do some stretching. This will help loosen up your body and get your blood flowing.

Have you ever heard the saying “Abs are made in the kitchen”? To get a healthy body, the foods you eat are essential. Eating a balanced diet is vital to keeping the weight off. Get into the kitchen in the morning, get a light breakfast, plan for lunch, and eat a hearty dinner. 

At the beginning of all of this, I was worried about food and my health. However, through online classes, keeping a healthy schedule, eating well, and exercising, I have been able to get into the best shape I have been in a long time by working on these two areas of my physical lifestyle. You will not only look better, but you will also feel better too! These effects may even carry over into your academic life. 

Have the energy to get through the day at your computer in a healthy way!

Photo Credit: Roman Pohorecki@pexels.com

Blog Quiz

Q1. What are some problems with exercising at home?

Q2. When the weather is nice, what are two types of exercise mentioned?

Q3. What kind of diet should you eat?

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers

Q1. There is not a lot of space and no equipment.

Q2. Walking and riding a bicycle are mentioned.

Q3. You should eat a balanced diet.

There are many varieties of the English language. There are the established varieties such as British-English and American-English. In addition, there are numerous new varieties including Indian-English, Malaysian-English, Singaporean-English and so on. In fact, in this age of globalisation, new English varieties are developing all over the world, and even in countries without an historical connection to the language. 

Why are these new varieties developing? The answer is complex, but a key reason is concerned with the functions of language. Language has three main functions: for communication, to express identity and to convey culture. For example, American-English developed primarily so that Americans could express their identity and culture, in contrast to England's. 

This need for people around the world to express identity and culture is a primary driving force for all new varieties of the language. As a further example, research has demonstrated that Indian people tend to prefer speaking English like Indians, and not like Americans or British people. Therefore, Indian-English has developed to express the identity and culture of Indians. 

This brings me to the main point: what variety of English should the Japanese speak? In my opinion, in an ideal situation, the Japanese should speak Japanese-English. This is because it best reflects Japanese identity and culture. However, Japanese-English is a long way from being an established variety, and has a low prestige in the minds of many people. Despite this, I believe it is becoming an identifiable variety with unique characteristics. For example, there are hundreds of words of Japanese origin (reflecting Japanese culture and identity) that have become English, not just in Japanese-English, but all varieties. Some examples include tsunami, anime, sudoku, miso and bonsai. There are also words such as kawaii and shinkansen that may soon become English. 

In addition, there are lots of acronyms and abbreviations, which identity Japanese-English. These include NEET, CA, OL, JAL, JR and GW. Furthermore, there are shortened words such as sando (sandwich), konbini (convenience store), depato (department store) and live house (concert hall) that characterise it. These shortened words are no different than when British or Australian people say footie (football), barbie (barbecue) and uni (university). 

There are also words in Japanese-English that have had a change in meaning, such as handle (steering wheel), mansion (flat/apartment), furonto (hotel reception desk), circle (club/society) and baikingu (all-you-can-eat buffet). 

Finally, another characteristic, which is cultural in origin, is that surnames come before Christian names in Japanese-English. Who says that a Japanese person must state their name in the Anglo-American style when communicating globally to, say, Chinese or Brazilians? Therefore, I believe Japanese students should be encouraged to express their identity and culture through Japanese-English, especially to people who have at least some familiarity with Japan and its culture. 

If you are a Japanese learner of English, please say with confidence that you are a circle member or work at a konbini. You may have to explain what you mean at times, but that is the same for all English speakers to a greater or lesser extent, especially when discussing one's identity and culture. I argue that all people with an active interest in the teaching/learning of English in Japan should enthusiastically promote Japanese English development and use. Remember: just because your English may be different than British or American English, does not necessarily mean it is wrong.  

Photo Credit: Sincerely Media @unsplash.com

Blog Quiz

Q1. Is Japanese-English a well-established variety of the language?

Q2. How many main functions of language are there?

Q3. Is the word 'tsunami' Japanese, English or both?

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers

Q1. No, (not yet).

Q2. 3 main functions.

Q3. Both.

I’m writing this blog right now after losing about one hour of my day by watching YouTube.  

Life is hard, right? We need to find a time and place to relax. Especially in the past year with all these crazy things happening. With so much of our lives now revolving around PC’s and doing our work in a digital environment, a lot of people need to find different ways to relax. That’s where the problem of YouTube comes in.

I’m sure you have experienced this: you finish some work and as a way to relax, you decide to watch a YouTube video. After finding a video you like, you watch it. After you finish, you look to the bar on the right and find another video that interests you. It’s only 5 minutes. So, you watch the next one. That turns into another video. After a while, you’ve spent an hour, two hours, maybe even more just watching YouTube.

Is this a healthy relationship with technology?

Websites such as The Guardian have reported on several studies and stories related to mental health and YouTube: 

(https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/03/youtube-addiction-mental-health)

In recent times (especially this past year) more and more people are using YouTube as a way to distract themselves from life. For some people, they need to watch YouTube as a way to stay emotionally balanced. They click on the YouTube icon without even thinking about it.

Research has said that YouTube can have the same effect that drugs have on the human brain. Especially with people who watch a lot of videos. 

It’s natural to like watching funny cat videos, a strange incident caught on video tape, a vlogger with an interesting story, music videos, interviews with celebrities, and many other videos. I know I’ve lost hours to YouTube. I try every day to find ways to be productive and finish my work. However, I always find myself clicking on that red play button. It has gone to the point where if I don’t watch videos, I feel a little “off”.

I understand that everyone wants to escape the real world. Especially in the past year. I also know that we spend a lot more time inside. But when does our need for amusement and fun start to impact other parts of our mental wellbeing?

Also, with the state of things, what can we do about it? Well first we can rethink our relationship with technology. Do we really NEED to constantly look at a screen? We can also try to mentally take life a little slower. Take walks and get fresh air. Modern media has driven us to want the next video, the next game, the next comic. Let’s work to take it a little slower.

Maybe then we will lose a little less time to that big, red play button.

Photo Credit: freestocks.org @pexels.com

Blog Quiz

Q1. Why are people watching more YouTube videos? 

Q2. YouTube can have the same effect as what on people who are addicted to YouTube?

Q3. What should we do to stop from becoming addicted to YouTube?

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers

Q1. People want to relax and escape life stresses.

Q2. Drugs.

Q3. Take walks and get fresh air.

Hello everyone! Lately I don’t really speak to anyone, so I thought I’d imagine someone to talk to. Hi Mr. BB!

BB: Hi P! How’s it going?

P: Well, could be better. Did you know that Shiga has its own basketball team?

BB: No. What are they called?

P: The Lakestars.

BB: Doesn’t Shiga have just one big lake?

P: I guess no one’s really bothered to count in Los Angeles either.

BB: Where do they play?

P: All over the place. Chikubushima, Takeshima, Okinoshiraishi, Yabasekihanto, Okishima…

BB: Okishima! The nightlife there! Oh, I love those little stand-up bars like the Nishinoko and the Ibanaiko. The best was the Dainakanoko! But it closed down. Do you think I can catch a game here in Osaka? I want to see them beat Kyoto. I hate those Kyoto teams! 

P: You remind me of my wife who once came to visit me in Toronto. I asked her if she wanted to go watch an NBA game and she said, “Yes! I wanna see the Bulls play against the Lakers!”

BB: Whoa! Ain’t she lucky! Does Shiga have any superstars, like that James Lebron?

P: I don’t know. Let’s google it. I’ll read you off a few names and you tell me if you recognize any. Let’s see. At centre, they got Biwako-ohnamazu.

BB: (silence)

P: Their guards are Moroko and Sujiebi.

BB: Nope.

P: Biwamasu and Funa are the forwards.

BB: Who’s their coach?

P: I can’t read the kanji…Whonazushi?

BB: That rings a bell! Where have I heard that name before?

P: It says he’s Australian.

BB: That makes sense! Listen, let’s go watch a game this weekend.

P: I can’t. I’m going camping at some place called Yogo.

BB: So it’s a no-go?

P: It’s up north.

BB: Oh yes. The sea! Fukui!

Photo Credit: the team icon

https://www.lakestars.net/

Blog Quiz

Q1. How many lakes are there in Shiga?

Q2. How many islands are there on Lake Biwa?

Q3. What kinds of fish or shellfish can you find in Lake Biwa?

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers

Q1. 4: Lake Biwa, Lake Nishi, Lake Ibanai & Lake Yogo. Lake Dainaka was lost to land reclamation.

Q2. 4: Okishima, Chikubushima, Takeshima & Okinoshiraishi. Yabasekihanto is an artificial island.

Q3. Biwako-ohnamazu (Lake Biwa Giant Catfish), Moroko (Willow Gudgeon), Sujiebi (Lake Prawn), Biwamasu (Biwa Trout), and Funa (Japanese White Crucian Carp).

Many students travel overseas. Traveling overseas is what I recommend for all my students to do. There is only so much you can learn by staying in one place and reading books. As a university student, you’re finally old enough to be able to get on an airplane and travel to another country by yourself. This is the time to see what the real world is like. There are so many different languages and foods and cultures and perspectives and museums and animals and the list goes on. It is time to take all that you have learned from the textbooks and go out and see it firsthand. Indeed, the reason that I live in Japan today and teach English is because of the time in college when I went overseas and was so moved by that experience. I feel it is my duty to give my language to others and empower them to explore their world. 

When the brain stays in one place for a long time, everything becomes easy and automatic and the brain can work on auto-pilot. By placing yourself in a new situation, the brain has to return to its original state that it was as a newborn baby—when you didn’t know how to do anything. In a different country, you often don’t know how to speak, don’t know how to eat, where to go, how to get there, even how to properly function in the society. So your brain goes into overdrive and uses all that you have learned to figure out how to live. This wakes up the brain and it feels happy. It is finally being stimulated and used again. This is how the brain is supposed to function. With the brain in this state, there is more circulation flowing through the different quadrants of the brain and new, expansive thoughts more easily come to mind. This is an opportunity to think deeply about those pivotal questions such as, “Who am I? Where am I going in life? What do I really want to do in this lifetime?” Those types of questions rarely surface in our everyday routine lives, and when they do surface, they are difficult to answer because the brain is sleeping. But now is the time to ask those questions and to come up with the answers. 

During this time of COVID-19, it is more challenging to travel or do some of the things that I mentioned. But it is not impossible. Understand the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you have with these extended sessions of free time. Commit yourself to designing your method of enrichment. It is no longer the school’s responsibility to decide how to navigate your education. Only you know yourself best. Look inside and figure out how you can put yourself in a new and challenging environment so that you can wake up your brain and grow. Your life may move in a completely different direction because of the decisions that you make during these precious university years.

Photo Credit: author

Blog Quiz

Q1. Why does the author live in Japan today? 

Q2. How is the brain supposed to function? 

Q3. What is the challenge that the author gives to the reader at the end of the article? 

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers

Q1. Because when he was in college, he traveled overseas and was moved by that experience.

Q2. In a new environment where it has to work hard to figure out many things.

Q3. To find a way to put oneself in a new and challenging environment during the school break in order to wake up the brain and think about life's important questions.

Why do we have such long vacations as university students? It is not customary for Japanese to have a lot of time off from work. Even mothers are often asked to do many things by the PTA. So, why does a culture which takes pride in working hard give so much free time to university students? The Ministry of Education discusses the school calendar in Tokyo and they have made a conscious decision to keep this time open and available for university students. There is a reason. 

In the time of life as a university student, you are neither an adult nor a child. You are leaving childhood and getting ready to embark on adulthood. It is your final chance to live with your primary responsibility, almost your duty, to educate yourself as much as possible. Before college, you could say that teachers knew what was best to teach you. There are basic things in life that all people should know. Things like reading, writing, math, science, art & music, and other core subjects. Granted, the standard curriculum could use some “updating” to include subjects like homemaking, personal finance, sustainable living, civic engagement, etc. But students still get the basics. The reason that you have time off in college is so that you can decide what you would like to do to educate yourself. You are free to explore anything and you have the knowledge and self-awareness to be able to direct your efforts responsibly. 

Some students do an internship. This gives you a chance to experience what it is like to go to work and to put your efforts towards a company or a project. This is an invaluable experience as you think about entering the professional world after college. 

Some students volunteer. There are numerous volunteer projects available through JICA to help Japanese students go around Japan or the world and put their efforts towards helping the common good. This is also a profound experience as it may motivate you as to how you would like to direct your efforts as a working adult. The world needs its people to follow their passion and contribute towards a better world. Gone are the days of getting a desk job at Panasonic and working idly for 30 years to collect a paycheck. 

Photo Credit: author

Blog Quiz

Q1. According to the article, what is one thing that the Japanese culture takes pride in?

Q2. Why do students have a lot of time off during college? 

Q3. What are two examples of things that students do during their time off? 

Scroll down ↓ for the answers to the quiz.

Quiz Answers 

Q1. Working hard.

Q2. So that students can decide what they would like to do to educate themselves.

Q3. Do an internship and volunteer.