I love music, and I listen to a lot of it every day.  However, I realized that last year I didn’t really devote much time to finding new music.  I spent a lot of time listening to old releases or focusing specifically on a narrow range of sounds.  In order to fix this in 2019, I’ve issued myself a challenge:  listen to 800 albums before the end of the year.  These can be new releases or old releases that I’ve never heard.  There are also a lot of records that I listened to when I was younger that I either don’t remember very well or might appreciate more now.  Those are fine, too.  800 sounds like a lot of albums to listen to in one year, but I’m ready for the task and very motivated.  I got a bit of a late start, due to the busy holiday, but officially got started on January 8th.  I will be tracking all of my progress via Instagram.  Wish me luck!

あけましておめでとうございます。

いよいよ2020年まであと一年になりましたね。

大きく英語を上達させられる飛躍の一年にしていきたいですね。

みなさんにとって2018年はどんな年でしたか？

私事ですが、去年は我が家に新しい仲間として子猫がやってきました。

賑やかさと癒しを与えてくれています。

彼のおかげで屋根裏に住んでいたネズミが引っ越していってくれました。

ありがたい限りです。今年は感謝の気持ちを忘れないようにしていきたいです。

1月7日は七草粥の日でしたね！

みなさんは七草粥を食べましたか。お正月のごちそうで

胃もたれなどある中、1年の健康を祈ってのこの習慣は日本の

文化のひとつですね。

英語では、the seven herb rice porridgeと言うようです。

今年も体に良いものを食べ元気にいきましょう！

Over the winter vacation one of my best friends from America came to visit me. It was her first time in Japan, so I was excited to share this amazing country with her. We met in Tokyo first, then went back to Ogaki, and made a day trip to Osaka one day, and Kyoto another. She really enjoyed herself here, which made me happy. 

One thing we did in Tokyo was eat at an unusual restaurant. See, if we wanted to eat dinner, we had to catch it ourselves. In the middle of the restaurant was a large aquarium filled with different types of fish and crustaceans. My friend and I wanted to catch bigger fish and have it made into sushi, except we weren’t very good at fishing…It took us about 45 minutes to catch one fish! For some reason, they weren’t taking the bait on our hooks. They must have been smart fish. 

Eventually I caught one by simply dragging my hook in the water, but I felt bad for piercing the fish. Even though I love sushi, I guess I should just avoid fishing from now on. 

AHHH it lives!

明けましておめでとうございます。ハローズの2019年の授業も始まりました。また新たな気持ちでこの年をスタートさせましょう。英検に学校の宿題、定期テスト・・・たくさんあるけれど、あらかじめいつあるかがわかっているものばかり。今年ことは計画的に物事を進めてみましょう！！・・・と自分にも言い聞かせています。