Today I went with friends to Sekigahara. There was a small wind chime festival at a place called Warland. It’s kind of a funny place where you can see mannequins recreating the battle of Sekigahara… The wind was pretty strong this weekend so the sound was a lot louder than I expected. It felt like a nice way to celebrate summer being almost finished!

みなさん、夏休みは楽しんでいますか。

私は先日、近藤喜文展へ行ってきました。

この展覧会を見る前は近藤喜文というアニメーターをよく知りませんでしたが、

「この男がジブリを支えた。」というキャッチコピーに惹かれ行ってみました。

ジブリといえば宮崎駿と高畑勲という二人の天才が真っ先に頭に思い浮かびますが、

この二人から厚い信頼を寄せられていたのが近藤喜文だそうです。

展覧会には近藤喜文が描いたアニメの原画や創作の元となるアイデアスケッチ、

制作が頓挫してしまった日米合作「リトルニモ」のアニメを見ることができました。

素人目から見ても、その創作に対する熱意やアイデアの豊かさに驚かされます。

特に驚かされたのは、従来のアニメでは国籍が分かりにくくなる人物像を、

近藤喜文は『火垂るの墓』で日本人を日本人らしく描くことに成功している点です。

素晴らしいアニメーターをまた一人知ることができ、有意義な夏になりました。

I had the opportunity to go to Tokyo for a week recently with a friend at his house, one of the days he asked if I was hungry and of course, I said yes. Shortly after, he proceeded to tell me about the BEST Aburasoba 油そば place in all of Japan, arguably. I laughed and asked myself “how good could this actually be?” So, we ended up in Waseda city after taking the Tokyo Metro and after about a mile walk we had arrived to our destination! The place was very hole-in-the-wall so I was hesitant to eat it, bugave it a shot and I am so glad I did because honestly, It WAS the best Aburasoba I’ve ever had and I have dreams about it to this day. I will definitely be returning there whenever I am in Tokyo!

みなさんこんにちは。

ハローズのアメリカへの海外研修、”Summer School in America”から参加していた生徒ともに帰国しました。

ブログでもその様子があがっていますね。ぜひ見てみてください！

今年のジョージア州はとても暑くてびっくりしました。日差しは日本に比べるととても強いのですが少し湿度もありました。ただやはり圧倒的に日本の方が高いですね。何もしなくても汗がダラダラと垂れてくる日本の夏は本当に嫌いです。。。

参加した生徒たちは色々な経験ができたのではないでしょうか。カルチャーショックがいっぱいあったと思います。この経験を糧に英語の勉強に励んでください！そしてしっかり休息をとってください。たぶん時差ボケもあると思います。そしてまた会える日を楽しみにしてます！！

Awhile ago, I performed another baking experiment, this time of a dessert time I’ve never before attempted: cheesecake. Well, cheesecake from scratch. And I wouldn’t stand for plain vanilla cheesecake, either. No, this had to be cookies ‘n cream cheesecake!

To be honest, cheesecake wasn’t my initial goal on this particular baking day, but it was crazy hot and humid outside, so my muffin plans were derailed by a need for ventilation that would’ve immediately emptied my apartment of all the nice, cool, air-conditioned air… And that wouldn’t do. So I made a no bake cheesecake instead.

It went exceptionally well! The mini cheesecakes all taste like cookies ‘n cream ice cream, and they’re a great treat on a hot, humid day. AKA every single day for the next three months. …I have no regrets.

If you ever want to make cheesecake yourself, I can now say from experience that it’s not especially difficult. Honestly, finding the equivalent ingredients in a Japanese grocery store was the hardest part. Well, that and cleaning up the whipped cream that got absolutely everywhere when I was, y’know, whipping the cream… (Note to self: use an appropriately size bowl next time.) It did take a fair amount of time. Between letting the cream cheese warm to room temperature, crushing the cookies, packing and chilling the cookie crust, whipping the cream, and leaving everything to set in the freezer, it ended up taking almost four hours! I think the treat is ultimately worth it, though. The chocolate soothes my soul.