Poster Presentations

Congratulations everyone, on a job well done!! I thought everyone gave good talks. Please write in today's class about how you felt while you were doing your talk. What was the most difficult part? Did it get easier the second time?

What do you remember about other speakers? What were some interesting things you learned (e.g. some Korean drums are made with dog skin) or funny things (Mana wants to be a vampire). Please write as many things as you can remember.

Differences of Opinion

Most of you have been having a good time recently, I think, even though you have many reports etc. One of the Class 8 members wrote about a party she enjoyed with some classmates:

"We told about some complaints of our boyfriends till midnight :)haha"

I wonder what they said...It's hard to understand the behaviour of others sometimes (and good fun to complain about them). Has everyone had the experience of feeling fed up with their partner's behavior/attitude? Surely, the answer is "Yes!!". For your next post, please share your story of male/female behavior you find hard to understand or tolerate.

(Story 1) A Strange Dream

It was getting late, and the kids were ready for bed. They kissed their parents goodnight and curled in their beds under the covers. It was a bit chilly, but Molly kept herself covered so that her little feet wouldn't get cold. After a while, her and her little brother Steve were asleep.

Molly started dreaming of a beautiful green park with lots of big trees and berry bushes. She saw herself walking around with her little brother. Then she saw a pair of red shiny boots in the bushes. They looked sparkly new and she thought they were just the size of her cold little feet. "These boots will keep my feet warm" she thought, and when she didn't find anyone in the park she guessed that they didn't belong to anyone.

Molly tried the boots on and they fit perfectly! Her brother thought they looked beautiful on her. Molly stood up and started walking, but all of a sudden...

(Story 2) Not a Normal Zoo Day

It all started on a nice sunny day last April. All the kids in school were excited to be going to the zoo, but I was especially excited. I love animals and picnics, and going to the zoo is having both at the same time.

At the zoo, we got to see different animals in their cages and some of them were getting fed by their guards. Each of us had a favorite animal, and mine was the elephant.

It was all going well, until Sam decided to mess around with the lock on the monkeys' cage and then...

(Story 3) My First Sailing Trip Ever

Have you ever sailed before? I have, and you won't believe what happened. Well I guess I should start at the beginning, when Uncle Johnny first arrived at our door. We had heard a lot about Uncle Johnny from both Mom and Dad, but we had never met him. He was always away, having adventures somewhere.

It seemed amazing that all of those things could happen to just one man. I mean, how many people do you know that have been chased by lions in the African jungles, lived with the Eskimos at the North Pole, and flown a hot air balloon across the Atlantic? We loved all the stories, and were delighted when he actually came to our house.

The first words he said were "Let's go sailing!" My mom and dad tried to get out of going, but Uncle Johnny had an answer for every excuse they came up with. Within an hour we were all packed into the car and driving towards the marina, where his yacht was. As you can imagine, what started out as a simple sailing trip ended up as a great adventure. Let me tell you all about it....

These Days

How are you doing these days? I know you're very busy with reports, homework etc (I am too), but what else have you been doing/ thinking about etc?

As usual, my little girl has been taking up a lot of my time. She eats a lot (maybe more than my wife), but is always active. She loves to be outside, either walking or being pushed in the stroller. She's really interested in dogs and bicycles. She often stops during walks and tries to touch other people's bicycles. Maybe she will be able to ride one from an early age.

She still doesn't use a lot of words (but of course Japanese will be her main language when she starts speaking properly. Now her favourite words are "maaa", which means "Give me some food!" in her language, and "kuku" (shoes), which means "I want to go outside".

On recent weekends we've had barbecues on the terrace at the front of our house, overlooking the pond. I enjoy starting the fire, and cooking the meat, sausages etc which taste wonderful (even though they're bad for our health), and "having a cold one" or two.

On Saturday I sprayed chemicals in our yard to protect against the hungry little caterpillars that hatch from butterfly eggs and try to eat all our shrubs and trees. After that we rode our bicyles to Takatsuki city (Sophie was on my back) to have lunch at our favourite Indian restaurant. No curry, no life!

Where I Live

I will never forget my surprise the first time I turned off the bustling shopping street lined with drab shopfronts which runs east from Tonda station, and strode towards the Showa-era house my wife and I were considering buying. Suddenly in the space of a few minutes, I had emerged from urban wastelands into a tranquil oasis.

Coated in vivid pink lotuses, a huge pond sprawled in front of me. In its centre stood a lush willow tree, its leaves undulating gently in the breeze. To the right of that, two fountains gushed water tirelessly, filling the air with their soothing sound. In moments I found myself at the front gate of the house, still gazing in awe at the ducks, egrets, and other birds that called this place home. A feeling that I might soon be doing the same started to fill me.