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    Week Four
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Weekly Blog
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this week

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  This week we will start our 4 week series concentrating on idioms. Some people love idioms, while others hate them because they are too difficult. I will write a little anecdote each week with five to ten idioms. Below each week’s anecdote will be an example of the meaning of each idiom. We hope you will enjoy learning the meaning of some interesting idioms. Then we hope you will start to use a few of them in your conversations. Beginners should remember to use the on-line dictionary. Click on the links below to either find out how to use the dictionary or go directly to the dictionary’s site.

  Many boys dream of adventures and going to foreign countries. Then, we become young men and our interests change, but I am still a boy at heart. I think living in Japan has been a dream come true. I like new experiences. I catch on to things quickly, except for Japanese. I mess up at times with the language, but I try to work out misunderstandings with friends. There is always something new to learn. What a life!

At heart: 実際は、本当は
1. ジェームズはときどきとても非友好的に見えますが、実際は彼はとてもいい人なのです。

Come true: 現実となる、当たる
1.今日の天気についての予報士の予報は確かに当たった。
2.生活費の増加について経済学者らが予測したことがすべて現実となった。

Catch on: 広まる;(意味・冗談が)わかる
(*「(意味・冗談が)わかる」の語義では、catch on to の形でよく用いる。)
1. 教師があんなふうに早口で話して、君はすらすらわかるかね。
(When the teacher speaks quickly like that, can you catch on easily?)

Mess up: しくじる
1. 今日の試験は本当にしくじったよ,君もへまをしたかい?
2. カレンはうっかりして自分の当座預金に入金するのを忘れた。

Work out: 次第に出てくる
 1.  トレ-ニングをする;(計画などを)考えだす
2.  その問題を解くいい計画を提案することはできなかったが、後日力を合わせて解決していくことで同意した。

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  When you talk to teenagers and young people, do you feel out of touch?  You’re not alone!  Adults’ vocabulary is out of date and we try in vain to communicate, but it seems like we’re wasting our breath.  It goes without saying that each generation has their own words and phrases.  Words that were popular twenty years ago are now not cool.  Try to learn a new word from a teenager, and try to teach them something.  You may be surprised that they want to listen to you.  Communication may be difficult, but by all means, don’t give up!

1. Out of touch: 連絡がとだえて;(~についての)理解がない
1.マージと私は長年連絡がとだえていた、それから先日突然彼女が電話をかけてきた。
2.ラリーはずっと忙しくて世の中の出来事はわかっていないようだ。

2. Out of date: 旧式な;時代遅れの;(本が)絶版の(*制限用法で後ろの名詞を修飾する場合はout-of-dateの形になる。動詞outdateは派生語。)
1.多くの人々はもとの車が旧式になると新車を買います。
2.なぜジーンが時代遅れの服装を好むのか私にはわかりません。彼の服があまりに時代遅れなので,ガールフレンドでさえ彼と一緒のところを見られるのを嫌っています。
  
3. In vain: むだに「で」
1.けがをした女性を救おうとした医師たちのあらゆる努力は水泡に帰した。彼女は病院 に入れられてから3時間後に死を告げられた。
2.昨夜私たちはあなたに連絡をとろうとしたのですが、できませんでした。電話が故障していませんか。

4. Wasting our breath: むだな説得をする(*人を説得させようと時間を浪費している場合に用いる。
  save one’s breathはnot to waste one’s breathの意味)
1.もうフランクと議論するな。君の意見に同意させようなんてむだな説得だ。
2.何をするかはもう決心したんだ。僕の心は変えられない、だから、むだな説得はしないでくれ。

5. Goes without saying: 言うまでもない(*it goes without saying thatの形で用いることが多い。)
1.悪天候のときはスピードを出して運転すべきでないということは言うまでもない。

6. By all means: もちろん、当然;いかなる手段を用いても
1.もしジョンソン一家が私たちを夕食に招いてくれれば、その時は当然私たちもお返しに招待しなければならない。もちろんその家の子供たちは招待する必要はない。
2.確実に生き残るためには、その経営不振の企業は何が何でも現金を入手しなければならない。

7. Give up: あきらめる;やめる;降参する
1.君はきっとこの仕事をやり遂げられるよ。まだあきらめないで



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  Many prefectures in Japan have local demons.  Akita Prefecture’s Namahage are a great example.  I was taken aback by how scary they are, but also very interested to learn more about them.  I went to the Namahage Museum last year with my friend from America.  I explained that their purpose is to make the bad children become good children.  In other words, they scare the children into good behavior and probably give them nightmares.  Nine times out of ten, they succeed in scaring the children. So, do the Namahage really make kids behave better?  I guess that depends on how many times they visit a child!

to (be) take(n) aback: しばしば失望;困惑がともないながら驚きや驚愕(きょうがく)の感情が呼び起こされる
in other words: 同じことを違う言い方で言う;要約する[ that is to sayと同義 ]
nine times out of ten: ほとんど常に
it (or that) depends (on) : もしかすると;たぶん;(私は)まだ決めていないが,
             条件がつくかもしれない;とても不確かだ



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Hello everyone,

We finally moved completely into a new school location last week. I am glad the move is done. Both Kristin and I are exhausted, but we are very satisfied with everything. We also want to thank Jinko and Setsuko for the great help! We couldn’t have done it without you two. We are very grateful!

Well, let me tell you about the school’s sudden move. I had been very curious with the old Kasaya Sporting Good Store’s building. The store moved to a new building last year, and for the last three months I have wanted to stop in and talk with the owner. So, three weeks ago I was passing by their new place in my car and I decided to pull into the parking lot.

I told the Mr. Sasaki who is the owner, that I was interested in renting the building from him and was wondering if I could see the inside of it. I also told him that the monthly rent would probably be too much, but none the less I would like to see it.

He said, “Sure, I will take you to the place now”.  So we went to see it and it was huge, at least twice the size of the current place, and in addition it had running water, storage and wonderful lighting.  I discussed the move with my wife and we decided to rent the building from the owner.

We had it cleaned first, and then had someone lay the carpet and put up some wallpaper in a few needed places. After that we started moving everything over from the old place.  We have much to do still, but at least we can teach classes while fixing it up a little more.

Fortunately the new place is only a five minute walk from the former location. We hope some of local blog readers will come and visit us in our new home.
 
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  One of my favorite Japanese festivals is Kanto.  It starts out the same way as many festivals, with lots of dancing, music, and festival clothing.  At first glance, it looks like people holding lanterns with candles inside.  But then, everything stops, and the lanterns go swinging into the night sky.  Some teams have a better safe than sorry attitude, but a few teams go for it and try to get their lanterns as high as possible.  Sometimes, things go wrong and the lanterns fall over, and this is when the festival gets really exciting.  I can’t wait to see Kanto this year!  What is your favorite summer festival?

in the same way: 同様に;同じように;同じ理由から
at first sight: 見たところ初めは;初めて見ると[ at first glanceと同義 ]
Better safe than sorry: 危険をおかすよりは,安全策を取るほうがよい
to go for (it): 通常はある特定のものあるいは目標について、気持ちや行動
   において,非常に熱意があって積極的である[口語的]
to go wrong: 誤りをおかす;計算間違いをしたり, 判断まちがいをする;悪い面をあらわにする



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I am sad to announce that our wonderful teacher, Kristin Clumpner will be leaving Japan and looking for a new adventure for her life. Kristin has been with us for 4 years and we sure will miss her. I will be writing much more about Kristin in a future blog later in September. We have much to thank her for. However at this time, I want you to mark September 18th on your calendar. It is Kristin's "Goodbye Party"! We hope to see many of you here to thank Kristin for her work and friendship and send her off to uncharted water with our blessings and support. Please have a look at party details below.
     
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Kristin's Trip to Hokkaido

For four years, I’ve wanted to go to Hokkaido, but every summer I was too busy.  This summer, I decided to go.  Me and two good friends got on a ferry at 7am and 10 hours later, we arrived in Tomakomai to begin our adventure.  We spent about 5 days visiting Furano, Sapporo, Otaru, and Hakodate.  We had good weather, but it was so hot and humid!  I was a little disappointed that it was not cooler this year.

We were able to do so many things on our trip.  We saw many beautiful flowers, pet some farm animals, ate Genghis Khan, toured the Sapporo beer factory, hugged a bear, got chased by bees, and ate a live squid.  We had a great time, and I really want to go back again someday to see the rest of Hokkaido.


 



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Special Thanks!

I missed my blog entry last week. Things have been a little busy with this being Kristin’s last month and preparing for the arrival of our new teacher, Mr. James Edel and his family (I will formally introduce him to you in next month’s blog). Things are going smoothly because of the assistance from our super volunteers. They have been great with helping us with Kristin’s moving preparations and everything that is related to moving, like closing an internet account and etc.  They have translated goodbye messages and welcome messages, helped with the goodbye party and lots of other things. So this week’s blog is written to say thank you to all who have been so helpful.

Thank you Jinko,
Thank you Akemi,
Thank you Mr. Igarashi,
Thank you Tamaki,
Thank you Mrs. Sasaki,
Thank you Mr. Oba!
&
Thank you Ku!

Finally, if you are planning to come to Kristin's "Goodbye Party" it is this coming Saturday.

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Kristin,
クリスティンへ

Gambarimashita ne! You came to Kisakata as a student and had a wonderful experience. It was because of that experience, you decided to come back and work here at this school and meet all these wonderful people.

クリスティン、がんばりましたね! あなたは中学生の頃に象潟にホームステイして、すばらしい経験をしました。その経験により、またにかほ市に来て、スローンズイングリッシュスクールで働く決意をし、そしてすてきな方々に会うことができました。

You have come a long way, young lady. You knew nothing about teaching English or speaking Japanese. I remember you shaking in your shoes when you first started at Kisakata Elementary School. You wondered for a while, “Can I teach? Can I do it”?  However, Akemi, Tamaki and Yumi helped you at the elementary school and you survived the first year and a half.

その時以来大変成長されましたね、クリステイン!英語を教えることや日本語を話すことなど、何も知りませんでした。象潟小学校で教え始めた時、ガタガタ震えていたのを思い出します。しばらく、教えることができるのかなぁ~と、思っているようでした。
でも、小学校では明美さん、タマキさん、由美さんたちの手伝いがあって、最初の一年半は切りぬけました。

You had many great times with a variety of people. With each challenge you gained confidence. Do you remember the first Halloween? You were dressed as an angel. You were running around helping kids carve pumpkins. It was wild and crazy, but you gave the kids a good time.  Each year the kids look forward to your caramel apples. We will miss you and your Halloween spirit.

あなたは、いろいろな人達とすばらしい時を過ごしました。その一つ一つの挑戦で自信をつけました。最初のハロウィーンを覚えていますか? あなたは天使の衣装を身に着けました。 子供達が、かぼちゃを彫るのを手伝いながら忙しく動き回っていました。そのお世話は抜群で、子供達を楽しませました。毎年、子供達はあなたのキャラメル(砂糖煮の)りんごを楽しみにしています。あまたがいなくなり、ハロウイーンの楽しみがなくなるのは寂しいことです。

Do you remember working with everyone in the volunteer meetings? Do you remember the A-Z readers and the vocabulary sheets? Yes, here they are. Don’t run away. You are finished with that challenge. Thank you for staying with the project.

ボランティアの集まりで、みんなで取り組んだことを覚えていますか? A-Zリーダー(読本?)や、語彙シートなどを覚えていますか? はい、ここにあります。逃げないでください。あなたはその難題をやりとげたのですから。 このプロジェクトの完成まで頑張ってくれて、本当にありがとうございました。

Then you started going to 3 Elementary schools on your own. Wow, that was a real challenge! It forced you to learn Japanese and work with the teachers. With each visit you were growing. Some days you came back to the office frustrated and exhausted, some days you came back excited.  However, in your last year you came back almost always smiling. Well done young lady!! You have really grown!

そのあと、あなたひとりで3つの小学校へ行き始めました。ワォ~。それこそが真のチャレンジ!そのことがあなたが日本語を学ぶことになり、先生方と共に働くことになりました。それぞれの学校へ行くたびにあなたは成長してきました。ある時には、失望して戻ってきましたし、ある時は疲れ切って帰ってきた時もありました。またある時は興奮して帰ってきた時もありました。けれども、今年はいつも笑顔で帰ってきました。よくがんばりました、クリステイン!あなたは本当に成長しました。

Do you remember visiting kindergartens with me your first year? One day, I said you will be teaching at kindergartens someday. You said, something like, “Are you trying to kill me?" However 2 years later you started teaching at Himawari, Myojo, Seijo and Koide kindergartens. Boy, the challenge was really hard, but you did it! Well done young lady. Kindergartens are fun! Saiko!

最初の年、私と幼稚園を訪れた時のことを覚えていますか?ある日、いつかあなたも幼稚園で教えることになるだろうと、私はあなたに言いました。あなたは「私を殺す気ですか?」と言うようなことを言いました。でも、2年後、あなたはひまわり保育園、明星保育園、星城保育園、小出保育園で子供たちに教え始めました。あなたのチャレンジはすごくきつかったね。しかし、あなたはやり遂げました。
頑張りました~。クリステイン!保育園は楽しい!最高!

Do you remember doing the game center? You spent hours and hours on it. We were pretty bad at it at first, but we have improved. Some days you would feel like saying, “Let me out of here. It’s a nightmare!" None-the-less, you stayed with it. After you leave us, remember to visit the site sometimes and with pride say, “I did this”.

ウエブサイトでのゲームセンターを覚えていますか?あなたは何時間もゲームをしていました。最初は2人共下手でしたが、段々上達してきましたよね。ある日、Kristinは「ここから抜け出したい」というようなことを言いました。それは、まるで悪夢にうなされたかのようでした。それでも、あなたはここにとどまりがんばってくれました。あなたが、わたしたちから去ったとき、時々ウエブサイトを見ることを忘れないでください。そして、「わたしはこれをやったんだ」と誇りを持って言ってください。

Kristin, you did many things in your four years here. You helped me with my classes or taught the kids when I was absent, you offered cooking classes for the city, helped with the student exchanges, worked on the Easter event for kindergarten children, provided free “Talk Time” classes for the sister-city association members, and offered free winter play opportunities for the kids in Nikaho. You edited my English, worked on the website, wrote wonderful blogs and even planned an ALT barbecue with Akemi’s help. Do you remember all the Karaoke songs you did? That was fun!

クリステイン!この4年間に、沢山の仕事をこなしてくれました。私の代わりに授業をサポートしたり、わたしが不在の時には、子供たちに教えたりしてくれました。また、にかほ市の料理教室を積極的に企画したり、学生交流のお手伝いをしたり、幼稚園での復活祭イベントの段取りをしたり、国際交流のメンバーにフリートークの準備をしたり、そして、冬の時期に、にかほの子供たちと一緒に遊べる機会を計画してくれました。また私の英語を編集しウエブサイトにすばらしいブログを書き、さらに、明美さんのお手伝いもあって、ALTのバーベキューパーテイ―をも計画してくれました。あなたが作成してくれたカラオケソングの全てを覚えていますか? 楽しかったね。

Kristin, I can’t list everything you did because there are too many things. However, I can thank you for the hard work and I appreciate you as a person and your willingness to meet each challenge and see it through. I hope you will remember the special people that supported you during your four years.  Some took you to schools; others took you to the hospital, many people hung out with you at events or parties. I hope you will remember the many faces that helped you grow.

クリステイン、あなたは色々なことを沢山こなしてきたので、その全てをリストアップすることは出来ません。でも、激務をこなしてくれたことに感謝することはできます。そして、私はあなたの人柄や積極的なやる気が様々な事にチャレンジし、最後までやり通したことに敬意を表します。あなたがここですごした4年間、あなたをサポートしてくれた特別な方々のことを忘れないでください。ある人は学校に連れて行ってくれたし、またある人は病院へ連れて行ってくれたり、また多くの方々が、イベントやパーテイ―に誘ってくれました。あなたが成長するために援助してくれた多くの人々の顔を忘れないでください。

Lastly, thanks for being you. Thank you for your friendship in the mist of work. I know your adult students in your classes here will miss you and so will your 6th grade girls. There is always lots of laughter in your classes. Of course the kids at the elementary schools will be sad, too. My kids will miss not seeing your smiling face and pleasant greetings. You have challenged me and I have grown because of you. I will miss you. When I look back and compare your first year to this year, I am very grateful. We have come a long way. I and everyone here thank you and wish you the best in your future. From time to time send us an update of yourself. We appreciate you! Well done young LADY!

最後になりましたが、あなたに感謝します。仕事を通して育まれた友情に感謝します。あなたが受け持ったクラスの、大人の生徒達や、また6年生の女の子達もさびしくなるだろうということはわかります。あなたの授業では、いつも笑い声が絶えませんでした。もちろん、小学校の子供達も寂しいことでしょう。私の生徒達もあなたの笑顔を見られなくなり、明るいあいさつができなくなることを、残念に思うことでしょう。あなたの仕事に対する熱心な取り組みのおかげで私も成長しました。私もあなたがいなくなるとさびしくなります。過去を振り返り、あなたの最初の年と今年を比較して、あなたの成長をとってもうれしく思います。私達は大きく成長しました。ここにいる私や皆があなたに感謝し、今後のあなたの活躍をお祈りします。
時々、あなたの近況をお知らせください。
クリステイン、頑張ってくれてありがとう!