Assignment #8: Japan Today

I chose the article about winter warmers to keep the chill away. In this article, many items, foods and drinks were introduced. There was also a picture of the "kairo". As for drinks, “tamagozake” was introduced as  Japanese method which people use when they have a cold, however, I didn't even know it. I'm ashamed that I didn't know it and it is sad thing that Japanese traditional cultures are declining. So, although this article was about items to keep warm, after reading this I felt that I want to know more about Japane traditional cultures.

Assignment #7: Fall and Winter

I don't like the cold weather, but I like this time of year. I feel really good. I love the cold nights. It's really cold at night, but cold nights always remind me of the days I studied hard to pass the exams for this university and the high school. Then I studied really hard at cram school until late. It was really cold when I was on my way to home at nigh, however, the sky with shining stars was amazing. I could always see Orion. So when I see starlight, I always remember  the days I studied hard and I'm encouraged. This is how I feel during the cold days. I really like it.

Assignment #6: TED

I watched Renny Gleeson's video. In the video, he tells us how to get on with our mobile phones. Recently, people always face the screen of the mobile phone and don't talk with people in front of them, and he shows us various tipes of cheating. I often do the same thing. In his opinion, using phone while talking with people makes frontal clash. I agree with him. It makes people in front me feel boring and sometimes it makes misunderstanding. Face to face communication is the most important thing.

Assignment #5: Aki Ra

This video made me a little sad. I didn't know about it at all. I've learned about the land mine issues and it still exists. But recently I'm really busy and I forgot about the problem. I'm really ashamed now. The most surprising thing is that Aki Ra, who is now trying to clear mines, had actually planted mines during the war, too. From this fact, I thought that if we did bad things, we can change. Now, the safety issue that I would like to change is the North Korea's nuclear weapons issues. I don't think they are doing the good thing. So are other countries in the world, I think. I want North Korea to realize that they are doing bad things, and then fix it.

Success: What Does it Take?

From Richard St. John's story, we can learn that "success isn't a one-way street, but a continuous  journey." He thought that success was one-way street, and he stopped trying hard when he reach success. Then, he failed. He learned that the important thing is not only how he achieves success, but how he sustains it. I was impressed by his story because I had an experience like his. When I was a high school student, I studied hard to pass the entrance exam of KGU, and I passed! My English skills clearly improved then, however, I thought, "I'm good enough", like him. And I stopped studying, and finally, my TOEFL score got worse. Then I realized like him, the important thing is to keep trying hard. Now, I'm studying for TOEFL test. Now I know what is important for success. I'll try hard, and I want to achieve success again.

Assignment #3: Viral Videos

I watched all of the examples of viral videos, and I found some common features among them. First, all of them made me smile. The movies about babies were so cute, and the music video was funny. They were different kind of movies, but they all made me feel good after I watched. Second, they were really catchy. They all were short  movies, and I could understand them even it was the first time that I saw the movies. And languages which are spoken in the videos are not important. I'm Japanese and I couldn't understand Korean at all, but I could enjoy Korean movie too. So I think viral movies have something that attract us except words.

Assignment #2: Images

I chose a photo, named "Messagr for Japan". In this picture, a girl is taking part in an anti-Japan protest in Taipei. Because of Senkaku-problem, a lot of Chinese people hate Japanese now. My friends said that her father had to get off  the taxi in China because he was Japanese. And everyday I hear the news like this on TV, and it's always worse, for example, a bilding of a Japane company was broken, and so on. However, a few days ago I talked about this problem with my friend who is Chinise, and my way of thinking toward it was changed. His grandparents are in China, so he go back to China every year. He've lived in Japan for fifteen years and he is mostly Japanese, but people in China are really kind to him. He said, "People now hurting Japanese are just one part of people in China." And I don't think the girl on this picture had the massage as her will. Probably an adult told her to do so. Therefore, I think Japanese people shouldn't hate all Chinise people.