NEOでは冬休みをいただき1週間が経過しました。
講師たちNickもHalもManamiさんも今回はそろってアメリカの西海岸へ行っています。落ち合えたらいいねという感じですね。
こちらは細かな事務作業で連日NEOへ出ています。それを知っている生徒さんで立ち寄ってくれた人たちもいて嬉しかったです。
普段はお菓子作りはしない私ですが、せっかく無農薬レモンをいただいたのでレモンマフィンを作ってみました。
大人な味といえばかっこいいかもしれませんが、苦さを隠すのにハチミツたっぷりです。A taste of winterというところでしょうか。
そうこうしているうちにもう30日、そして大晦日も目前です。
お飾りは30日に飾るものではないと言いますね！ご注意を。
さて、英語で「お飾り」をどう言うでしょうか？
ツリーに飾るのはOrnamentですが。。。。。
。
。
New Year's decorationです。
気になるひとはornamentとdecorationの違いでも考えてみてください。
Hi everyone! Have you made any plans for New Year’s? I’m going to Seattle and Vancouver this year. I’ve been planning this trip for a few months.
First, I’m flying from Kansai to Vancouver, and my friend Trevor is going to pick me up from the airport. We’re going to drive across the Canada/U.S.A. border and stay in Seattle one night. My girlfriend is flying in from Toronto the next day, so we’ll go to meet her together.
Next, all three of us are driving to my friend’s hometown, which is called Yakima. It’s in the middle of Washington. Trevor’s parents are generously letting us stay at their place for Christmas. There’s a ski resort nearby, so we’ll probably go skiing one day!
After Christmas, we’re planning to drive back to Seattle and do some sight-seeing. I honestly don’t know what we’re doing in the city yet, but Trevor is going to be our tour guide, so I’m not worried. One thing we probably WON’T do is go up the Space Needle. I heard it’s overpriced, and there are other places to get a nice view of the city.
My cousin lives just outside Seattle, so I’m going to visit her and her family for at least one night. Her son, Quinn, is three years old. This will be my first chance to meet him since he was born! We’ll probably have a New Year’s party together – hopefully with champagne!
On January 1, we’re going to drive back to Vancouver and spend a few days there. I booked a hotel in North Vancouver, near the Capilano Suspension Bridge. From there, we can drive or take a quick ferry into Vancouver itself. We’ll spend about 3 days there.
I’ve never been to the west coast of the U.S. or Canada, so this will be an adventure for me. I also have a long layover in Taiwan, so I’m planning to go into Taipei for a few hours on the way there. Wish me luck!
I hope you all spend the break doing something fun or relaxing, depending on your preference. I can’t wait to hear your stories in class. Happy New Year!
One of our students took the TOEIC test last month and she got the score online today.
When she came out for her lesson at NEO today, she said to me “I have big news!”
She told me that she got 650 on her very first try.
I was amazed at the score and I almost cried since I knew she studies English very hard. I also had goose bumps! The news really made my day better:)
大人の生徒さんでTOEICを先月初めて受けられていた方が、目標スコアは500点と言っていましたが、650点をとることができました。感動して、鳥肌がたってしまいました。
NEOを始められた1年半前は"Nice to meet you"と自分の名前を英語で自己紹介することがやっとだったそうです。
普段からコツコツと頑張られる方で、クラスのない日もお家で毎日英語に触れていらっしゃいます。
言語学習はなかなか目に見える成果が得られないですが、こうやってコツコツと勉強し、
点数として目に見える形で成果を実感できるとやる気もアップしますよね。
ところでI had goose bumpsを私はアメリカにいた当初に、I got chicken bumpsと言って
笑われてしまいました。鳥肌なので直訳してchickenと言ってしまったのです。
でも、間違えたものほどよく覚えています。
NEOも今週が冬休み前の最後の授業になります。
少し早いですが、、、Merry Christmas and Happy New year!
来年に皆さんに会えるのを楽しみにしております。
（お休み中に何をしたかを最初のクラスで必ず聞かれます！Be ready to answer it! ）
Hello Everyone,
Merry Christmas and happy New Year! I hope that everyone has a good winter vacation. I will be going to San Diego, California, for my vacation. I am very excited to go, since I used to live there and my grandmother lives there. My whole family is going to gather for Christmas so that we can celebrate the holidays and my Grandmother’s 90th birthday, which is in January. I will also be able to visit my friends and eat a lot of delicious local food. San Diego is famous for its Mexican food, especially fish tacos.
I am also excited to visit the famous San Diego Zoo. It is the biggest and nicest Zoo in America, and it has many fun things to do. The weather will also be very nice, as it is about 20 degrees every day of the year in San Diego. Summer never ends there.
I am not excited for the plane flight, however. From my door to my hotel the trip will be about 24 hours. However, I will be happy to come back to Japan and see all of your smiling faces! I have really enjoyed my first four months at NEO and I look forward to many more! Everyone be safe over the break and I’ll see you next year!
Last Sunday we had our kid's Christmas Party. About 31 children joined us for the afternoon. We decorated the Christmas tree and then each kid made their own original decoration for the tree. We had snack time and there was a visit from Santa Claus (Dave with a zabuton in his shirt!). Santa and the kids played some games and then it was time to exchange presents. Only one kid cried when we exchanged presents, and unfortunately that was my own child, Tatsuki. He thought the present that we went shopping for would be for him, so he cried when he had to give it away. We had a great time doing the party, and we were all exhausted when we got home that evening.
You can click to see more pictures.