It’s winter time again, which for me means more snowboarding!  I went to Neko-yama for my first snowboard trip this year with some friends a few weeks ago. I tried to go to Mt. Daisen a couple of weeks ago but it was closed because of strong winds!

When I moved to Japan I had space to bring either my snowboard or my golf clubs.  I chose the snowboard.

When I was about five years old my parents got me started skiing, and I skied for about eight years until I switched to snowboarding.  When I was about 11 I wanted to switch to snowboarding, but my mother thought snowboarders had a bad reputation, so she told me that it was illegal for me to snowboard before I turned 13. I foolishly believed her, so I waited until I was 13 to start snowboarding. I haven’t skied since.

To me, skiing was pretty easy to learn the basics, but it took a long time for me to become good at it. Snowboarding, however, took me a while to learn the basics of, but once I figured out how to turn I got better very quickly.

Me snowboarding a few years ago in California.

How about you? Do any of you have any experience skiing or snowboarding?

Before I came to Japan, I lived in Boston, Massachusetts for a couple of years. My apartment was in a neighborhood called Allston, which had a reputation as a party area because many students from nearby Boston University (BU) lived there. House parties were common on the weekends, so by the time Monday came around, the ground was often littered with garbage and broken bottles. It was a pretty dirty neighborhood.

Most people didn’t care about this problem, but a student named Charlie Rockwell decided to do something about it. He formed a neighborhood group with some other BU students with the purpose of picking up trash and keeping the streets clean. They called themselves Keep Allston Decent.

 

They didn’t stop at just picking up trash. They fixed broken fences and guard rails, planted flowers around town, and maintained a community message board. They also made “Keep Allston Decent” T-shirts and sweatshirts to support their cause.

 

 

 

Most notably, they decorated and maintained several public trash cans around the neighborhood. That’s Charlie in the back, wearing the white sweatshirt.

 

“Decent” means “ok” or “good enough.” Keep Allston Decent may sound like a strange name, but Charlie explained it to me: There are a lot of signs in public areas that say “Keep Massachusetts Clean” or “Keep Boston Beautiful.” Well, Allston may never be beautiful or clean, but the people who live there can at least keep it decent!

Charlie and his friends have long since graduated and moved on, and Keep Allston Decent no longer exists. Many years have passed, but I hope the students who live there now still take pride in where they live. 

Yesterday, Dave was on Radio Momo with D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu. They talked about Valentine's Day and giving and receiving "omiyage".

Click here to listen.ここから聞けます！

Tomorrow, February 23rd, Dave will be on Radio MOMO (79.0 FM). He will be on with D.J. Chiaki Kamibeppu in 「Let's Enjoy English!」. The program is about 15 minutes long. Chiaki and Dave will practice some basic English conversation talking about Valentive's Day and giving and receiving omiyage and gifts.

Date: February 23rd (Thursday)

Time: ～5:40 pm

Station: Radio MOMO - 79.0 FM

レディオモモのホームページ

英会話スクールのブログですが、日本語ネタをもう１つ。

日本語の漢字には「音読み」と「訓読み」がありますね。そのバラエティーの豊かさには母国語ながら呆れるくらいの種類があります。

漢字の組み合わせとして必ずしも音読み+音読みというわけでもない。

先日言われたのはこれです。「生放送」これはどう読むのですか？

日本語が母国語話者であれば読み方は悩むことなく「なまほうそう」だと思います。ところが日本語学習者が集まった先日の休みの日、こう話していました。

「セイ・ホウソウ？」「ショウ・ホウソウ？」

彼らが見ていたのはアメフトの最高峰ゲームにあたるスーパーボウルです。その画面右上に出ていた漢字を見ていたのです。たまたまLIVEと書かれておらず日本語だったのです。

彼らの理論は「放送（ホウソウ）」が音読みだから、その前に来ている漢字「生」もセイもショウも音読みするのではないのか？と聞かれ、じゃぁこの場にいる日本人に聞いてみようということで唯一の日本人だった私に聞かれたのです。

疑問に思ったこともない純日本人にとっては「なまほうそう」と答えるしか術なしでした。

ちなみにこの「生」という感じは読み方が多くて学習者泣かせの漢字だそうです。音読みは数が知れていますが、訓読みの数が半端ないそうで、150通りほど読み方があるそうです。

「なま」「い（きる）」「は（える）」を始め「（しば）ふ」「き（いと）」など数知れず。

かくいう私も自分の子にこの字を用いて「き」と読ませています！