I went to a balloon festival in Saga, Japan for the first time. This is an international event and they had eighty thousand people for the three days this year. There were many unique balloons as below.
This "Ebisu" balloon is from Canada. The pilot is said to be famous and is from Calgary. The tree balloon is from the U.S. and the pilot is an environmentalist as you can imagine.
I was surprised how big the balloons were! I went close to look at the balloons and saw the crews sweating from working so hard to burn the banner.
One of the most popular events at the festival is when the crews grab "paper keys ", suspending from the poles. Two out of sixty teams could get the key. They got a scooter and a jacket, but those were not the top prizes. They seemed to be happy nevertheless, because it can be very tough as the balloons are subjected to the wind. The audience went wild when the other five teams almost made it.
I loved the night balloon show the most. The balloons were lit up after counting down; one, two, three and fire!
I had a chance to speak English with a couple from Australia. I was just listening to the conversation between my husband and them, smiling, being shy, which is typical for Japanese people. Then my husband prompted me to talk to them. I had a good time chatting with them in the end.
I highly recommend this festival. You can enjoy the balloons with no entrance fee!
Here are her questions and my answers.
1. My dream place to live
I would like to live in Monaco. I would brag to everyone and make them jealous! I would watch car races from my balcony everyday.
2. How old I would like to be
I would like to go back to the late twenties. I would be still considered young and yet sort of settled down.
3. what career I would choose
I would like to be a celebrity in my next life or if I was reincarnated. I long for a flamboyant career, aside from not having much privacy.
4. who I would like to meet
I would like to meet The Linguist tutors and the members in person!
5. what topic I would like to discuss.
This might be a a little too personal, but I would like to hear about the partners of the members and tutors in The Linguist discussions. I always like dating norms and I am curious how people meet each other. I might be a bit nosy.
I prefer discussions with a specific topic. It makes me more interested in listening to other members.
I was able to relax and fool around a bit during this discussion; moreover, I appreciate that Julie allowed me to daydream!
I joined an open discussion about homelessness with AJ the other day.
Here are some of his questions and my answers during the discussion.
Q. Are there any homeless people in your city?
A. Yes. I see some homeless people in the park or on the downtown streets. I can recognize some of the people.
Q. What do you think causes people to become homeless?
A. I imagine people become homeless when they have no jobs or develop mental illnesses; furthermore they might not have any family support.
Q. What do you think of the idea of making your life more simple?
A. It becomes tougher to distinguish between necessity and luxury because the market is relentless and our lifestyles keep changing. On the other hand, it is important to lower our needs in order to be healthier, to save money, and to be more environmentally friendly.
I am not a big fan of second hand items, especially furniture. When my husband bought a used lamp, I didn't worry about where it came from after a short time, nevertheless.
There were two other members in the discussion. It was interesting to listen to their thoughts as well. I had such a good time :D
I have been caught up with a "pronunciation fever" since last year. I find it hard to work on my pronunciation on my own and I took a correspondence course at first. Their method looked good. I enjoyed practicing with their textbook and DVD. It was very interesting to learn how you pronounce each sound. However, it was not easy to submit the assignment. They required taking a video of my performance. I didn't like adjusting the lighting or the angle,or zooming inside of my mouth with a little video function on my cell phone which was the only tool that I could find. I stopped it after three months.
Then I switched to a different pronunciation school. I only could afford to attend once a month since the school was very far. It sure was fun and rewarding to learn face to face. On the other hand,it was so tiring to take two lessons at a time as required in the contract.I would lose focus during the second class most of the times. In addition, the curriculum seemed too long. I didn't go back to school after six months.
We have a proverb which says "Third time does it". I have just restarted working on my pronouciation at The Linguist and I hope to prove the proverb true with the tutor Kerri. Looking back to the approaches I took, the biggest reason that it didn't work was I didn't try hard enough. I was just finding faults with each school and making excuses.
It can be challenging to be instructed pronunciation in English on the internet,but I am determind to keep practicing to overcome the difficulties.
My goal is to be able to speak English in front of people comfortably. I believe that pronounciation contributes to a big part of it!
Although I haven't visited The Mint in Japan, I had a chance to go to one in Canada.
This one makes coins for collecters , not circulation coins.
They make coins for many countries as well !
It was very interesting to see the process of making currency :)
This is the Parliament Buildings.
They had a slide show using the building as a background.
They showed and talked about historically famous Canadians.
We sat on the grass and enjoyed the show. I felt like being at an open theater :D
It was so amazing to see so many beautiful churches in Canada!
We have a lot of nice temples though :D
You can see the Canadian flag everywhere. Even on a horse's butt!
We put up our flag at some homes on a national holiday or school premises in general ,but not as many as in Canada.
They must love the country for sure :D
This is the end of my trip to Canada this past summer.
I hope you enjoyed sharing my little journey :D
I'd like to know a good way to study the content from other members or tutors.
Here are my questions and how I do it at the moment.
Q1. What do you do first, listening or reading?
I usually do the listening first. However, I wonder if I should do the reading first for difficult content such as literature or VOA news. I don't understand them much even when I listen to them over and over again.
Q2. How many times do you listen to the content before you check the script?
I often do it twice. I lose focus after the third time since I notice less of the new parts that I then understand.
According to a book I read, "How to study English", you should listen to it eight times or so before you read the script. In that way, you will challenge your listening skill to the limit. What do you think?
Q3. How do you do the reading? Do you read the whole script first and then look it up in the dictionary? Or do you look it up in the dictionary as you read the script for the first time?
I look it up in the dictionary when I read it the first time because if I read the whole script first, I tend to forget where I didn't understand. Having said that, I wonder if I should read the entire script at first in order to enhance the reading speed.
Q4. How much do you check the words and phrases?
I check most of the words and phrases that I don't understand,although I skip some words and phrases that I don't think I'll use in the future. I post a question about the words and phrases that I didn't find in the dictionary on the forum. I keep tutors busy...
On the other hand, I wonder if I should not look up the words and phrases in the dictionary when I can guess the meanings. This would help me to do more extensive reading.
Q5. How do you do in the review section?
Is this a good way to use the review section? Read the sentence from the content, check the examples , and look at the definition again to be sure I get them right.
Is reading the sentences in the review section aloud better than reading the whole script?
Maybe these questions are too fussy or detail oriented. I tend to be nervous and get lost when it comes to learning English although I am generally very relaxed and laid back . I would love to hear some advice!
We were lucky to see them marching. It reminds me of Whistler in the west coast of Canada.It looks a little like a theme park! This hotel is as gorgeous as the Banff Springs Hotel. There is a mural on the wall of the building on the right, blocked a bit by the tree. Can you see it? He is a beggar. He held a fishing rod with a cup In addition, you can't ride motorcycles in Old Quebec city. No wonder it was such a quiet and elegant place! I will write about Ottawa , which is the last part of our journey in Canada this past summer next time. Don't miss it :D ***Corrections*** in the west coast ,Canada →in the west coast of Canada.
a big painting of the city on the wall in the building, down the corner. →a mural on the wall of the building on the right, blocked a bit by the tree. He was throwing like a fishing pod →He held a fishing rod with a cup on the end there were any coins →people would put coins in it a bike →motorcycles last journey→the last part of our journey
There were quite a few good drawings.
Here is another beautiful church in Canada.
on the end on the ground to see if people would put coins in it. It looked very dangerous as he was sitting on the very high wall.
Here are some pictures from our trip to Montreal this summer :)
This is the church where Celine Dion had her wedding.
It was completed in 1830 and was the biggest church in North America until St Patrick Cathedral was built in New York City.
We spent a lot of time sitting and walking around there. I felt like time had stopped!
See more info : The Basilica of Notre Dame of Montreal
This yellow bus reminds me of my favorite American drama "Boston Public".
This building is now used for shopping . There are 15 boutiques and some restaurants there. We forgot to go in. Darn it!
This Vietnamese restaurant is across from the hotel we stayed at. It is dumpy outside and you can't tell if it is open . However,this restaurant is very well known as having some of the best Vietnamese food in town according to articles in the newspaper we saw posted on the door. Yes, it certainly was yummy! In addition, the inside is a little more stylish :)
We went to a bar downtown.
We had Micro beer(地ビール） samples. 8 different flavors at 12 dollars. I am not a big drinker ,but I enjoyed most of them :)
I was surprised that smoking is not allowed at all in public places in Quebec. People have to smoke outside. How nice to come back with a clean shirt from a bar :)
The Summer Olympic were held in Montreal in 1976.
I was happy to find a Japanese flag here :)
This is the second Olympic site that I visited in Canada. The first one was Calgary. I'd like to visit Vancouver Olymypic site after 2010.
We went up a clock tower on the waterfront and Mont Royal Park on the hill to view Montreal.
A very modern and yet historical, beautiful city.
I will write about Quebec city next time :)
***
Steve and Jill will kindly do some podcasts for us about the words and phrases that we have trouble remembering . I have a huge Vocabulary list in the Review section. It will take a lot of time to pick out the vocaburary I want to learn :( I hope I can do it :)
I joined a discussion with John last night.
As you see on his note in the speaking section, he has lived seven countries , including right now, and speaks four languages including Spanish which he is working on at the moment. What a globetrotter! He must be full of curiosity and courage to experience the rest of the world :)
John was involved in business for quite a long time. Then he moved on to teaching because he always liked language. I think you benefit learning from a teacher like him who has experienced business. I am the opposite of him. I changed my career from teaching to business. Although I love teaching and hopefully have a chance to teach again in the future, I enjoy my job at the present time. It is good to work in different industries because your world will open up.
He gave me good tips and perspectives for learning English. To improve my pronunciation, he suggested "Reading aloud" on my own. Therefore you can focus on the pronunciation, whereas in speaking , you are preoccupied by communication. When I told him that I would like to work on accuracy in speaking, he said, Accuracy doesn't mean fluency in speaking. Accuracy isn't entire communication. Writing requires more accuracy. You need communicative competence more in speaking. Wow......he is very convincing :)
What I like about The Linguist is that they help us to build confidence and lead us to enjoy communicating in English. Unlike those advertisements of many English schools and textbooks which say, " You learned English for ten years, but you still can't speak. It is time to restart. Otherwise you will fall behind the rest of the world." Those other schools make us have a complex for not being able to speak.
John has a British accent. We tend to be picky whether to learn with American English or British English. However, I realized that the difference is slighter indeed than we think. I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion and hope to join his discussion again!
***
This is a picture of Cirque Avaia that we watched at . It is part of the Cirque du Soleil. This was the third time for me to watch one of their performances. They are so amazing. A very high quality of stunts and yet still artistic.
These are “fortune cookies”. There is a paper that has a fortune in it. They are neat snacks, aren’t they? We got these at a wonderful Chinese buffet restaurant.
I went to a Wal Mart for the first time. What surprised me was not only the low price but also the cash register. You can pay without a cashier...oh, no..We shouldn't let the technology grow so much. We need a jooobJ
（CORRECTED TEXT）
I came home the day before yesterday!
As you know, the security at the airport was very tight before I left Canada.
Since liquids and gels are not allowed to be brought on the plane, I brought three toothbrushes and put toothpaste on each of them. I pasted some chapstick onto some Saran Wrap, and brought a lip pencil instead of lipstick.
To my surprise, I didn't get a body check with the metal detector as I went through the gate, and they didn't even open my purse!
I felt that I prepared for nothing, but given that the lady before me was checked all over herself and in her carry-on bag, I was well prepared, wasn't I?
I will post the journey with the photos another time!
I went to a fireworks show last night.
It was the largest scale fireworks event in Kyushu(our province). Thank God the typhoon was gone!
I remember that the biggest fireworks factory in my city had an accident and about 10 workers died two or three years ago.
My workplace was very close to the factory and I thought Mt. Sakurajima had erupted or had an earthquake. The building shook very strongly and made a huge bang.I hid under my desk. It was pretty scary because I was alone in my office.
They cancelled this event the following year and they said it would no longer take place.
I am glad they restarted it, although it was no surprise due to the economic effects. This event revitalizes our little town!
（original text)
I came home the day before yesterday!
As you know, the security at the airport was very tight before I leave Canada.
Since any liquid and gel are not allowed to bring on the plane, I brought three toothbrushes and put a toothpaste on each of them. I pasted a chapstick on a Saran Wrap and brought a lip pencil instead of a lip stick.
To my surprise, I didn't get a body check by the metal sensor stick as I went through the gate and they didn't even open my purse!
I felt that I did for nothing, but given that the lady before me was checked everything on herself and her carry on bag, I was well prepared, wasn't I?
I will post the journey with the photos another time!
I went to a fireworks show last night.
It is the largest scale of a fireworks event in Kyushu(our province). Thank god the typhoon was gone!
I remember that the biggest fireworks factory in my city had an accident and about 10 workers died two or three years ago.
My workplace was very close to the factory and I thought Mt. Sakurajima had erupted or had an earthquake. The building shook very strongly and made a huge bang.I hid under my desk. It was pretty scary because I was alone in my office.
They cancelled this event the following year and they said it would no longer take place.
I am glad they restarted it although it would be no surprises with the economy effect. This event revitalizes our little town!
