Memories in N.Y

When I was in Boston about ten years ago, I spent New Year's Eve in New York with my friend. It was first time for us to visit N.Y., so I remember that we were very excited about that. First day, we stayed at Carlton Arms Hotel because it was fairly cheap for New Years. My friend, Hiroko found the hotel in Chikyu-no-Arukikata and reserved it. I didn't expect how unique and strange it was, so I was shocked into silence as soon as I came into the hotel. Everything displayed in the hotel made me frightened. However, I didn't say to Hiroko that I wanted to change the hotel, because she kindly arranged for the hotel. For some, it could be artistic, but for me, it meant nothing other than weird. In addition, we had to ask the caretaker for the room key every time we went in and out of our room, so it was quite inconvenient!! Moreover, to our surprise, we saw a mouse in our room!!! We couldn't stand anymore and decided to leave the hotel as soon as possible. However, every hotel was crowed with tourists coming to celebrate New Years at that time, so we couldn't find another hotel easily. However, we finally found a hotel which was located in Korean town and were totally released from the nightmare experience. Next day, Hiroko and I could fulfill our mission that we joined the countdown at Times Square in N.Y. We were just overwhelmed by many people there. Personally, I found it not that exciting and thought just one time was enough...

This is a image of 2009's countdown in Times Square. Just feel the atmosphere!!

My Parents

Today, I got up early in the morning and helped my mother with washing windows. This is our annual event which is harder than you think! After that, my mother and I were chatting for a long time and then my father joined us. My father is over 70! He looks young for his age, but has become hearing impaired recently. My mother and I are sometimes irritated about him, but everyone is aging and so be patient!! My mother is a typical housewife who is always busy doing house chores. However, she has interested in drawing pictures of flowers since last year. As soon as I come back home, she always shows me her collection. It has increased in number since I last saw it. I can see that she's improving her skills little by little. I'm glad that she found something she became really interested in!!

Homework

I have two paper assignments during winter vacation. One is for a Jurisprudence class and the other is for an Education class. I managed to finish these papers within today, so I was stuck in my room all day. I finished them all and so feel totally relaxed now. Tomorrow, I'm going back home to spend New Year's Eve with my parents. I have to clean my room before leaving though... And, I'll have to buy a birthday present for my father. His birthday is January 1st, so we celebrate his birthday together with New Year's coming. I haven't decided yet what to buy for him, but maybe a muffler will be fine!

Tonight, I prepared Nabe for dinner....

IE 2 Newspaper Article Discussion #1

“Temple defaced after torch refusal” The Japan Times 21 April 2008

Summary:
According to this article, between Saturday night and Sunday morning, Zenkoji, the 14,00-year-old Buddhist temple in Nagano was defaced by someone with white spray, for Zenkoji decided Friday not to serve as the starting point of the Beijing Olympic touch relay for fear of the impact or the reflection of the riot in Tibet. According to the police, they are investigating the relationship between this incident and the temple’s refusal to host this event. In addition, Zenkoji official deplores the crisis of the national treasure as a guardian of cultural property, however, it was still unsolved. Some still support this event and others don’t. There should be the opinions of both sides in this issue.

Opinion Statement:

It is deplorable to hear that national treasures are vandalized no matter what reason they have.

Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think about this issue?
2. Do you agree or disagree to Zenkoji official’s decision?
3. Why?

♪Bargain Sale♪♪

I went to my sister's place after I said good-bye to Keiko. I stayed there that night. Next day, my sister and her daughter and I went to Odaiba to buy something on sale. I got a white sweater which was 10% off the price. My sister got a pair of gloves with a discount of 50%, but I was happy because I liked it so muchll!! This is the sweater I bought.

Brazilian Cuisine

Tonight, I took my friend, Keiko, to Brazilian restaurant I often go to. The restaurant is named Ilha Branca and located in Minami-Aoyama. When I was working at an automobile company, I used to go there with my co-workers because I was in charge of exporting cars to Brazil and Argentina. Everything we ordered was delicious and we could enjoyed various kinds of tastes because of the house's original spices.

Keiko and I met in Boston and kept in touch even after we came back to Japan. She lives in Yokohama, too, so we sometimes hang out together.

It was freezing outside, so we were shivering from cold. However, we were filled with happy feeling after having such a good dinner.

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ILHA BRANCA イーリャブランカ

http://ilha-branca.com/

TEL:03-3401-2737

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My Duffy

This is Duffy I bought at TDS.
Take a look at the marks on the bottom of his feet, they're cute, aren't they!?
I named him Chris and keep him at hand when spleeping!!