みなさんこんにちは！

Hello!sのオンライン授業を受けてみたみなさん、どうでしたか？

いつもと違う環境で少し大変だったかもしれませんが、みなさんよくやってくれていましたよ！協力ありがとうね！

保護者の皆様もセットアップ等して頂きありがとうございました。

もっと楽しい授業ができるように先生たちもがんばっていきますね！

A couple months back, we got a lot of rain in Ogaki. I’m from Seattle, so this is a familiar state of affairs, and I didn’t think much of it. A few days into the nonstop rain, however, apparently the Earth herself decided she’d had enough. So, she decided it was time for a lie-in.

I was a little startled when I walked past this drainage canal on my way to Ogaki Station. I cross this canal almost every day and quite enjoy the beautiful water, sakura trees, and stone retaining walls, so it was quite unexpected when the scenery changed so abruptly. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see the light poles and sakura trees leaning precariously over the collapsed wall of the canal.

Like the rain, I’m not unfamiliar with the Earth just…tiring of holding herself up under the deluge lol. The Pacific Northwest is a very wet and hilly place, so it’s not unusual for the land to become waterlogged and collapse under its own weight. Landslides are quite common, and in fact when the canal wall collapsed lined up exactly with peak landslide season in Washington. As a result, at this time, I was also receiving news updates about landslides and mudslides on Mt. Rainier and elsewhere around the Puget Sounds. I’d been feeling a bit homesick for the tired Earth, but then much to my surprise, I got a miniature version of it right here in Ogaki! So, while startled, I was actually strangely pleased to see this sight on my way to work. It’s comforting to know that such aspects of nature are universal, and the land can become waterlogged and tired anywhere. It’s the same comfort as when I spot Orion’s belt in the night sky. The same stars shine above me, and the same Earth can grow weary beneath me.

It’s kind of nice.

One unexpected aspect of the situation, however, is that the mini-landslide still hasn’t been repaired. It’s been a few months since the canal wall collapsed. So far, all the city’s done is drape a blue tarp over the collapsed section, cut down the nearest heavy trees, and block off the area with some cones. All good stopgap safety measures, but not really a long term solution. The canals can get pretty full during the rainy season, so I hope they repair it before then. Otherwise, all that water will likely penetrate further into the land and result in further collapse. Plus, the blue tarp’s kind of an eyesore, and I’m shallow, so I want to enjoy the pretty water and trees without a random blue tarp intruding into my view haha.

学校や塾、またハローズでもオンライン授業が始まります。今、スイトテラス校ではテスト授業で毎日２回授業を行っています。双方方向で話をできますが、教室で講師と英語のやり取りをするよりもさらに積極的に話す姿勢がないと会話がスムーズには進みません。もともと英語を話そうとすると積極的に発話しなければ上達しないわけですから、周りに人がいないことを逆手にとって、どんどん話す人がスピーキング力を上げられると感じています。また、リスニング力、語彙力も付けられるなと思っています。まだまだ工夫すれば、みんなが楽しんで授業が進められると思っています。お互い離れていても頑張りましょう！！

みなさんこんにちは。

世の中は新型コロナウイルスで騒がれていますが、我が家にはそんなことはお構いなしの２匹がいます。

もともと保護された猫なので生まれは外の世界ですが、生後１ヶ月くらいで我が家に来てからは家の中からは１歩も出ないで生活しています。

1日のほとんどを寝て過ごしていて、さすが夜行性と思わせるくらい、夜中になると家の中を走り回っています。

私たちにとっては１日中家の中で過ごすというのは息苦しくて大変なことですが、彼らにとっては外敵がいなくて食事も与えられるから快適なのかもしれません。

ず～っと家の中で何もしなくても生きていけるのなら、STAY HOME も悪くないのかもしれませんね。

During the break, American teachers were asked to make many Kotsurisu videos. Us American teachers from Texas were really missing tacos, so we took advantage of the idea of creating a “cooking show” where we made tacos! The video was really fun to make and the tacos we made were delicious!

Making tacos made me really miss home and the different types of tacos that were available to me. My personal favorites were bean and cheese tacos, and bacon and egg tacos. Those tacos are technically “breakfast tacos” you would eat in the morning. What we made in the video are average tacos with ground beef.  There are also fajita tacos that are supper yummy made with sizzling pieces of chicken of beef. SO GOOD.

I am so happy that there we found some ingredients here in Japan to make tacos! I would have gone crazy without having some every once in a while. Everyone should try tacos at some point, please what our Kosuritsu video to learn how to make some!