Do you know the meaning of sarcasm? It is kind of ironic humour. I am British so we specialize in sarcasm! I am still a very sarcastic, cynical person but I used to be much worse. I think I've calmed down because I don't mix with other British people so often anymore.


I'll give you a simple example of sarcasm: ME: I love the music of SMAP. They are so talented. They deserve all the money they receive for their excellent singing and dancing. Oh, and I respect them for appearing of every damn commercial on TV. Oh, how I adore them.


I think sarcasm is the biggest difference between American and British people. Americans don't use sarcasm so much and I think they are generally less cynical than us Brits. I have a theory as to the reason why.


My theory goes like this: Britain used to be the world superpower about 100 years ago. Everybody loved the King and believed that Britain had a God-given right to rule the world. Then came the First World War in 1914. We trusted the government when they told us that the war would finish in a few months and many men happily went to war for their country. Four years later, over a million men had died in a horrific war that made the country bankrupt. After that, the British people never trusted their politicians again. What's more, Britain lost its power and watched as the US, its former colony, became the new world power.


Now British people never fully trust their government. If the government makes a decision, we immediately look for deeper reasons behind it. Americans have a deeper trust of their elected officials. Which is better- the bitter cynicism of the Brit or the friendly trusting nature of the American? You can decide!


Anyway, I am sometimes sarcastic in class but don't worry, I am never sarcastic to students about their English ability. That would be rude and therefore not funny! You can feel safe with me....maybe...

▼▽▼▼【講師】Anthony先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━ ・【SHOPPING】2009.11.20 (Fri)

"What are you thankful for?" This is a question that I have been asking myself often lately. As many of you know, especially if you came to any of my classes last week, the American holiday of Thanksgiving was celebrated on November 26th. Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays in the United States, second only to Christmas and celebrated in almost exactly the same way. For me, this day is very significant because it is centered on a concept that I believe is extremely valuable: since its inception, this holiday has been an occasion for people to reflect carefully on the blessings in their life.


The celebration originated because the Pilgrims, who were among the first Europeans to settle in North America, desired to thank God for helping them to survive their first winter in the new land. And that first year on the Western side of the Atlantic Ocean had unquestionably been a year of hardship and challenges. Imagine for a moment the things that the Pilgrims had gone through before that point: they had left their families, friends and possessions behind in Europe because they were being persecuted for their religious beliefs. In other words, the way that they wanted to practice their religion was not acceptable by British law at the time. Their options were to either keep their beliefs a secret or abandon everything that they had in order to seek religious freedom elsewhere. Making a new life on the other side of an ocean was the option that offered them hope, but also involved a great amount of sacrifice.


To make matters worse, half of these settlers did not survive the first year. Remember that there were no houses waiting for them when they arrived; there were no markets for them to go and purchase food. In fact, the Pilgrims had to continue living on their ship, The Mayflower, until four months after their arrival, when there were finally structures for them to live in. That first winter they spent living on the ship was harsh: lack of a sufficient food supply meant malnutrition was a serious problem and many of the settlers also died of illness. From the moment they arrived in the New World, they were faced with the task of completely building a new life for themselves in addition to meeting their most basic daily needs.


Thinking about the Pilgrims' circumstances from this perspective might make it awfully hard to find anything for them to be thankful for. But things eventually changed for the better, and that is what they chose to focus on. By the end of their first year, in fact, the Pilgrims had experienced many blessings: they had escaped religious persecution, they had been able to grow enough food in the summertime to survive on, and they had made peace and found friendship with the Native Americans. Their new Indian friends had taught them many things that had contributed to their survival, such as how to grow corn, which plants were poisonous, and which plants could be used as medicine. The Pilgrims could not ignore these blessings from God, and so that autumn they chose to celebrate them.


Nowadays for Thanksgiving, Americans who are Christians--like me and my family--go to church and give thanks to God for his provision. People who are not Christians also find other ways to express their appreciation for the good things in their lives. No matter how you celebrate, though, I think the Pilgrims can teach us all a valuable lesson about gratitude. Not only does their story remind me of the importance of taking time to think about all of the ways in which I have been blessed, but it is also a reminder to be thankful in spite of the challenges, grief, or hardships that I may be facing. That is a habit that I believe should be practiced no matter what country you are from.

▼▽▼▼【講師】Melanie先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【An Oregonian in Tokyo, Part 2】2009.11.06 (Fri)

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well. Maybe you might remember a while ago I wrote a lot about sweets, well let's return to the world of sweets!


One type of sweet that I really like is Mince Pies. Maybe the name does not sound so great, but believe me, they are delicious! The are small pies filled with something called Fruit Mince, which is a mixture of pieces of fruit including apples, raisins, currants, sultanas, cherries, marmalade and mixed spices (eg cinnamon). All this stuff is mixed together with a little brandy, and left in a bowl to stew for a couple of days. All of the flavours mix together. After this, the mixture is wrapped in pie crust and baked in the oven. It is best to eat them while they are warm. They are good! We usually have them around Christmas time. I have been in Japan for about five years now and I have heard many, many Japanese people say "We Japanese do not like such sweet food" Mince pies are sweet, but not too sweet, so I think Japanese people might like them.


Actually when people say Japanese people do not like sweet food, I think they are lying! There are sweet shops everywhere in Japan, people line up outside them sometimes! If you are still reading my blog, it proves that you like sweets too! ANYWAY There is a kind of Italian soda that I love, called Chinotto (Ki No To). It is made from some kind of Italian citrus fruit , with a number of herbs added. It is black and looks like cola, but the taste is quite different. Not many people like it, but I love it. The best brands to buy are San Pellegrino or Bisleri. I am not sure if you can get it easily in Japan, but it must be available somewhere in this country. Otherwise, you can buy it on the internet. Of course, you can get it in Italy, but we also have many Italians in Australia, so you should be able to find it easily in Australia (maybe this depends on the place - Cairns and the Gold Coast might not have so much Chinotto, but Sydney and my home town of Melbourne should be no problem) Please try some!


Something else we have in Australia is a kind of grape flavoured soda called Portello - that is pretty good. There is another on called Creamy Soda, which has a kind of Caramel flavour - that is also nice, but very sweet.


When I went to Spain, I tasted the best Cocoa I have ever had in my life. In Madrid, for breakfast, you can get a large cup of Chocolate (Cho Ko La Te) in a cup that looks like a small bowl. The cocoa is not like you might imagine - it is thick. What do I mean by "thick"? It is like honey. It tasted like chocolate but it is like honey; you can drink it slowly, or you can eat it with a spoon. It is like having a big cup of chocolate sauce!


Every morning I ate some warm churros, which are like donuts (they sell them a Mr Donut, but at Mr Donut they are honey flavoured - in Spain they have no honey) You can dip a piece of Churro into the cocoa. It is good stuff. If you go to Spain and do not try some Spanish cocoa, you are missing out on a great opportunity! I can't speak much Spanish, but I can tell you how to get some of this magic drink - "Chocolate per favor" (Cocoa please) or, if you also want to get some Churros (which I recommend) you can say "Chocolate con churros por favor" After you finish, you can say "Muy bien) (very good) I hope you like it!

▼▽▼▼【講師】Eddie先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━ ・【Safety】2009.10.30 (Fri)

Posted By: Eddie Palmer on November 27, 2009