Hello to 2019!

Happy New Year! 

There is no better way to say hello to 2019 here in Japan than with traditional New Year dishes (おせち料理). While I have been enjoying the (red) sea bream (鯛), herring roe (数の子), and sweet rolled omelette (伊達巻) these past three days, my favorite dish is still rice cake soup (お雑煮) with white miso and sweet-bean-paste rice cakes (あん餅). My son's favorite, though, is boiled fish cake. Can you guess what we call it in Japanese?

Full of hope (and good food) for 2019, I remain

Your humble teacher,

Alan

P.S. In Japanese, "boiled fish cake" is called 蒲鉾.

Goodbye to 2018!

Hi students,

As we say goodbye to 2018 and enter the New Year, I would like to thank everyone for studying at E-Style and/or reading this blog. Jack and I look forward to seeing you in 2019 and wish you all the best in the upcoming year.

See you at E-Style,

Alan

P.S. The word "goodbye" can also be written with a hyphen ("good-bye"). Synonyms (同義語) include "farewell," the informal (口語体の) "see you later," and loanwords (外来語) like adios (Spanish), au revoir (French), ciao (Italian), au Wiedersehen (German), and even sayonara!

The Winter Solstice

Hi everyone,

December 22nd is the day of the winter solstice (冬至), which has the shortest amount of daylight (最短の日照時間) of the year. In some countries, this day represents the middle of winter; in others, however, it marks the start of the coldest season. Either way (どちらにしても), starting tomorrow the days will get longer . . . until the summer solstice (夏至) arrives on June 22nd.

Shine on,

Alan

P.S. In the Northern Hemisphere (北半球), the 2018 winter solstice occurred at 7:23 a.m.

2018 Boston Red Sox

Hi all,

Congratulations to the 2018 Boston Red Sox on winning their ninth overall championship (全部で９度目の優勝を果たして) by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. It is the team's first title in five years (５年ぶりの優勝) and fourth since 2004 (2004年以来の４度目).

Until baseball season returns next spring, I remain

Happily yours,

Alan

What color "Sox" will you be wearing?

Hi baseball fans,

As all of my students know, my favorite baseball team (一番好きな野球チーム) is the Boston Red Sox. I have been a Sox fan since I was ten years old. In America, though, there are two teams with "Sox" in their names, the other being the Chicago White Sox. So, sometimes I have to specify (特定する) the color of "Sox" to show that I am rooting for Boston (ボストンを応援している).

By the way (ところで), "Sox" is a simplified (簡易化された) spelling of the word "socks." Here in Shikoku, we have the Tokushima Indigo (藍色) Socks, but they spell their name the standard way.

With the MLB Playoffs starting next week, what color "Sox" will you be wearing?

Simply Red,

Alan

E-Style Summer Party

Hi (hard and soft) drinkers,

Although not everyone had brewskis (ビール), I would like to thank all of the students who joined Jack and me at the Clement Beer Terrace on the 25th for the annual (毎年の) E-Style Summer Party. A splendid time (素晴らしい時間) was not only guaranteed for, but had by all!

Cheers,

Alan

Why does "How come?" mean "Why?"

Hi G.W. Holidayers,

Recently (最近), one of my students asked me about the meaning of the phrase "How come?" I explained (説明した) that it means "Why?" and gave the following examples:

     How come you were absent last week?
   （なぜあなたは先週欠席したのか。）
     How come Alan walked here today?
   （なぜ今日アランが歩いて来たのか。）
     How come she doesn't like natto?
   （なぜ彼女は納得が好きではないのか。）

In all three sentences, "How come" can be changed to "Why" in the following ways:

     Why were you absent last week?
     Why did Alan walk here today?
     Why doesn't she like natto?

Please notice that a verb (動詞) follows "Why" in all three examples, whereas a noun (名詞) always follows "How come."

"How come?" can also be used to replace the positive question (肯定疑問文) "Why?" or the negative question (否定疑問文) "Why not?" For example (例えば):

     A: E-Style is closed during Golden Week.
       （G.W.中E-Styleは閉まっています。）
     B: Why? / How come?（なぜですか。）
   
     A: E-Style is not open during Golden Week.
       （G.W.中E-Styleは開いていません。）
     B: Why not? / How come?（なぜですか。）

By the way (ところで), it seems that "How come?" is actually a contracted form of the questions "How does it come that〜?" (どうして〜ということになるのか。) and "How did it come about?" (どうしてそのようなことが起きたのですか。) .

Have a great Golden Week,

Alan