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., Japan Standard Time (日本標準時).