Dying for Advice

⚀ ⚁ ⚂ ⚃ ⚄ ⚅

Hello advisors,

For the past several weeks (ここ数週間), my beginner class students have been studying about how to ask for and give advice. We rolled a die (サイコロを投げて) to decide which of the following questions to discuss:

⚀ What's your advice for health (健康)?  How do you stay healthy?

⚁ What's your advice for stress (ストレス [発散])?  How do you reduce (減らす) stress?

⚂ What's your advice for saving money (お金を貯めること・節約)?  How do you save money?

⚃ What's your advice for staying in shape (体型を維持すること)?  What do you do to stay in shape?

⚄ What's your advice for friendship (友情)?  What do you do to keep/maintain a friendship?

⚅ What's your advice for romance (ロマンス)?  What do you do to keep/maintain a romance? 

Our answers included what we do (すること), what we don't do (しないこと), and what we used to do (以前していたけど今現在しないこと). 

Here are some of my examples for the most popular topic, romance:

❤️ I listen to her and sometimes give her flowers. 

❤️ I don't ignore (無視する) or belittle (見くびる・馬鹿にする) her.

And for those who don't currently have a partner (現在パートナーがいない人達), answers included the following:

💔 I used to send him/her text messages.

💔 I used to eat out (外食する) and go to the movies (映画見に行く) with him/her.

What advice do you have for romance or any of the other topics above? Feel free to leave a comment or let me know at E-Style. 

With no time to die, I remain

Your croupier,

Alan

P.S. "Dice" is the plural form (複数形) for 「サイコロ」. The singular form (単数形) of the word is "die," which has the same spelling and pronunciation as the word meaning 「死ぬ」in Japanese.

E-Style's Golden Week Break (4/30～5/6)

Hi everybody,

This is just a quick blog post (ブログ記事・投稿) to inform you of our Golden Week break. There will be no lessons at E-Style from tomorrow (April 30th) to next Wednesday (May 6th). Classes will resume (再び始まる) on Thursday, May 7th.

If you want some English to study during the break, then how about trying to memorize (暗記する) all of the holidays that make up Golden Week? Here is the list:

April 29th: Showa Day (昭和の日)
May 3rd: Constitution Memorial Day (憲法記念日)
May 4th: Greenery Day (緑の日)
May 5th: Children's Day (こどもの日)

Take care, have a great Golden Week, and good luck with your studies.

See you at E-Style,

Alan

P.S. Next Wednesday, May 6th, is a substitute holiday (振替休日) for Constitution Memorial Day, which falls on a Sunday (日曜日に当たる) this year.

Spring has Sprung!

Hi everyone,

Spring has sprung! (春がやって来た！) For tonight at exactly 11:46 (just a few minutes ago), the tilt of the Earth's axis (地球の自転軸の傾き) was neither toward (～に向かって) nor away from (～から離れて) the sun. The result is an equal amount of both daylight and darkness, known as the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox. The word "vernal" is an adjective (形容詞) for spring (春) while "equinox" comes from Latin (ラテン語), with "equi" meaning "equal" and "nox" meaning "night." 

So, even though it is still a little chilly (肌寒い) outside, astrologically speaking (占星術的に言えば), spring is here!  

See you at E-Style,

Alan

P.S. Another definition (定義・語義) of "spring" as a noun (名詞) is 「ばね」; as a verb (動詞), it can mean 「跳ねる」. In this post's title, "Spring has Sprung!" is a pun (ダジャレ) meaning 「春がばねのように飛んで来た！」. 

P.P.S.「秋分」is called the Autumnal Equinox in English. This year, it will occur on September 23rd at 11:04 p.m.

                                                                

2026: The Year of the Horse🐴

Happy New Year!

Hi everybody,

A happy and healthy New Year to all of you! I hope that all of your dreams come true (夢が叶う) in 2026: The Year of the Horse. Jack and I are looking forward to seeing (and teaching) you at E-Style when classes resume (再び始まる) on Monday, January 5th. Until then (それまで), take care, enjoy the break, and good luck with your New Year's resolutions (新年の抱負).

All the best in Reiwa 8,

Alan