Happy Birthday to Hachiko.

Did you know that November 10 is the anniversary of the birthday of one of Japan's most famous dogs? I love dogs and I love the story of Hachiko. The interesting thing is that Hachiko is world famous. Almost every Japanese schoolchild knows the story: Hachiko greeted his master, a professor at Tokyo University, every day after work at Shibuya Station in Tokyo. One day, his master died while at work and did not return to Shibuya Station. However, for the next 9 years, the dog would always return to the station to wait for his master's return.

It's an interesting story. It also proves the power of the media. At first, apparently many people didn't like to see a stray dog at the station. They used to do mean things to the dog. However, after an article appeared in the Tokyo newspaper about the story of why the dog would hang out at the station in the evenings, people started to feel differently. In fact, many people would give Hachiko snacks, and they began to treat the dog with respect.

Eventually, Hachiko succumbed to cancer and heartworms (「フィラリア」 in Japanese) and died in 1935. Hachiko received a grand funeral, and eventually a statue was placed in front of Shibuya Station.

Almost 10 years ago when I visited Shibuya Station, I had to find the statue and have my picture taken with Japan's most famous dog. Here I am with my son, Kei, standing next to the statue in the rain. I will never forget this moment. Do you have a picture of yourself in a similar pose?

E-Style Kids Classes Prepare for Halloween.

Well, it's finally starting to cool down this year. It seems like autumn has come, and before long it will be winter. At E-Style, I have been the main teacher for the kids classes. One thing that we always do at this time of the year, is start to celebrate Halloween. It's a big holiday in America for kids, but adults like to join in the fun, too.

In the kids classes, we talk about all the scary things associated with Halloween. There are black cats, owls, ghosts, vampires and of course, jack o'lanterns that are made from pumpkins.

One of the highlights of the Halloween kids classes is the Halloween TV special called It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (In Japanese, the title is スヌーピーとかぼちゃ大王). We always watch the DVD in the kids classes on the last week before Halloween. Already, many of the kids who have been in the class for more than a year are asking me every week, "Are we going to watch the Snoopy Halloween DVD today?!" I have to tell them to wait.

Well, some of my adult intermediate class students asked me about the show and the kids classes. They wanted to know what we do on Halloween. Here is a great 3 minute video of highlights from the Peanuts Cartoon special. Have a look and enjoy!

I like stargazing

What is your hobby? One of my hobbies is looking at stars and planets in the night sky. This is called stargazing. I like to use my telescope, my binoculars and my camera. But, mostly, I just use my eyes to look up at the sky.

May and June of 2012 brought us 2 exciting stargazing events in the daytime. The first event was the solar eclipse. There are 4 types of solar eclipses:

A total eclipse--where the Moon completely hides the Sun.

An annular eclipse--where the Moon cannot completely hide the Sun around the edges. Annular means circular. You get a circle of light around the Moon.

A partial eclipse--where the Moon only partially covers up the Sun.

A hybrid eclipse--where depending on your location on the Earth and the angle of the alignment of the Sun, Moon and Earth, you can see both a total eclipse and an annular eclipse.

On May 21st, for a few hours in the morning, and annular eclipse was seen over many places in Japan. Unfortunately, it was not a total annular eclipse in Takamatsu, although other cities in southern and eastern Kagawa could see a pretty ring. I took this photo through the clouds from my apartment in Saiho-Cho. Luckily it was cloudy, because I was able to take this photo with only a dark filter on my camera. The clouds actually make it look cool.


Later, On June 6, Venus passed in front of the Sun. We were lucky in Japan, because we could see the entire thing. It lasted from about 7:15 in the morning until about 1:45 in the afternoon. It took more than 6 hours. This time, without a filter on my camera, there was no way to see it. The Sun is just too bright. I used the darkest camera filter you can buy. It is specifically made for taking pictures of the sun. This was my first time to take a picture of the Sun. The big black dot is Venus and the smaller dots are sun spots.



Finally, on the evening of June 4, there was a lunar eclipse. I was sad because I had to work and couldn't go out and see it. In the end, though, nobody in Takamatsu could see it because it was too cloudy. Typhoon number 3 was approaching Japan and brought many clouds with it.

One piece of trivia about solar and lunar eclipses is that they always come in pairs. Either 2 weeks before or after a solar eclipse, there will also be a lunar eclipse. It all has to do to with the way the Sun, Moon and Earth line up.

Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year from all of the E-Style teachers.

Every year I am asked: What do Americans do on New Year's? Well, this year I called my friend in Santa Rosa, California right before midnight and asked what was going on.

Just the same as a lot of people here in Japan, many at my friend's place were watching special New Year's Eve television programs. Just before midnight, people charged their glasses with champagne, and gave a toast. They said, "Happy New Year!"

While I was listening on the phone, all of this happened. It was very exciting. Then, suddenly, I could hear fireworks going off outside. People from the neighborhood were making a lot of noise. I even heard people outside yelling, "Happy New Year!"

The next day, I called again. Everyone was watching (American) football on TV. Football is the most popular sport in America. The playoffs to the championship start at the beginning of the year. So, many people who like this sport are glued to their TV's on New Year's Day.

New Year's Day is a national holiday in the United States. But, most people start work on January 2. This year, the holiday fell on a Sunday, so everyone was happy that they could take Monday off, and start work on January 3.

Groundhog Day vs. Setsubun and the Coming of Spring.

Well, February is already here. Everyone knows that February is time for Setsubun in Japan. Many people ask if we have a holiday like Setsubun in the US. Indeed, we do! Our holiday is called Groundhog Day. It is celebrated in the US and Canada. It's probably not as big of a national event as Setsubun is in Japan, but it is still well-known by most Americans and Canadians.

In Japan, Setsubun means the divisions of the seasons. It is also called Risshun, and is traditionally the beginning of spring. Well, Groundhog Day is all about the coming of spring, too. This holiday began in Europe. But, people aren't sure exactly when it started. Setsubun is on February 3 and Groundhog Day is on February 2. Since Japan is almost one day ahead of the US, they are on the same day in real time.




In America, on Groundhog Day, a small animal called a Groundhog that usually hibernates (sleeps all winter long), comes out of the ground from its nest, and looks for its shadow. According to folklore, if the Groundhog sees its shadow, we will have 6 more weeks of winter. If the animal does not see a shadow, we will have an early spring. So, if the weather is good on this day, it is bad. If the weather is bad on this day, it is good.

There are many areas that have ceremonies with real, living Groundhogs in different cities and towns around the US. The oldest and most famous ceremony is in a small town in Pennsylvania called Punxsutawney (Punxsutawney is a Native American word). The community keeps the most famous groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil inside an old tree stump. Early in the morning on February 2, in a big ceremony, the Groundhog comes out of his home, and predicts the weather.


If you want to learn more about Groundhog Day, I have one recommendation. In 1993, a famous movie called Groundhog Day was released in movie theaters in the US. (The Japanese title is  恋はデジャ・ブ ). It is a comedy and love story about a New York TV weatherman sent to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to report about this famous event. The weatherman doesn't want to go, and because of something supernatural, he is forced to relive the day over and over again. You can buy or rent this movie. It's an entertaining look at the holiday and you can learn about Groundhog Day in America.



Also, you can look at the official website for the ceremony in Punxsutawney at this webpage http://www.groundhog.org.

New Year's Resolutions

It's the beginning of another year. At E-Style we are excited to get back and continue our studies. We wish our students and friends all the best in 2011 and we hope to see you soon.

In R.T.'s Advanced class on January 3, still in the midst of the holiday season, the topic was New Year's Resolutions. It is a common practice in many countries, even in Japan, to vow to change something about yourself as you welcome in the New Year. R.T. did some checking and found a list of top 10 New Year's resolutions for Americans living on the east coast of the US. Did your resolutions make this top ten list?

1. Spend More Time with Family & Friends
Recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others shows that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year.

2. Fit in Fitness (This means to make time to exercise more and get in shape.)
The evidence is in for fitness. Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better.

3. Tame the Bulge (This means to lose weight.)
Over 66 percent of adult Americans are considered overweight or obese by recent studies, so it is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions. Setting reasonable goals and staying focused are the two most important factors in sticking with a weight loss program, and the key to success for those millions of Americans who made a New Year's commitment to shed extra pounds.

4. Quit Smoking
If you have resolved to make this the year that you stamp out your smoking habit, over-the-counter availability of nicotine replacement therapy now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids. Even if you've tried to quit before and failed, don't let it get you down. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good.

5. Enjoy Life More (This means to reduce your stress levels.)
Given the hectic, stressful lifestyles of millions of Americans, it is no wonder that "enjoying life more" has become a popular resolution in recent years. It's an important step to a happier and healthier you!

6. Quit Drinking
While many people use the New Year as an incentive to finally stop drinking, most are not equipped to make such a drastic lifestyle change all at once. Many heavy drinkers fail to quit cold turkey but do much better when they taper gradually, or even learn to moderate their drinking.

7. Get Out of Debt (This means to pay off your loans.)
Was money a big source of stress in your life last year? Join the millions of Americans who have resolved to spend this year getting a handle on their finances. It's a promise that will repay itself many times over in the year ahead.

8. Learn Something New
Have you vowed to make this year the year to learn something new? Perhaps you are considering a career change, want to learn a new language, or just how to fix your computer? Whether you take a course or read a book, you'll find education to be one of the easiest, most motivating New Year's resolutions to keep.

9. Help Others
A popular, non-selfish New Year's resolution, volunteerism can take many forms. Whether you choose to spend time helping out at your local library, mentoring a child, or building a house, there are many nonprofit volunteer organizations that could really use your help.

10. Get Organized
Generally speaking, getting things organized around your house and office, and getting your schedule organized, makes you feel a sense of peace. Many people make early plans for "spring cleaning," to follow the New Year spirit of “out with the old and in with the new.”

Going through airports is going to change?

Hi Guys! It's R.T. here. We had a really interesting discussion in the Monday night Advanced Class on January 11 about how air travel is going to change. In the near future, we might have to go through these new scanners at airports. This video shows how they work. Also, many people asked, "Are they safe?" Well, according to this video, it looks like they are very safe. This is mainly for advanced students.

Click >>>HERE<<< to look at the transcript.

(if you RIGHT CLICK, you can choose to open the transcript in another window. Then, you can look at the transcript and listen to the video at the same time.)

It wasn't my fault!

The other day in Chibi's ワン-Point English lesson, Chibi talked about "It's not my fault." Sometimes, we can use that in the past tense (過去形). Here is a great example from a 1980 American movie called The Blues Brothers. In this scene, the man is making many excuses (言い訳) for not showing up at his own wedding. Push play on this video to have a listen. See if you can understand all of his excuses.

Good luck,

R.T.



Honest!
I ran out of gas!
I had a flat tire!
I didn't have enough money for cab fare!
My tux didn't come back from the cleaners!
An old friend came in from out of town!
Someone stole my car!
There was an earthquake!
A terrible flood!
Locusts!
It wasn't my fault! I swear to God!!!

Nicknames

Hello. My name is R.T.. Many people ask me about my name. R.T. did stand for Roger Todd. I went to court and legally changed my name to R.T. The name on my passport and my driver's license is now R.T.. Please call me R.T..

But, do you have a nickname? When I was growing up, many people called me Rowdy. Rowdy was my character. If you don't know what the word "rowdy" means, please look it up in a dictionary. One of my teachers in elementary school called me that a couple times as a joke. Then, some of my friends started calling me Rowdy.

There are 50 states in the US. Did you know that every state in the US has a nickname? It's true. We were talking about this last week in one of my classes at E-style.

There are a couple of famous examples that you may know about.

Have you ever heard of the Empire State Building in New York City?

Well, New York's nickname is "The Empire State." So, the Empire State Building is named after The Empire State.

What about the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California?

If you look at this photo carefully, you will notice that the bridge is not gold. It has never been gold. California's nickname is the "Golden State." The Golden Gate Bridge stands at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The bridge is at the mouth of the bay, next to the Pacific Ocean. As you come out of the Pacific Ocean by ship, you must sail under The Golden Gate Bridge to enter the Bay Area of San Francisco. So, The Golden Gate Bridge is like the gateway to California State.

America declared itself an independent country on July 4, 1776. The country will be 233 years old next week. Since that time, some states have had a few different nicknames. This site lists the "official" state nickname in bold letters, some "old" state nicknames, and some "unofficial" state nicknames. It is very interesting. I hope you like it.

>>>>Click here<<<<

Welcome Part III from R.T.

Hi there! It's very nice to meet all of our new and continuing students at our new spot in Takamatsu. My name is R.T. and I am from the US. I have lived in many places in the US, but I now call Tennessee State home. It's my father's home state. Originally, I was born in Niagara Falls, New York. It is just across the river from Canada. It is a VERY beautiful place, and I hope you can visit there someday. I grew up in a small town in Washington State. Usually, when people ask, "Where are you from?" I like to answer, "I am from Washington State." That's because I went to elementary school, junior high school, senior high school and two years of college in Washington State. Don't confuse Washington State with Washington D.C., though. Washington D.C. is the capital city of the US, and it is the 11th largest city in that country. Washington D.C. is on the east coast of the US, and Washington State is on the west coast. I lived for 3 years in California, and graduated from college there. My degree is in International Relations. My main job is working as an Associate Professor of English and American Studies at Takamatsu University. I enjoy teaching at E-Style very much. The new location is great. The classroom is very spacious and a wonderful place to make friends. I hope to see you there.