The new ryugaku website is up!

Thanks to some hard work on the part of Mr. Oonishi, I am proud to announce that we now have a new and beautiful ryugaku site! Please give it a look when you have some time! www.connection-ryugaku.com or you can click on the link at the top left of the page.

If you are interested, please take a look at our Banff trip that we will be taking at the end of February. Highlights of this trip include: English lessons, skiing and snowboarding, paintball, a helicopter ride and more.

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Also, in other news, Bryan dropped this bomb on us tonight:

"You can't lock yourself in a box and expect to achieve anything."

Very deep stuff, with which I must agree.

Vocab

on the part of (someone) - （だれか）のお陰で

to announce (v.) - お知らせする

to drop a bomb on (someone) (v.) - 爆弾発言をする

to achieve (v.) - 達成する

New Hugo Pics!

Monika warming to her role as "big sister."

Hugo learning how to count.

Vocab

to warm to (something) (v.) - 慣れる

role (n.) - 役割

Hugo!

All of us at Connection would like to send our congratulations to James and his wife on their new baby boy Hugo!

Hugo came into this world December 8th, 2009, weighing 3900 grams.

He has James' lips! ;o)

Recently...

Hello friends! Long time, no blogging, eh? Well, I apologize for that! Things have been very busy here at Connection.

First, Kyoko and Liam’s departure was a very bittersweet event. To say goodbye we had a very nice 40-person get-together at Bali Lax in Umeda. We had some very nice Southeast Asian food and some nice drinks as well to mark the occasion. We were all very sad to see her leave of course, but we hope that this opportunity will be a great one for her, full of excitement and happiness.

If anyone does not have her contact info and would like to get a hold of her in Canada to see how her and Liam are doing, please call or email us at the office and we would be happy to provide you with it. In other news, I am happy to say that we have some big things coming up.

December 19th, we have our 6th annual Christmas party at Jeudi Café in Kita-Horie. I am really looking forward to it. The café has a very nice atmosphere and good food as well. Also, famed rakugo performer and balloon artist Diane Kichijitsu will be there to entertain the crowd.

We also have a very exciting trip to Banff planned for the end of February. It will be an 8-day all-inclusive trip to Alberta, Canada to study English, go skiing/snowboarding and have a very good time. There will be information sessions for the Banff trip on December 20th and 27th and also January 9th, 10th and 11th, all starting from 15:00 at our Shinsaibashi location.

Many of you may have noticed a very happy, larger gentleman around the office recently. He is Bryan’s new bodyguard. No, no, I’m just joking. He is of course our new marketing manager and teacher James. James comes to us from New Zealand via Australia. We are very happy to welcome him to our family and to get to know him better so please don't be overwhelmed by his rugged good looks and ask him an exciting question next time you see him!

Vocabulary

eh? - ですね。

departure - 出発

bittersweet - ほろ苦い

get-together - だんらん, パーティ

to mark the occasion - 特別な日を記念する

opportunity - 機会

excitement - 興奮

to get a hold of -　連絡を取り続ける

to provide - 知らせる

coming up - 迫っている

annual - 周年

atmosphere - 雰囲気

famed - 著名な

to entertain - 披露する

crowd - 大衆

all-inclusive - すべて込みの、包括的な

information sessions - 説明会

to notice - 気づく

to get to know - 知るようになる、知り合う

via - まで

to be overwhelmed by - ～に圧倒される

rugged good looks - いかつい美貌

Ramen!

Hey everybody! Long time, no see!

As most of you already know, we are back from Detroit! The trip was a big success! All of the tour members seemed to really enjoy Michigan and it was great to have the chance to see my family and friends. I have put up the pictures from the tour on this site: http://connectionmichigantour09.shutterfly.com

One thing that I really missed about Japan when I was in Michigan was Osaka’s ramen! America has a lot of good food offerings, but unfortunately, the country is lacking when it comes to ramen.

When you mention the word “ramen” to the average American, it will undoubtedly bring up images of the instant ramen packs loved by college students across the country.

Japanese ramen is virtually unknown to Americans outside of New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Thus, before I came to Japan, I too had no idea what real ramen was.

The first time I tried ramen, I fell instantly in love. It was hot, delicious and the perfect match for a night out drinking!

Since that first bowl, I have eaten many bowls of ramen at many different ramen shops.

Of those many ramen shops, I have three recommendations for you today. So, without further ado, Jeremy’s top three ramen shops in the Minami area:

For a great bowl of tantanmen (タンタン麺), Shisen Ramen (四川ラメーン) is the place to go! Shisen Ramen has many locations, but the closest to Connection is in Namba across the street from the Swissôtel.　 Every bowl comes with a lychee for dessert!　

http://r.tabelog.com/osaka/A2702/A270202/27018092/

http://gin2009.blog66.fc2.com/blog-entry-61.html

For a tasty bowl of salt-based (塩) ramen, with perfectly al dente noodles, Santouka Ramen (山頭火んめーら) near Sogo in the Shinsaibashi Shotengai is the place to go.

http://www.santouka.co.jp/company/index.html

For something a little different, check out the “good to the last sip” takana 高菜 ramen over at the recently opened Shu Renovate Ramen (朱Renovateのラメーン) located 2 minutes away from Santouka, one street back from Sogo.

http://www.ramen-shu.com/index.html

Have the chance to – 機会がある

Put up – 掲載する

Offering - 提供すること

Be lacking - 《be ～》～が欠けている、～に不足している

When it comes to - ～のことになると、～に関して言えば

Undoubtedly - 疑いなく、明らかに

Bring up - ～を連想する

Virtually - 事実上、実際上、ほとんど

Fall in love -　恋に落ちる

Night out -　外出して楽しく遊ぶ夜

Without further ado -　難しい話は抜きにして、さっさと

Al dente -　少し固めにゆでた、適度な歯応えのある

Check out – 試しに行ってみる

Sip - （飲み物の）一口、ひとすすり

Swine Flu Frenzy!

Swine flu is here!!! Everybody panic!!! No, I’m just kidding. Please don’t.

This week, the panic is evident everywhere you look. On the train, everyone is wearing masks. Schools are cancelled. Normally busy places are abnormally quiet.

Swine flu, a relatively minor virus, has put fear in the hearts of many Japanese people, similar to bird flu (Avian Influenza) and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Sickness) before it. Both bird flu and SARS proved to be quite harmless though. So, why is everyone panicking over swine flu? My answer: the irresponsibility of the media.

Very simply, the news tells us to panic and we panic. People who don’t panic are seen as foolish. But is there really any reason to panic? Probably not.

Let's take a look at the numbers! -->

The number of people affected by swine flu this year: 9830 (May 19, 2009)

The number of people affected by swine flu in Japan: 200 (May, 20 2009)

The number of people who have died from swine flu this year: 80 (May 19, 2009)

The number of people who have died from swine flu this year in Japan: 0 (May 19, 2009)

The number of people who die from regular flu every year: 350,000-500,000

The number of people that get struck by lightning ever year in the world: 6000

The number of people that get struck by lightning ever year in Japan: 130

Chances of dying from swine flu: 80:6,000,000,000 = 1:75,000,000

Chances of winning the lottery: 1:13,000,000

So, statistically speaking, swine flu is much less dangerous and prevalent than the average annual flu and you have about a five times better chance of winning the lottery than dying from swine flu.

This recent panic is bad for Japan as a country. It is hurting productivity at companies (wasted time to check body temperatures, cancelled conferences, mask changing, etc.) it is costing huge amounts of money to the Japanese government and it is keeping people in their houses which is bad for the economy.

So, my take is simple. Wash your hands. Drink orange juice to keep your immune system strong. But overall, as Bobby McFerrin said, “don’t worry, be happy.” A stress-free mind leads to a strong body, which is a strong defense against sickness. :o)

Vocabulary List

frenzy＝狂乱

just kidding＝冗談

evident＝明らかに

abnormally＝異常に

relatively minor＝比較的弱い

put fear ＝恐ろしさを植えつける

prove＝証明する

harmless＝無害の

irresponsibility=無責任な行為

seen as＝見られる

foolish＝馬鹿げた、思慮のない

affected＝影響を受けた

get struck by lightning＝雷に打たれる

lottery＝宝くじ

statistically speaking＝統計的に言うと

prevalent= 流行する・蔓延する

annual=毎年の

productivity＝生産性

temperature＝温度

conference＝会議

amounts＝量・額

government=政府

economy＝経済

my take＝解釈・見方

immune system＝免疫力

overall＝総合的に・全体的には

stress-free＝ストレスの無い

lead to=～をもたらす

defense＝防御

sickness＝病気

Detroit Trip!

Hello everybody!

Are you having a great day?

Have you heard about our Detroit trip plans? I am really looking forward to taking students to see my hometown! We will go to my parents’ home in the suburbs of Detroit from July 2nd to July 10th.

Some of the trip highlights include:

The Fourth of July Holiday (Independence Day) – We will spend the day at one of the biggest history museums in America. We will spend the evening watching fireworks, listening to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and eating a picnic dinner.

The Traverse City Cherry Festival –　The cherry festival is a very exciting celebration of all things cherry! There will be food stalls, a pie-eating contest, a beauty pageant and much, much more! We will also have a chance to go for a tour of a real cherry farm.

The Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes – We will go to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes the night before the cherry festival to watch the sunset. The Sleeping Bear land is the ancestral land of the Ojibway Indian tribe.

The Detroit Cityfest – The Cityfest is one of Detroit’s biggest festivals. It is a five-day annual street food festival that features tasty items from local gourmet restaurants, live music and arts and crafts for sale.

The Detroit Institute of Arts – The Detroit Institute of Arts has one of the largest, most significant art collections in the United States. It has over 100 galleries and its collection is valued at over one billion dollars!

Shopping – We have some very amazing malls in Michigan. The most famous is called Sommerset. Sommerset mall is a beautiful upscale mall very close to where you will stay. You will also have a chance to visit a farmer’s market one day and an outlet mall on the way to Traverse City.

Staying in the Lubin’s Home – My parents David and Helene have opened up their home for you to stay in and explore Michigan from. They are very excited to meet all of you!

We will have an information session May 2nd from 11:00-12:00 and another one May 15th from 11:00-12:00. We look forward to seeing you there!

Vocabulary List

to look forward to (something) =　楽しみにしている
suburbs = 　郊外の町
highlights = 目玉・ハイライト
include = ～を含む
Independence Day = 独立記念日
fireworks = 花火
celebration = お祝い
food stall = 屋台
beauty pageant = ビューティーコンテスト
sand dunes =　砂丘
land= 土地
ancestral = 祖先の・古くからの
annual =　一年に一度の
to feature = ～を取り上げる
arts and crafts = 美術品とクラフト
significant =　重要な・貴重な
collection =　コレクション
to be valued at = ～の価値がある
billion = 10億
upscale = 高級な
on the way to = ～へ行く途中
open up =　開放する
information session = 説明会

Cherry blossoms!!!

Hello again!

Guess what! Yesterday, I went to my first cherry blossom party of this year!

Here is a picture of one of the cherry trees at the Osaka Castle Park!

o

Isn't it beautiful!?

It was a really great day! We went to the Osaka Castle Park with Alex (owner of the French school Espace Français), his family and a big group of friends to view the cherry blossoms and drink beer and sakura flavored chu-hais.

The park was extremely busy! I was very surprised by the number of people there. Near Morinomiya station it was so crowded that it was difficult to walk. I guess other people had the same idea as us!

o

We spent most of the day lounging around on a blue tarp in the peach grove near the castle's entrance eating, drinking and watching Liam and his friend Anjyu run around.

They are so cute! The two of them were born one week apart from each other. Bryan says that he hopes that they will get married someday.

After sunset, we went up to the castle.

o

We sat at its base as the sky got dark. The castle looked so amazing lit up!

We then went down to some food stalls and ate takoyaki, grilled squid legs (いかげそ) and yakitori.

I was very happy! Happy to eat lots of good food and drink good beer with good friends under beautiful cherry blossoms yet another year... :o)

Welcome!!! :o)

Hello everybody!  This is Jeremy... everybody's favorite Connection teacher!  Right?!?  No, no, no, just kidding!  I know you all love Erika the most!  It's OK, she is great too! :o) 

I am very excited to welcome all of you to our new blog! 

This blog has been created to share with you news about the school, interesting words and phrases to help improve your English, current events, cultural information, gossip about Bryan, pictures of Liam and other exciting tidbits!  

I hope you enjoy reading it!

Thanks,

Jeremy