Hello! It's humid, isn't it? I thought after living in Japan for a while, I would get used to the humid weather, but I was wrong.

Well, first let me announce the winner of our June Monthly Vitamin! Last month, I asked everyone to write a story that included the words: BBQ, fix, eventually, smart, and troublesome. I received many stories! They were all so good! The winner is.... Yoko T.! Congratulations Yoko! Her story was very short, but she included all the words and made a story that matched her English level. Good job.

I hope everyone will try the July Monthly Vitamin. I would love to hear about your summer plans.

My summer plans? I will try my best to stay as cool as possible. I will start by eating some ice cream. My favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip. Many people don't like it because they say it tastes like toothpaste! Well... maybe a little. But I like it.

I hope you guys have a great weekend!

Yes, that's right. Another month has passed. This year is going by fast don't you think?

Today is a rainy day, but yesterday was so nice. We went to Canal City and did a little shopping. There was a breakdancing performance while we were there. It looked very interesting, but sometimes it looked a little painful for the dancers!

Oh, now it is time for me to announce the winner of the May Monthly Vitamin assignment. Last month, I asked everyone to write about their 10 favorite Japanese foods. I learned about many different kinds of dishes! I enjoyed reading all of the papers. The winner for the month of May is.... . a very funny man. I won't mention his name, but he knows who he is. He actually wrote 11 of his favorite foods. But the 11th food was BEER. I can understand his feeling. I think I would have put BEER as number 1.

I hope everyone received the June Monthly Vitamin email we sent out this morning. I'm looking forward to reading your stories.

Have a great day!

Hi! Did everyone have a great Golden Week? We had a nice time. Luckily, the weather was very nice for most of the holiday. We didn't go anywhere special (except Jusco! haha!). We just went to the park, did some shoppping, and relaxed at home. In Jusco, we watched a performance by some people. They did some kind of dance for Dontaku, I think. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. It was a perfect holiday for us!

Last month, for the Monthly Vitamin assignment I asked you all to write about your favorite Japanese custom or tradition. I read a lot of good papers. Thank you to all the students who participated. Nice job! Well, now to announce the winner of the April Monthly Vitamin assignment. The winner is.... Teruko! Congratulations! Her paper was wonderful! She had a lot of details and her spelling was perfect! She will receive a nice prize in her next lesson!

You should all have received the email for the May Monthly Vitamin assignment. It is really easy. But remember, good spelling, grammar, and details wins! I am looking forward to reading everyone's papers.

Well, I hope everyone had a great GW and is doing well. I am looking forward to meeting you all this month! See you soon!

Hey guys! What's up. Sorry for writing this so late. I was supposed to write this on April 1st.

First I have to announce the winner of the March Monthly Vitamin assignment. I received a lot of good papers, but the best one was from....... Michie!! Congratulations!! She will receive a nice prize in her next lesson.

Did everyone get the April Monthly Vitamin? I hope you all will give it a try! I'm looking forward to reading them.

How was your weekend? I was expecting it to rain last Sunday, but luckily, the weather was great! It was so great that we decided to take a walk. We walked from our home to Nishijin. Then we walked from Nishijin to Hawks Town. Next we walked from Hawks Town to Marizon. After that we walked from Marizon back to Nishijin. Finally we took a taxi home from Nishijin! We couldn't walk all the way back home... we were too tired!

Here's a picture of some cherry blossom trees we passed along the way.




Have a great day!

３月１５日。サイコーの日。←ややこじつけ・・・
我が家の娘が１歳になりました♪

生徒の皆様、友人、家族にいっぱい力を頂き、
元気に１歳を迎えることが出来たこと、
心から感謝します♪♪
ありがとうございますーーーー！

この１年、本当に早かったです。
毎日毎日が恐ろしいほどの勉強の日々で、
こうやって少しずつ親にならせてもらえるんだなぁと実感です。

スクールとしても１年間、
こうやったらどうかな、こうしよう、ああしよう、と
毎日楽しく過ごせました。

子育てしながらも
こうやって好きな仕事に携われるのは
生徒さんと主人のお陰だと本当に感謝です。

自分の親への感謝も子供を産んで改めて湧き上がりました。
「子を産んで分かる親のありがたさ」とはよく言ったもんです・・・。
よくもまぁこんな破天荒な娘を育ててくれたなぁと。

私は兄がいるのですが、
彼は22、23歳くらいのときに急に思い立ったかのように
世界一周の旅へ旅立ちました。

１年以上の時間をかけて
グルーリと世界を見てみたいということだったようですが、
その時はなんとも思わず、
たまーにかかってくる電話やら、
送られてくる不要になったものやお土産を、
「お！」くらいの気持ちで見てました。

その間インドで大地震があったり
たしか中国でも洪水だったか何かがあったり。
そんな中、兄がその場にいたようで
なかなか本人と連絡が取れなかったときの両親の不安が浮かぶ顔を
今でもはっきりと覚えています。

今思うとそうですよね。
連絡先がはっきりわかっているわけではなく
色々な国を歩いて回る息子の帰りを待つ気持ち、
たまらないものがあったんじゃないかなぁと思うのです。

送られてくる不要になった洋服やぼろぼろになった靴は
汚いのに、そして言ってみりゃかなりくさいんですが（笑、
母がすごーーーく愛おしそうに見つめてたりするんです。

そして世界地図をこっそりと買ってきて
必死で勉強してるんです（笑
あ、この国はここね。
きっと今ここにいるんやね。首都はこれか。とか。

その頃の話を母とすると
今でも生きた心地がしない、と言います。

それでも行くと決めた兄を止めず、
何も言わずにただただ気をつけて、と送り出した母が
これからの目標かなぁとぼんやり思っています。

もし私が母の立場だったら
今の私なら絶対行かせません（笑
まだまだ何年もこれから母親としての修行が必要です。。

これからもご鞭撻のほどよろしくお願いいたします♪