投稿者: Aya Kobayashi
SMILE Vol. 25 January 5, 2019 (H31)
Heisei 31 (2019) Happy New Year!
Heisei 31 (2019) has begun. How have you spent your holidays? The new year’s day was a warm and calm day. I only wish that the new year will be like the new year’s day, a peaceful and bright future without natural disasters and war. The Japanese saying, “bonji tettei” means to apply thorough and careful attention to mundane tasks. Instead of doing special projects, by consistently and diligently working on ordinary duties, we may reach our goals and produce results. Doing “what is in front of us” may seem easy but working on it with utmost care and persistence is difficult to do. But this is why such method of working yields results. Realizing that there is no same day as today, doing your best within the daily tasks is important. Further, faced with today’s disasters and accidents, we must realize that the “ordinary” is actually not so mundane, and be thankful, without taking it for granted. I pray that everyone’s 2019 will be a bright year filled with smiles.
Please continue to support the JLSP activities this year. 続きを読む…
SMILE Vol. 24 December 15, 2018 (H30)
How was your year 2018? Hope you have a wonderful New Year!
This year passed so quick we only have 16 days to go. The more years that pass, the more I feel time passes faster. Looking back, how was your 2018? It may have been filled with fun activities with family, might have been the year you marveled at your children’s’ growth, or might have been a challenging year. We usually find out the Keywords-of-the-Year at the end of year. The Keywords-of-the-Year are trendy or “fad” words of each year. “Sodane-(Right?)” was this year’s word that the Japanese Olympic curling team spoke each other during competition. Also, the Kanji (Chinese character)-of-the-Year was released on December 12th at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. We tend to reflect on what happened around this time each year. As the Heisei period (Emperor’s reign) ends April 30th, 2019, many Japanese reflect, not only one year, but this 30 year era. Many key events have occurred including the 2011 Tsunami and nuclear disasters as well as an aging society with fewer children. As we welcome a new era on May 1, 2019, I pray this coming year will bring peace in the world without war or disaster. Thank you for all of your contributions to the Japanese Language School of Philadelphia. Please continue your support and help your school. Happy New Year! 続きを読む…
SMILE Vol. 23 December 8, 2018 (H30)
Foster the ability to adapt to changes in various environments!
I often hear the word “abnormal weather” recently. “Extreme weather” is defined as “a weather that shows a significant bias towards the climate of the past 30 years.” (Japan Meteorological Agency) Cool summer, warm winter, hot weather, landing of large typhoon · hurricane, occurrence of floods etc. Global nuisance abnormal weather and serious damage caused by each country are reported on the earth scale.
Right now, Japan is in the midst of “abnormal weather”. Even though it is December, I have recorded summer days above 25 ℃ in various places. Within one week after this time the temperature will shoot down from summer day to midwinter, snow cover etc is also expected. In the United States, hot and cold waves, large hurricanes, floods, forest fires caused by high temperature and drying are frequent. Extraordinary weather is said to be closely related to global warming and environmental problems and has seriously affected our lives, health, environment and industry. I think that we should move our actions little by little to protect our lives and eventually to protect this earth
The big difference between cold and warm in our daily lives places a heavy burden on people’s bodies. The autonomic nervous balance is lost, it becomes easy to infect virus, it seems to be more likely to catch colds and flu. First of all, symptoms often appear when you are tired such as dullness and dizziness. I would like to use this doctor’s story, which is necessary to preserve physical strength with sufficient sleep and well-balanced diet for everyday life. 続きを読む…
SMILE Vol. 22 December 1, 2018 (H30)
It is already “Shiwasu” (Busy time of the year, December). Let’s close the year properly!
The last week was Thanks Giving Holiday. It was an important holiday that you get together with your family and appreciate “Food” and “Health”. I assumed that you also had busy holiday. I knew about Thanks Giving but I didn’t know about “Black Friday and “Cyber Monday”. When I watched TV about “Black Friday”, it reminded me the Japanese “Hatsu-Uri”. “Hatsu-Uri” is bargain sale that happens from New Year eve to New Year. During “Hatsu-Uri”, some of the items are half price and many people shop but the targeted item is “Fukubukuro”. In this bag, you will often find goods that are so much more than the price of the bag. Shoppers make lines before New Year for “Fukubukuro”. It seems like it will tell you this year’s fortune because you are excited not knowing what are inside and also saving you get. The Christmas sale starts from Black Friday and wait for the Christmas. We wait for spring with “Hatsu-Uri.” Both are important culture for US and Japan. Today is already December. December has another name, “Shiwasu” in Japan. “Shi” refers monks and they are busy preparing for the many events at the year of year. It is said that it comes from the phrase “toshi hatsuru “(the year comes to an end) that then turned into “shi hatsu”. Then it turned into “Shiwasu”. Anyhow we will close the year quickly. We should plan well and close the year properly while we can spend time calmly. It is getting colder, let’s be careful of getting cold. 続きを読む…
SMILE Vol. 21 November 17, 2018 (H30)
A new beginning! Our office is moving into the Friends’ Central School
Just when we were enjoying the beautiful leaves of autumn, winter has set upon us very quickly. In good news, the JLSP office will be moving on November 19th (Monday) after 21 years in our current location. During the weekday, 3 staff members conduct all business related to the school at this office. From creation and distribution of class materials to coordination with the Ministry of Education, the office has many responsibilities. We also store all computer related items and historical documents in this office. Truly the heart of the school! All this important material will be transported to a room within the Friends’ Central School, which will lessen the need to move materials back and forth between the office and the school. We believe we can service you even better with smoother and faster preparation and creation of class materials. JLSP opened 42 years ago in 1972. We moved to the current Friends’ Central School in 1989, 17 years after our opening. The Friends school is renowned for having been the home to famous Japanese educators like Inazo Nitabe and Umeko Tsuda as well as bacteriologist Hideyo Noguchi. We believe our long-lasting relationship with the Friends’ Central School is thanks to many supporters and the Friends’ Central School itself, which has a deep and rich history with Japan. With the move of our office, we want to take the time to express our deep appreciation for all our supporters, and double our efforts in providing the best educational experience. Please come visit our new office! 続きを読む…