Ambulance

I have a disease which I often have heavy headache. I have been to many hospitals and I was given an MRI and CT scan and some blood tests many times.However,doctors couldn't give me effective medicines. I have ever had a very very terrible headache spell when I was a HS student. Since then, I heve been afraid of the big headache spell. Nov, 23 thursday, in the afternoon, I felt light headache as usual, so I went to bed very early. Yet, around 11o'clock, I felt vomit and around 1o'clock, I called Mayu to ask her help. She called a dormitory man, then he called 119 and an amburance took me to the ER of Red Cross Hospital. I took CT scan test and blood test. Then, I was put on a drip which contained anodyne and soporific.So, I got over the spell somehow. I have to go to another hospital again. Doctor said the disease would never gone away from my body. I have to test some drugs to look for the drugs which at least make my headache spell stop. These days, I feel my body condition is getting worse and worse...I have to live with the fear of my disease. I hope the new drugs arrest the growth of my disease. Anyway, I really appriciate Mayu, and my friends and Kitaichisan, the emergency services, staffs in the hospital.

Hope Emerges As Key to Success in Life

There is not always a means in the place there is a will. If you want to achieve your goal, you have to have hope and a way to accomplish your goal. People with high levels of hope believe in their ability to find the ways to reach their goal, and they have strong will to do so. According to this theory, I will be able to attain my goal. That is because I have a strong hope which is to master at least English and Chinese and this is one of my goals. I also have ways to master these two languages. I am studying Chinese and English everyday. I believe that I can reach this goal.

The Working Women in My Family History

The women’s working situation and environment have changed from generation to generation. People’s thoughts and common sense have also changed. How are they different? The women in my family are my grandmother, my mother, and myself. I think that looking at my family’s case of working women and the case of my generation is very interesting.
My grandmother used to work at Yonezawa Fabric Company. At that time, it was common for women to quit their jobs when they got married in Japan. So, my grandmother also quit her job after she and my grandfather got married. In traditional Japanese society, a woman had to live with her husband’s family after she was married. Women stayed in their houses, brought up their children, did housework everyday, and so on. My grandmother has always been at home. She raised two children and did housework. My grandfather didn’t help her with the housework. There was a large amount of discrimination between men and women at that time.
My mother works as an elementary school teacher. She has insisted that women and men should be treated fairly in the workplace. She hates the idea that women are inferior to men. She always says her opinion very clearly and sometimes has arguments with male teachers. She gave birth three times and she was able to have a break each time. It is said that women teachers shouldn’t teach Physical Education classes, but from about 6 or 7 years ago, my mother has been teaching Physical Education classes. In addition, my mother has to do housework but my father helps her and they share the housework.
A friend of mine, who already has a job, says that she doesn’t want to get married and have children. She knows that there are some laws to protect women’s right in society now. For example, a law rules that not only women but also men can take a break to raise their children. However, there are no penalties if a company doesn’t use this system. My friend is afraid to lose her career. More and more women have jobs and don’t want to get married in my generation. It connects to a lot of contemporary social issues, such as decreasing child population or some insurance difficulties. Thus, I believe we should consider our problems more seriously. I think women’s working environment and views about women’s work vary from generation to generation

War on Disease

There are a lot of fatal diseases all over the world. Influenza, HIV/AIDS, Diarrheal Diseases, Tuberculosis, Malaria, and Measles, these six maladies are especially famous for its cruelness. I have 　had Influenza before, but it was like a little bad cold and about in 2 weeks, I recovered from it. The good way to prevent us from having influenza is to take an Influenza vaccine which is predicted as a type that will be prevalent a year. These days, Bird flu is well known in the world. I heard that a Japanese researcher has developed a quick and easy test to detect the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in poultry and in humans. The test came after the researcher found an antibody that reacts with H5N1. The test will be used in facilities such as airports.

Gladiator

I considered what is love through this movie; “Gladiator”. Maximus who is a main character in this movie loved Marcus Alilius who was a Commodus’s father. He also really loved Rome and his family. He fought and lived and died for things and people which he loved deeply. I am sure that his honor came from his love. I respect his strong love and principle very much. Not only Maximus but also other characters loved someone as their own. Commodus loved his real sister as if a symbol of tragic. His sister loved her son and her father and Maximus. She also loved Commodus who was a Cesar after Marcus Alilius as a sibling. I felt sad at the end of this movie because Maxmus died after the fighting with Commodus. Yet, I also felt happy, but I don’t know why. I strongly recommend you watch this movie. I learned love makes people strong from this movie.

Song For…　　　　　　　　　

If there is a meaning on our meeting
It is only now that I have a pain in my heart
This pain shows how much I love you
If there is a fear to love, you can get over it, right?
There is no place that this love can go,
But I cannot return like a clock, Look
Now toward you, only to you, I love you.

Days we cannot meet are piling up. Also Days I cannot sleep do.

There are a lot of difficulties in our love, so even though we both love each other
very much, we can never be one.
Yet, I will wait for the day you can be an adult.

Although there are so many people all over the world,
I met you, I fell in love with you, I could have same feeling with you.
Can’t meet you. Wanna meet you. Now I want to meet you, now

I want to go to you. But I have to beyond the sadness which I cannot go, and
I must be strong, stronger.

If you say you love me to me so often, we never know our future.
I cannot stop worrying about the future.
Wanna meet you. Wanna meet you. Now I want to meet you, and then please hug
me with all of your strength.

Although there are so many people all over the world,
I met you, I fell in love with you, I could have same feeling with you.
Can’t meet you. Wanna meet you. Now I want to meet you. Just wanna meet you.

Just wanna meet you. Now I wanna meet you.

Translating for Parents Means Growing Up Fast

Many immigrants come to depend on their children because they can’t understand the language of the country which they moved to. However, there is a downside to this custom. When children are their parents’ interpreters, the dynamics of the typical family become inverted and the duties can bring very big strain to these children. I have never experienced such a situation which parent’s and child’s roles are reversed. Yet, these days, I felt kind of a same feeling as these children. Last weekend, my parents came to see me. I introduced them to a friend who came from America. He can’t understand Japanese yet and my parents can’t understand English well. So, at the moment, I was an interpreter and I felt I was not a small daughter who is controlled everything by my parents anymore.

Women and Work:
Around the World, Women Earn less

The survey in the Newsweek magazine “The Status of Women Around the World” was about women’s present situation of earning money all over the world. Every survey showed women are in severe situations compared to men. I was so surprised by the fact that 70% of more than 1 billion people who live in poverty are females all over the world. I know that women cannot work on equal terms with men in Japanese society yet. I think some law which supports women should be made and men also should think about women more. I think it is unfair that only women bring up their children. Those problems are connected to other problems such as the declining birth rate. I want to study about these issues more and improve our future.

Life is like a boat

Nobody knows who I really am. I never felt this empty before and if I ever need someone to come along. Who’s gonna comfort me and keep me strong? We are all rowing the boat of fate. The waves keep on coming and we can’t escape. But if we ever get lost on our way, the waves would guide you thru another day.

I am breathing in far far away. I feel like I became transparent. I thought it was dark but it wasn’t. I was just blindfolded. I give my prayers and wait a new day. See the vivid ocean and go to its end.

Nobody knows who I really am. Maybe they just don’t give a damn but if I ever need someone to come along, I know you would comfort me and keep me strong. People’s hearts vary and I wanna get away from it all. The moon takes the boat in a new revolution again. And every time I see your face the ocean heaves up to my heart. You make me wanna strain at the oars, and soon I can see the shore.

Oh, I can see the shore. When I will see the shore? I want you to know who I really am. I never thought I’d feel this way towards you. And if you ever need someone to come along, I will follow you, and keep you strong.

The journey still keeps going. Also in calm day, the moon illuminates the boat in a new revolution again. I give my prayers and wait a new day. See the vivid ocean and go to its end. And every time I see your face the ocean heaves up to my heart. You make me wanna strain at the oars, and soon I can see the shore.

We are all rowing the boat of fate. Weaves hit us one after another but it is also wonderful journey. Every thing is wonderful journey.

Believing in the True Self

There are a lot of types of people in the world. For example, there are people who are very sociable. On the other hand, there are people who are really shy. There are people who are good at languages, while there are people who are good at mathematics. Some people are talkative but some are quiet. I think I am sociable and talkative person and learning languages is suitable for me. I think it is very important to know what I like is. That is because if I don’t know myself, it would be difficult to adjust society around me. So, it is necessary to know myself to lead a comfortable life.

The Search for Identity

It is a challenge for teenagers to search for their identity. There are a lot of conflicts on the way to develop their identity. I remember that I have confused when I was a adolescent. My friends and I behaved differently in different situations.The way to show our feeling to others doesn’t always reflect how we actually feel inside. I hated this kind of way to behave, but this was the only way to avoid conflicts between me and my friends and to adjust our friendship. Besides, I also had conflicts with my family, not only with my brothers but also with my parents. I always had arguments with them. I think that through these conflicts, however, I have looked for my Identity.

Smoking

Smoking is a big problem for teenagers. It is influenced by genetic functions but the main reason why teenagers smoke is their environment. Especially their friends’ or peers’ smoking influence teenagers strongly. Some smokers will become addicted to nicotine. Lectures about smoking by adults are not effective way to stop teenagers’ smoking. I do not have close friends who smoke around me now. However, when I was a junior high school student, one of my friend smoked heavily almost everyday. She became addicted to nicotine and her ability to concentrate on something became very bad. So, she was not able to pass the entrance examination for high school which she wanted to go. I think smoking causes not only one problem but also a lot of problems. So, teenagers’ smoking should be forbidden more strictly.

Native Americans

An Act of Courage

SuAnne was a Native American. There were a lot of discriminations against Native Americans in Pine Ridge. For example, some people used violence on Indian drunken person. Some played a hoax on Indians. Although there were those kinds of discriminations, SuAnne joined the Pine Ridge basketball team. In the fall of 1987, she succeeded her playing. Her play was the coolest and bravest achievement at that time. Almost all the people on Pine Ridge know her story and they always talked about it cheerfully. I think there are a lot of discriminations in the world yet, and there are many people who are doing resistance movements. They are very brave about their life. I think I have to consider those problems more deeply.


Honoring Warriors from Both the Past and the Present
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
This article describes about Crazy Horse who is the great Sioux chief. There was a riding horse event which people crossed that rolling prairie by using horse from Nebraska to South Dakota. It was called Crazy Horse Ride and this had been held every year. Many riders came from the Pine Ridge Reservation. This event was held in order to show their honor to Crazy Horse. Riders reflect Crazy Horse’s courage and strength and they really proud of him. Horse was killed in 1877 at Fort Robinson. He was buried in Hay Springs, Neb. Riders camped near this place. His grave has been kept secret.


Black Elk

Black Elk is the great Sioux elder. He was over 60 years old and almost blind. He reflected on the invasion between 1863 and 1980. He said that he can’t forget the Wasichu‘s (white man) massacre against Buffaloes. When he was 10 years old, he saw white men for the first time. Before they came to the land in which he lived, humans and animals lived together in perfect harmony in his home land. However, Wasichus made little islands for Native American people and for their animals, and then they made those islands smaller and smaller. As for the massacre, Wasichus killed so many baffaloes to get their hides and tongues, or just because they wanted to kill then.

A reflection on my English learning History

Indeed, I found that using English every day and to enjoy it is the best way to improve my English skills though the independent learning class.

Actually, I already recognized the fact that English ability would be bad unless using English everyday, when I was a high school student.
However, I haven’t understood the deep truth of my thoughts. Surely, I tried to use English in daily life when I was a high school student. Anyway, I just tried to speak English. However, it was not enough. That is because there are few people who can speak English correctly. What is more, I had to use a lot of Japanese with my friends and family because they were not able to speak English and they didn’t have any interest in using English. Thus, my English ability got really bad.

I am not good at reading English. So, in the Independent learning class, I set my goal to “read novels and short stories fast”, and I chose my material and considered what strategy was the best for me. Actually, these processes were really helpful for me. Because I had not realized what was the week point on my reading skills. Yet, finally I found them through these steps. I was not used to read English sentences so I couldn’t concentrate on reading English sentences.
I chose “Harry Potter” as a first material. Because I have a same story book but it is written in Japanese so I thought it was easy for me to read the book in English. However, it took so long time to read one chapter though I did my best. Through this material I learned a lot of things, mainly two things.
One is the fact that I didn’t have much vocabulary skills. During the reading, there were so many unknown words or some unknown expressions. That is why it took so long time to read that book.
The other is comparison is really fun. As I mentioned above, I have a same story book but it is written in Japanese, so I tried to compare some English sentences with Japanese sentences. There were some interesting differences between them. I think those happened because of some grammatical and even cultural differences, but actually I am not sure. I hope I can study such a difference.
At the end of this material, I found I could concentrate on long English sentences at least for one hour and half.
Anyway, I decided to change my first material into “CNN English Express”. There are also a lot of unknown words and difficult words in the text book. But the good point of this material is that it’s MD has two types of speed; natural speed and slow speed. I tried to do shadowing and reading aloud this time. It was really helpful because I could memorize some English expressions and words more clearly. In addition to this, I found I could read English sentences gradually faster and faster. What is more, I tried to make flash cards when I found some useful English expressions. I always carry them in my bag, and sometimes review them.

I think that it is obvious that my mother language is Japanese. So I have a clear perception on Japanese. Yet, on English, it is very difficult to have such a perception. It is said that we never forget our mother tongue, but as for foreign languages, we do. So, I thought that I should use English in daily life as much as possible.

Now I understood the deep truth of my thoughts. Using English is not only Speaking but also thinking in English and so on. My teacher always said “speak in English”. First, it was so difficult for me to use English for Everything. But now, I really love to speak English and to think in English in the class and even in daily life.
I was not used to using English so I didn’t know what my weak point was. However, finally, through independent learning class, I could find it.
I want to continue to use English everyday. Of course, I will do my best on my TOEFL test. Yet, I want to enjoy using English in daily life and in classes. In fact, I think that is the most important thing to learn English.