Oseibo surprise!

I recently learned about a traditional Japanese custom called Oseibo. I was surprised to find that this was my first time to even hear about the custom. Basically, it is a year end gift, given as a way to say thank you, to the people who have done something nice for you during the past year. The gift can be many things such as, food or beer, but is most often given in the form of money. Cash! The way that I learned was from one of my classes that I teach on Tuesdays. At the very end of class, one of the students told me that the whole class had put together a gift for me and gave me an envelope with Oseibo written on it. He then explained what it was for and why they were giving it to me. I have to say that it was one of the nicest and most generous things that I have ever seen. It really moved me and will leave a lasting impression of Japanese culture on me for the rest of my life.

===Word Help=======
traditional 伝統的な
custom　　　　　　　　　　　習慣、風習
Basically,　　　　　　　　　基本的に（言えば）、
envelope　　　　　　　　　封筒
impression　　　　　　　　　印象
for the rest of my life　　（私の）残りの人生で

Samurai gaijin

As I mentioned before, in an earlier blog, our friend works at the Chiba History Museum. At that time I was excited about getting to try on a samurai helmet (kabuto.) Since then we were invited to come back. This time I got to try on a complete set of Edo period, samurai armor. When I was younger, I had always wanted to do that, so it was a real treat for me. I didn't even have to do any work, the museum staff did all it. All I had to do was stick out my arms and lift up my legs. The staff carefully placed on each layer after layer, until the suit was complete. The suit was heavier than I expected but, I felt like I could fight anybody if I had to =). I felt really lucky especially because I was dressed by professionals, which was the first time for me with any kind of outfit. Truly a moment to remember.

===Word Help==========

As I mentioned before, 前に話したように、

Edo period　　　　　　　　江戸時代

armor　　　　　　　　　　　鎧かぶと

complete　　　　　　　　　完成した、完了した

than I expected　　　　　（私が）思ったより

especially　　　　　　　　　特に

outfit　　　　　　　　　　　　服装

Asakusa

I always appreciate it when people recommend different places to visit. A few weeks ago it was suggested to us that we go to Asukusa, to see the many shops and the nice temple. So that’s exactly what we did. There was some kind of festival earlier in the month and it was a little crowded but, it was still really nice. We looked at all of the shops and visited the temple. Everything was so beautiful!

For lunch we decided to stop at a little shop that looked like the bottom floor of someone’s house. The food was not the best because it was just taken out of the refrigerator and then microwaved, but we did get to see some drunk business men sing karaoke for us. It was only the afternoon and they were pretty drunk. Haha! Overall it was a good day and we had a nice time.

===WORD HELP==================

appreciate 　　感謝する

recommend　　勧める

suggest　　　　提案する

temple　　　　　お寺

crowded　　　混雑した

refrigerator　　冷蔵庫

microwave（d）　　レンジで温める（温めた）

Perfect Autumn day

This Sunday had to be the best day, for visiting the Imperial palace, in Tokyo. The most amazing part was, that the trees were at the peak of their Autumn colors and the weather was perfect. Crystal clear and surprisingly warm for November. It was my first time behind the palace walls and spent about two hours walking around. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and took many pictures. The whole experience was very peaceful and relaxing. I also thought that it was interesting to be in place that had so much nature and history, then to see huge skyscrapers, just on the other side of the palace walls. Like being in the past and seeing the future.

＝＝＝　Word Help　＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

imperial palace 皇居

Autumn　　　　　　秋　＝fall

surprisingly 驚くような、意外な

scenery　　　　　　景色

nature　　　　　　自然

huge　　　　　　　巨大な、莫大な （bigの誇張表現）

skyscrapers　　超高層ビル、摩天楼

on the other side 　反対側