WANISAN

In my Advanced Discussion Class this week we talked about pets.

It’s an interesting topic, and it can be talked about at a lot of levels from having pets, naming, caring for them, choosing pets, and what pets you might want to have or think would be fun to have.

You can also talk about the benefits of having pets. There are many besides the obvious benefits of companionship. Pets are also a liability and come with their own sets of difficulties. It’s interesting to see both sides.

I have had lots of pets in my life, and some of them have been a little out of the ordinary. My house growing up was home to raccoons, hawks, and even a pig or two besides the normal dogs, cats, fish, and turtles.

We have those at my house now, well, the fish and one turtle.

One set of fish live in a large bowl on the landing between the first floor and the second. I pass them several times a day and almost every time I at least talk to them in passing. I clean that bowl completely every few months, but add water and wipe the sides on a regular basis.

I lost my net about 2 or 3 years ago, so I have started using my hand to scoop the fish out. They’re very funny about that because they’re also very used to it. They don’t just jump into my hand, but once I have them in my hand, they just lie there, mostly quietly, while I move them to their little bucket to wait for the cleaning.

Here are a couple of pictures of them and the process.

In transit

Waiting for the cleaning crew to finish

Back in the water

I’m a big super hero fan. I have been a comic reader and fan for a long time. I especially love the movies being made these days with the great computer graphics (CGI, but usually just called CG here in Japan) and special effects that are possible.

I really loved watching Avatar with all of that great CG, but I prefer movies like Marvel’s Iron Man or Captain America.

I recently saw Ant-Man, another Marvel movie. I really liked it a lot. It’s funny, the story is good (though not particularly new or surprising), the action is really good, the special effects are different from what we’re used to seeing, there’s a bit of a romance and side story, and it was great watching Paul Rudd be the hero in an action film.

How about you?

In the comments below, tell me what your favorite super hero movie is and why you like it.

This week Aichi Shukutoku University is hosting a Canadian born film maker and speaker who has created a special film about the Tohoku area before and after the tsunami and the tragedy that struck in 2011.

Linda Ohama has had a long career as a volunteer and an award winning director and producer.

You can visit her website by clicking here.

Here’s a photo of the flyer for her film and talk:

In my Explanations class we have been talking about how to express clearly where stuff is as a way of beginning to explain things.

There are some phrases we came up with to get things started.

Here are just a few:

on the top

left

right

in the center

middle

You can also use phrases like ‘to the left’ or ‘to the right’ along with ‘beside’ or ‘above’ or ‘behind’ or ‘below’ other objects or people or stationary markers.

Here’s a photo you can use for practice. You should be able to make lots of practice sentences by using this. It’s great to use by yourself if you have to, but it’s even better to work with a partner.

You can try some things like asking each other ‘where is the airplane?’ or ‘what is below the mat?’

You can also place some items at random on a desk or table in partners then talk about them. Another way to practice this is to give commands to your partner to put certain items in specific places.

Be sure you have fun!

Last week was the 4th annual BACS Skit Performance Contest at Chukyo University.

This is something that used to be an exercise for just my classes but was expanded and turned into a department-wide contest and event for all second year students in the British and American Culture Studies at Chukyo University.

The skits are getting better and better, and it is always a lot of fun.

The students are usually randomly divided into groups of 4-5 students and they write and perform skits that are shortened versions of famous children’s stories. It’s an exercise that is meant to help students be more confident in speaking English in front of others and to have a chance to do some team building.

It is also very fun. For everyone.

Here are a couple of snapshots I took of the winning groups from both periods.

1st place through 3rd place 4th Period

1st place through 3rd place winners from 3rd Period.