少人数制で楽しく身につく英会話教室・英会話スクールなら「アミックインターナショナル」

Every year since 1875, the first Saturday in May has hosted America’s most famous horse race.

Also called “The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports”, the Kentucky Derby is the first leg in America’s Triple Crown of horse racing. The race is contested by three-year old thoroughbred horses at the Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, which more than 150,000 fans pack on race day. Most of these fans don traditional ‘derby wear’, such as suit jackets with bowties for men and sundresses with extravagant hats for women. People around the country also hold their own derby parties where they wear similar fashions, try and predict the winner of the race, and drink the event’s signature beverage, the mint julep.

The race is host to many other traditions, such as the singing of ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ as the horses make their way from the stables to the starting gate and the gifting of a bed of roses to the winning horse. All of this, plus the sheer amount of money on the line–$2 million–makes Derby Day exciting to watch, even if you don’t know anything about horse racing. 

Source: www.5-a-side.com

Lately I have started to go to karaoke more frequently. Karaoke in Japan is very different than what I was used to in America—for starters, the selection of English songs you’ll find at places like JOYSOUND is just as good (if not better) than back home.

Unlike the private rooms you rent with your friends in Japan, karaoke in America (and probably other Western nations) usually takes place at a public bar. This means you are singing mostly in front of people you don’t know, which makes many people nervous. Instead of using a tablet, signing up to sing a song is usually done with a karaoke DJ, who has a book listing the available songs and a paper to write your name and selection on. Having to wait for your turn to sing means that on a busy night you might only sing once or twice over the span of several hours!

While it can be fun to have strangers cheering for and singing along with you (when you sing well, that is), I think I prefer Japanese karaoke where you can sing many, many times throughout the night (and wear fun costumes, to boot).  

—Andrew

こんにちは、今日もアミックブログを訪れていただきありがとうございます！

桜の季節が終わり、次に来る行事ごとと言えば何でしょうか

「夏も近づく八十八夜～」を口ずさめば思い出すでしょうか・・・・・

そうです、お茶摘み（tea picking）

立春から88日目、時期としてはゴールデンウィークの「子供の日」の前後

のはずが、今年は暖かいのか例年より2週間も早く新芽が出てきました

ということで、早速先週末に実家の山でお茶摘みしてきました

新芽とは、↓の黄緑色した若葉のこと

新芽からとれるお茶をその年の一番茶として「新茶（shincha ；the first tea of the season）」と呼びますね。

上に伸びる新芽だけを、丁寧に一つ一つ手摘みしていきます。

こんな感じ↓

これを半日、大仕事です

さらに、摘んだその日のうちに持ち帰り、

新芽の部分のみを他の葉とより分け、次の大仕事「茶葉の焙煎」

お茶用の厚手の鉄鍋で焦げないよう炒ります。

茶葉がしんなりしたら鍋から出して、ゴザの上に茶葉を広げて冷まし、体重をかけて揉む。

この作業が結構大変なんです

これを最低でも2回繰り返して、天日に数日さらせば完成です

（今回は、この籠を約10杯分収穫）

今はここまでする家は減りましたが（とうかほぼいない・・）、

昔は畑を持っていた家では空いたスペースに茶を植えて皆自給していたそうです

私の家では、今でも1年分のお茶はこれでまかないます。

時間もかかるし大変だけど、一番茶の味は格別です

お茶は各食事毎に食卓に上がるので、とっても大事な行事なのです

英会話スクール

I first found the music of Aya Gloomy on the Soundcloud page of the legendary record store Big Love Records located in Harajuku, Tokyo (which also has a record label that releases Aya’s music). I instantly fell in love with her yearning but not overly emotional, almost spectral voice at the eye of the storm of swirling, intoxicating electronic composition. Last month I had the opportunity to stop by Big Love Records while visiting Tokyo and I bought Aya’s first short release on vinyl, but just yesterday her debut album 「陸の孤島」 was released. I ordered the album online today, so while I excitedly wait for it to be shipped to me I’ll have her single 「静かに消える」on repeat.

-Joe

Do you have a certain movie that you can watch over and over without getting tired of it? I really enjoy the movie “The Prestige”. The movie stars Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as rival magicians. The two men compete to be the best and most creative magicians in the world. The magicians will stop at nothing to be number one. They even risk their lives and hurt each others families to prove they are the best in their field. Even though I have seen the movie many times, the ending still surprises me each time I watch it. What about you? What movies do you like?

All of us here at AMIC have things that we are very passionate about. Of course, we are enthusiastic about the English language, but we also have a range of different hobbies or interests in our free time. Reading books, watching movies, playing games, and listening to music are all great ways to relax. They can also be a fantastic way to improve your language skills. Exposing and immersing yourself in foreign media is a great way to supplement your lessons and increase your overall fluency. Today I’d like to talk a little about something I love, board games.

I learned to love board gaming while I was in graduate school in the UK many years ago. There are many different types of games, but some of my favorites are co-operative games, where everyone works together to solve a problem or puzzle. Its a great communicative activity to enjoy the company of friends while working together towards a goal. In many places, you can even find Board Game Cafes. These are places where you can meet friends and enjoy coffee or food while playing games. There are many such places in Europe, and there are even quite a few in Asia. When I lived in Hong Kong I would often meet friends at a board game cafe downtown, where they also would use those games to teach English. Some larger cities in Japan such as Tokyo or Osaka also have places like this, but I haven’t had a chance to visit any. 

I’ve used some popular board games to teach English in my recreation class before. Pandemic is a co-operative game where players must work together to cure diseases, and discuss planning and puzzle solving. I have also used Catan, an economic game where players need to negotiate and trade resources with each other. Some Japanese games have also become popular in English, such as the deduction game Love Letter from カナイ製作所. Playing these sorts of games lets you use English as a tool for accomplishing different tasks, and this goal-oriented approach can be helpful for improving fluency.  

-Alex

The difference between green and black tea results from the manufacturing process. Black tea undergoes fermentation which transforms its colour and flavour, whereas green tea remains unprocessed and retains its colour. Green tea is grown in higher altitudes, more specifically the mountainous regions of East Asia. Some green tea is still picked by hand, and it is thought that handpicked teas are less bitter and yield a sweeter, more robust taste. Other factors such as the climate and soil can also affect the flavour.

My students often laugh when I tell them my favorite Japanese musical artist is  X Japan.

When I was 15 years old, my cousin showed me a video he had downloaded (this was pre-YouTube) of what looked like a Western glam metal band in concert. I quickly learned the band, called X Japan, was actually Japanese, and their visual kei  style was unlike anything I had ever seen or heard. I was immediately drawn to their extravagant costumes, the relentless energy of drummer Yoshiki, and songs like “Kurenai” that transitioned from emotional ballad to driving power metal right in the middle of the track.

At the time, I figured I was the only 16-year old in Midwestern America listening to a burnt copy of X Japan’s  The Last Live album while driving around town. But in 2014, X actually performed at and sold out New York’s Madison Square Garden. While I was unable to go, a documentary called We Are X  was made about the concert and is now available on NetFlix. In addition to teaching me more about the band’s history, the film made me realize I was not the only American that grew up a fan of Yoshiki, Toshi, Heath, Hide (RIP) and all the rest. 

Long live X! 

–Andrew

Among all the sites I check and interact within on a daily basis is the well-known site Soundcloud. Focusing solely on streaming music for free and serving as a platform for many “bedroom producers” to share their music, it’s a good site to find obscure new music as well as keep up with the artists you follow even if it is a bit dated at this point. I do a lot of my searching for new music here (specifically electronica), and always find something that impresses me. From now on I’ll start sharing some of my findings in my Thursday posts.

My first share is “Hunted” by Lotic. They have been one of my favorite producers for a few years now and their debut album is about to be released this summer. To say the least I am very excited by this first single. It’s abrasive and some might even call it creepy, but the harmonies that come together in the swirling structure of the track create something much more than meaningless cacophony and strike me as unsettling and beautiful at the same time (a lot like the world itself!). There of course is a meaning to the chant but it’s not blatantly obvious. Their music is largely instrumental so it’s up to the listeners to peel the layers and find out for themselves.

If you read all that, bravo! I hope you enjoy this different perspective on music being made in this day and age.

Joe