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」

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

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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.