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」

今日は丸一日皆で衣山校に集まって、英語ティーチングの研究会

よりよく教えるために研鑽を積んでいます 🙂 

和食ランチで休憩中

Japan’s most recent addition to its list of national holidays, Mountain Day falls on a Friday this year. Hooray for a three-day-weekend! To celebrate Mountain Day I have decided to climb up Mount Katsuyama to visit Matsuyama Castle.
It makes me wonder why it’s called a mountain when it is only just a little over 130 meters high. How high does it have to be, for it to be considered a mountain? It is tough to define. Up until the late 1970s, people had defined a mountain as being over 300 meters and that anything lower than that a hill.
For me, hills are an elevated portion of a plain that appears rounder at the top and usually unnamed. Mountains are generally high, steep, have a defined summit, and stand tall in contrast to its surroundings.
Mount Katsuyama is fairly steep, but not really a hard climb and I plan to head up later in the afternoon when it’s much cooler. You can get a good view of Matsuyama and can clearly see as far as Iyo, too. Plus there’s a lights display on which is really the main reason why I’m going. 🙂

A new report in Europe has revealed that there could be a significant increase in deaths related to the extreme weather that climate change is causing. Most of these would be due to heat waves. In Japan the temperatures that are being seen across Europe may seem bearable, perhaps even on the cool side, but in fact they are much higher than the usual temperatures. Climate change and the increase of greenhouse gasses are not new topics, and several attempts at reducing them and the impact they will have on our environment have been and are in the process of being implemented. From electric cars, to buildings which incorporate forests we have found some innovative solutions, will it be enough though?
What do you do to help mitigate climate change? Do you have any ideas that could help to reduce the effects of climate change?

One of the biggest fireworks displays in Ehime is scheduled to light up the night sky this coming weekend. I have been to Mitsuhama fireworks a handful of times and each time has been memorable. The getting home part is another story itself, however, still memorable.
This year unfortunately, I won’t be going. There’s a huge typhoon making its way to Japan as we speak and is forecasted to hit Ehime by the weekend. I’m not sure how badly it will hit Matsuyama, but you can’t be too careful. This time around I would much rather stay indoors, stay dry and stay cool.
For those going to either Mitsuhama or Onmaku in Imabari – enjoy the show and fingers crossed the typhoon doesn’t ruin your experience.

As we get nearer to August I feel myself becoming a little homesick, mainly due to a month long, citywide set of festivals that happen in Edinburgh during August. The entire city goes through a transformation during July, ready to begin the celebrations in August. There are several festivals that happen at the same time, the Fringe Festival, International Festival, Jazz Festival, Book Festival and the Military Tattoo. The result of having so many festivals happening in one city at one time means that it gets very busy! I’ve heard that the population quadruples during August, although I’m not sure how accurate those figures are, it certainly feels like it when you are walking the streets!
The entertainment ranges from circus acts, to comedians, to ballet, to cabaret, to exhibitions, to street performers, it seems the list is endless. Performers come from all over the world, one of the main regularly returning acts are The Ladyboys of Bangkok, giving a truly wonderful show. I also saw my first Taiko Drumming group during the 2010 festival, it was an absolutely stunning performance.
The prices of the shows range from free to very expensive, and the quality can vary too, although most people are there for a good time and make the best of a poor performance enjoying drinks with friends and performers alike. Having said that it can be quite difficult to get a seat at any of the local pubs during the festival, despite them being open for much longer hours.
The thing I miss most about the festival though, is the end of festival firework display. This display is coordinated with live orchestral music, and is simply spectacular. I used to have a tradition of inviting my friends for food and drinks before the fireworks, then grabbing a blanket and a few bottles of beer and a radio before heading to the park a few minutes away from my flat so get a good view.