Diary 7: Mon, August 25th

＊Today's notice＊

I got a homesick again the day before yesterday. Today, I will share the way I coped with the homesick. At the night, I woke up and could never fall asleep again. The host mother was in the living room and watching TV, so I went to there. She made a cup of cocoa for me. It comforted me. It smelled and tasted so nice. I read a magazine drinking it in the living room. I felt much better and went to bed again at 3:30 a.m. I could sleep until around 9:00 a.m.
A cup of hot cocoa is good for a homesick. I recommend you it. Next might be your turn.



＊Today's notice＊

We take out the garbage once a week, and it was today. In Japan, we have to carry big bags of garbage to a certain place, for example, in front of a park or at a corner of a block. In here, however, people don't have to do that. What they need to do is only to put them in front of their own houses. They don't have to be concerned about staining their clothes during carrying the bags of garbage. How easy!

[208 words]

Diary 6: Sun, August 24th

We went to a supermarket and a shopping center. We went to COSTCO, a big store. The building was so big, and all of the foods sold there were also big! People can taste everywhere in the store.The number of those tasting corner was also surprising to me. Then, we bought two pieces of pizza for dinner. Hearing "two pieces", what do you think? Actually, I thought it might not be enough for dinner at first. However, how big a piece was! ha ha! It was a great dinner, and I could felt AMERICA. The piece of the pizza was so big, so I got filled with one piece and some salads.

＊Today's notice＊

In this city, it is said that the air is so clean. I understood one on the reason today. I heard that factories are not permitted to exhaust the smoke as is. This strict rule keeps the air clean. Excellent!

[156 words]

Diary 5: Sat, August 23rd

We relaxed at home during this morning. We left home before 1:00 p.m. We went around in the city, and we visited a long pier. It continues on the ocean, and we walk on the pier to the end. I saw a vast panorama of the pacific ocean! It was great!

＊Today's notice＊

We went to a Vietnamese restaurant and chose a broken rice, egg rolls and a rice noodle with chicken. They were delicious, but the amount of those dishes was too much, so we decided to bring the rest of the meals back home. Then! I saw a real doggie bag for the first time. I had heard about it in Japan many times, but I had never seen it before, you know. This was also an interesting experience to me. It is so economical and reasonable, so doggie bags should be introduced in Japan too, I think.

[153 words]

Diary 4: Fri, August 22nd

Today, I picked tomatoes in the neighbor's garden. It is very dry, but tomatoes grow greatly here. The tomatoes smell really good, and they are very tasty. The tomatoes sold in the supermarket doesn't taste that good, so these which grew without agricultural chemicals are precious. There are so many tomatoes so that I couldn't pick all, and it made me happy.

＊Today's notice＊

Today, I heard an interesting story from her. In the United States, they don't see a sunrise in the west areas, and they don't see a sunset in the east areas. I think it shows how vast this land is! I knew the United States is a large country. This country is about 25 times as large as Japan. But I realized the largeness by this story.

[137 words]

Diary 3: Thu, August 21st

Today, in the afternoon, my friend here took me to play tennis. It refreshed me, and I had a good time.

＊Today's notice＊

I was bitten by mosquitoes, perhaps They are different from them in Japan, I think. It is because the scars swelled so badly. I feel even a little pain. I might resulted from my no being immune to those mosquitoes. (※ Those scars didn't began to heal until Sunday. My host mother says that might be a spider or an ant. I can never imagine that a spider bites a human...It is really scaring, isn't it?)

[102 words]

Diary 2: Wed, August 20th

Last night, I woke up 2 times. At the second time, I felt lonely and thought of my family. It must have been the homesick! I think it was because that there is still no acquaintance. Actually, I had known that I must get a homesick.

＊Today's notice＊

In the morning, I saw the sky when we got outside. I thought it would be cloudy today, but my host mother taught me a few things. She said it was mist because of damp from the sea, not clouds. It is seen only in the morning. In fact, the mist was gone, and the sun began to beat down fiercely by noon. The sky was so blue, and there was no clouds. That was a surprising to me. The blue sky in California is not alike and more blue than the sky over Japan. (It is also said to rain only winter here, so saving water is required.)

[158 words]

Diary 1: Tue, August 19th

In the plane to LA,

Hello, everyone. Now, I'm in a plane and going to leave for Los Angeles from Narita airport. It wasn't the good weather, so my parents and I got so concerned about the flight from Kumamoto to Tokyo until the time for leaving. My mother saw me off at the airport. I really did not want to leave her, although I am a little ashamed about that. I promised that I will try to have various experiences. However, I can't believe it that I am in the airplane by myself. Any way, I have been saying to myself that I must try to make a progress in some aspects, so that I can see my parents with a great smile after this stay. I mean by "some aspects"... I have never been to go abroad without my family or friends, so this trip and stay by myself is a precious experience to me. Of course, I'll try to make a progress in English. I really appreciate their love and trust to me.

＊Today's notice＊

In California, the ultraviolet rays are so strong. I had heard that it is about 3 or 4 times as strong as that of Fukuoka. That's right. When I was in my host mother's car, I felt a high heat on my legs, though I was wearing a long jeans! I tan easily even in Japan, so I bet that I must be brown from the California's sun by the time I get back to Japan.

[262 words]

From USA!

Hello, everyone. How have you been? I am really fine. I am in California in the United States and enjoying everyday life.

I made a promise that I keep write diaries, and I am keeping write my diaries every day. I just noticed that I can use a computer and post on my blog, so I will post what I wrote on my diary. I think that it is not interesting to write everything, for example, what time I woke up, what I eat for meals...something like that. So I will post on this blog about my notices and opinions.

I really appreciate that I am having this great experience.

[111 words]

BR2-04: Chinese Adventure

I read "Chinese Adventure" too. It is also one of the series 'Oxford Reading Tree'. I got interested in it, and I think it is because I have been learning Chinese. Chinese must be an interesting language especially for Japanese people, because it also uses Kanji as Japanese. The pronunciation is so difficult for us, but we can understand the meaning to a certain extent. Understanding the meaning is so interesting, don't you think so?

Chinese culture is very unique, isn't it? A vase in this story is one of them. The vase got broken, but the Children could find another one in the adventure. It was nice of them not to forget their grand mother's vase, even when they are in a adventure. I thought the new vase was much better than original one, because it had the Chinese writing on it. It was a real Chinese vase. I felt the uniqueness of Chinese culture with it.

[161 words]

BR2-03: Submarine Adventure

I read "Submarine Adventure". It is summer, so reading these books about the sea is nice, isn't it? Are you going to go to the sea, everyone? Do you see the sea on a beech, or swim in the sea?

"Phew! That was close!" In this book, these words sometimes appeared. It seemed that there are some dangers in the sea. I like to see the sea, but I don't like to swim in the sea. It is because of salty water, sticky sand, darkness and mysteriousness. The first one and second one are tolerable, but the last two things are not. The sea is beautiful, but I get nervous vaguely when I can not see in the sea. I can not even know what is there and how deep it is. It is scaring for me. When I see TV programs about the bottom of the sea, however, I feel the mysteriousness of it and get amazed with it.

But! I can not jump in the sea because of it. The sea is beautiful, so I am satisfied with seeing it on a beech or a hill. I think it is also a good way to appreciate a beautiful landscape. Now everyone, let's enjoy the sea!

[210 words]

BR2-02: Roman Adventure

I read "Roman Adventure". I chose it, because the picture on the book cover seemed to be interesting. It showed a Roman man who eats a peace of pizza. It was strange, but not bad.

Biff and Chip met Diana, who was a Roman girl in Roma. Her father is a baker, and she was proud of him. On the day, however, the something was wrong. All of his bread were flat! He was disappointed with those flat bread. Biff and Chip got a good idea that they could make pizzas and told how to make pizzas. They sold them, and pizzas became so popular immediately.

My father makes a pizza by himself, and his pizza is so delicious! I have not eaten it lately. I want him to make his pizza again!

[133 words]

BR2-01: The Joke Machine

I already have read some books this summer vacation. First one was "The Joke Machine".

The children were telling jokes. Most of their jokes were difficult for me, so I realized again that I need to polish my English sense. At first, they thought of washing cars and a toy sale in order to get some money, but finally they thought of a joke machine. They 'wrote jokes on slips of paper and then put them in a box. The box is the joke machine. People pay for jokes.' The words on advertisements were "A laugh does you good. Do good with a laugh." One joke was sold at 50 pence. The mayor loved their joke machine, and bought all their jokes. She paid 2 pounds for each one!

"A laugh does you good." I think it is right. A smile and laugh are good for everyone.

[147 words]

Cool!

It is so hot, no humid every day, isn't it? Look at this! This is a glass of shake, which we make and drink every morning. In order to get over this humid summer, you should try this!

The recipe is so easy. Here is how for three glasses. You need only one banana, half of a peach in a tin, milk, some ices. Then, put all of them in a blender and smooth. Pour it into your glass. That's all!

You can enjoy this summer more comfortably and smart. You must love it. Let's get through this heat!

[102 words]

● Blueberries ●

In our garden, a tree of blueberry beared fruit. As to the color, it is dark blue or dark purple. Fruits make us happy, doesn't it? I would rather gather or see them than eat them.

The blue berries refreshed us, but it gets more and more humid, doesn't it? Be careful not to suffer from summer heat!

[60 words]

○● Sweet Corn ●○

My friend gave us( my family and I) ten ears of sweet corn in the shuck from her own field.

Her family is farmers and raise many beef cattle. When I was a kid, I liked to watch cattle and give some milk to calves. There were so many animals, for example, cats, dogs, pigs, chickens. I did not like chickens so much, but I loved the other animals.

They have fields of corns for beef cattle and humans. Of course, the corns that she gave us are for humans.

They were so sweet and fresh, and the color, yellow was so bright. Besides, they are healthy. We boiled them, but roasting is also a good way. This food is in season. Why don't you try some this summer?

[130 words]

Now Summer Burst!

Hello, everyone! Long time no see! I finished all of the tests for this semester, and now my summer burst!

Now, I want to start my blog today for next semester. I have been looking forward this summer vacation, because I am to stay in CA in USA. I will not go study abroad, but I hope that I polish my English sense at every opportunity like this.

I will post my diaries about my experiences after I get back to Japan. Any way, I will try to keep posting on this blog as possible. Let's enjoy this summer!

[100 words]