The last post

Today I finished the last test! Maybe, I can pass today's test. After the test, I went to the library to borrow books because I can borrow for about 2 months. I borrowed 3 books today. One of them is written in English. I'll stick it out!!!

Spring vacation starts!!! I want to do part-time job and save much money. Now, I have only one part-time job. I'll find other part-time job. If I can, I want to work at a cram school.
I have some plans, so I can't wait special days.

Tomorrow, it is the last word count day. I have to reach 15,000 words. I kind of regret that I post free-writing, book reviews, typing homeworks on my blog every day.

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The last test and task

Tomorrow, I have the last test! The last test is politics. However, tomorrow's low is minus three degrees and the high is five degrees, so I don't want to go out... I'll dress warmly.

My tests will finish tomorrow, but I have to write a paper on English literature. For that, I chose a book written by John Ernst Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath. He was born in California. He wrote books about poor immigrants. In 1939, his work, The Grapes of Wrath, won a Pulitzer Prize. His masterpieces are East of Eden, Of Mice and Men and so on. In 1962, he won a Nobel Literature Prize.He is a grate American novelist. Please enjoy his novel someday.

After I finish this assignment, I want to clean and redecorate my room.

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DETECTIVE KONAN

I like DETECTIVE KONAN and rent about three DVDs every week. Almost every night, I watch the DVD of KONAN.
Yesterday, I watched the DVD, "DETECTIVE KONAN-the wrecked ship in the sky-(名探偵コナン　天空の難破船)". This is the 14th movie of KONAN and was shown in 2010. The DETECTIVE KONAN is made by Gosho Aoyama. He got married to Minami Takayama who is a voice artist of KONAN. There are a lot of thrilling scenes in this story. I like the best of all KONAN storys. Please try to watch!!!

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Writing test

Tomorrow, I have a test for the 5th period. A class of Kyoushoku. Maybe it is a difficult test. This test starts from 4 p.m. so I can study for the test for a long time. I want to get high score! There are only two tests left. I'll do my best!

I had a Writing 4 test on Wednesday.
We asked three questions from Mr. Beaufait.

These are my answers.

About Developing Awareness
My writing has changed this semester. In this semester, I posted many works on my blog, for example, Typing homeworks, book reviews, quick posts and so on. I can write works quickly than before, so I think that my writing has changed. Quick posts particularly influence.

About Facing Challenges
My major challenges are quick posts and book reviews. In this semester, I posted quick posts more than spring semester. Thanks to this challenge, I can write more quick than before. When I posted writing at home, I tried to write quickly. In spring semester, I read many picture books, but I read many books that tell nature, technology, famous person and so on. I tried to read books that are different from genre of books I read in spring semester. I can get skill that I summarize.

About Achieving Satisfaction
In this semester, I have not achieved personal satisfaction through online writing. I can write easily with PC and get high skills for typing. However, without person who checks my writing, I can’t confirm grammar. I don’t know my grammar is correct or wrong. I wanted someone to check my grammar.

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My glasses...

Look at this!!!
This is my glasses. Maybe, I have used this glasses for about 5 years. A few days ago, I broke this glasses... Oh no... At home, I took out contact lenses and washed them. After that, I felt around for glasses. It is difficult for me to find glasses because of my bad sight. Then, I trampled something under the hips. I looked down with a sense of foreboding. My prediction proved right! It is my glasses. I was disappointed.

I have had bad sight and have worn a pair of glasses for 12 years. When I go to school and go out, I put in contact lenses. However, at home, I wear glasses. Glasses is so important for me. I have another glasses, but it is one that I used before. That is why it is with thin lenses. I want to buy new glasses immediately.

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a Book I bought

Look at this picture. This is a book I bought a few days ago. Do you know the man on the book cover? He is Akira Ikegami and he is 61 years old. Recently, he often appears on TV. After graduation from the university, he entered NHK company as a journalist and he became a chief of the press station. In 2005, he resigned from NHK and became a free journalist. He is popular among people because he is good at explain history, politics, economy, international situation and international problems simply. I am poor in politics and economy, but I like to watch TV programs he appears. He is a walking dictionary. I want to be a person like him.
There are a lot of articles on a newspaper. A newspaper is written with difficult passages and expressions, so it is hard to understand it for us, we are not specialists. I think that newspaper should be written with easy expressions. If it is easy to read, some more young people read newspaper.
I haven't read this book yet. When spring vacation starts, I will start to read it. Before that, I have to think about examinations. I can't wait spring vacation!

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Speaking Test

On January 18th, I took an examination for Speaking 4. I was nervous before I took the test. We divided into groups including 3 members. I took the test with Ms. Noriko and Mr. Hamamoto. We had to have a conversation about Mexican restaurant, Chinese restaurant, Japanese restaurant and Italian restaurant. I had to recommend Mexican restaurant to them. Before the test, I thought about what I said, so I could talk smoothly. I felt like the test took short time. After the test, I did recording for presentation of My Name with Nami and Ayaka F at the building 14. I tried over and over again, but it didn't end successfully. However, I did recording many times. I was tired, because recording is needed concentration. Around 7 p.m. we finished recording. When we left the building 14, it was so cold.

Today, I took an examination for Reading 4.
It was a vocabulary test. The test covered 1000 words. I got better score than I thought, so I was relieved.

On Saturday, I have two examinations. I am sure that the two tests are difficult for me... I am nervous... I will study hard tomorrow. I'll do my best!!!

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My list

I have some things I want to do in 2011.
Here is my list to do.

・Get better score for TOEIC
・Read books
・Read English newspapers
・Pass certificate examination for Chinese
・Watch a DVD in English every month
・Eat hash and rice at More, which is a dining café
・Join a program of Kaigaikenshu
・Pass certificate examination for a secretary
・Do my best as an executive of mu circle
・Keep myself in good health
・Study about education and schooling
・Study Chinese
・Support my student, who is a student preparing for university entrance exam.
・Acquire culture
・Of course, study English hard

I hope that I will be able to finish these missions…

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Speaking 4 class of 17th January

Yesterday, I had a Speaking class. We expressed our presentation of own names. I enjoyed my friends’ presentations. They have various origins of names. I was interested in the origins of friends’ names. I especially thought that the origin of Shiomi’s name is wonderful. Her father wanted to give his daughter name which is related to sea. She told that her father likes sea very much. Her father is a romantic person. My friends’ nicknames are also interesting. Shimamuran(しまむーらん), this is Yukari’s nickname. It is very nice!!! I enjoyed presentation of My Name.

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Toy Story 3

A few days ago, I watched the DVD, “Toy Story 3”, with my mother and sister. Have you already watched it? Toy Story is a movie which made by Disney-PIXAR. This movie is a Golden Globe prize winner of Animation Movie. My favorite scene is one that Andy said good-bye to his toys. I was moved to tears. If you haven’t watched it yet, so I can’t tell you this story. However, I recommend you this movie. Please try to watch.

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Please help me...

Today, I have only 2 classes. They are Political science and Speaking 4. Now, I have a free time, so I study at the PC room of library. I’m sleepy… I have a stomachache…but the 5th period, I have a presentation of my name. I’ll do my best!!!
Tomorrow, I have a test for Speaking 4 and have a test for Reading 4 on Thursday. I have to study hard for them. In a term of examination, I have to take 13 exams. In addition to this, I have to hand in a report on English literature. I have to read an English literature and analyze it. It is hard for me. Oh no… Please help me.

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Make-up class: Speaking 4

Yesterday, I had a make-up class for Speaking. We rehearsal our test of January 18th. On the test, we choose a restaurant from 4 restaurants, an Italian restaurant, a Japanese restaurant, a Mexican restaurant and a Chinese restaurant and recommend own restaurant each other in a group which has 3 people.It is hard for me to recommendation. However, if I say nothing, I can't pass the test. That is why I will say something. I'll do my best.

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present from my sister

Look at this!
This is a bracelet. My sister made it for me. It is so cute, isn't it?
Recentry, she is really crazy about making something with beads. She has a lot of beads. I was also crazy about it when I was a elementary school student. I joined a handicraft club and made a lot of beadworks, so I teach her how to make. I also enjoy it.

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Coming-of Age Day

10th January is the Coming-of-Age Day. I went to the ceremony. At 4 a.m. I got up and I went to the beauty salon at 5:30. There, I have my hair set. At 7 a.m. I went to the Wedding Box to put on a long-sleeved kimono. There are a lot of people. At Wedding Box, I met a friend who went to the same elementary school. At first, I recognized her, but she spoke to me. I was so happy that she remembered me. At 10 a.m. I arrived at the site of Coming-of-Age celebration. I called my friends and met them. It was so difficult to find my friends because there were a lot of people! I met Taku and Nami by chance. At 11 a.m. the ceremony started. I attended the ceremony with Marist friends, Yoko, Ayaka and Miyo. At end of the ceremony, 7 elementary school students played the hand bell for us. They are so cute!!! One of them, maybe he is the youngest, shook himself to music. It was the heartwarming scene.

After the ceremony, we went to Marist junior high/ high school. When we arrived, many Marist friends already had arrived. About 90 graduates and some teachers gathered at Marist. I haven't seen most of them for 2 years. I was so happy to meet them. At first, we took a commemorative photo.There is a old photographer attached to. He is good at setting people laughing with his jokes. When he comes to take pictures, he always brings puppets and sets us laughing with them. After that, we had a light meal at the lunch room. We played bingo and talk a lot. At 4 p.m. I went home and changed into clothes for the after-party.

About 70 were present at the after-party. We had the after-party at John Roe, which is a bar in the downtown. Salad was the most delicious, so I ate it a lot. We had quite a good time reminiscing. At 8:30, the after-party finished. Some went to karaoke and others went to a bar. I went to the Swiss, it is a cafe, with 5 friends. At Swiss, I ate a cake. It was so cute and delicious. We found a teacher of Marist, but we didn't spoke to him because he was with a woman. At 10 p.m. we said good-bye. It was a special day.

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Presentation: My name

Hello. My name is Chihiro Yamashita. Now, I'll talk about my name.

First, about Family name. My family name is Yamashita(山下). "山"(yama) means "mountain" and "下" means "under" in English, so "山下" means "under the mountain".

Next slide shows my given name. It is Chihiro(千裕). "千"(chi) means "thousand" and "裕"(hiro) means "wealth" in English.

Actually, my mother wanted to name me Mei, Shiori or Satsuki. However, my grandmother was opposed to my mother's idea. After all, my mother named me Chihiro. Why my mother named me Chihiro? She named me Chihiro with a hope that she wanted me to be a person who lives a long life about 1000 years, has wealth knowledge and obtains great wealth. There are parents named their boys "Chihiro". I am sometimes called "Chihiro kun(Mr. Yamashita)" at a hospital.

Look at this! My grandfather's name is Hiroshi, mother's name is Hiroko, sister's is Hiromi and an uncle's is Hiroyuki. Do you find a common point? It is “hiro”. In my family, there are 5 members who has name which has "hiro". “hiro” is taken over.

There are some nicknames for me. They are chippy, chi-chan, chii, yamachii, pi-chan and yamachan. Most of my friends call me Chi-chan. Colleagues at axes femme, which is the shop I worked before, call me pi-chan. Do you know the reason why they call me "pi-chan"? Do you know Tomohisa Yamashita? He is a singer and his nickname is "Yamapii". At first, they called me "yamapii". However, now, "yamapii" is abbreviated as "pi-chan" and they call me pi-chan. In my circle, there are 3 members whose names are Chihiro, Chihiro Kawakami, Chihiro Arima and me. Chihiro Kawakami is Kawachii. Chihiro Arima is Arichii. My nickname is Yamachii. In my circle, I’m called Yamachii.

Next slide, here are big names who has same name. Have you heard "Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi"? This is a movie by Hayao Miyazaki. I like it and have a DVD. Recently, this movie was broadcasted on TV, so I watched it. If you haven't watched it yet, please try to watch. This is a book written by Chihiro Iwasaki. She is a painter and a picture book artist. Her works are heart-warming. There is a Chihiro art museum in Tokyo. I would like to go there. The last person is Tomohisa Yamashita. As I said, he is a famous singer. Their names has same name.

Thank you for listening.

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maedori

Look at this! This is an album of maedori. In Japan, most of girls who are approaching Coming-of-Age Day take pictures with a long-sleeved kimono. I received the album of maedori a few days ago. On 28th November, I did maedori at Wedding Box which is the store of lending costumes for Wedding and Coming-of-Age Day. It was so cold day. On that day, I went to the beauty salon to have my hair set. I put on a beige hair ornament. Of course, it is the shape of rose! To my surprise, a man made it for me. I put on 2 long-sleeved kimono for maedori. One is my mother's long-sleeved kimono and another is mine. My mother's kimono is light pink and my kimono is deep pink. I did various poses for pictures. Maybe, I got a photographer to take about 100 pictures. I had a lot of fun! After taking pictures, I chose 14 pictures for the album with my mother. It was so hard for us to choose 14 pictures, but it was fun. At 4 p.m. maedori finished! After that, I visited my grandparents with my mother's long-sleeved kimono. They look happy. At 8 p.m. I got home. I had put on a long-sleeved kimono for about 9 hours, so I was so tired.

Tomorrow, it is the Coming-of-Age Day! In the morning, I went to a beauty salon at 5:30, so I have to get up early. I'm looking forward to putting on a long-sleeved kimono and meeting Marist friends.

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SHOPPING!!!

Today, I went shopping with my mother and a younger sister. I bought clothes, accessories, shoes and so on. At first, we went to the TSURUYA. I bought two dresses and a jacket at ANNA SUI. They are little expensive, but are so cute!!! I am going to put them on for the after-party of a coming-of-age celebration. Second, I bought a pair of pumps at the shoes counter. I didn't have black pumps and bought this for after-party of 10th January. I went to the first floor and bought a nail polish at ANNA SUI. It is gold. I chose this color to match my long-sleeved kimono. This color must match a dress for the after-party, too. Next, I went to the wallet counter and bought a red wallet. It is about 5,000 yen, so it is little cheap. Its brand is LULU GUINNESS. Have you heard this name? I like goods of LULU GUINNESS. They are very cute. After that, I went the PARCO and bought three accessories and a stole. They are so cheap.

Today, I spent about 60,000 yen for shopping! Oh no... Let's tighten my purse strings! I'm really happy to buy a lot of things.

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New Year's Party

Yesterday, I had a New Year’s party and ate out with my circle’s members. We went to the Kobento, a bar in downtown. At 7 p.m. we met in the downtown. There were a lot of people there. Maybe they are KGU students. When I arrived there, I couldn’t find out where my circle’s members were easily. We reached the Kobento and ate a lot. One man, he is a forigner, performed some amazing magics. We all were excited. He is very good at speaking Japanese. We talked a lot and stayed for about 2 hours. It is a good chance to talk with someone who I hadn't talk.

I had a good time!!!

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Essay 2-03a: My enjoyable school life

Now, I go to the Kumamoto Gakuen University. There are kind friends and teachers. Moreover, facilities are so good. I enjoy my university life. I'll tell you about my school life.

I'll tell you about classes. I mainly learn English and take about 17 classes a week in this semester. Compulsory subjects are 5, including 4 skills of English and international history. Elective subjects are 9, including Japanese history, Chinese, politics and so on. In the future, I want to be an English teacher, so I take a teacher-training course. I take 3 classes of this course, English teaching methods, the study of special activities and the principles of education. I like a class of English teaching methods the best. At this class, we learn how to teach English for junior high school students. We all had to do a micro-teaching. I gave a lesson of listening. I was nervous. Classes of teacher-training course are hard. However I’ll do my best for my dream. I want to develop my skills of English, so I’ll study hard!

Now, I'll tell you about favorite places. I have two favorite places at KGU. They are library and bakery. On Monday, I have only 2 classes, so I can talk with friends at the bakery or can do my home works a lot at the library. Recently, when I have time, I often study at library. There are a lot of books and facility of the library of KGU is substantial! My favorite space is on second floor. There, I can relax very much. I don’t know why I can relax. However we can’t drink much water, I am always thirsty at the library. I hope that there are some spaces that we can drink. Every day, I like bread of KGU Bakery and I buy bread for lunch at bakery. I always buy a sweet roll containing cream and a bagel. I decide what I buy, so I can finish buying bread quickly. My friends laugh at this situation. I like the bakery that has cozy ambience. That is why I like these places.

At KGU, I belong to a volunteer circle, Aozora-katsudotai. Now, there are 81 members, freshmen and sophomores, in our circle. Until the Takuma Festival, there are over 100 people in our circle because there are juniors, too. We have a meeting every Wednesday. We have some volunteer activities in a month, for example, we help orphanages to hold festivals and we take care of children while their mothers are cooking, talking and so on. There is a volunteer activity in December. I can't wait it! We have other activities.On Wednesday, I often go to the park and play sports, eat out, drive and see beautiful view with members of my circle and so on. A group plans activities such as this. There are a few groups in our circle. As I said, there is a group that plans activities except volunteer activities. This group has 5 members. They think enjoyable activities for us. A group is one that is in charge of liaison with facilities we do volunteer activities. There are 6 members in this group. I'm a leader of this group, so I’m busy a little. However, other 5 members help me. They are so kind men and women. The last one is a group that is in charge of accounts. Of course, the members of this group are good at calculate. They are cool! I enjoy activities of my circle and I like the members of my circle.

This is my university life. I like my university very much. Every day, I enjoy my school life with my friends and teachers. However, there is only a lack. It is…love! I don’t have anyone I like. I want to be in love with someone at the university like dramas.

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My resolutions

In this year, I have three resolutions. One of them is to study English and Chinese hard. I’m going to take a certificate examination for Chinese. Moreover, I want to get high score for TOEIC. Second, I’m going to go abroad for a month in this summer. Last one is to broaden my knowledge.

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Marist family

A Happy New Year!!!

On 30th December, I met Marist friends, Eri, Yuko and Chika. Actually, I was going to meet Risako, but she couldn't come because of the weather. Risako goes to a university in Kyoto. Yuko goes to a university in Ehime and she wants to be a doctor. Chika goes to the Hitotsubashi University. Eri goes to the Sojyo University. At 6 p.m. we met in front of PARCO and had dinner. We can meet only three times a year. The weather was so bad, but I was so happy.

On 31st December, I met Yoko, Miyo and Ayaka. They are also Marist friends. Moreover, they all are not in Kumamoto. Ayaka goes to a university in Tokyo and Miyo and Yoko go to university in Fukuoka. I met them after a long time. We met at 11 a.m., but Yoko was late for the time to meet. Miyo, Ayaka and I went to Doutor Coffee shop talked a lot. About an hour later, Yoko appeared. After that, we went shopping!!! It was very fun. At 2 p.m. Ayaka had to go home. She gave me a birthday present. I was so happy:> At 4p.m. Yoko and Miyo had to go home, so we broke up. I had a good time today! I love them✿

I am going to meet them on Coming-of-Age Day. I can't wait that day!

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