Travel problems and holidays

Tonight we talked about a lot of different things. Travel problems--language, food, time differences and culture shock were the big onese. Words we learned were:

endangered species ex: Whales are an endangered species

spicy--The food is too spicy!

porter--I had a porter carry my bags

culture shock--I experienced culture shock

holiday spirit--Get into the holiday spirit

tipping--I often forget to tip

Expressions were "His eyes lit up"

I take after/look like my ___

It's not my problem!

Perspectives

This evening has been very quiet! Not one customer came in, I think because Halloween is tomorrow people are out at parties or with friends so no one is here!

Fortunately I was able to talk to another member of staff who is Japanese and we discussed our different perspectives of our own countries and of my perspection of Japan and her perspection of England.

I said that I felt that Japan seems more relaxed and that people just get on with their work and don't want to bother anyone. However, she felt that Japan is very stressed and busy so I said that perhaps the reason I felt Japan is relaxed is because I feel relaxed here

.

We also discussed her upbringing and how her generation was one of the first in Japan to begin intergrating women into jobs in the workplace and how she admired England because it was more acceptple for women to be working when she was growing up.

So despite a slow evening, I definitely had a good conversation and chat.

Sake with Zero yen.....

Started the day with talking about a festivel which helds once a year providing Sake with zero price. At the place, we can drink as much as we can and one of our guest went such a festivel with her family and enjoyed a lot.
In the meantime, we shared our thoughts about cast system in our society and how much it has been ruled and corrupted our good things. By talking, our guests were so surprised as in Japan, they can't see such a class.
Further, one of our guest who came for a short time shared her experience of her duties being a Nurse. She expressed, its a job dealing with a life.
We were learnt by Ms. Yoko, how to make an album using web application called 'Nohana'...

My last shift

Today was my last shift at Cafe Wa. Unfortunately it is time for me to say goodbye to all guests and to wonderful Mrs.Yoko. From the end of November I will have to move to Nagoya. It is a sad moment,but I take this opportunity too say thank you to you for all your kindness and support. Because of your kindness I was able to find out some much things about Japan and Japanese people and felt welcomed.

I was so happy to join Cafe Wa, I feel that it was too short and I will miss the opportunity to make great friends . Because I cannot stay in Osaka any more.

Because I felt everyone were like old friends to me, and we were chatting over a cup of coffee, I will deeply miss Mrs.Yoko, the staff at Cafe Wa and the guests.

Best wishes to you all.

Hope to see you again sometime!

Thanks again for everything,

Sincerely,

Cristina

Role models

An unusual thing happened today at cafe wa. At 4pm, for about 10 minutes there were no guests! Luckily, many people started coming in around 4:10, so we could enjoy some good conversation. However, the first 10 minutes felt a bit eerie.

I asked our guests about different ways that they study English. It seems like many people enjoy listening to the NHK English program in the morning. It sounds so convenient, and I really wish there was a similar program to help me study Japanese! On the other hand, I live in Japan, so I have many chances to practice speaking Japanese. How do you study English? Do you listen to the NHK English program in the morning as well?

One of our guests is studying law in university so he can become a banker some day. He said his main role model is his father, who is very disciplined and is also a banker. I think my role model is my mother, who is a very kind, hard-working woman. What about you?

Here are some of the key words and phrases that came up in today's conversation:

eerie: A strange atmosphere that feels a bit scary, but mostly odd.

ex: "Walking through a library alone at night gives me such

an eerie feeling."

role model: A person who inspires you to try hard in your life.

rip-off: When you pay for something, but then get a lesser quality

product or service than you expected.

ex: "I payed 20000yen for this bag, but it broke in one day!

What a rip-off!"

Thank you for coming to see us today, and we hope to see you again next time!

Books and personal stories

Today, we talked about personal stories as well as jobs. Personal stories included travel, toilets, different cultures, raising children, and sports training. We also talked about jobs. One student has his own company making pharmaceuticals, so some words we learned about were disinfectant, anesthesia, scrubbing up (getting clean), gas, injections.


We also talked about the internet and its origins, such as the ARPANET (the early version of the Internet) as well as the Darknet. Most of the students don't go on social media sites very often, but some occasionally use Twitter or Facebook.

Expressions learned:

Indian summer (late warm period at the end of October to the beginning of November)
Cough it out--to cough out mucus.
Ionize water
Scrub up

Fun talks, especially about toilets!

Organic Paradox

I think I really confused and/or surprised some people today.

Firstly, we talked about organic and GMO foods (GMO - Genetically modified organisms).
I asked what the japanese people:s opinion of organic and GMO is, and most people said the answer I predicted
GMO is bad
Organic is good as it has no pesticides/chemicals.

This is not true.
Organic foods can and do still use pesticides, some of which are dangerous. So organic food doesn:t mean it is better or healthier.

GMO foods use less pesticides because they take a plant that is naturally resistance to pests (insects) and do some science and put that characteristic into a different plant, This is a really cool thing because we can grow more food safely this way and use LESS pesticides.


Finally, we talked philosophy.
I proved God doesn:t exist with a simple sentence
If God is all powerful (he can do abosolutely anything), then can he make a rock so big that he can:t lift it?
If he can;t, then he;s not all powerful, and if he can make it but not lift it, he still is not all powerful. Therefore God cannot exist.
Then we talked about the Grandfather Paradox.

If a time traveller travelled backed in time and killed his own grandfather, his grandfather will never have a child, meaning the time traveller will never be born. But if he is never born, then he won:t go back in time to kill his grandfather, meaning he will be born, meaning he will go back in time to kill his grand father....and so on and so on.

Don:t think about it too much ;-)

Humor

This time at cafe wa, we spent awhile having conversation about music and comedy. What is your favorite type of music? For me, nothing beats hip-hop. I love the rhythm of the music, and the meaning in the lyrics. It's true that the famous hip-hop in Japan and USA is usually about violence, drugs, or women, but there are also many sub-genres you can listen to. For example, jazzy hip-hop which is my favorite.

Learning about Japanese comedy is very interesting for me. One of the reasons I wanted to live in Kansai area (compared to Kanto or other regions), is because I wanted to become able to understand manzai or other types of comedians. The guests told me about different types of comedy in Japan like konto. The most popular format for comedians to perform in the U.S. is as a stand-up comedian. If you can understand the jokes of a comedian in a language that isn't your native tongue, it is a good sign you have strong listening ability. When I watch Japanese comedians I can understand only about half, but most of the time I can get the joke. Please ask me for recommendations if you want to watch some American comedians on YouTube, ok?

Here are some words and phrases discussed for this time:

sub-genres: A sub-genre is a category inside of a larger category. For example if we are talking about music, "rock" is a genre, but "punk rock", "alternative rock", and "heavy metal" are sub-genres of rock music.

stand-up comedian: A stand-up comedian is a comedian who performs alone on a stage and tells their jokes for some time. The style of comedy they do can vary. Sometimes they might tell stories, and sometimes they might talk about differences between people in everyday life.

read the room: This is the skill of being able to understand the feelings of people around you or in a group. For example, you can read the room by paying attention to the body language and facial expressions of others. It's important for teachers and comedians to read the room well.
ex: "none of his jokes were funny, but he didn't notice at all. He really can't read the room."


Have a great week, and we'll see you next time!

Afro Buddha and onsens

This evening has been very relaxed. We have spoke about various different things, including the Afro Buddha I went to see in Nara on Wednesday. The Arfo Buddha is a statue kept in Nara but normally it is not displayed to the public except for one day a year in October, but I had assumed that it was a well known occurrence but it seemed today that no one knew what it was!

We also spoke of onsens and the difference between English bathrooms and Japanese washrooms. Most people in Japan like to take baths (which is why there are lots of public baths) while in England most people prefer showering as it takes less time and uses less water. I learned that in some public baths in Japan they have electric baths which sound kind of scary but was told that I should definitely try one out if I get the opportunity.

I taught customers the phrase 'chilled out' which you would use to describe someone who is relaxed and laid back. I mentioned you could also ask someone if they want to 'go and chill somewhere?' which would mean asking if they wanted to relax somewhere with you and not feel stressed.

I have had a very chilled evening!

Today's new word was hawker.

The clients really had a good time today. I learned alot how to manage diabetes and cancer from the Clients. We discussed alot about how to live with cancer (Lung) and manage diabetes. We also talked about the best and cheapest ways of treating and managing cancer. We also discussed the best ways of how to manage diabetes through good eating habits and regular body excercise. The clients learned about new words. Todays best word was (HAWKER) HAWKING. The clients really had good time.