From a Western perspective, Hinamatsuri dolls can be both fascinating and slightly eerie. They resemble the delicate porcelain dolls that were once prized heirlooms in European households. Their serene yet enigmatic expressions can feel lifelike, almost as if they are silently watching over the household.
In our house they are carefully unpacked and arranged each year, so I soon realised that they are not playthings.
Perhaps because of this my children who, by day, enjoy admiring the dolls refuses to sleep in the same room with them at night. "They look like they're watching me," one said.
And I kind of know what they mean. These dolls, so regal and motionless in the daylight, take on a different quality in the dark. They are not to be touched and their fixed gaze never wavers. I guess the meticulous craftsmanship that brings them to life can also make them seem just a little too alive.
How often do you turn back the clock to look on your earlier days? I chuckle at my youthful curiosity when I loved trying and discovering new things, cherishing life, its mysteries and complexity. Every time I rewind to those times I’m hit with nostalgia as well as a certain impulse to pursue my passions and continue this addictive quest for knowledge.
Among my early pastimes were ‘ancient’ hobbies like scrapbooking, spending hours on cutting out, sorting and glueing countless photos of airplanes onto the blank pages. There were stamp-collecting, chess, preserving insects, and perhaps less obscure nowadays, fishkeeping and aquariums. They all in their own ways have opened the way to a wider world and helped me decide what kind of person I am. How about you? Have you abandoned your old interests, labelling them as silly and outdated? Or do you still bring back things of the past to feel good about life?
Ok, here's the next of intallment of Flashback Friday. In this issue we looked at the verb 'stand' and looked at some of the different phrasal verbs that could be formed from it.
e.Front’s English Corner - Volume 1, Issue 3
Hello and welcome back to another issue of e.Front’s English Corner! This week we’re going to look at another simple English word: Stand. Of course, stand can be used in other interesting ways too. So, what are you standing around for? Read on!
This issue’s word: Stand
1. “The abbreviation OTC stands for ‘Over The Counter’ medicine”.
2. “Do you know what I really hate? Cockroaches. I can’t stand them!”
3. “Having many licenses will help make your CV/resume stand out.”
4. “I bought a lottery ticket today, but I don’t stand a chance of winning.”
5. “Mr. Suzuki will stand in for me next week when I go on holiday.”
That’s all folks! I hope you found this issue’s phrases useful. Stand by for another issue soon!
※ be standing around ぼんやりしている
※ stand for ～の略
※ I can’t stand them 我慢できない
※ stand out 目立つ
※ stand a chance 見込みがある
※ stand in for 代わりになる
※ Stand by 待つ
Personally, my favourites are numbers 1, 2, and 3.
Despite dry cold and a few frosty nights this winter has been rather mild, hasn’t it? Naturally, some of you would vehemently disagree saying it’s been absolutely freezing and that you can’t wait for the spring to come. Whatever your view on the matter, winter has its benefits and cold may bring long-lasting benefits. In recent years I have become acquainted with wintery chill and tested the way my body and mind react to low temperatures. Surprisingly, as I became more accepting of thecold, I gained a more positive outlook on life as well as a noticeable boost in my energy levels and general condition. Over the past 3 years I haven’t caught a single cold, suffered from a sore throat or sinusitis, which plagued my health for many years before.
This winter again, I’m trying to take advantage of colder months and purposely choose slightly lighter wear whenever I’m out in the cold and even won’t shy away from taking a cold shower now and again. How about you? What are your winter habits? Do you think the cold could work for you too? The chances are you may not know the answer even though you think you do. 😊
Various changes have been underway at e.Front. Some of you may have noticed our new Rich Menu accessible via our LINE account amongst some of these changes.
You may be wondering, “what is ‘Flashback Friday’?” and “what’s e.Front’s English Corner], and “why is there a lightbulb there?”.
Well, for the last few years I’ve been writing a small English column (called e.Front’s English Corner) for the weekly internal email at our parent company which aimed to shine a light (hence the lightbulb) on little-known English phrasal verbs and expressions.
Usually, the column focused on a verb (or sometimes the prepositions) and many of the useful phrasal verbs that could be made from it. Other issues of the column occasionally focused on themes like Halloween, Valentine’s Day, or weather-related idioms, etc.
It was recently suggested to me that I should bring these old issues back to life via this blog (hence ‘from the archives’) in an effort to revitalise our SNS presence (another of those changes mentioned above).
So, once it a while, and probably on a Friday, I’ll be posting these entries from the past (hence ‘Flashback Fridays) with some editing to remove personal details or sensitive information, etc. but the theme and issue will stay mostly intact. Very often the key phrases were translated into Japanese by our hard-working staff, so you’ll find these at the bottom.
Also, I’ll be skipping issue 1.
Volume 1, issue 2: Run
Hi everyone! Welcome back to e.Front’s English Corner! Last time in issue 1 we looked at the word take. I hope you all took notes on that one! For this issue we’ll look at the word run. Run doesn’t just mean to walk fast. We can use it in many other ways too. Take a look below.
This issue’s word: Run
1. “The baby’s been running a fever for the last few days.”
2. “He’s been very busy since he started to run his own company.”
3. “I have a runny nose. Do you think I could have hay-fever?”
4. “I’ve got a cold. Should I get medicine or let the cold run its course?”
5. “My phone’s battery is running out of power. Can I use your charger?”
Well, we’ve run out of space for this issue! I hope you can join us next time!
※ run a fever 熱が出る
※ run his own company 会社を経営する
※ runny nose 鼻水が出る
※ run its course 自然に治る
※ running out of 残りわずか
I highly recommend learning and using these phrasal verbs as they can add a bit of variety and life to your English conversations. Give them a try!
