Hello, everybody! We are so happy to start another acadmeic year with you at BRIDGE. It is also cherry blossom season! Please tell me where you like to go to see the beautiful sakura in Nagoya.
As for me, I love Nakamura Park. It is very close to my house, and I can really feel the rich history of this area when I visit the park. There is a memorial of Hideyoshi Toyotomi and several other historical statues or monuments scattereted throughtout. During cherry blossom season, Nakamura Park comes to life and there is a small festival with different types of performances. I highly recommend this place if you want to visit a location in Nagoya that is quaint and quiter than other spots.
Hello everybody! It has been a long time since we last posted on the BRIDGE Teacher’s Blog. We all hope that 2024 is going well for you. Are you ready for spring and the beautiful cherry blossoms? I will definitely go to Tsurumai Park in Nagoya to enjoy the sakura in a few weeks.
By the way, my name is Joey, and I am a teacher at BRIDGE. I will be updating the blog on a regular basis from now on. Therefore, please leave a comment or talk to me in person at BRIDGE if you would like me to write about something! I would be happy to follow any request that you might have.
Today, I want to discuss one of my interests: dog comedies!!! Since I was a little kid, I have always enjoyed funny movies featuring dogs. Have you ever seen any American classics like 101 Dalmatians, Beethoven, or Air Bud? If not, please watch these movies sometime and enjoy all the dog fun. In my opinion, there are 3 important ingredients when you make a dog film.
1. Crazy Story Idea
When you want to make a comedy with dogs, it is necessary to keep the story silly and loose. For example, in Air Bud, a dog starts playing basketball.
2. Wacky Dog Action
Everybody loves seeing dogs on the screen, especially when they are running, jumping, barking or tricking humans! Beethoven has so many great scenes of dogs destroying furniture and making a mess in a house.
3. Good Music
In order to have a fun atmosphere, good music needs to be included. For dog movies, an upbeat song with a lot of energy can add so much to the tone. Personally, I enjoy the 2001 Disney TV movie Hounded, which has great tunes including “The Dogs Are Coming” from Stanley E. Smith.
Please watch a dog movie and talk to me about it! If you have any recommendations, let me know. Have a great week!
Many students at our school ask us about the history of Halloween, and because the spooky holiday is coming soon, we thought we would answer that question!
Halloween actually has a very long history and comes from the Celts, a group of people who mainly lived in the area we now know as Ireland as well as other parts of the UK and northern France. Nearly 2000 years ago, the Celts had a festival in the fall called Samhain where people tried to chase away evil spirits that might cause trouble or damage crops before winter started. The Celts had large fires and wore costumes in celebration of the festival.
Later in the year 609 AD, the Catholic church became powerful in Europe, and the leader of the Catholic church, who is known as the Pope, declared that November 1st was a holiday called All Saints Day. This holiday celebrated saints, important people who led the Catholic church. However, the night before All Saints’ Day became known as All Hollow’s Eve. It was inspired by harvest festivals like Samhain which tried to ward off bad spirits. Many traditions like lighting fires and carving scary faces into vegetables like turnips and pumpkins became common. Later, the name was combined into one word, Halloween!
Eventually, Halloween was brought to America about 1,000 years later, and many people in the area of New England celebrated the holiday they brought from Europe. It became more and more popular as time went on and that is why we still celebrate the holiday today.
