きのう、ひこうきのきっぷおかいました。きっぷはJFKからロンドンまでです。十二がつ二十二にちにイギリスへかえりますよ。The last time I was home was Christmas 2007. I am very excited.
わたしのうちいわDurhamのちかくがあります。Durhamがだいすきです。ちいさいまちです。そして、しずかです。ひとはとてもしんせつです。おおきいCathedralがあります(ひだり）。
CathedralのとなりにCastleがあります。CastleとCathedralはおかのうえがあります。おもしろいですね！
とてもきれいです！Durhamはとてもふるいです。二千さい（にせんさいです）です！
わたしのがっこうはDurhamにあります。

わたしは山田さんにてがみおおくりました。

山田(やまだ）さんへ、
わたしはジェムス・ポンダー（じぇむすぽんだ/James Pounder)です。二十一さい（にじゅういっさい）です。イギリス人（いぎりすじん）です。イギリスのDurhamからきました。コロンビアだいがくのよねんせいです。コロンビアだいがくはニューヨーク（New York)にあります。ちいさいですが、きれいなだいがくです。コロンビアのがくひはたかいですよ。コロンビアでヨーロッパれきしと日本語をべんきょうします。日本語はすこしわかります。月曜日（げつようび）から木曜日（もくようび）までたくさんクラスがあります。そして、まいにちサッカーをします。コロンビアサッカー・チーム・キャプテン（さっかあ・ちーむ・きゃぷてん-soccer team captain）ですよ。日本人はサッカーがすきですか。
がくせいのせいかつはときどきたいへんですよ。わたしはとてもいそがしですから、じかんがありません。
山田さん、かぞくはどうですか。英語（えいご）がわかりますか。きょうとのせいかつはどうですか。きょうとはどんなまちですか。

わたしはことしの七月（しちがつ）二十五日（にじゅうごにち）に日本へいきます。

よろしくおねがいします。

ージェムス・ポンダー

JET Program - 日本でおしえます。

わたしはくがつからいままで日本語をべんきょうしました。日本語はとてもおもしろいです。わたしのせんせいはしんせつなせんせいです。日本語のくらすがすきです。まいにちじゅうじからじゅうにじまで日本語をべんきょうします。(Hopefully) らいねんのしちがつからさらいねんのしちがつまで日本でこどもに英語をおしえます。
わたしのともだちもイギリスからきました。ともだちも日本へいきます。ともだちはあたまがいい(smart)です。ともだちも日本語がすきです。

Hopefully next year my best friend (back home in England) and I will be living in Japan teaching English to kids. JET Program application is in the pipeline... Fingers crossed!! :-)

タンポポ

わたしはせんしゅうのどようびにタンポポをみました。タンポポは日本のえいがです。へんなえいがですよ！
タンポポis a very strange movie that highlights a Japanese fascination with food... in particular ラメン(Ramen). The movie was very quirky and very funny and at times somewhat mind-blowingingly confusing! The movie often leaves the main story-line involving タンポポ to follow some random and unexpected subplots, most of which are very funny while a couple are quite tragic.
The most baffling and hilarious scene may have been that showing a gangster and his かのじょ sharing an unbroken egg yolk... mouth to mouth... over and over again... without breaking it!  If you haven't seen this movie, you have to at least experience this scene!!

-ラフィエル

わたしのすきなもの

みなさん、こんにちは。

わたしのすきなえいが。（Movie that I like)

わたしのすきな日本のえいがはようじんぼう（Yojimbo)です。ようじんぼうはじだいげきです。あきらくろさわはようじんぼうのえいがかんとくです。としろうみふねはようじんぼうのじゅうやくです。としろうみふねはゆうめいな日本のえいがはいゆうです。

Yojimbo (or Yojinbo) means bodyguard. Mifune plays Kuwabatake Sanjuro (くわばたけさんじゅろ） roughly meaning Mulberry field thritysomething. He is the original Man with no name... followed by Clint Eastwood in the USA.

Mifune plays Sanjuro, a ronin (ろにん）[ a masterless samurai] who enters a small village containing two warring gangs. He plays the two sides against each other causing their mutual destruction. Throughout the movie Sanjuro appears disinterested in the welfare of the innocent villagers, however, there are moments when his tough, dry exterior allows his inner caring self to appear.
Sadly, after saving the village from the two warring gangs Sanjuro is left to continue his wandering. From the movie we see that the samurai are, or at least their way of life is, useful in modernising Japan, yet is unappreciated and the ronin is left to fend for himself.

じだいげき　 =　jidaigeki (period film)
えいがかんとく　 =　eigakantoku (director)
じゅうやく　 =　juuyaku (main actor)
ゆめいな日本のえいがはいゆう = yumei-na Nihon no eigahaiyuu (famous [yumei] Japanese [Nihon no] actor [eigahaiyuu])
としろうみふえ　 = Toshirô Mifune (possibly the most globally famous japanese actor)
あきらくろさわ　 = Akira Kurosawa (one of the most renowned Japanese movie directors)


けんどう(Kendo)


これはわたしのしんあいです。
A shinai is a bamboo sword used in Kendo (けんどう）. This shinai was a gift from a friend and I hope to join a beginners course in Kendo next semester. While Kendo is obviously a form of fighting it is also said to be mentally challenging. I want to practice it in order to challenge myself in another way (physically) and because I believe that it will teach me much than the ability to use a shinai effectively. Much of Kendo and it's history is related to Zen Buddhism and teaches such ideas as mushin（むしん） - the notion of no-mind meaning the shedding of attachment. The teachings surrounding Kendo are aimed at freeing oneself from fear, anger, doubt and other such emotions so that one is able to function and react quickly and effectively when under extreme pressure. The goal is to discipline oneself through the way of the sword.
わたしはじゅうにがつぼおぐにかいます。　(I will buy a bogu in December.)

ぼおぐ = bogu (Kendo body armour!)


-ラフィエル

コロンビアサッカチーム！(The Columbia Soccer Team!)

わたしはコロンビアサッカチームのせんしゅです。 わたしはチームキャプテンです。
(I am a Columbia Soccer Player．I am the team captain.)
After a couple of tough games to open the Fall 2008 season the Men's soccer team finally broke the win column with a win last Sunday, and what a win it was! Last Sunday, going into the game as underdogs, after losing the same fixture last year 5-1 and with no-one giving us a chance we managed to beat 6th ranked and 2006 National Champions UC Santa Barbara by 3 goals to 1. This game was probably the biggest win for the program in the last 15 years.
On Wednesday we followed up with a hard fought 2-1 win in double overtime against La Salle in Philidelphia. The team spirit is at an all time high and we are looking to do big things this year.

If anyone is interested we have our next home game on Friday, September 26th, at 4pm against Quinnipiac and another on Sunday, September 28th, at 4pm against Long Island University.

-ラフィエル

Why I am studying Japanese...

Growing up in industrial Northern England and then going on to learn Japanese is not what one might call following the beaten path. Both countries are island nations separated from the continental mainland... and thats about the only similarity they have!
Since arriving in New York and after being immersed in the multitude of cultures it has to offer I eventually found that my curiosity toward 日本, her culture and her people was not something I could ignore. Of course it would be easy to simply watch Japanese movies, anime and such and continue to harbour an external interest, hands-off, but, with a little indirect persuasion from a close friend I decided to dive into the belly of the beast itself. Hopefully learning to read, write, speak and understand Japanese will help me come closer to a better understanding of the people, the culture and history I am coming to appreciate and respect so much.

After two weeks of learning I have come to understand Hiragana. Being able to write a short, simple passage about myself in Hiragana is extremely satisfying, especially as the prospect of learning it in the first place was so daunting. My next goal is to overcome the Katakana which shouldn't be too hard. The size of the task ahead no longer seems so scary although I know it will require a lot of effort. Learning Japanese is turning out to be more exciting and fun than it ever promised to be. Well, except for the 1945 Kanji characters.

-ラフィエル

こんにちは (Konnichiwa)

みなさんこんにちは。
初めまして、わたしのなまえはラフィエルです。イギリスのDurhamからきました。にじゅういっさいです。コロンビアだいがくのよねんせいです。はまだせんせいはわたしの日本語せんせいです。
よろしくおねがいします.

-ラフィエル


Hello everyone!
Nice to meet you, my name is Raphael. I come from Durham, England. I am 21 years old. I am a senior (fourth year student) at Columbia University. Professor Hamada is my Japanese teacher.

-Raphael