少人数制で楽しく身につく英会話教室・英会話スクールなら「アミックインターナショナル」

アミックインターナショナルでは、この度、看板やリーフレットなどに登場するキャラクターのデザインを、アミックの生徒の皆さんから募集することにいたしました。インプレッシブで長く愛される2つのキャラクターをぜひ皆さんのイマジネーションで生み出し、応募してください☆

クレヨン, 色(いろ)鉛筆(えんぴつ), マジック, 筆(ふで)、 どんな道具(どうぐ)を使(つか)ってもOK！

デザインを採用させていただいた生徒さんには、Comiruポイント2000Pとテキスト1冊(さつ)プレゼント！

キャラクターの名前(なまえ)は、AMI(あみ)ちゃんとMIC(みっ)くんです。

〆切は2月9日（土）

応募用紙は各スクール受付にてご用意しております♪

It’s hard to believe that in exactly one week I’ll be leaving Matsuyama and then a few days after that, Japan, for who knows how long.

My experience here has been unforgettable, and I’ll go on record and say if Japan could just float across the Pacific and be closer to my family in America then I would stay in heartbeat.

I feel like I squeezed as many experiences out of Japan as I could in a years’ time, but I’ve already started to construct a list of what I might want to do or see (besides visit my Matsuyama fam) when I have the opportunity to return. In particular, I’m a little sore to have missed Kyoto (where “all the cool castles and **** are”, a member of the Ehime Orange Vikings told me), the snow festival in Sapporo, Nagano, and Fukuoka. 

But perhaps what I’m most curious about seeing the next time though isn’t a Japanese thing, but Dutch. Ever since I watched this funny video about the history of Japan, I’ve thought visiting Dejima would be interesting. 

A Dutch trading post in the bay of Nagasaki, Dejima was a man-made island that served as the only place Japan could trade with the outside world during the Edo period. Visiting traders were not allowed to leave the makeshift port and go onto the mainland, nor were Japanese (except those of particular professions) allowed to visit the other way. It was through this small gateway that Japan was introduced to photography, coffee, chocolate, tomatoes, badminton, beer, and many other novelties from the outside world. 

From what I read, the modern Dejima is very much a work-in-progress and might not be the most ‘grammable’ tourist spot Japan has to offer. But much of travel’s fun is the anticipation, and I’m sure whenever the daily doldrums strike in my routine American life, my mind will dream of the day when I too can arrive from the west at Dejima.  

I can’t believe my time at Amic is almost over! It feels like only yesterday I was stepping off the airplane at Matsuyama airport and getting the keys to my new apartment. Next month I’ll be flying back to America, but the friendships and memories I made in Matsuyama will stay with me forever. As I look back on my time in Japan, a few moments are especially dear to me: 

• Hiking up Mount Ishizuchi as the leaves were changing colors thanks to Tsuneo-san
• Successfully eating somen nagashi and visiting some suzushii rocks with Andrew and Adam sensei
• Participating in (and feeling like Godzilla during) a traditional Japanese tea ceremony
• Going to karaoke for my birthday and racking up a ¥24,000 bill  with Andrew and Joe sensei (yikes!)
• Getting invited to Sakamoto-san’s fantastic art exhibition
• Getting a beautiful hand-made yukata from Atsuko-san
• Eating everything fried off a stick during Natsu Matsuri
• Watching baseball dances in Shiroyama Koen
• Playing the taiko game and taking cute purikura pictures at the game center
• Waking up early to go to Dogo to watch the exciting and dangerous Kenka Mikoshi
• Running a relay marathon with Team Turtle2 and taking pictures with  a massive group of kawaii girls dressed as Kiki
• Eating delicious Japanese food paired with wonderful sake thanks to sake master Toru-san
• The stress of planning Halloween and Christmas activities, but then having a lot of fun playing games and making crafts
• Finding a favorite pizzeria and speaking to the owner in Italian (shout out to Pizzeria Dodo!)

I want to thank all of my students and coworkers for making my time in Matsuyama so memorable. It’s been an amazing 16 months and I will always remember Ehime fondly. Thank you for letting me be your teacher. 

-Elena