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I’ve often heard the term “Yes Man” used negatively. A “Yes Man” could literally be someone who is unable to say no to simple or grand requests, making them a total pushover. A “Yes Man” could also be someone who sucks up to their boss or coworkers by taking on all extra work. I’ve recently read a book that has positively changed the meaning of a “Yes Man” for me. Incidentally, this book is also called Yes Man. It was written by Danny Wallace and chronicles his adventures of saying “yes” to everything in an attempt to bring more openness and satisfaction into his life. Seriously, he says yes to every credit card offer, every invitation, every weekend outing, every. thing. Even an eventual marriage proposal! This newfound willingness to accept all offers leads him on a journey of self-discovery and overall life improvement. 

As someone who loves challenging herself personally, this book presented an experiment that seems right up my alley. Although I live in Japan, I speak and understand very little Japanese. I sometimes find myself saying “はい” to the cashiers at Fuji or 7-11 simply because it makes life easier than pantomiming what I really need. I can relate to this book because saying yes can have amazing results when you’re not 100% sure what the outcome of your “はい” will lead to. This book inspired me to say yes more often. So far, saying yes has gotten me: a free vanilla ice cream from 7-11, a point card to Fuji, and a spot on a relay marathon team. I hope to keep challenging myself to say yes to requests and events. What about you? Will you try to say “yes” more?

I just bought the new album “Safe in the Hands of Love” by Yves Tumor yesterday, and already it’s a masterpiece in my mind. He’s known for ambience, dissonance and unease, but here he unveils unprecedented energy via warped, up-beat pop tunes. This track “Noid” actually gives me goosebumps (or chills?) once the peppy strings and bass line transition into something more ominous and unsettling that better match the lyrical content: “I’m scared for my life/ They don’t trust us/ I’m not part of the killing spree/ A symptom, born loser, statistic”. The ambience, dissonance and unease never left after all. They’re just masked as more accessible. 

Joe

Amicブログをご覧いただきありがとうございます♪

さて、9月に入って小中学生の生徒さんから「来週運動会！楽しみ☆」「組体操がうまくできた！」「練習が大変～💦」という声をよく聞くようになりました。

運動会、日本の学校の恒例行事ですよね。

ですが、この運動会、日本独特のものってご存知でしたか？

アメリカの運動会は日本のものとは全く違い、『Field day』と呼ばれるイベントがあるそうです。このField dayは皆で練習を必要とする競技は無く、自由参加OKで、平日開催は当たり前で保護者が見に来ることもありません。

日本では運動会は家族総出のイベントですが、アメリカでは体を動かすことを楽しむだけのイベントなのですね。

なぜこんなに違いがあるのでしょうか？？

それは歴史や文化の違いと大きく関係しています！

日本の学校の行事として運動会が開催され始めたのは、明治時代からです。

初代文部大臣が、体育へのモチベーションアップと集団訓練を行う目的で運動会を行うように働きかけたのがきっかけだそうです。

明治時代といえば「富国強兵」のスローガン。

運動会は子どもたちの発育を促す目的と、クラスで団結、つまり統率力のある軍隊を作る目的があり、今の運動会には当時の名残が多くあるということなのですね。

言語を学ぶことは、文化を学ぶことにつながります。

みなさんも外国人の先生やお友達と、文化の違いについて話してみると盛り上がること間違いなしですよ♪

Three ways to use ‘pick up’

‘Pick up’ is a phrasal verb. This means it is a verb (pick) followed by a particle (up). Phrasal verbs are tricky because they can have many different meanings depending on the context.

Learning something
We can use pick up to describe learning something

• Children pick up languages very quickly. 
• I picked up the guitar from spending time with musicians.

Buying something
We can use pick up informally to describe buying something.

• I often pick up some milk on my way home.
• She picks up lots of items in the Christmas sales.

Getting an illness
We can use pick up to describe getting an illness.

• I think I picked up a cold.
• He picked up the flu from his classmates.