American mothers vs French mothers

I have no kids, and I am not an American, but French wisdom is always welcome to any countries.

Today, I received a book from USA.

Bringing up Bebe

I needed to create an new account for this order since it was not the item of Amazon Japan. Although it took 18 days from the date of order, that is rather acceptable to me.  What I was curious about was how they decide which books to sell in Japan.

It looks now this book is available in Amazon Japan. Did I compare the price? Of course I did, and it did not disappoint me at all. It revealed the price of Amazon Japan has already taken considered the shipping cost.

It is completely my general image of American people, however they seem to be fascinated by European lifestyle even in this century. There were several moment that I felt it when I was reading the literature history. It reminded me some similarities of how Japanese are attracted by French things. I would think this translation is going well if I jump to the conclusion.

The Dishwasher sigh

I am glad this blog has gotten one + from someone.
No matter how small number of people read this blog, I believe that keep writing is the most important to me.

Most of the apartments have had installed a dishwasher in the kitchen. I have a dishwasher installed in my apartment as well. The dishwasher positions at the one of the wives luxurious appliances thanks to advertisement; however, some people say it is waste of money using dishwashers because they never clean the dishes at one time. The price of dishwasher is less expensive than ipad if it is a standalone type. Even the installment types are surly competitive with TVs or DVD players. But most of the people have feeling of guilt to use it. They explain the cleanser is expensive; water is not cut down than they imagined; noisy; powerless washer. Besides the various reasons, they seem comfort to wash the dishes by hand, and it is the most arguable part to me.

Psychologically, they say, using their time works practically efficient with family budget than using a machine. Psychologically, they add, less dishwasher usage has been “definitely” cut down electricity. The image I pictured a woman sitting in a dark room that light bulbs have been taken off except one and not using the floor heating system which warms perfectly up in the whole room. She may prefer using Kotatsu (a table with heater that is covered by a blanket to warm legs) in the dark room. Or she would have calculated exactly what the most economized life was in the super-modern era.

Once they decided to buy a nice apartment with modern fixture, the contradiction has started. Spending humble life is self-esteem, I would say. It is totally other people’s business, but I sometimes feel their excuses not using those new products (even they purchased!) come from anxiety about modern life, not come from that they are stingy.

Japanese are imprinted not to overuse utility services such as gas, water and electricity. Everybody like the parents, the teachers and the company you work obsess you not to spend much at anywhere. The education system creates economy, though people believe it is a kind of mindset or a nice habit.

The consumer market is shrinking in Japan because the generosity has already been deprived from them; instead, people has come to seek how to live with minimum possessions and minimum prosperity. Japanese started soaking themselves in austerity. Even purchasing one dishwasher cleanser obsesses them whether it is reliable and reasonable. They have dropped the greedy life long time ago.

I use the dishwasher everyday. It does not mean I am not a humble person, and it means I simply do not believe in the “psychological effect” on saving electricity. If I had to do dishes by hand, I would have not bought this apartment, not the dishwasher.

And I was a kind of kid who did not listen to what adults say about the rules.


- Ellen.



It is hard to distinguish both two product, isn't it?
From my experience, I personally recommend you Joy (the left). Its washing power
is amazing. But I mistakenly bought two bags of the right!
The package problem happens everywhere even in domestic.

A product of P&G

a product of Kao

A writing teacher in internet

Reading through the books page of the New York Times is becoming my intellectual habit. It would be the best if I could print them out and check the verbs they use, which clears off the given language to anybody. Using the appropriate verbs is most difficult yet worthiest approach to improve writing. Theoretical truth, however, is often inaccessible for elemental leaners. Nonetheless, I throw myself in such category on English writing.   

Giving an answer to the life-test, I continued reading book reviews for time to time in about a month.  A month ago, since the professor advised me to find the literature critic whom I want to copy the writing style from, I was looking for such a person in the articles. It looked very long journey and looked impossible forever. But there, I found the best person, Michiko Kakutani.

Ms. Kakutani is a well-known book reviewer of the NY Times, which I did not know her name until yesterday. Once I read her article, every words seemed vivid and holding the power that stretch the arms to grab the reader’s neck, so did my neck. I did not realize her name when I read it on my PC screen, and then the familiar Japanese name Michiko jumped in my sight when I read it in my smartphone in the train. She is a second generation of Japanese-American, living in NY. And more surprisingly what I found was she made a lot of critiques to Philip Roth, John Updike who are all familiar to me. Knowing her background more on internet, I had to admit my ignorance here again.

Now she was nominated to my writing teacher. How wonderful the internet age is!

I hope someday, soon would be much better though, one of the professor comments as, “Your writing is quite similar what Michiko Kakutani does”, would be the great compliment on my writing.

You can check all her current articles in this URL.

The east coast

I found an interesting article in the local paper said an international foundation advertises for an intensive summer English course to be held in USA. The paper was issued for citizens by the local ward office, one of the periodicals,  and was in the stack of newspaper in our house to be dumped soon. It was rescued coincidentally.

Two things attract me after reading this article; one that is for adults aged between 21 to 65, two that the location is in the east coast of America. In addition, it looks the half of the tuition is covered by the ward office.

The desire that I want to immerse myself in English is quite serious. In regards to this school, since it is not an official ELS attaching to the university, they would pursue fun side of speaking English. Although that is not my final intention to stretch my English, such occasion might be rare one. Besides, I have the summer vacation stand-by in this year. But I could not just feel exciting seeing this ads, and I do not know why.

Imaging a new thing is always a mind adventure, however the truth is we are too comfort to stay in the accustomed area. Each step I am making towards future is slower lately. Hardly does choose a book to read, nor does select meat to be cooked for today’s dinner. It is definitely not a series of deliberate action, yet it is too prudent in determining something. It sometimes makes me feel tramping the ground not going either forward or backward, and the image of unleashing and going forward is still blurred in me.

Then at the next moment, I will know the desire I carry in myself can go nowhere.

Nowhere even to the east coast of America.

Remember, you are odd.

There are some simple but difficult words leaning English for Japanese. Commonly we have gotten through the words in junior high by grammatical approach. The word “remember” is one of the perfect examples to measure how they understand verbs. And it is often tested like this format: (1) I do not remember taking photographs, (2) I do not remember to take photographs, asking which one actually did take photographs. And we will be learning these two differences. But I was long thinking why this type of verb seem to be difficult for us. Why does “remember” is not as easy as think, check, ask, or even support?

The word “remember” does not exactly equal with what Japanese use as in remembering something. In Japanese, most of the people frequently use like, “I do not remember you”, or “I remember what I did”, which conveys to keep the memory you just had with you. When I was self-studying with a grammar workbook this morning, there is a sentence like this, “He can’t remember going to Miami when he was eight.”

This sentence reads the person (he) cannot recall his memory that he went to Miami when he was eight.

Here comes the difficult part. There is a great distinction in Japanese between “to keep the memory” and “to recall the memory.” In fact, they are two unique words. The former means to have learned something, which becomes the memory soon, in Japanese Kanji. The latter means pulling out something by thinking of. Therefore for Japanese, the English word “remember” firstly emphasizes what has kept in their memory already not what is going to pull from their memory since they connect “remember” to what they have learnt. On the other hand the meaning of “recall” tends to be forgotten unless they just use recall instead.

How could “keep” and “recall” denote that they are in “remember?” Another example might be inadequate to use here, however eliminating any political meaning, “Remember Pearl Harbor” does not only mean to keep it in your memory. It probably stresses to recall it from your memory, which rather dynamic and reachable.

Remembering “remember” needs extra work for Japanese.

In the above sentence, “He can’t remember going…” does not instantly appeal that he cannot recall his memory instead it throws an odd feeling as if this person has a serious brain damage to keep his memory or amnesia. If anyone who use “remember” in meaning of recalling to Japanese, it might be good to pay attention whether they were ready to recall it.

Being faced with...

A small confession.

I was avoiding touching English, especially in written English for a coulple of days. Speaking and writing cannot be improved both at the same time. Writing English stretches our literacy tremendously, which I knew it already, but there always be some steps in front. And I knew that confronting those steps would help me with not winding up the valley to the English. Sometimes Spoken English annoys me.

Some people are easy to be influenced by others. I am a kind of the one. And I am giving you some reasons. Yesterday, I have started reading Beloved (1987) of Toni Morrison. It is told a genuine work, but I fear to face with the language that Morrison uses. It made me completely forgot what the grammar should be, and I was about to write, "I don't know nothing." It is a part of culture of English. Yes, English is a cultural consequent which enable more than two people communicate each other, yet it is a different story to practice English. Therefore it is crucial paying full attention to the sentences.

Beloved is a story of black woman who lived as minority in America, and who had wounded by long suffering slavery. The reason I picked up this book in my reading lists, and it has become almost an assignment that I owe to myself, was that if there are any similarities and differences which may precondition among the minority writer’s writing: specifically between Afro-American’ and Jewish-American’. So far, my choice of the books should be consistent. Starting from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), passing through Faulkner’s Light in August, not forgetting The Awakening (1899) of Kate Chopin (1851-1904), the southern journey landed at Toni Morrison. I read in the original English except The Awakening, and I realized how important reading in English is since the greater part of the story of The Awakening is lost from my memory.

Today, I am going to organize a stack of books in front of me.
There is nowhere to walk without thrusting my way.

March 11th

Turning to March sounds warm. Even it is a cold rainy day, or it is like a cats and dogs.

I am pretty happy with starting a good Monday today. I was lackadaisical last week. Nothing grabbed my interests. It could be one reason that time is approaching towards 311. In usual year, March 11 must be a warm and cherished day to celebrate coming the brightest spring. But the thing that I contemplate in my mind was that how they are going to celebrate their birthday who were born on March 11. It is very considerable matter. I myself hold a similar feeling on my birthday because an aircraft crashed and more than 500 people died on that day. It happened on my sixteenth birthday. Since then, nationwide people goes into mourning around that day.

Life is short. All mortals shall live vitally as long as Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos decide our fate.