Postcard from...Berlin, Germany

Berlin sights & cold beer

 Dear Jim sensei,

We stayed in Berlin for three days. We walked around the city to see some historical buildings. 15K+ steps per day!

It was hot and sunny, which was perfect weather to have cold beers :)

Reiko & Tomoko

Postcard from...The British Museum, London.

The British Museum

 Hi Jim sensei,

We had a chance to visit The British Museum. It was so interesting to see objects from the ancient period. We were lucky to have sunshine earlier today! (Beautiful picture isn't it?) The temperature is much lower than that in Berlin. It was like late autumn.

Tomoko & Reiko

An itinerary a trip

 Day 1: Arrival in Edinburgh

Arrive in Edinburgh: Transfer to the hotel, and then leave my baggage there.

Edinburgh Castle: Explore this historical place. I’ll rent an audio guide because it is available in Japanese. Visit to Edinburgh castle from Royal Palace and Honours of Scotland to Mons Meg and the Scottish National War Memorial. 

I’m sure that the place will make me exciting, so I need a rest to go around the castle. Take afternoon tea break. (I’ll make a reservation for tearoom in the castle.)

After enjoying Edinburgh Castle, I’m going to the Royal Mile to see historic street, visiting shops and landmarks. 

At dinner time, I’ll eat Scottish cuisine at a local restaurant. I’ll enjoy beer and scotch during meal.

Day 2: still in Edinburgh

I’ll tour for Holyrood Palace where the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

Also, I’ll visit at the National Museum of Scotland. I’ll look at Scotland’s history and culture from exhibits.

At Dinner time, I’ll try a cozy pub or restaurant in the Old Town.

Optional: Attend a traditional Scottish Ceilidh dance.

Day 3: still in Edinburgh

I’ll go to ST GILE’s cathedral. I’ll try to join guided walking tours which is are free. (I hope to understand what guide saying)

Day 4: Loch Ness

I’ll visit the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition. 

I will enjoy a boat tour on the loch to search for the famous monster. 

Fairy Pools: Hike to these beautiful natural pools.

Day 7: Return to Edinburgh

Morning: I’ll eat breakfast at the hotel.

The Edinburgh Dungeon: Scarry!! I don’t know whether I enjoy there.

Final Shopping and Sightseeing: Shopping souvenirs. 

Departure: Go to the airport for my flight to home.

Nobel Peace Prize winner - Barack Obama

The Nobel Peace Prize winner I'd like to introduce is Barack Obama. He was once the president of the United States of America. Also, he was different from previous presidents in that he was the first Afircan-American, person of color, and Hawaiian-born president.

Although he was once out-ranked by former First Lady Hillary Clinton in terms of name recognition, his skillful speeches and charisma attracted people, and he gained supporters as he continued to campaign.

While his policies are criticized for lacking specificity and being largely abstract & idealistic, his speeches have been described as the reincarnation of John F. Kennedy for their persuasiveness. In his speeches, he employs a technique of layering short phrases with frequent use of "we" and "you". In particular, two phrases "Change" and ""Yes, we can" were frequently used as catchphrases during the election campaign.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. All media reports cited Obama's diplomacy as a victory for the prize, due to his vision of promoting international cooperation toward nuclear abolition, which he announced in Prague in April 2009, and his call for reconciliation and dialogue with the Islamic world, which he made in Cairo in June.

However, if we see only Obama's diplomatic ideals as the driving force behind his Nobel Prize, we are only seeing half the truth. There is another half which is not clear from the surface. That is the change in the US's security strategy that took place in the 2000s. behind this Nobel Prize lies the foundation of the cold, realistic US's security strategy, which is the globalisation of the use of advanced conventional warheads and the promototion of nuclear non-proliferation. 

Furthermore, Obama's visit to Hiroshima. the first by a sitting US president, was an historic opportunity of great inportance to commemorate the war dead and to revive international momentum toward a world free of nuclear weapons. At the same time, it symbolized the strength of the US - Japan alliance, an "Alliance of Hope", that has been built up over the 70+ years since the end of World War Two.

Posted for Eleanor

A Nobel Laureate I admire - Mother Teresa

I would like to introduce about Mother Teresa.

Her real name was Agnes, and she was born in Skopje, in the Republic of North Macedonia.

When she was eighteen years old, she wanted to go to Bengal, India. That year, she was named Teresa as a nun, and she taught about monasticism to poor people.

Teresa decided to work in the slums of Calcutta, and she went out the monastery when she was 38. After a while, she collected the poor children who can’t go to school, and she opened air -classes at the slum in Kolkata.

In 1950, she moved to her nationary to India, and built monastery, school, hospital and so on. Many people thought wonderful that Teresa’s action. Finally, In 1979, she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Posted for Youna