The animals of Animal Farm were not equal

I think life on Animal Farm is not fair for all the animals.

At the beginning of the story, all animals are equal. They work together and share the same dream. They believe that life will be better without humans. The rules of the farm say that all animals are the same and should live in peace and fairness.

However, this fair life did not continue. As time went on, the pigs became more powerful than the other animals. They made important decisions and changed the rules little by little. The pigs began to live a comfortable life. They ate more food, slept in beds like a human.

Other animals, such as horses and sheep, continued to work very hard every day. They believed the pigs and did not question them. Boxer was a typical example. He worked harder than anyone else and always trusted the pigs. When Boxer got injured, the pigs said that he was taken to a hospital. However, in reality, he was taken to a Horse Slaughterer, and his body never came back to the farm. After his death, the pigs made up a story about him. They said he died happily and praise them. They used his death to make people believe they are good leaders.

This shows that life on Animal Farm is very unfair. Even the most loyal and hardworking animal is used and then thrown away.

  

Memories at the Hot Springs—Talking with a Stranger

 

I have had a long conversation with a complete stranger.

One day, I was at a hot spring. An elderly woman dropped her towel in the bath. I picked it up and squeezed the water out for her. That small action started our conversation.

She told me that she was traveling from Tokyo. She was born and raised there, but she loved the nature in Nagano. She said she comes to Nagano every year because the air is clean and the scenery is beautiful. I thought Tokyo was a great place where you can do anything, but she said Tokyo is a very tiring city.

We talked about how hard life in Tokyo can be and how relaxing Nagano is. 

The conversation continued while we stayed in the bath.

I usually go to hot springs alone because I like to relax quietly. However, talking with her while warming my body felt nice too. I think it is not good to talk to strangers for no reason, but I also think it is important not to ignore conversations that start naturally.

About “Horiemon,” who shocked Japan with his fraud

 

Takafumi Horie, known as “Horiemon,” is a famous Japanese businessman. When he was a university student, he founded an internet company called Livedoor and grew it into a large business. He was often featured in the media, and many people praised him. His popularity on the internet was especially strong.

However, in 2006, he was arrested for fraud. He used the false financial data to make his company look more successful than it really was. By making the company’s value look higher and using it to buy other companies, he deceived society. The court judged his actions to be serious and sentenced him to two and a half years in prison. This case shocked many people who had admired him.

When he entered prison, he broadcast the moment live and continued writing blogs through his staff. He was criticized for showing no regret, such as appearing with a mohawk hairstyle when he appeared at the police station.

Today, Horie remains very active. He writes books, appears on television, starts school, and works on space-related projects. Even after a major failure and strong public criticism, he continues to move forward. I think this shows a level of courage that most people do not have.

Both Anna Delvey’s case and Horie’s case show that when people become blinded by money, they can easily deceive others. It made me wonder whether I could stay honest if I ever gained a large amount of money myself.

My favorite pet 【U-Pa-Ru-Pa】

 If someone asked me, “I want to get a pet. Do you have any recommendations?”

 I would say, “I recommend a Mexican walking fish!”

Do you know what that is? In Japan, it’s called an “Upa-Lupa.”

They look a little strange but very cute. On each side of their face, they have three pairs of fluffy gills. Most animals change their body as they grow, but Mexican walking fish stay the same from when they are babies in when they are adults. This is very rare.

They can also grow back their legs if they lose them. This amazing skill has caught the attention of doctors and scientists. Maybe one day, people will also be able to heal quickly, just like them.

Mexican walking fish love to eat red worms. When food in front of them, they eat it very fast. I usually feed them with tweezers, but I have to be careful so they don’t bite the tweezers by mistake.

They don’t know when to stop eating. Sometimes they eat too much and die. They eat so happily that I always want to give them more, but I try not to.

When you watch them in an aquarium, you can see them moving their small legs as they swim. They are so cute that you can lose track of time.

Why not think about having one of these adorable “Upa-Lupa” as part of your family.

If you care for them with love and responsibility, you’ll surely get to see just how adorable they can be!

Postcard from - readers in China!

Hello Jim sensei!

Yumi & I have been in China factory this week. We've been busy for the meeting everyday. The Chinese that Yumi learned is "Ming Pai Ra"

See you next class :)

Graded readers on tour!

 

10 new rules for students in the light of the COVID-19 crisis

1. Wear mask
Wearing mask is the most effective way to avoid an infection of COVID-19.
2. Wash hands
It is effective to wash hands when you get back from outside or from restroom to avoid virus gain entry to the body
3. Open a door or a window periodically
To get fresh air, open the two opposite sides of window or door so that airflow is improved
4. Take a social distance when you talk
Let’s keep a distance more than 1m each other
5. Stay home and see how it goes when you have a high fever
6. Stay home and see how it goes when you have a continuous cough
7. Stay home and see how it goes when you have a loss of your smell or a taste
8. Take a remote lesson if your family got the positive result of COVID-19
It has high possibility to infect with COVID-19 if your family member got infection. Stay in a separate room and wearing mask at home
9. Do not sit down across the table each other when you have a meal
COVID-19 is infected by droplets. As you cannot wear mask when you have a meal, let’s keep a distance as much as you can, and avoid taking a seat across to a person
10. Do not discriminate against person who got COVID-19

My favorite artist - Alfons Maria Mucha

 I like Alfons Maria Mucha’s painting. Mucha was a painter representing “Art Nouveau” from Czech Republic. Art Nouveau means "new art" and it was the international art movement in Europe from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The style is a luxurious and decorative design.

Mucha was decorative artist, most well-known for his images of women. He produced many paintings, illustrations, advertisements and designs. His works frequently featured beautiful young women surrounded by lush flowers with pastel colors.

I think above style gives mystical images to his works.

When I was a junior high school, I saw his painting first time. At that time, I obsessed with “Final Fantasy” which was a video game kind of role-playing game. This game was a fictional story and characters use magic, summon beasts, so I thought that the world view of the game was similar with Mucha’s painting. I look his picture sometime after that and I feel drawn to it.

His works remains popular today. The women who draw by him still fascinates people.

 

Letter for Mr. and Mrs. Walsh

Matty Doolin

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Walsh,

It has been 6 months since our son, Matty started working on your farm. Hope he works hard and to be a good farmer.

When we allow him to go camping with his friends, it’s because we felt sorry for him due to death of his dearest dog. We thought we could forget his painful memory after spending holiday for camping in the field and he would work in the town like his father.
When you called us that Matty was rescued on the mountain while storming and raining heavily, we rushed to go to your house. On the way to your house, we decided one thing, that we would allow him everything he want to do if he was fine.

Now we think it was the goods decision for him to work on the farm. We much appreciate for both of your love for our sun from the bottom of our heart.

Sincerely yours,

Frank and Jenny Doolin