A postcard from Irabu Island, Okinawa

Hey Everyone,

First dive crew

I've just visited an amazing part of Japan, a small island called Irabu which is connected to Miyako Island via bridge. Before you could only get there by plane or boat, but since the end of January 2015, you can drive across.

Irabu is so quiet and peaceful. Even in the middle of Golden Week, there was almost nobody there! The beaches were beautiful, the water crystal clear with plenty of amazing coral and colourful fish to see, the locals were super friendly and the weather was gorgeous.

The fish that bit me!

During my stay, I got to experience diving for the first time (and getting bitten by a territorial fish!), as well as my first taste of Awamori. I went snorkelling almost every day and got to see some amazing sunsets with a beer in hand of course!

I had an incredible week off and I hope that all of you at Luna had a well-earned break and feel refreshed and rejuvenated.

See you all at Luna soon!

Damian

Sunset at Irabu

My Olympic hero - Sayaka Sato

In this Olympics, Sayaka Sato (Badminton woman's singles player) inspired me. It was the first Olympics participation for her. And she advanced to the final tournament. 

The first round, she played a game with a Danish player, and in that time she led a point.
But suddenly an accident attacked her. When she did receiving, she was wounded in the left foot. She fell down by an acute pain, but she was going to continue playing the game.
However, unfortunately she had to renounce the game. 

Badminton snowballs (Photo credit: ijiwaru jimbo)

When she was going to leave the court, all spectators sent warm applause to her and her tears. I was impressed by her unyielding mind.
 
I hope she participate in the next Olympic and hope that we can watch her smile next time. 

Miyako

Related articles

• London 2012 Olympics: Japanese badminton player Sayaka Sato left in tears after injury
• Japan's Sato suffers disappointing exit from badminton
• Olympics: Sasaki advances in badminton, Sato wins opener

Postcard from Bremen, Germany.

Hello! all.

Now. I'm in Hamburg.
Today I visited Hameln and Bremen. These cities are famous for the Grimm Brothers fairy tales.
And both of them very lovely!!

Unfortunately the weather is not good and a little bit cold.

Tomorrow I go sightseeing in Hamburg and Lubeck.

See you in next class.

Miyako F

Postcard from...London

Hello! All.

I enjoy petit Life in London.

The weather is ...so-so...lol.
I see the sights of the London city here and there every day! I walk so much...so...I'm tired a little...lol.

See you in class.

Miyako

NHK Enkai

End of year gathering for my NHK class last night was a lot of fun, with everyone over indulging suitably.



The China Trip Bar was a good choice of venue, as the food was good and the nomihodai a good deal - without the hassle you can sometimes get. Takeshi, Masa & I got stuck into the draft lager while the girlies ordered the usual bizarre range of chu-hi's, sours, teas, etc.

Takako dropped by to add glamour but couldn't stay because she has a test today - ambitions of a job in Singapore sounds very worthwhile!



Our old classmate Machiko was also able to join us with her lovely son Ryotaro, who spent the evening on my knee eating & getting tickled. Well-behaved children are a pleasure & especially invited to the pre-school!

No more classes this year for NHK (Luna is open until the 22nd) so Merry Christmas Ayaka, Chisato, Teruki, Masa, Takeshi, Toshimasa, Miyako, and Hana-chan. Thank you for being such a pleasant group to teach.

Postcard from...Le Mont-Saint-Michel (France)

I having a great time here in France. The weather is not so good...but no problem for me. I already been Chartres, Chateaux de la Loire and Mont St. Michel. Mont St. Michel was one of place where I really wanted to visit, so I;m happy now and it was wonderful. Tomorrow I go Paris. I'm really looking forward to see the "14 juillet"s fireworks.

See you in next lesson. Miyako F

Restaurant review

Image via Wikipedia

This restaurant offers french cuisine.
The dishes are wonderful and desserts excellent!! But it's not as expensive as you'd expect, so put your mind at ease.
This place is cozy atmosphere, especially lunchtime is sometimes fully booked, so book as early as you can.
And don't forget to work up an appetite. They serves is as hearty as Italian cuisine.

Posted by Miyako, writing homework from English Result Intermediate (OUP) Unit 4C

Jungfraujoch - postcard from Miyako

Hello! All!

Now I stay in Grindelwald. This village is situated at the foot of Mt. Eiger (3,470m). Today, we went to Jungfraujoch. It was so fantastic view!!! We could see Mt. Jungfrau, Mt.Monch, Mt. Eiger, glacier and the Alps mountains. And we went hiking (about 2 hours). I got a little bit tired, but it was really fun :)

See you - Miyako

Enkai season

Oh yes, the cold wintry nights are upon us, and with them the season of parties and red noses!

I was invited to join a lovely gaggle of ladies I have been teaching lately to celebrate (I think?) the end of their course. They were in good spirits by the time I managed to get there - I couldn't get off work any earlier. They had enjoyed the Tapas menu fully, by the looks of it.

It is always nice to see students away from the classroom and to be able to interact fully. Of course we had a ni-ji-kai (very civilised Japanese habit of kicking on for a "second" party) and I managed to catch up on the drinks. So much so, I found the Hagen Daaz I bought on my way home still in my pocket, unopened, the next time I wore my warm coat - three days later. Should I eat it...this is the question!

Postcard from Amsterdam, Holland.

Hello!!

I having a great time in Netherlands. Unfortunately weather is not so good, but it doesn't matter for us. Today we went to Zaance Schans that famous for windmills. It was huger than I expected!! And very beautiful. I took a lot of photo. Tomorrow, we are going to tour museums and move to Den Haag.

See you in NHK class again.

Miyako in Amsterdam