maiko-san

Last Saturday I took part in a German conversation session at Japan Germany Society in Sannomiya. I discussed about  a theme "Summer Vacation" with other 12 members. Especially for this meeting everyone was supposed to bring"Tsumami"(garnish or snack) to the conversation table. I brought "Gliko Pocky" and a small pack of peanuts. I was surprised to see many housewives bringing various feasts, such as Tenpura-Sushi, Onigiri, German potates to the table. In return the host of the club served each member a bier (Asahi Super Dry). I was glad to see the bier, because I usually drink a lower grade bier (Kirin Tanrei).  I was a little bit nervous, when a mature German woman sat next to me. For I was thinking of a compliment to her Tsumami all the time. Her brown-bag turned out to be Onigiri and mini-tomatoes with spicy basil. Compared to my wife's Onigiri her Onigiri was a little bit sweet. When I said so, it seemed she made a face. So I tried to soothe h

Godd morning, everyone. Today my session is divided into two parts. For starters I have a letter from a Japanese poet in ancient times. Let me read out to you. Please guess who wrote this poet. I have a couple of suggestions for you. 1. The writer lived in the Nara Period 2. He was famous for composing love songs when he went on a journey with Emperor Shomu 3 Manyoshu(Japanese Anthology) contains his 13 Tanka and 37 Haiku. Mrs. Inoue, you're right. Answer: Yamabe no Akahito (700-736) Now we're moving on to the second part of the session. Please take a look at the book in my hand. It's entilted "The Complete Letter Writer".  There are so many kinds of writing letters, such as "Invitations and Announcements", "Letter of Condolences", "Thank-you Letters and Acknowledgements" and so on. I thumbed through the book and picked out "Friendly Letters", because it is the easiest way to learn how to write a letter in  English.

First of all, I'd like to talk about a friend of my wife's. Her name is Nishida-san. She is as old as my wife since they were at school together. Although Nishida-san married a rich man, she suffered from lung cander for years. When Nishida-san shuddered to think of seeing her doctor alone, my wife went with her to the hospital. They both were in the examining room to hear the results of X-ray inspection. On the 25th of July,  Osaka firework festival by the name of Tenjin-Matsuri was held on the Okawa River in front of my wife's high-rise apartment. It was nice of my wife to invite Nishida-san to her house on that day. Because Nishida-san had confided in my wife that this summer could be  her last chance to see the wonderful firework. It seemed that Nishida-san was pessmisitic about the doctor's prognosis of her disease. When Nishida-san visited my wife with her husband, she gave my wife a nice present.  Actually my wife was taken aback when she accepted it.  Becau