Otto's blog

I live in Ichinomiya, Aichi. When I found out about this gin made nearby, in Kiyosu, I was like*, "Cool, I wanna try it!"

I like** gin & tonic, but tonic water is a little difficult to find in Japan, so I don`t often drink it. Also, tonic water in Japan isn`t like*** tonic water from countries like**** America & Australia, which contains a kind of medicine called quinine ( キニーネ ). Japanese tonic water doesn`t contain quinine, so it`s a little sweeter.

I have a friend from Kiyosu. I want to drink this gin with him, so I can be like*, "今清洲人と清洲ジン飲んでいます！"

Vocabulary:
* (be) like, "___" = 「＿＿」と思う/言う [very casual style]
** like = 好き
*** (be) like = 似る
**** like = ような、例えば

I bought an old (1964–76) Pentax Spotmatic camera on Yahoo Auction (ヤフオク). It was pretty cheap, so I wasn`t surprised to find that the internal light meter didn`t work. However, I could fix it. Yay.

I don`t have film yet, so I haven`t taken any photos yet. Actually, I`m not sure how to use this kind of camera yet; I`ve never used one. I will watch some Youtube videos to find out (= learn). Also, the lens is a bit (= a little) dirty inside, which is a common problem in old camera lenses. To clean it, I need to buy some ethanol & purified water, so I haven`t cleaned it yet.

So, I`m not ready to take photos yet, but after I take some, I`ll show you the results.

Grammar
- I`m not sleepy/hungry yet: まだ眠くない / お腹空いていない
- I don`t have/know yet: まだ持ってない / 知らない
- I haven`t decided/finished yet: まだ決めていない / 終わっていない
- I`ve never used...: 使った事がない
- "I`ve never...yet": WRONG

I found an old chisel at the site of a demolished building. It looked in bad shape (= condition) but I took it home, washed it, sandpapered off the rust, spray-painted the metal parts, & put varnish (ニス) on the wooden part.

It looks pretty good & it works well. I`m glad I picked it up.

Vocabulary
ニス is not English, but it comes from the English word 'varnish': バーニッシュ --> ワニス --> ニス

I gave each of my kids a model airplane to make during their summer holidays. I let them choose their own colour schemes.

The one on the right is German, the other two are Japanese. What do you think? Which one do you like best?

Pronunciation:
- scheme: 「スキーム」 (「シェーマ」 is German)
- theme: 「THィーム」 theme park: 「THィームパーク 」(「テーマ」is German)

An old house in my neighbourhood (近所) was demolished (潰れ) recently. My son and I looked around the site and we found some ceramic insulators (ガイシ) and some jars & bottles. The tall one on the left at the back is a milk bottle, the clear one on the right is Yakult, the clear, short one at the front on the left is for ink, and the small, dark blue one is for eye drops. I`m not sure about the others. Do you know?

Grammar:
- ON the left/right
- AT the front/back
- IN the middle/centre

In class, we were studying the word 'one' as a pronoun (代名詞), so I brought three neckties, & had my student choose one for me to wear.

Me: Which one should I wear?
S: The red one.
Me: on...?
S: The red check (チェック) one on the left.
Me: Why not the others?
S: I like the green one with white dots too, but the red one is best.
Me: Okay, I`ll wear the red one.

And I did.

After 4 months, my banana plant is too big for my biggest pot, so I chose a well-drained place in my garden, dug a hole, & transferred it. Phew - it was draining work on a hot, humid day.

I hope it grows well.

Vocabulary:
drain = 流す, 干す, 抜く
draining = しんどい
brain drain = 頭脳流出

Have you seen these two Australian athletes? They both have a hairstyle called a 'mullet'. It`s embarrassing, but also funny. This hairstyle was kind of popular in the 80`s, but not now.

There is also a kind of fish called a mullet (ぼら) but that`s not the origin of the haircut`s name.

Grammar:
- a ___ called '____' = 「＿＿」という＿＿
e.g. - a shop called Muji = 「むじ」という店
- a beach called Suishohama = 「水晶浜」という浜

This year I made colorful labels for my homemade black raspberry jam. I got my daughter to design & color the background, and I had my sons do the writing. I scanned the original label, then printed out multiple copies, in different sizes.

By the way, our school is having an Instagram English recipe contest. Teacher James will cook the winning recipe, so if you want to get him to cook your dish, please enter! I submitted my jam recipe. Details here:

https://teragoya.net/james-cuisine-presents-英語レシピコンテストのお知らせ/

Grammar:
- I got + 誰か + to + 動詞
- I had + 誰か + 動詞
= 私は誰かに動詞-てもらった / もらいました。

Have you been watching the Olympics? Japan has been performing well in various events such as softball, soccer, and table-tennis. I especially enjoyed the table-tennis mixed doubles final. Of course I was pleased that Japan got the gold medal. Have you ever been awarded a gold medal? I got one for swimming when I was in elementary school.

Grammar:
- Have you been ___ing = __していましたか
- Have you (ever) been + 過去分詞 = ___された事はありますか (受動態)
- WRONG: 'Have you been watched the Olympics?'