Steve's sandbox

Author: Steve Evans

  • Christmas in Cadiz: Peter Horton, Spain – December 2015

    Navidad en Cádiz!

    Todavía no parece así, pero casi está Navidad! Normalmente habría mucha nieve al suelo y tendría un árbol bonito en mi casa, pero este año que no; este año todavía hace bastante calor y no he visto ningunas nubes hace muchas semanas! Navidad en Cádiz por seguro es algo completamente diferente. Trabajo ahorra está muy tranquilo porque no hay tantos estudiantes en la escuela y esperamos enero hasta que empezamos más cosas, pero todavía hay unas cositas las que tengo que hacer.

    Con respeto al trabajo, mi jefa me ha dicho que yo estoy encargado de una campaña en la que queremos mejorar nuestra presencia en las redes sociales. Esta campaña incluye tareas en las que tengo que buscar artículos interesantes y relevante para compartirlos, además tengo que hacer un curso de “Marketing para las redes sociales.” A mí me parece que esa vale mucho porque puedo ver el desarrollo desde el comienzo hasta el fin, e yo puedo gestionar mi propios objetivos y horarios. En el año nuevo, espero que pueda hacer más tareas similares así que puedo desarrollar mis propias habilidades y puedo utilizar español en mi propia manera. Además, todavía hago comunicaciones corporativas y traducciones, así espero que mi español empresario siga mejorando.

    Había menos partidos de rugby desde hace mi último publicación porque toda la gente les están preparando para las vacaciones, pero eso no significa que ha desaparecido el lado social. Este fin de semana pasado tuvimos una cena navidad para el club y diría que eso era la primera vez en la que me he sentido el espíritu de navidad aquí en España.

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    Christmas in Cadiz!

    It doesn’t feel like it yet but Christmas is just around the corner! Normally I would see snow on the floor and have a beautiful green tree in my house, but not this year; this year it is still pretty warm and I haven’t seen a cloud for weeks! Christmas in Cadiz really is like nothing else. Work has quietened down recently as there have been less students and we are saving a lot of work until January but there are still little bits and bobs to do nevertheless.

    With regards to work, I have been put in charge of a campaign to increase our social media presence; this includes finding interesting and relevant articles in Spanish to share, as well as taking part in a course aimed at Social Media marketing. I find this very rewarding because I have been involved from start to finish and I am able to manage my own targets and timetable. In the New Year I hope to be put in charge of more campaigns like this so that I can develop my own skills and am able to use my Spanish in my own way. On top of this, I have still been involved with corporate communications and translations so I hope that my business Spanish is improving as well.

    There have been less rugby matches since my last post as everyone gets ready for the holiday period but that doesn’t mean that the social side has disappeared. Just this weekend we had a lovely Christmas dinner at a club and it is the first time this year that I have felt the Christmas spirit here in Spain.

  • Almost Famous – Andy Newton, Japan November 2015

    今月、僕の友達（聖）から伝言をもらった。今週の日曜日、僕の友達の小さい映画のために、を手伝ってくださいと言いました。実は土曜日、他の友達と居酒屋へのみに行って、日曜日の朝にひどい二日酔いがあってしまいました。大変でしたよ。恰も好し、早く起きるのに処しました。近いバス停であつしさんに会えて、彼は「実は聖が来ない」と言いました。残念だと思いました。バスと電車二台を乗った後で、場所にやっと行き着きました。天神の有名な橋で演出家と翻訳に会いました。

    これから主要な場所に歩いていきました。その場所は福岡アジアお祭りでした。お祭りで、私は演出家に映画のコマを日本語で説明されましたが、速く話して、全然分かりませんでした。機嫌を損ねないように、微笑んで、頷きました。少々の後で、あつしはバイトがあるんだから、今行くと言いました。喜びでしたよ。それで、翻訳者の英語が余り上手じゃなくて、僕は神経質になりました.

    カッコイイお祭りで巡り歩きました後で、有名な橋へ録りに帰りました。行き着いたとき、他の役者もいました。僕の共演のロールは可愛過ぎる女の子の彼でした。ヤバイと思いました。脚本から行五つぐらいを話しました。映画の名前は「みんな好ぃとぅと」を呼んでいて、来年の春に出る予定です。出る日にわくわくしています。

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    Earlier this month, my friend Hijiri sent me a message asking if I would be able to give him a hand to help his friend (Atsushi) with his filming project on Sunday morning. I agreed but I actually went out to an Izakaya the night before and Sunday morning I had a banging hangover.

    Luckily I managed to get up and ready in time, I met Atsushi at the bus stop and he said “Actually Hijiri won’t be coming today”. After getting on a bus and two trains, we eventually arrived at the filming place, not far from the Fukuoka Asian Festival. At a famous bridge in Tenjin, Atsushi introduced me to the film director and a translator. Until this point I had absolutely no idea what the film was about/what I had to do/how long it was etc.

    At the festival I had my script explained to me by the director in Japanese, I didn’t understand anything he said so to be polite I just smiled and nodded. After that, Atsushi told me that he actually had to go to work and that he’ll be leaving me here with these two guys I’d just met! The translator’s English wasn’t that great so I did feel a bit stuck. A bit of a shock as I thought Atsushi was going to be involved in the filming. We walked around the festival stalls which were really cool, then after we headed back to the bridge to film the scene. My role was co-starring as the boyfriend for this ineffably cute Japanese girl. In a nut shell, the scene was that a girl gives me a pamphlet advertising a concert, and I ask my ‘girlfriend’ if she wants to go. I had about five lines in the scene, and I totally nailed it. The film is called ‘Minna Suitouto” (I think it means something cute like ‘We love everybody’), and it comes out next spring! I can’t wait to go and see it.

  • The wonders of Japan – Samantha Fernandes, November 2015

    日本文化にぜひ出会ってみてね！

    もう６週間が過ごして、まだ新しい生活に慣れないような気がするけれどだんだん慣れると思う。私の先生から宿題をたくさんもらうし、授業の内容はすごく難しいから今までに新しい友だちと遊ぶ時間はあまりなくて残念だ。日本人と友達になってはじめて、日本文化に出会ったと思う。この経験とともに、日本人の考え方を自分の考え方と違いを気づける。

    このレポートには、日本文化で面白い経験したものを二つ紹介したいと思う。一つ目は、「居酒屋」ということだ。私は何回も友達と「居酒屋」というパブみたいレストランへ行ったことがある。「居酒屋」は、伝統的な場所で、日本ではこの「居酒屋」はたくさんあって、本物の料理は色々な小さいお皿に出して、日本文化では友達のみんなはすべてをシェアする。日本に行ったら、ぜひ行ってみてねーおすすめだ！

    渋谷

    二つ目のことはハロウイーンだ。日本では、ハロウイーンはイギリスより祝われたことだ。１１月３１日に、ハロウイーンを祝うために、渋谷へ行った。私は、その予定を他の友達を教えたとき、いつも「気をつけて」って答えられてばかりだ。一体どうして教えた友達はそんなに答えただろうか、考えられなかった。ある日に、渋谷に１９時ぐらい着いて、すぐに賑やかさを気づいた。渋谷駅前 スクランブル交差点は日本でとても忙しい所で有名である。ハロウイーンに、警察は多くて、道を渡りたい人をコントロールしてみても、渋谷は死ぬほど人でいっぱいで、少しずつ動かなきゃいけなかった。私は友達を６人と行って、渋谷に着いてばかりの頃には、道を渡って、すぐみんなの友達全然見えなかって、私はビックリした。５分後,一人の友達を見つかて。安心だった。私達は他の友だちを見つけられなかって、何回も探してみたんだ。その後は一緒に渋谷を散策するのを決めた。ある日の日本人は普通の日本人に似ていなかった。ハロウイーンのために、面白いコシチュームを着たり、脂粉を施したりしたからだけではなく、その人々のパーソナリティーは日本人っぽいというより、イギリスの大学生っぽいだと思った。例えば、人々は私と一緒に写真を取りたかったり、酔っ払ったり、よく喋るのが好きだそうだった。ハロウイーンに、渋谷の道を歩いたら、よく楽しい音楽が聞こえて、面白くて、高そう車が様々あって、その街から温かい感じがした。

    日本の日常を楽しむのが好きだ。今週、私の大学では「外語祭」という祭りが行われているだから、授業がないし、よく世界中の料理を食べられて、この一週間の間には旅行をたくさんできると思う。今週の新しい経験にとても楽しみにしている。来月のゴールは友達を作るために大学のサークルに入ることにするつもりだ。

    Izakaya

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    The wonders of Japan

    It already been about 6 weeks since I arrived in Japan and I still feel like I am still getting used to the new lifestyle. Our teachers set us a lot of homework and the content of our lessons is quite difficult, so I tend to have little time with my new friends, which is a shame. It was only after I made Japanese friends here that I felt like I truly met Japanese culture. Along with my experiences in Japan, I can compare my way of thinking with that of a Japanese person.

    In this report I want to introduce two aspects of Japanese culture which I have encountered during my stay. The first being the ‘Izakaya’. I have been to an Izakaya many times with my Japanese friends since my arrival in Japan. This place can be thought of as a Japanese style pub –there are many of Izakayas in Japan and there is a wide range of authentic Japanese dishes to choose from, which are usually served on small to be shared between a few people. I highly recommend going to an Izakaya!

    The second aspect of Japanese culture I want to talk about is how Japan celebrates Halloween more than the UK. On 31st October I went to Shibuya to celebrate Halloween. When I told this to my friends, they all told me to ‘be careful’, however I could not think of anything to be cautious of or what they were referring to when they told me this. On that day, I went to Shibuya, arriving at around 7pm and immediately noticed the masses of people crowding the streets. Shibuya crossing, the crossing near the station at Shibuya is famous in Japan for being very busy with people. On Halloween, I noticed many police officers trying to control the pedestrian traffic. Shibuya was incredibly packed with people to the extent that I thought that someone could die – everyone was moving extremely slowly to get anywhere. I initially started off with 6 friends in Shibuya but shortly after crossing the famous crossing, to my shock I had lost all my friends. After about 5 minutes, to my relief I managed to find one friend and after several attempts to find the rest of our friends in the crowd, we decided to give up and explore Shibuya together.

    On that day, the Japanese people we encountered were not like normal Japanese people – not because they were dressed in fancy costumes and wore lots of face paint, but their personalities seemed to be less Japanese and seemed to resemble UK university students. For example, I was asked by strangers to take pictures with them, quite a few of them were quite drunk, and lots of them enjoyed talking to my friend and I.

    Walking along the streets of Shibuya on Halloween filled with interesting and expensive-looking cars and hearing exciting music drifting through the air produced a warm feeling inside me.

  • Malaga and Madrid – Peter Horton, November 2015

    Malaga y Madrid!

    Este mes ha seguido el mismo cómo el mes pasado con respecto a trabajo pero he podido viajar alrededor de Andalucia con mi equipo de Rugby. He jugado partidos en Malaga y uno fuera de Gibraltar pero lo que he visto en mis viajes es que hay una diferencia enorma entre el paisaje y eso me da un gran impacto. Mientras viajando alrededor Inglaterra se ve campos verdes con colinas ondulantas, sino aquí hay campos pardos o de color naranja rodeado por cactus y montañas.

    También he tenido mucha suerte en que he tenido unos días sin trabajo y por eso cogí un autobús por la noche hasta Madrid y pasé algunos días explorando. Hay un gran contraste entre el paisaje andaluz y el estilo de vida lleno del capital, la gente en las ciudades grandes nunca para mientras la gente de los pueblos disfruta un estilo de vida tranquilo.

    A mí me parece que, sigo disfrutando mi trabajo aquí en K2 Internacional, y mi trabajo ha aumentado ahorra porque hay sólo dos otras prácticas. Tengo muchas cosas a hacer y principalmente tengo traducciones y comunicaciones con agencias. Pienso que en mi tiempo libre me gusta estar fuera de las ciudades grandes porque puedo relajarme y disfrutar la cultura andaluz sino con respecto a trabajo estaría más contento si yo trabajara en una ciudad mayor con tareas dificiles.

     

     

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    This month has carried on much the same as last month in terms of work but I have been fortunate enough to be able to travel around Andalusia with my rugby club. I have played matches in Malaga and just outside Gibraltar but what I have noticed in my travels is the difference in scenery and what an impact it makes. Traveling around the countryside of England you will see green fields and rolling hills, but here whilst traveling you will see dirt fields of brown and orange lined with cactuses and broken up by rocky mountains.

    I was also fortunate enough to have a couple of days off work so took an overnight coach up to Madrid and spent a few days exploring. There is a huge contrast between the Andalusian countryside and the busy lifestyle of the capital, the people in the big cities never stop whilst the people in the towns and villages enjoy a calm and peaceful lifestyle.

    For me personally, I continue to enjoy working here at K2 Internacional, and my work has stepped up a little bit now that two of the other interns have left. I have various tasks but primarily I am involved with translations and communications with partner agents at the moment. I think for my free time I enjoy being away from it all and able to enjoy the relaxing culture of Andalusia but with regards to work I would prefer to be in a bigger city with more challenging tasks.

  • Mein Alltag in Berlin – Eleanor Winstanley, November 2015

    Mein Alltag in Berlin

    Hallöchen Leute! Ich kann es kaum glauben, dass es schon Zeit ist, noch einen Blog zu schreiben. Die Zeit läuft immer schneller, und wird es mir klar, dass es nicht viel mehr Zeit in Berlin gibt. Das Leben in Berlin, was zu meinem Alltag geworden ist.

    Auf die Arbeit laufen die Wochen so schnell, hauptsachlich weil ich an jede Angabe gewohnt bin. Ausserdem ist das Deutsch viel einfacher geworden, nicht nur bei den Wörter in Zusammenhang mit Kindern, sondern auch wichtige Alltagswörter. Ich bin auch angenehm diese Wörter zu benutzen. Jeden Tag versüßt es mir den Tag, wenn die Kinder sich freuen, mich zu sehen. Es wird ehrlich schwieriger mich zu vorstellen, wie ich mich verabschieben können werde.

    Zuhause geht es mir auch gut. Jetzt verstehen ich und mein Mitbewohner (Der aus Berlin) uns ganz gut, und er ist der Hauptperson, mit dem ich mich unterhalte. Er lädt mich immer ein, mit ihm und seinen Kumpeln rauszugehen, was meinem Deutsch riesig geholfen hat.

    Außerdem habe ich mich mit dem Cousin meines Mitbewohners befreundet, der ein Flüchtling aus Syrien ist. Er kann kein Englisch und wenig Deutsch, aber um hier arbeiten zu können, muss er Deutsch lernen. Deshalb habe ich versucht, ihn Deutsch zu lehren. Es ist schwer, da ich kein Arabisch kann, also wenn er ein Wort nicht versteht, kann ich nicht übersetzen. Jedoch, das sich als sehr nutzvoll erwiesen hat, weil ich auf Deutsch denken muss, wie ein Wort eigentlich bedeutet.

    Letzes Wochenende ist meine Schwester nach Berlin gekommen, und danach ist es mir aufgefallen, das ich mich in Berlin wohlfühle and dass es jetzt Zuhause ist. Wie ich schon geschrieben habe, habe ich nicht so viel Zeit here übrig. Obwohl ich viel gelernt habe, gibt es noch viel, was ich noch nicht weiß. Ich habe mich in den Nächsten Wochen vor, so viel Deutsch wie Möglich zu lernen. Ich habe mal versucht, jede Wort aufzuschrieben, die ich schon gelernt habe, aber es dauerte ganz schön lang, also werde ich mehr Zeit brauchen!

    Me and my sister in Berlin

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    Everyday life in Berlin

    Hey people! I can barely believe that it’s already time to write another blog. The time in Berlin is going faster and faster, and it’s becoming apparent to me that there’s not so much time left in Berlin. My life in Berlin, which has become my normality.

    The weeks go so fast at work, mainly because I am used to all of the tasks. Also the German has become a lot easier, not only with the used in relation to Kids, but also important everyday words. I also feel comfortable to use these words. Every day it makes my day when the kids are pleased to see me. It’s honestly becoming more difficult to imagine how I am going to be able to say goodbye.

    At home things are also good for me. Now I and my flatmate (the one from Berlin) get on very well, and he’s the main person I socialise with. He always invites me to go out with him and his friends, which has really helped my German.

    Also I’ve become friends with my flatmate’s cousin, which is a Syrian Refugee. He can’t speak any English, only a little German, but in order to be able to work here, he must learn German.  Therefore I have tried to teach him German. It’s difficult because I can’t speak any Arabic, so when he doesn’t understand a particular word I have to really think about what it actually means.

    Last weekend my sister came to Berlin, and afterwards it occurred to me that I feel so comfortable in Berlin and that it’s now home. As I’ve already written, I don’t have much time left here. Although I’ve learnt a lot, there is still a lot that I don’t know. In the next few weeks I intend to learn as much German as possible. I tried to write down every word which I’ve learnt here but it took a long time, so I will need more time!

     

     

     

  • Christopher Wilson – Case Study, Germany 1969

    “The John Speak Trust Scholarship was of great benefit to me personally and also to my career; a very useful and informative six months”

    At the age of 18, I was fortunate to receive a John Speak Language Trust Scholarship for six months.  This allowed me to travel to Germany to improve my study of the language and further my career in the wool trade.  At the time I was working for the family business C.L. Wilson & Co Limited, a Wool & Noil Merchants based in Bradford.

    Being so young at the time, I was appreciative of a lift by car to my new surroundings in Kaiserslautern, South West Germany (from a colleague) where I rented a room from a local German family.

    As well as studying German, I worked at Kammgarnspinnerei (worsted yarn spinners) voluntarily which was part of my Scholarship agreement.  Although I was very grateful to the Trust for the £50 per month I received, it was often difficult to budget for food, board and other essentials during my six months abroad.  I was also unfortunate to damage my wrist whilst at work and for a short time it became necessary for my employers to pay me a small amount for Social Security benefits!

    At the start of my six months I began working in the chemical laboratory but went through the whole process of wool sorting, scouring, carding, combing, dyeing and spinning.  Sadly the mill closed in the 1970’s but the lessons I learned through working there were invaluable.

    After I had completed my six month scholarship, C L Wilson & Co engaged with German contacts and set up a trade, increasing our customers and expanding the business.

    I am now 65 years old, retired and I have kept in contact with the many friends I met in Germany, including the main trade customer (now in his 80’s) I dealt with through work all those years ago (which often provides an ideal opportunity to use my spoken German!).

    Kaiserslautern, Germany- a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest

    The John Speak Trust Scholarship was of great benefit to me personally and also to my career; a very useful and informative six months.  I continue to speak German on a regular basis and would recommend the John Speak Language Trust to any language student wishing to improve their language skills and pursue a career to benefit the UK export trade.

     

    Christopher James Wilson

  • My first day in Japan – Andy Newton, October 2015

    日本で一日。

    ワー、やっと日本へ来ました。ついたちから今まで沢山が起りました！当初、飛行機で席に着いた後で、隣接した日本人と話し始めました。離陸から着陸まで日本語で喋りました。彼はＫＹＯＣＥＲＡのオーソぺデイック営業事業部で、４２歳です。

    The guy I met on the plane!

    彼は私の漢字本を見て、知識にびっくりされました。滞空時間はとても久しい時間が掛けました（十二時間ぐらい）。着陸のときに私は「又会う日まで」と言って、彼の名刺をもらいました。

    それで、羽田から福岡まで日航機の中では綺麗過ぎるエアホステスに会いました。本当に明眸皓歯がある娃鬟ですよ。

    福岡まで行き着いた後で、とてもジメジメ蒸し暑い天気を感じました。私と友達が別れた後で、一人でした。怖かった。おなかがペコペコで、疲れて、歯を磨きたかったから、近く旅館にチェクインしました。歯を磨いて、シャーワーを使って、昼ご飯を食べた後で、町へ遊覧しに出かけました。旅館の近くは条天時通りです。条天時通りはお寺公園です。その後歩いてとき、他人は私に親切な僧を知り合った。お寺の中はとても綺麗でした。でも少し部屋は立入禁止です。遊覧の終わった後で、僕の顔にお疲れが見えて、旅館へ寝に帰りました。

    My first day in Japan.

    Ah, I’ve finally made it to Japan, so much has happened from the day I arrived until now! Firstly, I took my seat on the plane at Heathrow and began chatting to the Japanese man sitting next to me, and we were talking away in Japanese pretty much from take-off to landing. He told me he works as an orthopaedic sales manager for Kyocera and was 42 years old. He saw my notebook and was surprised by my knowledge of kanji (a big ice-breaker). The flight took ages, about twelve hours in total. When we landed I said “until we meet again” and he gave me his business card in return. He suggested we meet for a beer if he comes to Fukuoka.

    After that, whilst on our JAL plane from Tokyo International Airport to Fukuoka, I met the most beautiful air hostess I had ever seen. As they say in Japanese, she had ‘starry eyes and beautiful white teeth’.  When we arrived at Fukuoka, we could feel the sticky humidity. When we left the airport, my friend and I went our separate ways, I was now on my own -scary.

    I was starving hungry and really tired, and I really needed to brush my teeth so I checked in at a hotel not too far away. Turns out it was a really fancy businessman hotel, but at the time I didn’t really care. After I had a shower, did my teeth and had something to eat, I went to do a bit of sightseeing. Not far from the hotel was a Buddhist park and temple called ‘Jyoutenjidori Avenue’, when I was walking along a stranger in the street stopped me and introduced me to the head monk in charge of the temple there. He was a real nice guy. The temple was beautiful inside but there were a few rooms which I could not enter. After I finished wandering around, I looked and felt extremely tired so I headed back to the hotel to sleep.

  • Samantha Fernandes, Japan – October 2015 monthly report

    日本に来たところです！

    はじめまして、私はサミーです。イギリスのリーズ大学で勉強していて、専攻科目はドイツ語と日本語です。今年は東京外国語大学という大学で勉強しています。東京外大と呼ばれます。この大学に１０月ぐらい勉強します.
    私は１年間ぐらいしか日本語を大学で勉強していませんから、日本に来る前に、ちょっと心配していました。

    私は２０１５年０９月２６日にやっと日本に着きました！成田空港に降り立って、イギリスの文化を後にしました。リーズで勉強していたところで、和花という日本から来た留学生と友達になって、この日には、和花はわざわざ私に迎えるために成田空港に来てくれました。和花は東京外大の学生で、今私のパーソナルチューターになってくれました。毎週何回も和花と遊んだり、日本語を勉強したりします。

    Eating Tonkatsu at a restaurant in Tokyo with Aika.

    日本に着いて、新しいい異文化に出会って、ビックリされたものを様々気づきました。日本に行く前に、日本は安全な国だし、物価も安いし、それに日本の生活はとても便利だそうです。これは自分で経験しました、例えば、コンビニや自動販売機は道りごとにあるようです。値段はイギリスより安くて、売れ物の品質はイギリスよりいいと思います。日本の自動販売機は熱い飲み物や冷たい飲み物などだけではなく、インスタントラーメンやお菓子なども売れます。傘やネクタイも売れる自動販売機もありますが、まだ見つけていません。

    東京外大は小さくて、静かな所にあります。まだ落ち着いていませんから、いろいろな行きたい場所はまだ行っていません。今まで、東京のにぎやかな場所へ友達に会ったり、本物の料理を食べてみたり、カラオケをしに行ったりしまた。例えば、原宿、新宿、吉祥寺という所へ行ったことがあります。 日本の生活を全部経験してすごく楽しいです。日本の文化によく慣れると思います。時々、日本人と話すとき、分からないことがあって、間違えてしまいます。でも、毎日日本語の練習によって、いつかペラペラになれると思います。だから、今から、頑張ります！

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    Hello, my name is Sammy. I study at Leeds University in England and my major is BA German and Japanese. This year, I am studying at Tokyo university of Foreign Studies (Also known as TUFS) for approximately 10 months. Because I have only been studying Japanese for approximately 1 year at university, I felt a bit anxious before coming to Japan.

    26th September 2015 was the day I finally arrived in Japan. After arriving at Narita Airport, I left behind my ties to British culture. When I was studying at Leeds university, I made friends with an exchange student called Aika and on this day, she went out of her way to come meet me at Narita Airport. She is not only a student at TUFS, but she also requested to become my personal tutor. I meet up with Aika numerous times every week to explore Japan and study Japanese.

    Harajuku

    Upon arriving in Japan, I was exposed to a new culture and there were a variety of things that I noticed which surprised me. Before arriving, I heard that Japan was a safe country where you can live cheaper and the lifestyle is very convenient. I experienced this for myself, as I noticed, for example, Convenience stores and vending machines on what seemed like every single street. Not only are the prices here cheaper than that of England, but also the quality of the products are, in my opinion, better than that of Britain. Japanese vending machines sell not only hot and cold drinks, but also instant ramen (Japanese instant noodles) and snacks and sweets. There are also vending machines that sell umbrellas and neckties and other interesting things but I have not come across any of these yet.

    TUFS is located in a small and peaceful part of Tokyo. I haven’t fully settled into Tokyo just yet, so there are many places that I want to visit but have not yet been to. Until now, I have been to livelier parts of Tokyo to meet friends, try authentic Japanese food and to sing at karaoke. Such places are Harajuku, Shinjuku and Kichijyouji. I really enjoy every aspect of living in Japan. I find myself adjusting to Japanese lifestyle quite well. Sometimes I have problems understanding what a Japanese person has said to me and as a result I make mistakes but I am sure that with plenty of everyday practice speaking Japanese then someday my Japanese can become fluent. So this year I will do my best!

  • Eleanor Winstanley, Germany – October 2015 monthly report

    Wende

    Einen Monat seitdem ich meinen letzen Bericht gelesen habe, und es kann gesagt werden, dass es viele Höhen und Tiefen gegeben hat.
    Zur Zeit arbeite ich seit einem Monat bei dem Kindergarten, und es ist nur diese Woche, dass ich mich beständig fühle. Am Anfang war es viel schwieriger, als ich erwartet hatte. Nicht nur war ich die neue Praktikantin, die immer Fragen stellte und verwirrt war, sondern auch war ich die Ausländer. Es wurden so viele neue Wörter über Themen benutzt, aufden ich noch nicht gestoßen hatte, oder Wörter aus dem Alltag, die man nicht in der Schule lernt. Es was echt ein Realitätstest, dass ich weniger verstand, als ich wollte.
    Dadurch litt ich an Heimweh, und was schlechter war, war dass ich zwei Dinge vermisste, Meine Freunden in Manchester, und meine Familie in Worcester. Doch, wusste ich, dass das zu einem Auslandsjahr gehörte, es wäre nie einfach nach einem fremden Land zu ziehen. Ich hatte schlechter Heimweh in Manchester gehabt, davon ich mich erholt hatte.
    Durch Facebook habe ich eine Tandem-Partnerin gefunden, also ein Person, mitdem ich Deutsch und Englisch spreche. Es hat mir echt gelungen, nicht nur kann ich Deutsch üben, sondern auch habe ich eine neue Freundin. Wir treffen uns einmal pro Woche, und dabei fühle mich immer sorglos, Deutsch zu sprechen.

    Diese letzte Woche für mich ist besonders eine Wende für mich gewesen. Auf der Arbeit waren viele Angestellter Krank, also war es extrem knapp an Personal und anstregend. Deswegen hatte ich mehr Verantwortung und ich habe gefunden, dass ich viele neue Wörter benutzt habe. Am Ende der Woche bedankte sich mir eine Kollegin an meine Arbeit, und ich musste fast weinen. Endlich fühlte ich mich ein wichtiger Mitglied der Mannschaft.

    Ich bin mir ganz sicher, dass es noch schwere Zeiten geben wird, jedoch gibt es immer mehr gute Erfahrungen. Jeden Tag bin ich stolz auf mich und erlebe, was ich mich vorher für unmöglich hielt.

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    Turning point

    A month on from my first report, and it’s fair to say that there have been a lot of ups and downs.
    At the moment I have been working at the nursery for a month, and it’s only this week that I feel settled. At the beginning it was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. Not only was I the new intern who was always asking questions and looking confused, but also was I foreigner. So many new words were being used, about topics that I had never come across, or everyday words which you don’t get taught in school. It was a real reality check that I understood less than I wanted to.
    As a result of this I suffered from homesickness, and to make it worse, was that I missed two things, my friends in Manchester and my family in Worcester. However, I knew that this was part of a year abroad, it would never be easy to move to a different country. I had suffered worse homesickness than this in Manchester and recovered from it.
    Through Facebook I found a tandem partner, aka a person with which I spoke German and English. It’s been a success, not only can I practice German, but I also have a new friend. We meet once a week, whereby I always feel carefree to speak German.
    The past week has been a particular turning point for me. At work a lot of employees were ill, so it was extremely short staffed and tiring. As a result of this I had more responsibility, and I found that I was using a lot of new words. At the end of the week a colleague thanked me for my work, which nearly made me cry. Finally I felt part of the team.

    I am certain that there will continue to be difficult times, however there are non-stop good experiences. Everyday I’m proud of myself and experience things that I thought of as impossible beforehand.

  • Peter Horton, Cadiz, Spain – October monthly report

    Un Mes Listo!

    He estado aquí en Cádiz durante un mes ahorra y he aprendido entender su acento y costumbres únicos. La gente es muy simpático y me han dado la bienvenida, mi jefa me dijo que ella sería mi madre durante el año porque es difícil vivir muy lejos de mi casa. Los otros del mi piso ahorra les han asentido y nos hacíamos amigos sobre nuestro amor del futbol español, parece que flue en sus venas. Aunque hay algunas discusiones en el piso porque uno de mis compañeros es de Barcelona y el otro de Madrid y ambos piensan que tengan le mejor equipo del mundo.

     

    He empezado mi práctica y me gusta mucho hablar en un ambiente profesional. Hay cuatro otros en prácticas aquí todos de Letonia pero hablamos en español porque ellos quieren mejorar tan mucho cómo yo, aunque después de navidad saldrán tres a Letonia. He hecho muchas tareas de traducción, principalmente para el sitio web sino también para correos electrónicos, he hecho además otras cosas. He buscado y añadido muchos contactos a su red. Además he tenido que buscar actividades y excursiones los que puedo ofrecer a los estudiantes del colegio para mejorar su conciencia cultural, esa tarea me he gustado lo más porque he podido disfrutar algunas actividades por mi mismo. Visité el museo de Cadiz y paseé un paseo en la ciudad para aprender sobre la historia de esta ciudad bonita.

     

    Para seguir satisfaciendo a mi amor de rugby me he juntado con el equipo local, y he llegado a conocer algunos de mis amigos mejores. Tenía miedo porque no tenía ningún idea de su nivel o si podía encontrar amigos porque soy ingles; aunque, me di cuenta pronto que ese miedo no se necesitaba. Aunque no hay nadie allí que hable ingles, me han dado un buen bienvenido y siento un parte de su familia. Ahorra estoy en el equipo primero cómo el numero 10 y espero que tengamos una temporada larga y con éxito. Desafortunadamente llegaba tan tarde que yo no podía disfrutar la pretemporada entrenamiento en la paya; aunque, todo el equipo pasábamos un buen fin de semana juntos en “Los Caños de Meca” y me gustaba el entrenamiento y unos partidos pequeños allí. Ya hemos ganado nuestro primero partido de la liga contra Jerez y espero que tenemos mucha suerte en el futuro.

     

    Sobre todo me sigue gustando a vivir aquí en Cadiz. La gente son lo más simpática que ya he conocido y puedo ver el mejoramiento en mi español cada día, empiezo a entender cada vez más y estoy teniendo cada vez más confianza en mi mismo para hablar en las conversaciones.

     

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    One month finished!

    I have been here in Cadiz for a little over a month now and have learnt to appreciate their unique accent and customs. The people here are incredibly friendly and welcoming; my manager told me that she would act as my mother for the year because it must be hard being away from home for so long. The rest of my flat has now moved in and we have bonded over our love for Spanish football, it seems to flow in their veins. There is some debate though as one of them is from Barcelona and the other from Madrid so both claim that they have the world’s best team!

     

    I have started my internship and am thoroughly enjoying using my language skills in a professional atmosphere. There are four other interns currently, all from Latvia, but we all communicate in Spanish because they desire to improve as much as I do, although by Christmas only one of them will still be working here.

     

    I have been doing a lot of translation tasks so far mainly for their website, but I have also been doing other tasks. I have been networking, hoping to expand our directory of contacts. In addition, I have had to search for local activities and excursions that I can offer to the students in the college to promote their cultural awareness, this task I have enjoyed the most because I have been able to enjoy some of the opportunities myself.

     

    I have visited the Cadiz Museum and went on a historical walk around the town learning about the history of this beautiful labyrinth. To continue satisfying my love of rugby I have joined the local team, and met some of my best friends here. I was scared at first as I had no idea how good they would be or whether I would fit in at all being English; but I soon realised that these fears were completely unnecessary. Although not one of them there speaks English, they have welcomed me nicely into their team and I feel part of their family. I have made the starting team as their fly half and look forward to a long and successful season with them. Unfortunately I arrived too late to enjoy the preseason beach rugby; however, we all went away together for a training weekend to “Los Caños de Meca” and I enjoyed some fitness and a few matches on the beach there. We have won our first friendly match against Rota, and the league starts this weekend so I look forward to getting off to a good start.  Overall I am still thoroughly enjoying living here in Cadiz. The people are some of the most friendly  I have ever met and I can see my Spanish improving every day, slowly I am beginning to understand more and more and I am becoming more and more confident in joining in the conversations.