On the way to Boston
--- this entry was sent in by Yu; Yu has a blog that you can see at this address:
http://blog.livedoor.jp/paris614/

I went to Boston on Thursday on a Grayhound bus.
While I was waiting for the bus at Port Authority bus teminal in NYC, I overheard a woman saying "Je ne comprends pas" (I don't know). I was very surprised. But sometimes if people can't speak English so well, they say "I don't know" in a public place. (Sometimes I say "Wakaranai" in class....)

I thought about why she came to the U.S. by herself. So I talked to her in broken French. I said "Vous parlez francais (You speak French)".(What strange and broken French!). She just nodded. I can't speak French, I can just greet. So I couldn't continue to talk to her.Then we got onto the bus.

At a rest stop, she told me in French that she wanted to eat a hamburger. I could understand, so I helped her buy a hamberger.Then I introduced myself and I found out that her name was Adi (I'm not sure about the spelling). She was Senegalise.She seemed kind.

When we got off the bus, she hugged a woman who was waiting there. Actually, she came to Boston to see her daughter. Her daughter thanked me. I felt so happy.

I think that my mother can come to New York by herself because she just has to use an airplane.Adi used one or more airplanes and buses without speaking English.I think that she is strong and she could go to see her daughter because she had a lot of help.

Send in your writing!

It's fun for me to write in this blog because I think about how it can help some people improve their English and learn more about American culture. But I don't want the writing to only be my own! Soon I hope to post stories from other Americans besides myself. Also, I really want English learners (my current students, former students, and anyone else who reads this blog) to send in their writing. If you send me something, I will edit it, post it, and encourage comments from readers. I can mention your name, or it can be anonymous (depending on what you prefer).

If you want to send in something, please leave a comment that includes your e-mail address, and I will get in touch with you!

Visiting California

Although both my father and my brother live in the Bay Area, I don't go out there very often. This time I went with my son for a long weekend. Oliver was really good on the plane (both ways!), which made travelling easy. I'm always stunned by how beautiful California is--especially when compared to NY and NJ. Life is also a bit slower. These two factors sometimes make me feel like we should consider moving out there. But the thing is, besides being comfortable in my life on the East Coast, in the Bay Area it's actually really difficult to find a small house that you can afford. I didn't think it could be more expensive there than here, but it really is!

My son and me in Palo Alto California 

News about my brother Greg

Some of you may already know that my brother is a professor of art history at the University of California, Berkeley. His specialty is Japanese art. I'm so proud of him because his book on Daitokuji is coming out soon! He worked on it for many years. I had the honor of being the first person (besides him) to see a copy because I happened to be in California visiting when it arrived in the mail.

My brother's new book 

Two Very American Stories

On the shuttle bus to JFK airport a few days ago, an extremely overweight orthodox Jewish man attempted to sit down next to a pretty young woman (she looked like a college student). This wouldn't have been so remarkable except for the fact that (1) there were dozens of empty seats on the bus and (2) the young woman's parents were sitting directly in front of her! Here's how the story ends: the mother got up as the man was trying to sit down and said, "Excuse me, I think I'll sit there, thank you."

At JFK, I spilled a cup of coffee all over the floor next to my seat at the gate (if you know me, you probably know that I'm a bit of a klutz!). Fortunately, at that very moment, a custodian was walking by; she was even holding a mop in her hand! So I said, "Excuse me, could I ask you or someone else to help me clean up some coffee that I spilled?" Her response? She glared at me and said, "You're going to have to ask somebody else."

New Year's in South Orange

For New Year's Eve, my wife, my son, and my mother-in-law (she's visiting from Paris) drove to a friend's house in South Orange, a town in New Jersey not far from where we live. It was supposed to be a big party, but it turned out to be pretty small. Actually, this was nice because it gave everyone there a chance to get to know one another better.

The party was a traditional American New Year's party which means it was nothing really special! It's interesting how in the U.S., New Year's is not a big deal (there are really no special foods or music or gift-giving). Also, in most cultures, New Year's is traditionally a time when families get together. But for us, Christmas is more like this. On New Year's Eve, most people go to casual parties like the one I went to, or they go to a bar or club.

Of course there was food, but it was snack food like chips and cookies. Some people watched the Giants game on TV. Most people just talked and drank beer and wine until midnight; then, we opened champagne (alcohol is certainly the most important New Year's tradition that we have!)

My mother-in-law doesn't speak English, so being there for several hours was a bit difficult for her. But she tried to keep up with what people were talking about (we translated a bit, and a few people practiced their not-so-good high school French!). My 3 year old son stayed up until 1:30 (!), when we left the party. He spent most of the night dancing with the grown-ups and a couple of other kids who were there. Overall, we had a very nice time.