Eiichiro Oda

by Sayuri

One Piece is a kind of text book for my life. I really like Japanese comics. I’ve read Japanese comics from I was in kindergarten. They give me knowledge, increase my imagination, let me forget time and take me to a wonderful world. I think Japanese comics are part of Japanese culture. I have many comics in my room and my favorite comic is “One Piece.” It is the story of pirate and the name of author is Eiichiro Oda. If I have an opportunity to meet and talk with Eiichiro Oda, I want to ask this wonderful author how he has created this awesome comic. This comic has some interesting points; having a strong friendship, seldom killing people and never saying good-bye.

Firstly, Eiichiro Oda’s characters have really strong friendship. They always help, trust and respect each other. As a result, the main characters have not only strength but also strong mind. The second interesting point is that it is difficult not to kill people at battle scenes. The author Eiichiro Oda said he did not want to draw murder scenes because he wanted many generations to enjoy it. It is not fun to read murder scenes, so he avoids drawing murder scenes. I think the most interesting point is Eiichiro Oda’s main character, Luffy, never says good-bye. Luffy knows the ocean is one and connects to all oceans. It means people can meet somewhere again and again, so he does not need to say good-bye.

Japanese comics, especially One Piece, always give me a wonderful time and teach me interesting and important things to live, so they are keys to make my life fun. As a result, I want to meet the author of One Piece, Eiiciro Oda, who has created such a great comic. Finally, I propose that if you get lost in your life, you should read One Piece.

My Goals

by Sayuri

I like traveling because I can always meet new, interesting and unfamiliar things. I have ever visited countries such as South Korea, New Zealand, China and America. I also have a plan to travel to France with my friends after we graduate from our university. My parents often say “You should try anything you are interested in, and you have to go anywhere you want when you are young.” I’m really going to follow my parents’ word.

As I said I like to go to other countries, so my short-term goal is visiting ten countries while I’m in the university. Additionally, my long-range goal is going abroad as much as I can in my life. In order to achieve these goals, I need to take three steps. Firstly, I have to earn money, save and use it carefully because it costs a lot to go abroad. I have a part-time job now, so I should work as much as I can. However, I do not want to skip studies because of my work. I have to pay attention to keep a balance. Next, I should read books, watch TV and speak to many people in order to get knowledge about the world. It will help me when I see buildings, talk with people and eat food. Finally, I need to be healthy. If I’m not in good condition I cannot do anything. I cannot visit other countries, enjoy having a conversation with people, see interesting places and eat delicious food. I should exercise, eat good food, sleep well and laugh every day.

When I go back to Japan through traveling, I always get new knowledge. When I look some pictures I took in other countries, it reminds me of the wonderful trips. I like these feelings. It will be difficult to travel to many countries but I do not want to finish my life spending time in Japan.

Energetic APLArts Class

by Sayuri

My impression of the APLArts class was students were very active. The students were listening to their teacher’s lecture and paid attention. They answered, said their opinion quickly when their teacher asked them questions. They seemed not to be afraid of making mistakes. The classroom was full of their voice.

When I entered the classroom, they were listening to music and taking a note. It was a practice to pick up some words. They were taking a note eagerly. After that the teacher started explaining grammar. Students looked at their teacher to listen to his lecture. Sometimes, he asked question and then someone answered it quickly. The student answered with confidence. It was big different among Japanese and American students. Japanese student are afraid to making mistakes, so they always look down when their teacher ask them question. An atmosphere of the APLArts class was energetic. They made circles of three students to think about some reading questions. They were cooperative and tried to get points. This style was good because they could know different or same answer in their group. They sometimes asked group members why they thought it was correct answer. They kept talking. Some students took class with drinking and eating. Japanese high school students were not allowed to do that. I think Japanese teachers are worried their students may not concentrate on their classes because of food. However, Cheney High School students concentrated their classes even if they were eating something.

At APLArts class, I felt the friendly interaction between the teacher and the students. They seemed to respect each other. They did not care about asking questions, making mistakes, saying different opinions. As those attitude made their knowledge wealth.

My Favorite Movies

by Sayuri

I love watching movies. I’m taught new thinking ways, history and knowledge after I watch movies. I can go to wonderful world while I’m watching movies. I watch any kind of movies except horror movies, so I show you three good movies which taught me do not give up, be positive and importance of imagination: The Terminal, Life is Beautiful and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I like airports, so the movie The Terminal is one of my favorite movies. The movie start from a scene, a man was denied entry gate at an American airport because of his country’s revolution. He had to stay there until his passport got power force and then his new life at the airport started. I like this movie because it taught me my life will give me a lot of trials, but if I do not give up, I will reach my goal.

Life is Beautiful is also my favorite movie because it has not only sad story but also cheerful story. During WWII, an Italian family whose religion was Judaism was taken to a concentration camp. The mother was separated from her son and husband. The cheerful father lied to his son that it was a game and if we won the game we would get a big car. Their hard but warm days started. The father taught me even if my days seemed tough, a positive behavior made you relax.

I’m interested in operation in sweet company, so I really like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At first, Wonka, a manager of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, said 5 people who got golden tickets were able to come to his factory. As a result 5 children visited there. One of them, Charlie, had an unbelievable, sweet and wonderful time at the factory. Nevertheless, some scary happenings came up to them. After the movie, I felt excited and I wanted to ask the director how he created it. This work exceeded my imagination.

Movies are a part of my life. I’m always taught important things which I need to live in my daily life such as being positive and work hard. If you need confidence, want to knew different ideas or just have fun, watching movies is one of the way.

A good city, Seattle

by Sayuri

Hello, Seattle. It was the second time for me to visit Seattle. I really like Seattle because it is similar to my hometown Kobe. In addition, there are a lot of Asians, and Seattle is the sister city of Kobe, so I feel comfortable. Even though it was the second time for me to visit Seattle, I had some interesting cultural experiences about Asians on the West Coast Trip. Ichiro, Asian students at University of Washington and a Chinese noodle restaurant are the key. Many Asians work hard in Seattle.

First, I saw a big poster of Ichiro when I entered Safeco Field. There were also many Ichiro goods at the Team Store. He had made a lot of records not only in Japan but also in the U.S. It must be difficult to keep playing nicely for long time. However, he does it because of his great effort. The big Ichiro poster, Ichiro magazines and a lot of his goods showed me his greatness. Second, 19% of students at the University of Washington are Asian. I was a little bit surprised to hear that at first. While I was walking on the campus, I saw many Asian students who spoke English. Moreover, there were many Korean and Chinese students and a few Japanese. In Japan, I heard the news about the number of Japanese students who study abroad was decreasing. I recognized that the news was true. Finally, I went to a Chinese noodle restaurant with my friends at dinner on the first day. The restaurant was called Samurai and surprisingly, a Japanese man ran it. The restaurant was busy, poplar and cheerful. The taste of the noodle, fried rice and Chinese dumplings was good. I was glad to see the restaurant which was run by the Japanese man was popular in Seattle.

The trip was really busy, so I was tired. Nevertheless, I felt comfortable at the same time because Seattle was similar to Kobe. Additionally, I could see Asians' great hard work. If I have another opportunity to visit Seattle again, I want to meet more Asians, especially Japanese. Seattle was a wonderful city and Asians who live there were also cool.

Teaching Style of MFWI and MWU

by Sayuri

The classroom teaching style of MFWI and MWU is a little different. I explain the reason why I say that, because Professor Brooks’ teaching style was similar to MFWI. Through her classes, I did not get confused about the classroom teaching style. However, I learn some new styles to improve my English skill every day here, and they are interesting for me.

Learning new classroom teaching style is difficult but fun. In order to show my opinion, I’m going to give three points. First, we usually sit at a table with four people at classes at MFWI. It is easy to show each answer, ask questions and share opinions. We often move around to find new partner. We did that at MWU, but it was a little bit less than MFWI. Next, it is different how to research. When we need to examine something, we often use the Internet or books at MWU. However, at MFWI we check the Internet and books and do interviews also. It is interesting for me because I can see real thinking and know many different opinions through interviews. Finally, we often discuss and share each opinion in a group or partner at MFWI. It is good to get new information, thinking way and advice. We also discussed, made presentations and showed individual thinking at MWU, so it is not so hard for us. On the other hand, we have never done peer editing. Therefore, it is difficult. It helps us improving our writing skill by finding problems and editing another person’s work.

We have already experienced the classroom teaching style of MFWI in Japan. Nevertheless, we did not do peer editing, do interviews and share the table with some students. In order to develop my English skill, I need to use these skills I’ve learned at MWU and got at MFWI.

American family use a magic word

by Sayuri

I met my nice second family in America. I spent a weekend with my host family. We talked a lot, cooked brunch and watched a movie together. I felt I touched the real American family life. I found an important thing to live in America; saying thank you anytime. What a wonderful word!

In Japan, we say “I’m sorry” more often than “Thank you.” Japanese tend to think about troubles with families, friends and colleagues. As a result, we easily show our apologies. On the other hand, Americans choose gratitude when they are helped by other people. It is important to live in both countries, Japan and America. I learned it through the home stay. For example, my host mother carried some heavy things, so my host father helped her. After that, she said thank you with a smile. If it happened in Japan Japanese will say I’m sorry before they show their thanks. It is really nice to say thank you when we are helped by someone. People who are given thanks by other people will feel happy and become more kinder people.

We get a smile when we say thank you. Moreover, we feel happy, warm and pleased when we are showed gratitude. It is wonderful to use thank you naturally in our life. It is sometimes difficult to show thanks because of feeling shy. However, if we are able to say thank you, we will become wonderful people. I think thank you is a magic word.