A Poem

"Watashi to Kotri to Suzu to", which is a Japanese poem, is one of my favorites. The title is translated  in English "I and a Bird and a Bell". I want to introduce the poem in original language, Japanese, and in English.

"Watashi to Kototi to Suzu to" in Japanese          "I and A Bell and A Bell"

Watashi ga ryoute wo hirogetemo                         Even if I spread my arms
Osora ha chittomo tobenai ga                                 I can't fly in the sky at all.
Toberu kotori ha Wtasi no youni                           But the bird that can fly    
Jibeta wo hayaku ha hashirenai                Can not run on the ground as fast as I. 

Watashi ga karada wo yusuttemo                           Even if shake my body, 
Kireina oto ha denai kedo                                       I can't produce pretty sounds,
Ano narusuzu ha watashi no youni                         But the bell that can ring 
Takusann na uta ha siranaiyo                    Doesn't know as many songs as I.

Suzu to Kotori to sorekara Watashi                        The bell and the bird and I
Minnna chigatte minnna ii                                      All are different and all are good.

When I was the second or third grade at elementary school, I first read this poem in Japanese class. I remember that I used to read the poem repeatedly by my teacher until I could memorize it in the class. The poem has a quite pretty rhythm, doesn't it? I'm sure that I was beating the rhythm while reciting the poem. I just repeated it at the time; however, as growing up, I can have imaged what the writer want to tell or imply to readers. Now I can infer from the poem. I suggest that everything in the world is very precious because there is no one like you. Especially, in the last verse, the writer makes the entire poem shiny and brilliant: "All are different and all are good." might mean everything, such as people, animals or plants is an original and an unique, so no one need to compete or conflict with others all the time.

The Snow

I sometimes wonder why I feel my heart of bouncing when I see the snow come falling in winter. I love to see the pile of the snow on the yard in front of my house. I used to be looking at outside from the window of my room when it was snowing. Of course, my feelings was excited to the snow falling, and I always expected to be covered all, such as grounds, trees and the roofs of buildings by a lot of snow. Then I used to wish that it comes snow in my town on the Christmas Eve's night when I was a little. Is that why I was a little girl? No, because I have still been exited to see the moment that the snow is coming in my town every winter. Snowing in winter seems to me something special. The nature has invisible power and might give people some energy or vitality.  

When I was a child, many events were exiting to me, for example, one summer day, I was excited to enable to ride a bicycle by myself when I was five or six years old. I practiced a lot all a day: my father or mother helped me for practice. I never gave up even though I fell down and hurt my legs and arms. It was a hot day, and I must have felt so tired, the sky which I glanced up might give me some more energy to achieve. The huge thunder-head spread in the sky seemed to encourage my mind whom tented to be overwhelm by my negative feeling. Finally, I could ride a bicycle by myself. Then I remember the orange colored evening sun. I felt so exciting, and my feeling was filled with the satisfaction. Also, I was excited to see the circus when I was seven-year-old: it was the first time to see the real circus. Every entertainments gave me an impulse I hadn't ever had. Especially, a trapeze which is acted in the air impacted to me and made me breathtaking. It seemed to be a fantasy in dream for me. Then I saw the full-moon in that night sky on my way home. It was a brilliant and bigger moon. I have still linked the full-moon to the circus memory since I saw them at the same day. So, I sometimes remember the memory when I look at the full-moon.  


As I am getting older, I might be less times of the feeling that my mind is bouncing than when I was young. Actually, I have exhilarating situations when I have plans to join some events or to attempt new things, such as going concerts, hiking or travelings. However, the nature gives me something impulse in an ordinary life.When I passed about two years after I had moved in Portland from Japan, I felt so exhausted for a few weeks. I couldn't recover my health condition even though I tried to stay at home and to sleep a lot to be relaxed my body. Then my friend took me to water falls to hike to refresh my mind. I didn't agree with her at first, but I felt better during walking inside the woods and to close the falls. I also felt that my mind or head had being revitalized in the nature. There are a lot of trees, river and parks in Oregon. After that, walking in a park which is nearby my house has became one of my customs, and I enjoy having the time with such a nice sky, river and trees.   

Any-way, the snow have still made my mind exciting and lively for a long time, and I'm looking forward to seeing the snow falling in my town this winter despite the fact that  I'm not little anymore.

Rock Climbing

I'm a person who has an acrophobia; however, I have liked to ride a roller coaster since I was an elementary student. I wonder why I'm not afraid of riding a roller caster. I suggest that putting on a safety seat belt on the roller coaster might make my mind calm and confident. A person who is an acrophobia probably hates to stay any high places. I also feel so scary when I look down from the rooftop of an apartment building or a suspension bridge over a river. There are nothing ways to hold my body. That's why I feel so scary. 

When I went to the Smith Rock State Park, I looked at a group of people whom are climbing a very high rock mountain. They had great skills or techniques to up and down the rocks like a Ninjya and were challenging to climb higher rocks. It looked so scary for me. I suppose that I will have never had a such terrible experience. However, I had an experience to do rock climbing by my friend's recommend five moths ago. It was indoor rock climbing and seemed to interesting for me. It was climbing high walls like a spider-man. There were several stages for climbers, and they were classified some levels depending on climbing skills or techniques. 


My first challenge was, of course, to climb the wall for beginners. Before I climb, I had to put on a harness and tied it into the rope which my friend helps and saves my body: it was exactly a my lifeline during climbing. Then I started to climb the wall. At the first time, I couldn't only think about climbing by the top of the wall. I could climb smoothly on the top, but I became afraid of my high position when I looked down to tell my friend that I was ready to go down. My hands and legs were getting shaken by a little panic, but I could go down the ground because I could make sure the rope tighten. 


As I was climbing walls several times, I could stay on the pieces of rocks for a few seconds without a panic and think about the efficient way to climb up to the top. Staying and thinking on the high points is something new and a refreshing surprise for me. I find a new experience in my life, and the experience opens new feelings or new categories which I haven't ever had. And that's my pleasure. 

Empathy

Yesterday my son's high school team lost the soccer game on the States, and the players finished the activity on this term.. Junior, sophomore and junior high school students will have been playing soccer on the high school filed; however, my son will have never play on the field because he is a senior high school student. The thought made my mind heat when I saw my son and his senior teammates: some of them were holding their heads or squatting down the ground after loosing the the game. My eyes were swimming with tears in empathy with their feelings. My son has played soccer since he was four years old and has participated in the soccer team as one member of his junior high school and high school activities for six years. I'm proud of my son because he hasn't given up soccer training and practice even if weather condition is so bad, such as a heavy snow day or a strong rainy day: He always put forth unrelenting effort to enhance his soccer techniques. His coaches also must give him a lot of living lessons, and he was sharing them with his teammates. "I feel so empty now, " he said to me after coming to home last night, "I wanted to win the game honestly and continue to the next game on the States." I understand about his feelings. Then he said, "I will been playing soccer; however, I might not have this feeling like strong unity with my high school teammates anymore. That's way I feel so sad." I and my son will have never forgotten the last game conducted in strong wind and heavy rain.
   

The Strange Atmosphere

When I was four or five years old, I felt a strange atmosphere.I lived in a house that my grandfather had bought since he got marriage. It was a quite large, old and traditional Japanese house. It was two stories, and my bed room was on the second floor. I slept with my parents as I was little. There were four sliding big windows in the bed room, and the lace curtain was hanged in front of them. I remember that I like the sweet lace curtains beside my upright piano. The curtains were swaying in the wind. Even if it was in a hot summer night, the windows were opened a little bit,  and .the curtains swayed. One night, when I woke up at midnight, it was quite light because of the full moon. When I turned my eyes naturally to the light, I saw a face or a character, such as a smiling bear, a princess on the race curtains in front of the windows. I was surprised at first, but every time I blinked, I could see different animals or characters on them. I feel so excited to see them and blinked several times. I woke up rarely at midnight, but I had the experience only a few times in the summer. I haven't told someone that happened since I had the experience. I wonder whether it was the happening in my dream or not when I remember that happened. However, the race curtains with strange atmosphere has a forgettable place in my earliest memories.   

Education System

As a student, I studied from an elementary school to a university in Japan for sixteen years. So I just follwed the Japanese education system; however, I have had an experienece to study in the United States for several months and feel differences in the education system between Japan and the U.S.. In Japan, I must not call teachers by their first or last names. I have to say, "Suzuki-sensei" Suzuki is the last name and sensei is Sir, Miss or Mrs. It shows that students' respectable minds for teachers. It is an ordinary rule for me as a stutdent. On the other hand, every student in the U.S. call the only first or last name instructors. I know, of corse, about calling each other by the first name in th U.S., but I have hesitated to call only his first name my instructor for a while since I went to a college in teh U.S. It seems to be impolite behavior; however, it has been more like to be friendly and openly the space between instruators and students since I took classes in college. My teachers in Japan were very nice and helpful for me, but I remember rarely that I talked friendly with my instructor because I felt the gap like a high wall between I and some of my teachers in Japan when I was a student. When I was a junior high school student, my teacher had given me correct answer after I gave him incorrect answer in the math class. I remember that I wanted him to explain how to solve the question because I didn't know about the answer and know the steps of the solution for the question. Therefore, in many way, Japanese education system leads students to be memorable thinngs. For example, one of them is English. When I was a junior high school, I beguan to study English: students learn about English grammar mostly. They are improving English rammar and getting some vocabularies: theses things are to be memorable, but students are not able to elevate English conversation skills, such as speaking and  listening. I remember that teacher demonstrared English conversation with a textbook, butit is very formal and traditinal. I wanted to use or listen more natural and real conversation what the American are speaking.

 

My children have gone to the both school in Japan and the U.S. for several years. They also have felt the same as mine. My son said, when he was tenth grade in the U.S., "My teacher always waits for me and listens to me even if I have something different opinions," one day, after he came back from school, "I didn't debate or agument with someone, but I'm getting to be able to say  my opinion in my class." I'm glad to hear that and angree with him because there is something good mood which students can debate lively with their opinions in the class.    

Bithdays

Last Sunday, October 5th, it was my son's birthday, and he became eighteen years old. As I see to my each children has the birthday, I have felt happy but also lonly since they didn't need my help necessarily; they became older. Then I'm going to expolre something, such as jobs, which I enable to devote the rest of my life.

I'm going to be forty-five years old on Octoer 11th, 2015. I have been starting the second stage of my life for five ysars; I'm living in the United States and study at college again. I have still had a great experience since over the fouty years old, so I convince that I'm willing to do work in Japan with my skills or knowledge I have gotten in the United States after going back to my country, Japan.

I moved the Unihad States, I was embarrassed some differences in cultural things between the United States and Japan, such as foods, rules or circumstances around people; however, I have adaptted to them step by step. Nevertherless, this country, the United States might brings some more surprizing things to me! I want to enjoy birthdays with piling my ages.