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KARYO WEEKLY
MEMORIES OF A HAPPY TIME
I always wondered why birds
always stay in the same place when
they can fly anywhere on the earth.
Then I asked myself the same question.
What would happen if I left everything
behind and just flew to anywhere I
wanted to go to? What would happen if
I put myself in a whole new foreign
environment with zero friends and
family? What would happen if I had to
learn a language from scratch just so
that I could hold the most basic
conversations with the people around
me? What would happen if I came to
Japan?
The facade of Karyo’s white
building was magnificent, I thought to
myself when I first saw it. Japanese
people must really keep things clean.
Even the corridors seemed spotless as I
walked through them with Mr. Umeji
teaching me how to say, “Where is the
toilet?” in Japanese. I did a short
self-introduction on stage with my
gibberrish-like Japanese, and as I left it,
a lot of the students seemed amused.
They chit-chatted, whispered, and
smiled in my direction, speaking a
language I could not comprehend.
They seemed to be interested in me, I
guess. I felt happy.
“Alex, is Japan fun?” asked a friend
of mine when walking to the station
together. “Um... yeah, kind of.” I
replied. It was July with the summer
vacation just around the corner. I had
already made a handful of friends both
inside and outside of my class. People
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seemed to have gotten used to me,
however. They no longer went out of
their way to try to talk to me or ask
questions like “What’s your favorite
Japanese food?” anymore. They
seemed to have begun to treat me as a
normal person, going about their daily
tasks without showering me with any
extra attention besides a friendly “Good
morning” greeting. This was when I
realized that I was fitting in.
Sometimes I wish I could just stop
time. Looking back, so much has
happened. From the English seminar to
the Taiwan school trip, I’ve had so
much fun and bonded with so many
people. I got to know so many people
so well that I even remembered their
birthdays by heart! Even though they
somehow forgot all about mine... I
wonder if anyone will miss me when I’m
gone. I hope that they will miss me.
The scariest thing about leaving is that
you don’t know whether they’ll miss
you or forget you.
Well, it has been a fun year. I’ve
had my ups and downs, glees and woes.
Life is funny, isn’t it? You’re gonna part
from people in your life and realize that
no matter how much time you spent
with them or how much you
appreciated them and told them so, it
will never seem like it was enough.
Thank you, everyone, for the
awesome year! I’m so glad I met you
all!
(481 words; Level 3)
–By Aleｘander Yeow Jung-Eu
KARYO WEEKLY の記事の著作権は著者に帰属します。無断で転載や複製はできません
KARYO WEEKLY, FEBRUARY 6, 2014
Dear Karyo students,
This week, Alex, who has been studying here with you for ten
months, talks about his precious memories of Karyo.
He will leave Japan on February 8th and soon become a university
student.
He thinks it is scary that you don’t know whether people will miss
you or not. I’m sure Karyo’s students and teachers will never forget him.
Junko Matsui
Phrase of the Week
“fit in”
とけ込む、なじむ
You don’t have to try to fit in. Be yourself.
( むりに人に合わせようとする必要はありません。自分らしくいなさい。）
おまけ問題
Read Alex’s article and choose the statements that are true.
1. Alex always wondered what would happen if he were a bird.
2. Mr. Umeji taught him how to give a self-introduction.
3. It was when the summer vacation was just around the corner that Alex felt he was
fitting in.
4. Alex remembers his friends’ birthdays.
5. Alex says he has never had a sad experience during his stay at Karyo.
Answers: 3, 4
今週の単熟語クイズ（左側の英語と右側の日本語を線で結んでみよう）
1. wonder ～
a.
最初から、ゼロから
2. from scratch
b.
～と仲良くなる
3. facade
c.
楽しいこと、悲しいこと
4. corridor
d.
外観、表面
5. chit-chat
e.
浮き沈み
6. bond with ～
f.
恐ろしい
7. by heart
g.
～かどうかと思う
8. scary
h.
廊下
9. ups and downs
i.
おしゃべり、雑談をする
10. glees and woes
j.
そらで、暗記して
今週の宿題
英文記事を読んで、宿題用紙の指定の欄に日本語 100 字で「要約」を書いてください。
KARYO WEEKLY の記事の著作権は著者に帰属します。無断で転載や複製はできません

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