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Greetings from Nagano

I am writing this blog post from Hakuba in the Japanese Alps. It is so much cooler here than in Osaka! It took a long time to drive here as the traffic was very heavy almost all the way. I left Osaka at 8am, and finally arrived at the Hakuba Alps Backpackers at about 5pm. After that, I spent a great evening chatting with the friendly owners, meeting other guests, drinking ice-cold beer and enjoying a bbq.

Today, my friend and I climbed Mt. Happo and then went swimming in Lake Aoki to cool off. It`s a shame you haven`t been to the mountains with your husband recently, especially if it is so hot in Xi`an. I must admit that I admire the sacrifice you are making to improve your English.

It was intersting to read about the baby who was born with a hair lip. It`s amazing that reports were published in the media about it, and the father then felt he had to explain his and his wife`s actions in his blog. It`s touching that so many people posted comments to send their best wishes, though. I can understand why so many people criticized the press for publicizing such a private family matter. Such invasions of privacy are, unfortunately, quite common these days. In the UK, many people are obsessed with the lives of celebrities, too.

What kind of questions do you ask your teacher about learning English? Can you tell the difference between his accent and your other teacher`s? Some people say that I speak with a southern accent, others say my accent is more northern.

I`m sure it`s really hard to believe that England has football hooligans when all the English teachers you have met are so kind and friendly. I was happy that the police praised the behaviour of the English fans during the World Cup in Germany this year.

As you mentioned in your blog, in this time of globalisation it`s very important that we really make an effort to avoid national stereotypes. I hope that this blog is one small part of that process...

Lewis


Today`s useful English

heavy traffic

(to) climb a mountain

(to) make a sacrifice (to do something) OR (for someone)

(to) send your best wishes (to someone)

(to) criticize someone for (doing) something

an invasion of privacy

(to be) obsessed with (doing) something

(to) speak with a (French) accent

in the north/south/east/west of somewhere

something is hard to believe

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