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It's raining cats and dogs

Today, I went hiking up Mt Shirouma to see a glacier. It took about an hour to get there, but it was well worth it. The cool wind coming off the glacier was so refreshing. After that, I went for a drive in the mountains to Togakushi, which has a famous ninja village. On the way back to Hakuba, the heavens opened up and it started raining cats and dogs. There was even a little thunder and lightning. I have just got back from taking a bath at a local hot spring, and now I’m thinking about what to do for dinner…

Since you started writing your blog you really have become like a journalist, haven’t you? I think it’s great that you’ve put a lot of thought into what to write about. It must be a challenge sometimes to come up with new ideas. I honestly think that anything you can write about your life in Xi’an will be fascinating.

Korean dramas and music are really popular in Japan, too. Yan-sama (I think that's his Japanese nickname) is probably the most popular actor. To be honest, I’m not really into the dramas myself, but many of my students can’t get enough of them. I absolutely love Korean food, though. I love Bibinbap, which is a rice dish cooked in a hot stone bowl. Have you tried it?

I know what you mean about things that surprise tourists being normal to you. After living in Japan for 7 years I have become accustomed to things that seemed very odd when I first arrived. When my family visited last year it was great because it allowed me to see things in Japan with a fresh pair of eyes again.

I hope that you will have saved up enough money to travel abroad soon. It really broadens your mind, and also helps you to appreciate the good things about your own culture, too.

Well, I must go as my stomach is rumbling…

Bye for now,

Lewis


Today’s useful English

(to) go hiking (up) a mountain

something is (well) worth it OR something is (well) worth verb+ing

“The heavens opened up”

(to) rain cats and dogs

(to) put (a lot of) thought into something

(to) come up with an idea

(to be) (really) into something

something broadens your mind

(to) be unable to get enough of something (“I can’t get enough of Korean dramas”)

"My stomach is rumbling"

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