Variety is the Spice of Life

By Asami Kawamura

The expression, "Variety is the spice of life," is usually true. I was born in Hokkaido. When I was a junior high school student, I was planning what to do with my life, but when I was twelve years old, I moved to Osaka. I didn't want to leave Hokkaido and transfer to junior high school. In those days, I disliked Osaka, but my feeling changed as time went by. Now I love Osaka. I'm nineteen years old now. I live in Canada. I enjoy Canadian life. Sometimes, I make mistakes about something, but I learned from repeated mistakes. I never know what will happen next. Life is what I make it, so I want to visit more other countries. I want to enjoy my life.

My Weekend Trip to Another City

By Ira King

Finally spring has sprung. After knowing how much money was left after the winter, I decided to go to Vancouver Island and Victoria for the next long weekend. Lucky me to have Aeroplan points. This helps me to cut down the budget. I will take a flight from Fort St. John to Vancouver. Then I will go to Vancouver Island by ferry, where my father-in-law lives. I planned to stay at my father-in-law’s house for two days. On the second day, I will go to Victoria. I have booked a nice hotel in front of the harbour near downtown. I am sure I will have a fantastic weekend trip!

My Trip to Vancouver

By Rikako Yanagawa

I traveled to Vancouver on June 11th to 14th. I went there with my friends-Asuka, Arisa, Mami, and Yuka. We made a plan in April. I was looking forward to go there all along!

We went to the airport after school on the 11th. But I'm afraid of planes. I didn't want to get on the airplane. We arrived in Vancouver. After we went to the hotel, we looked for the restaurants. The next day, we rode to the Big bus. It is very big and confortable. We went around the downtown. The bus passed near English Bay, so we could watch it. The Bay is very beautiful. Many people spend wonderful time there. The view made us happy.

We got off at Gastown. It has many Canadian shops. I bought a lot of souvenirs for my friends and my family. For example, maple syrup, maple cookies, maple coffee, maple tea, and so on. It has many things of maple. I hope they will like it! And we went Robson St. It has a lot of shpos too. Yuka and I chose good ones and bought the same clothes. I want to wear them this summer! Shopping made us so happy and fun!

Besides buying the clothes, I also purchased earrings. We were very tired because we walked a long time, but we had the same feelings that were so happy. When we stayed at the hotel, we talked all the time. I love my friends. I was really happy to go to Vancouver with may friends. We had trouble the second day, but it was even fun!

I will never forget this memory of Vancouver. It is a very good experience for me. I want to go to Vancouver again one day. I will study English hard so that I will go there and enjoy more!

The Benefits of Learning English

By Ryuka Sagawa

My parents can’t speak English. My mother said, “A foreigner came to my salon the
other day, but I can’t communicate with him.” She couldn’t understand what he said. Some people can speak English very well, and others can’t understand it. Nowadays, many young people have been learning English since they were in junior high school. English is one of the most important means of communication in our life.

First, English is the international language in the world. In Japan, English is a compulsory subject. All junior-high school students must study English at school. In addition, some kids learn English at cram school from early childhood. If you know some English words, you can communicate with most people all over the world.

Second, if you have a high skill of English, you can work all over the world. Some big companies have a foreign business. It’s a big chance for you to rise to managerial posts. However, this work needs English skill. If you have high qualifications, you may choose as a delegate of the company to go abroad. It’s your success at work.

Third, English helps you to make a lot of friends in various countries. Recently, many students went to some foreign countries and studied there. They make friends in various countries at the university. The friends show you their world view. Your friends tell you about some cultures of their own countries and you also tell them about that. Making friends is good for you to know various cultures and traditions. It’s the biggest benefit of learning English.

Consequently, English leads you to a new way that you have never seen before. Though it’s not easy to learn English, you may get many chances to broaden your horizons.

Visiting the Philippines

By Hae Sung

I traveled to the Philippines two times. The first time, I traveled to Ce-Bu two years ago with my family. We did the tour for four days. However, we had a lot of entertainment like boating, eating sea food, and scuba diving. The second time, I went to the Bagio with my brother. I thought I would saty two months; nevertheyless, I stayed three months. I visited the Mounseview which we can see the view and I surfed with my friends.

After two months, my brother left; however, my parents came to the Philippines for a trip. We traveled by renting a car and we went around some cities. Although we spent most time in the car, we really enjoyed the trip. I think most times were interesting to me. In addition, those are all good memories. Someday I want to go to the Philippines again.