ＮＤＰ

最近、週末はいつも学校のまわりの道路が渋滞しています。ＮDＰのリハーサルが原因です。
誰か、今年パレードを見に行く人はいますか？　いい写真があったら是非このブログにも送ってくださいね。

Recently, there have been lots of road congestion near our school. And the reason for that is the NDP rehearsal. Is there anyone going to the national day parade this year? If anyone manages to capture any good pictures, please send them in to this blog. :)

加藤ミリヤ Kato Miliyah

日本人。歌手。２２歳。女性。
この人、今、日本で若い子に注目されています。だれか、歌を聞いたことがありますか？
ちなみにAOBAのアイドル　Miss麗珊とは双子ではありません。似てるけど。

Japanese. Singer. 22 years. Female.
And this person, currently, has captured the attention of young people in Japan. Has anyone ever listened to her songs?
By the way, she is NOT the twin sister of AOBA's idol Miss Lishan. It's just that both of them look extremely similar.

By Tsuchiya sensei

Left: Aoba's idol. Right: Kato Miliyah

Weekly Give away draw!!!

Here comes our next weekly giveaway draw!! And this time around, we have...

Kappa cookies from Kamikochi~ (They're really yummy!!)

And the topic for discussion is: Describe what you would like us to feature in this blog's next few posts and why. Please be as specific as possible with at least 3 lines.

日本、ＦＩＦＡランク３２位に Japan ranks 32nd in the World Cup

ワールドカップが終わりました。スペイン優勝。日本もがんばりました。
これで皆も寝不足から解放される・・・？

The world cup has ended and Spain the winner. And of course, Japan also tried their best.
And has everyone recovered from their lack of sleep due to the late night matches...???

シンガポールのおもしろい言葉 Interesting phrases found in Singapore

｢ヤヤ パパイヤ｣という言葉をきのう学生から教えてもらいました。
｢ケーポー｣とか、｢キアッシー｣とか、シンガポールの言葉ってかなりカワイイ響きです。
もっともっと知りたい♡

[YAYA PAPAYA]- (Referring to someone arrogant who likes to look down on other people), that was a certain phrase I learnt from my students.

And this is an illustration one of our students drew. Awesome isn't? Making an equation out of the phrase. Cool!

[KayPo]- (Referring to a busy body), [Kia Si]- (A coward). These are what I learnt from my students during class.
The pronunciations and sound effects of these words are very interesting & funny and I'm currently very interested in knowing more of them.

Anyone who has such words/phrases to share? Kindly tell me more about it! =D

-Tsuchiya sensei
-----------------------------------

A sample of our new book arrivals.

By the way people, we have a new array of Japanese books on our shelves recently for your browsing pleasure. It will be placed on the new arrivals section. These books were either donated by our students and teachers or bought by those people who went on the Japan Trip.
There are fashion magazines, travel guide books, places of interest in Japan, etc. Please don't hesitate to have a look at them the next time you are here.

-Blog Admin

旅行＊お土産 Japan Trip ＊Souvenirs

旅行に行って、お土産を買いまくるのは日本人だけだと思っていましたが・・・。
シンガポールの人も買い物がとても好きなんですね。

All along I thought that the ones who have the tendency to buy lots of omiyage (Souvenirs) from trips are always the Japanese. But...
Singaporeans proved to be huge omiyage fans too. They love to shop don't they?

-Content by Tsuchiya sensei

The following is a picture of the amount of omiyage ONE person brought back from the trip.

Sushi Making Event, 1st August 2010

Hi everyone,

Upcoming first of August Aoba will be having another food making session! This time around we'll be making sushi. And the lead for this sushi making lesson will be Matsuoka sensei. This is due to the fact that she is famed for making hand rolled sushi.

The session includes miso soup with tofu and traditional Japanese green tea. Sushi ingredients include Prawns, Tuna, Pickles, Cucumber, Plums, Natto, Eel and Omelettes. (Ingredients are subject to change based on availability.)

So those of you who are free on that day, please join us.
Tickets are available at the reception.
Limited spaces are available so hurry up and grab yours now!

-Blog Admin

旅行＊居酒屋 Japan Trip * Izakaya

みんなのお気に入りNO1は｢居酒屋｣？旅行中に居酒屋で晩御飯を食べました。日本の居酒屋はとても競争が激しいので、どの居酒屋も安くておいしいです。中には｢旅館の食事より居酒屋の方がおいしい♡｣と言った人もいたのでした。

Everyone's favourite No. 1 place is an (Izakaya)?During the tour, we had one of our dinners at the local izakaya. The izakayas in Japan are always in an intense competition for customers and as such, almost every shop will be cheap and tasty. Among them, people often comment that "the foods in an izakaya are way better than those found in hotels".What do you people think of it?

One of the many izakayas. We had our dinner here.

A mixed course of internal organs

Edamame

Appetiser

Chicken fried to the crisp

Sashimi

Barbecued octopus

Grilled chicken and pork

Weekly Give away draw!!!

This week's giveaway is this!
*Drum rolls.................*
A genuine branded handkerchief from Yves Saint Laurent bought in Takashimaya Japan!!!

How to obtain this item:
Enter a minimum of 3 lines of your thoughts about the Japan trip either in this post or in the Japan trip post. One lucky winner will be chosen in a week.
Comment now!!

旅行 Japan Tour

今年のAOBAの日本旅行は１２人が参加！
この皆さんに、ぜひ旅行の感想をきいてみたいと思います。
どこが一番おもしろかったですか？
わたしは、久しぶりに行った上高地が一番よかった・・。やっぱり綺麗です♡

This year, 12 people joined us on the Aoba Summer Tour!
I really want to hear more about their impressions and thoughts about the trip.
Which place was the most enjoyable and fun?
For me, it was Kamikochi, in which I have not visited for a long time.
And of course, it was really pretty ♡

-Tsuchiya Sensei

To everyone who went on the Aoba trip, please input your views and opinions on the tour. :)

And to those who did not manage to join us on our trip this time, the following are some of the photos we took. More than 100 photos of the trip can be found on our Aoba facebook photo page. Visit it now!

Don't fret, join us again next time!!
- Blog Admin

Outside the Soba house

One of the rooms in the onsen ryokan

All of us having dinner together at the ryokan. Traditional yukata and a Japanese meal.

Izakaya fun!

Kamikochi

Onsen tamago

New Poll!!! Food Making Event

Hi Everyone,

To ensure that we have your valued opinions, it has been decided that weekly polls will be done.
And this week, we have one on the
Food Making Event!
The results of the poll will be used to determine future events.
You may also click on more than one option.

Please vote passionately!!! We await your response～

スピーチコンテスト Speech Contest

今年はAOBAから二人のイケメン君がファイナルに進み、日曜日に大勢のオーディエンスを前に堂々とスピーチをしました。（パチパチパチ！！）
惜しくも優勝はできなかったけど二人ともとても頑張りました。

This year, Aoba has 2 students whom had participated in the annual Japanese speech contest. On Sunday and in front of a massive audience, they proudly gave their speeches. (Clap clap clap!!!)
However, to much of our regret, they were not able to clinch the top places. But nevertheless,the both of them did a very good job since the start of the competition and persevered on through till the finals. Congratulations on making it through!!

For the both of you who put in such great effort in practising your lines, please share with us your feelings and thoughts about the whole participation. Don't waiver of fret, AOBA will always support you! :)

Let’s CHAT, DISCUSS, TALK BACK!!

Hi everyone,

If you have not noticed, we have just implemented a new discussion box on the far right hand side of the screen.

Please note that this discussion box is for guests and AOBA students to interact with each other as well as to voice out questions. You may ask questions with regards to Japanese, our school and so on. We will provide an answer to your queries as soon as possible.

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT SPAM, FLAME OR HURL ABUSES ON THE DISCUSSION BOX.

Thank you and have a nice chat!!

Best Regards
Blog Admin

日本旅行 Japan Trip

Tsuchiya Sensei’s little note before the trip. Due to unfortunate circumstances, it was not posted in time. But anyways～

もうすぐAOBA日本ツアーです。今年は東京と松本へ行きます。松本は私が生まれたところで、外国からも大勢の人がきます。あの有名なフランスのミシュランガイドでも星をもらいましたよ。
そして、みんなが楽しみにしているのはもちろん温泉！
素敵な温泉に泊まってきますね。今回一緒に行けなかった人のために日本からレポートしますから、気分だけでも味わってくださいね。

It is soon time for AOBA’s Japan trip. This time we are going to Tokyo and Matsumoto.
Matsumoto is my birth place. It also has lots of visitors from overseas. This place is even featured in Michelin （Guide) France and has received stars from it.
And of course, what everyone is waiting in high anticipation for is the Onsen.
We will be staying in a beautiful onsen hotspot. For those people who couldn’t join us this time, we will be asking those people who are going on the trip to provide reports on it. Please do join us in our after trip discussions!


上高地

松本からは日帰りで上高地まで行く予定です。上高地は日本人のあこがれ場所「日本アルプス」の中でも、一番人気がある場所です。行けない人は、写真で楽しんでね。

Kamikouchi （Japan Alps）We will be going on a day trip to Kamikouchi from Matsumoto. It is a place where the Japanese yearn and long to visit, and the most popular place among the Japan Alps. If you did not get the chance to join us, please look forward to our aftertrip pictures!


Attention!!! This post’s giveaway draw is a wonderful fragrance bear strap 『LIMITED　EDITION！』 bought in Japan by Tsuchiya sensei. Please write a comment of where you would like to visit in Japan and why by the end of the week. Include your name and a minimum of 3 lines. We want to hear from YOU!!