LivingEigo with Songs (ぼくはきみ、きみはぼく)へのLOVE!❤️

Peek-a-Boo Series on Amazon.co.jp リンクはここ!地道にミッツとイラストレーターのJUNKOが商品化してみたいくつかの本を広めています。今日もとても嬉しいインスタへのポスト!今後もよろしくおねがします!

とても嬉しいことに、お友達が「ぼくはきみ、きみはぼく」がとても大好き!と言っていただいて、さらにインスタグラムにレビューを書いていただきました!たくさんの方のハートに届けるようにと願いを込めて作っている絵本なので、とても嬉しいです!
Some good news! A friend declared recently how she absolutely loved “I Am Me” (Japanese original title “Boku wa Kimi, Kimi wa Boku”) and even left a great review for us in your instagram! 

 

こちらでアマゾンバージョンを購入することができます!

I am Me:ぼくはきみ、きみはぼく

(Love Life Series 1)

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Junko-N-ebook/dp/B0CLXTCHGX/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3IND601750PU1&keywords=mitsue+mikawa&qid=1701393869&sprefix=mitsue+mikawa%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-3

Peek-a-Boo, I See You (Sing a Picturebook series 1) and
Peek-a-Boo, I See You; JOURNAL (Pink and Blue)

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Mitsue-Mikawa/dp/B09M5CZV6L/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1UNHK73351VCO&keywords=Mikawa%2C+mitsue&qid=1701393583&sprefix=mikawa+mitsue%2Caps%2C151&sr

Living Eigo with Songs/ Puchi Lesson!

It has been too many years since my last post. Many things have happened and many things have not happened…
前回の投稿から何年も経ちました。色々な事が起きて、いろんなことが事が起こらなかった…

One thing that has happened is… I have started to teach English through ukulele playing!
出来たこと一つは…ウクレレで英語を教え始めました! 

It is great for beginner English speakers who also love music! People who enjoy music often have very good hearing!
音楽も大好きな初心者の英語話者に最適ですし、音楽を楽しむ人は、聴覚が非常に優れていることが多いです(私の経験上!)


It is a fun way to get a headstart on your listening skills. I hope to introduce mini (puchi) lessons here on my blog posts.
リスニングスキルを習得するには有利なスタートとなります。ミニ(プチ)レッスンもブログ記事で紹介していきたいと思います!

You can catch me on Instagram and YouTube as well! I am not a great musician…. but I love music, so I am having fun.
InstagramやYouTubeでも私を見つけることができます!私は上手なミュージシャンではありませんが、音楽が大好き。新しい曲を楽しく紹介し続けています。

My students seem to have fun as well! No more shying away from starting … a little at a time is better than zero!
生徒たちも楽しそうです。もう始めることをためらう必要はありません…少しずつでもゼロよりはマシですね。

 

New Friends

Does music bring people together?
音楽で人をつなげる?

I say, “YES!” うん!

Today I made a new friend at “8Dri” (https://www.facebook.com/8colordrink/) a local share space for local vendors and businesses (where I also happen to teach my LivingEigo with Songs classes!) When I went to get a Bánh mì sandwich from Mr. Hayakawa, today’s vendor, I connected with Yuko, a fellow music lover and Okinawan sanshin (3 stringed banjo-like instrument) player.

She was delighted that I played the ukulele. We played together for a couple of hours, taking turns playing our instruments and singing … a fun afternoon, indeed.

今日、久しぶりに8DRI(8ドリ)(地元の販売・ビズネスをサポートするお店)で早川さんのベトナムサンド(バインミー)を食べに行ったら、新しい友達のゆうこさんに会いました。リビング英語のウクレレレッスンを提供するお店でもあります。ミッツのウクレレを喜んでくれて、その場で沖縄の三線と数時間そくコラボを楽しみました。

A LONG Small Donation

2年間、お尻まで伸ばした髪を切る日がついにやってきました!

The day to cut my 2-year-long hair has finally come! My locks (hair) had grown to my “BEHIND” (another way to say buttocks, butt, okolele). I could have passed for quite the hula dancer! 

ハワイのフラダンサーのように長くなった髪型でした。いろいろな方に褒められ、(ケアが大変になってきてたが)結構気に入ってました。切る瞬間になって、一瞬で”チョキチョキ”と大変身!

It had been a long 2 years since deciding to donate my hair to a wig-making charity. I was getting many compliments and was actually growing quite fond of having long hair, even though it was getting harder and harder to keep clean! When the moment came to snip, snip (!) however … the transformation was instant!

 

#hairdonation

 

 

 

2年間くらい個人レッスンでフランス語を学んでます。1時間の会話はたどたどしい言葉でかなり苦労しているから上達を感じません。継続していたことだけに満足を感じることにしいました。

 I have been learning French with a private teacher now, for about the same amount of time, 2 years. I still struggle to make conversation with my teacher and often feel that I have not improved at all. I had been telling myself that simply continuing was better than quitting!

でも聞いてください!
ちょうど昨日、遊びでフランス語のクイズを受けました。
びっくり!思ったよりかなりいいレベルまで上がってました。感じてなかったが、ちゃんと成長していました。上手くなってました。”変身”していました!徐々に進む我々の人生も一緒ですね。

But, YESTERDAY!  I took a little FRENCH quiz for fun and was SHOCKED and DELIGHTED that I knew MUCH more that I thought! I had been IMPROVING and getting BETTER without feeling the GROWTH. Isn’t this how life often works?

ちゃんと成長している。毎日感じなくても、これは事実。納得します。

We ARE growing… we just don’t feel it everyday. That makes sense! C’est vrai!

フランス語が上手くなってきている事に乾杯!いいドネーションができるまでしっかりと待った事に乾杯!

Yay for having gotten better at French! Yay for waiting long enough to make a decent hair donation!

素敵な職人さんの手にかかりますように。I hope a great wig craftsperson can create a beautiful wig for someone! 

LivingEigo Announcements!

New Classes, A New Start!!

Sing, Sing a Song!  Hello! Here is a video of me playing "Sing," one of the first songs I learned on my ukulele about 5 years ago! I started a community group teaching English SINGING to members of my community! My first class was today. I had so much fun! I hope my...

今日 “LivingEigo.com” が誕生!

(キャプション機能をONしますと字幕が出ます!) LivingEigo.com: Add life to your English Learning! 誕生日、おめでとう! 今日 LivingEigo.com が誕生します! Eigo との暮らしを楽しく、アクセスしやすく、より身近にする、アナタのためのサイトです! 日本が大好き、英語も大好きなミッツ(アンティーミッツ)がナビゲートいたします! サイトの内容は、 (無料)このブログ:身の回りの光景をEigoラーニングの角度から紹介する (無料)16年以上の英語指導の経験で気づいた...

毎日EIGO&発音!

Delightful Resource! Online Stories Series

I found such a delightful YouTube site! The storytellers are brilliant, talented and colorful! It will help you on your journey of feeling the language known as English! Enjoy!

A RAINBOW OF COLORS!

A Rainbow of Colors An original song by Auntie Mitz A Rainbow of Colors Red, I like the color red, Blue, I know you like it, too! Purple and Green And all the colors in between, A rainbow of colors for you! Pink, I like the color pink, Yellow, I nice color, you know!...

the “DR” story

the "DR" story Hello, I'm back! Did you enjoy your Halloween! こんにちは!ご無沙汰しています。楽しいハロウィーンを過ごしましたか? Today, I have a video talking about words with "dr". ”DR”の発音についてのビデオを作って忌みました。 AND....I am going to talk about a "different" way to understand English pronunciation,...

Outside, Together (An original song!)

Outside, Together! (A weather song) Hi Everyone! Here is my very first original song to be released on the internet! Feel the sunshine Feel the rain Feel the wind upon my face I like to dance I like to twirl outside Together What Weather do you like? What Weather do...

The “R” Story, with Chocolate!

新しい発音ビデオです!楽しんで下さい! Here is a new pronunciation video!  Enjoy!

The “L” Story (with marshmallows)

Hello! Thank you for waiting for my newest blog! こんにちは!最新のブログ、お待たせしました! Time sure flies by quickly! 時間があっという間にすぎてしまいますね。 The Cherry Blossoms in the park outsideare in FULL BLOOM! COOL! 近くの公園の桜はもう満開!(昨日はクリスマスだったのに!ヒィヒィ!) 今日の話は"L"の発音の話です すぐにはできなくても、舌の筋肉の体操だ...

Mele Kalikimaka!

Mele Kalikimaka!! 最近、茅ヶ崎市がホノルルとの姉妹市になったと聞きました!やったね! I recently heard that Honolulu and Chigasaki City are now sister cities!! ハワイ出身で茅ヶ崎市に住んでいる住民が少ないに違いない! There can't be too many Chigasaki citizens whose hometown is also Honolulu!!! これからいっぱいイベントを企画しなきゃ! I have to plan...

Sa, “Si”, Su, Se, So– The “S” Storysdz

発音ビデオ第2段 高1の息子の英語を手伝っていたら、 ”言える”けど”言わない”「Sィ」の単語たくさんありました! なぜ言わないかと言うと、 「くせ」だけです! 日本語の50音の流れ的に行けば、 sa,si,su,se,so は:sa,"shi", su, se, so になっているだけだから’さ’の口、舌を’い’に入れ替えれば、言えるはず!...

Tha, Thi, Thu, Thay, Thank You! 発音特集

もう11月の中旬 It's already the middle of November! 早い! How time flies!! 発音のワンポイントです!練習してみて下さい! 発音の練習で舌の筋肉と 耳を鍛えます! リスニングが苦手な人は、細かい”音”を聞き分けることが...

A Halloween Song for Kids!

Here is a simple Halloween song about Jack O' Lanterns Sing it with kids! Have fun!!

My Story & Teaching Eigo

A LONG Small Donation

2年間、お尻まで伸ばした髪を切る日がついにやってきました! The day to cut my 2-year-long hair has finally come! My locks (hair) had grown to my "BEHIND" (another way to say buttocks, butt, okolele). I could have passed for quite the hula dancer! ...

Back to the Past (タイムスリップ)

My husband came back from his business trip to the States, and brought this tiny box of raisins! ...... Whoa! (I hadn't seen this little snackage in over 30 years maybe! It whooshed me right back to .... elementary school in Hawaii!   Time travel?! Okay, maybe not...

One small step!!

The First Step!! 第一歩 !!I cannot believe that after 2 years, the "book" is finally out! In 2019, I met an illustrator who (after hearing my idea on creating songs for young parents) told me that she would LOVE to help me make picture books for my songs!...

The Road to Independence

This has nothing to do with English learning... Today, I went to Kamakura for an appointment. The station was really crowded.At peak tourist season (with a festival taking place on the Kamakura shores,) crowds of people were walking steadily towards a narrow...

Words, Words, Words!

What does it take to learn a new word?  I just worked with one of my Junior High School private students. She has been learning English at school now for 1 and a half years, 3-4  hours a week. She still cannot converse in simple sentences like, "I like pizza with tuna...

Back to the Past (タイムスリップ)

My husband came back from his business trip to the States, and brought this tiny box of raisins! …… Whoa! (I hadn’t seen this little snackage in over 30 years maybe! It whooshed me right back to …. elementary school in Hawaii!  

Time travel?!

Okay, maybe not really, but it was amazing how I was immediately “transported” to the past in Honolulu with our very American lunchboxes.

ん?タイムスリップ?!
、、、とは言いませんが、1つのアイテムでハワイでの小学校ライフに記憶がよみがえるなんて、ちょっと考えさせられた。

I remember how my mother used to pop in little boxes of raisins (like the other kids’s lunches) along with our lightly salted, soy sauce coated rice balls (which was very unlike the other kids.) While everyone had sandwiches and apples, we had our little taste of Japan, via our mom who was born and raised there.

 母は干しぶどうのスナックサイズを(当時はよくあるパターンで)ホームランチの箱にポーンといれてくれたことをよく覚えてる。当時は外国生まれの子供達はまだ少なく、みんなと違って、うちの弁当箱の中身は塩・醤油おにぎりで、箱を開ける瞬間、日本のにおいで懐かしい印象が強かったことを覚えてる。サンドイッチやりんごが入っている隣の友達と弁当の中身がいつも違って、ちょっと恥ずかしくて、ちょっと嬉しくて、複雑な気持ちであった記憶がある。

It is quite different from the the “obento” that we see here in Japan, and (I suspect) how bento used to be way back when as well!

日本での弁当箱とは結構違いるので、面白い豆知識かもしれません。

Typical kids’ “bento bako” lunch box for kids in the 70’s and 80’s, and sometimes still used (with the exception of renewed characters) today in 2019. This simple metal box was packed with rice and some side dishes like egg rolls or sausages, and wrapped simply with a large handkerchif-like cloth called furoshiki.
1970年代、1980年代の一般の弁当箱でした。今でもこの形が残って使われていますが、プラステック素材が多くなりました。

My lunch box was “Strawberry Shortcake” which was in full trend at the time. I loved the fact that we were on trend, but still able to have culturally familiar foods to give us subtle, comforting hints of “home.” It wasn’t such a big deal on the surface, but the “mom’s” touch always reminded me that I had a home to come home to, no matter how different it may be from other kids around me. 

当時流行りの「ストローベリーショートケーキ」というキャラクターの弁当箱でした。流行に乗っていることに嬉て、しかも自分の日本とのルーツはしっかり、食べ物などで根付いてて、家の暖かさを感じた。見た目では大したことなかったのだろうが、うちは他の家庭とおおきく違っても、母親の小さな気遣いは「帰る家がある」とのちょっとしたメッセージが伝わってた気がする。

How interesting how one item can open a well of memories that one never knew loomed in the tiny brain of ours.

ちょっとしたアイテムで今まで考えもしなかった記憶が我々の小さい脳みそでよみがえられるなんて、とても面白いと思った。