Opinion Piece (Free Choice)

   
    There many things in this world that I like and dislike. Out of these I want to write about fishing. Fishing is one of my hobbies that I just cherish. I usually go to Enoshima with my friends or family and enjoy fishing there. Today I want to talk about why I love to go fishing and other facts about fishing.

    First of all, fishing can be divided in three different types. They are sea fishing, river fishing, and manmade pond fishing. Sea fishing is a great hobby because I can enjoy the tug of fish and can eat the fish if I can catch it. I feel the adrenaline in my body when the edge of fishing rod starts to shake little by little and my mother usually makes tempura with the fish I catch. I also love fishing at manmade ponds because there are a lot of fish living in a small space so first of all it is easy to catch fish, and you can get points for how many fish you catch and the size of the fish. If you collect a certain amount of points, then you are able to fish there for 4 hours free! There are also fish that are bigger than 50 cm so you can enjoy the tugging of fish. The manmade ponds near my house keep carps, which are known to be great tugging fish. I can enjoy the tugging of carps even if they are only 20 cm big. We give back the fish we catch to the manmade pond at the end of our time limit, but if the fish is bigger than 80 cm we got to take a picture with it. My family actually caught this fish, so we have a picture on the "Wall of Fame" at my nearby manmade pond. I still don't have a chance to go river fishing, and my father says I shouldn't go because we can't eat the fish because it might have parasites living in it since it lives in dirty river water. My family also doesn't own a fishing rod for river fishing so I think I won't experience river fishing, at least while I'm a teenager.

    In conclusion, I cherish fishing because there are three options to choose from. I also like the idea that if you try and catch a lot of fish, prizes are waiting for you during dinnertime. Next time I go sea fishing I hope that I will have a rich haul of various fish.

A Beginner's Guide to the Bunkasai

A Beginner’s Guide to the Bunkasai

 

In Japan, there is one type of event that is held annually in most schools. It is called “Bunkasai” otherwise known as the Cultural Festival. In this essay, I will describe the “Bunkasai” with two different perspectives. Firstly, the general idea of a “Bunkasai” and secondly the description of the “Bunkasai” that takes place in SFC every year.

First, the general idea of a “Bunkasai” is a fun and jolly event. Not only does it display students’ projects and achievements, but there is an array of food you can eat. Usually, a classroom or the gymnasium is temporarily made into a restaurant or café where one can comfortably eat a meal. There are also some plays, dances, and concerts performed by the drama club, the dance club, the orchestra club, and the band club. In many schools, the “Bunkasai” is traditionally held around November 3^rd which is holiday a called Culture Day in Japan. The “Bunkasai” normally lasts for about 2 days, Saturday and Sunday. The visitors to this kind of event are usually people who are interested in the school’s atmosphere, people who want to enter the school, friends of the students attending the school, and parents of the students attending the school.

Next, the “Bunkasai” that takes place in SFC annually is very exciting. Firstly, a theme is chosen for each “Bunkasai” and each class has to make something that has to do with that theme. First grade classes make a big piece of art and put it up somewhere in the school. Grades two to five make an attraction in their class to entertain the visitors. The sixth graders make a 30 minute skit and play it around three times a day. Other than that, the members of the culture club activity are each given a space to promote their clubs’ activities. Since SFC has many kinds of clubs, it is very interesting to see what kind of things they make or do to make their club look interesting. I especially like the cooking club because they make delicious and tasty treats for only 300 yen.

 In conclusion, “Bunkasai” is an event that not only shows the projects and achievements of students but it is also the only opportunity each year for students to see what life is like in other schools. It also helps enrich people's lives by increasing social interaction with people outside of the school.

Review of Ender's Game

Ender’s Game

  

     Earth has been attacked by aliens called the Buggers for the second time. Everyone is sure that there will be a third assault and there it is only a matter of time to see there planet getting invaded and destroyed. The military launches a program to train many people and find their next military genius. The people gathered up are mostly children, and they are trained very severely from the age of 6. Actually there training is mostly playing games, both tactical and physical. However, they just can’t find the right person who will command the troops to crush and conquer the Bugger’s home planet. However, the might have found the right guy to do this job.

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is no ordinary child, he is the “Third” which means he is the third child in his family. In this part of the future, only two children are allowed in one family. His older brother, Peter Wiggin is a ruthless and violent child with a lot of ambition. On the other hand Valentine Wiggin is Ender’s elder sister who is a nice child but is too compassionate. So the government believes that Ender has a high potential and has good qualities of both his brother and sister. Ender seems to be the only hope of Earth but can he outwit all the obstacles out there waiting for him at Battle School and defend Earth from the Buggers?

What I liked of this book is the action and battle scenes in this book. Yes, some parts are gory but this book is worth reading. The explanation of the experiences that Ender endures during his training is fabulous. This book is actually quite addictive for sci-fi lovers as I am myself, it makes you want to read this book a couple more times.

The advantages and disadvantages of summer vacation

    Summer vacation is a time when one should relax, hang out with friends, and go visit one's family members. However, most of the time we end up doing piles of homework or job assignments and get beaten up by club activities. In this piece of writing, I will first write about the advantages of summer vacation, second about the disadvantages of summer vacation, and lastly my opinion of summer vacation.
   First, there are three advantages to having a long summer vacation. First, summer vacation is a time to relax. On free days, you can do anything you want! For example, you can wake up at noon, watch the TV all day, or even go to a tropical island with your family. Since there is no school, you can go watch movies during normal school hours. Second, you can go hang out with your friends. You can go to the beach at Enoshima on a hot summer day to tan, play, or even fish. I especially like to go to new movies with my friends. Some movies I enjoyed were The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Grey. Some movies I want to watch during the near future are Prometheus and Resident Evil 5 Retribution. Third, you should visit your family members when you have time, maybe during "Obon" break. Having a good relationship with your family members is a good thing because they can help you in times of need.
   On the other hand, there are two big disadvantages of our summer vacation. First, there are piles of homework during summer vacation. Back in the US there was no homework during the summer excluding summer reading. I mean since it's called a "summer break" give us a "break". Second, even if we have homework we have a lot of club activities so we have hardly enough time to finish it. I'm not against club activities but I just want some time to finish summer homework and prepare for the exams. The students' schedules are all very busy so I want the teachers to discuss this and give us less homework in the future.
    In my opinion, I love summer vacation but I want it to be a little bit longer and with less homework. Since our school changed the school's system from three-term to two-term, students have to study for their exams during summer break while finishing homework. This is a very difficult thing to do considering the amount of club activities we have. During this year's summer vacation, I had hardly any chance to relax or hang out with my friends. I hope that this will change next year. This is a very difficult thing to do concerning the amount of club activities we have.
    In conclusion, the advantages of summer vacation are that you can relax, hang out with friends, and go visit your family members. However, the disadvantages of summer vacation are that your schedule becomes crammed up. I hope that next year's summer vacation will become a vacation that I can relax more.

How to be Successful in School

   Follow these simple steps to make your school life a fabulous time. First, never be tardy. You will be standing out, in a bad way. Instead, try to communicate with your teacher in a friendly way. This may be sarcastic but try to be a teacher's pet. Remember, a first impression is very important. Next, you should take good notes during class. By taking good notes during class, there is a good chance that you will get a good grade in your test.  Finally, you should be cooperative in school activities. Teachers want their students to be successful, so if you make a great effort during class or outside class the teacher would notice. School life is a very important time in life, being successful will help you in the future when you become an adult.

San Francisco-a short travel guide

   In San Francisco there are unlimited things you can do. This travel guide will introduce a few examples of what you can do in San Francisco, the best city in the US.

  

Firstly, there are many places to go to. One place that I recommend the most is Pier 39. Pier 39 used to be a wharf until 1978. However, currently, it has become a great travel spot for both travelers and natives. In Pier 39 there are uncountable things you can do. You can eat delicious Fish-&-Chips while looking at the Sea Lions resting on some of the docks of Pier 39. There is also an aquarium, 'Aquarium of the Bay', neighboring Pier 39, so you can amuse yourself there too.

    Secondly, San Francisco is a treasure trove of sports. If you come to San Francisco during April till September, you can watch the San Francisco Giants in their regular season. If you come in July you can see the All Star games. During the All Star games there is a big chance that you can see a famous person throw the first ball of the game. The San Francisco Giants won the National League West for the first time since the 2003 season and both the National League Division Series and National League Championship Series for the first time since the 2002 season. They went on winning the World Series, their first championship since moving to San Francisco in 1958.

Thirdly, San Francisco is very famous for its variety of food. If I list them all up, maybe this essay would become a lot longer so to make it short, there are 50 types of  restraunts and more than 4,000 restraunts in total! The restraunt that I recommend the most is a Spanish restaurant called B44. First of all, if you are a big soccer fan, you should definetly go because the TV in B44 always show Liga BBVA soccer games. Secondly, the food there would make your taste buds buzz. The fresh seafood from the San Francisco Bay is always amazing.  I recommend the Squid Paella. Even though its color is black and it looks kind of weird, it is the best!

In conclusion, San Francisco has it all because there are many places to go to, it is a treasure trove of sports, and it has many delicious restraunts to pick from. Next time you are thinking of going abroad, you shouldn't think about going to New York or Seatle but instead go to San Francisco, the best city in the world!

How would our lives be different without the Internet?

    Imagine yourself, one day when you wake up and go to work or school there are no laptops or computers where there are suppose to belong and instead of the computer devices there are stacks of paper piled up on your desk. Today, I want to write about three advantages and two disadvantages of life without the internet.
     First of all, life without the internet will make the life of children easier and safer. There would be no cyberbullying which is being a huge problem in many countries around the world including Japan and America.  Many people may ask, what exactly is cyberbullying? "Cyberbullying" is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. There are actually some people who have killed each other and committed suicide after having been involved in a cyberbullying incident.
    Next, the internet has many websites that include "dangerous" information including ways to make a bomb. Two days ago on the newspaper, there was an article about 5 young teenagers in Japan who stole hazardous chemicals from their school's science lab and made a bomb and tested it in a nearby forest. The Internet is a dangerous place for children to find out dangerous and harmful information.
    Thirdly, the internet is a place where you can communicate with weird people. There are actually some crimes where a man who was 45 years old pretended to be a 25 year old man on the internet and communicated with a woman. However, when the couple met face to face the woman was surprised by how the man was acting as if he was 25 years old on the Internet, while he was actually 45 years old.
    Next, I want to write about the disadvantages if there was no internet. Firstly, I believe the internet is a great place for receiving information. I believe it is very convenient for us to surf the internet and look up information than going all the way to the nearest library, and looking for a book that will be your resource for your next report.
    Lastly, the internet is a great place to keep in touch with your friends. As a returnee, it is very difficult to keep in touch with your friends without the internet. However, I believe that it is very convenient to keep in touch with your friends by using Facebook or other communication sites, for example, Twitter.
    In conclusion, I believe that life without the internet would be very difficult and inconvenient. However, life with the internet can cause many difficulties but overall is very convenient. In my opinion, I believe that the Internet is necessary for our lives.

The differences between America and Japan

     First of all, I am a returnee that lived abroad for around 8.5 years. All the time I lived abroad, I lived in a suburb of San Francisco, California called Foster City. Since I have been living in the US for more than half of my life there was quite a culture shock when I moved back to Japan. Actually, there are three big points that I was surprised about when I returned from abroad to Japan. First, I want to write about commutation, second conveniece stores, and lastly school life.
    Firstly, when I came baack to Japan, the first thing I was surprised about was the commutting system. Back in the US the main transportation system was by car. However, in Japan the main transportation system is train. I particulary had a hard time getting used to the IC cards such as the PASMO and SUICA cards. The first time I bought a PASMO card I tried to fit the PASMO card inside the ticket reciever and was warned by the station employee not to fool around. I was really embarassed that time. One another episode is the time I slept on the train and accidentally went all the way to Shinjuku. That day, I was so exhausted by soccer practice so I nodded of on the train. Next thing I know the station employee woke me up telling that I came all the way to Shinjuku. From the next time I took the train back home, I was very cautious not to nod off on the train.
    Secondly, in the US there were no convenience stores near my house and it took 15 minutes of walking to go to the nearest supermarket. However, I find it very convenient in Japan because there is at least one convenience store per station. Maybe thats why they call it a "convenience" store. I especially like the idea of point cards of convenience stores. It is a great to get customers buy more products. I actually go to convenience stores every day after soccer practice. I usually buy rice balls, bread, or drinks. I also love buying "Gari Gari Kun" soda ice bar during the summer.
    Lastly, The most different thing about the US and Japan is school life. Well, first of all SFC is a "private" junior high school so there was a quite big shock when entered this school since I belonged to a local junior high school in the US. One big difference is the size of the school. Well, in our case there is a junior high school, high school, and an university in our campus, so it is supposed to be big but this school's campus is at least 20 times bigger than the school I used to go to in the US. Next thing different about SFC and a normal English school is that there is a snack shack in the school. I think that this is a great way for students to fill up there tummies before going straight away to work.
In conclusion I believe that life is very convenient in Japan. However, it is very difficult to keep up with modern technology in Japan, especially newcomers. I guess that Japan is a great place to live once you get used to it.