Christmas Day(SOL #11)

　Good mornig！ Today is the end of the second semester of classes before winter break.

　This time, I want to talk about my Christmas Day.
　On December 23th, I went to Toyama Prefecture. The weather was forecast to be stormy this Christmas. As a result, it became very rough before Christmas, and when I left, the Shin-Etsu Line stopped between Nagaoka and Kashiwazaki, making it impossible to get to Toyama on the limited express. I wondered whether to go or not. So I thought of a route from Tsubame-Sanjo station to Toyama via Takasaki station on the Joetsu Shinkansen. Although the price of the Shinkansen was a little expensive, I enjoyed the opportunity to go to Takasaki, which I would not normally have the chance to visit, and to take the Asama train, which happened to be a type of Hokuriku Shinkansen, and also via Nagano. As a result, I am glad to have arrived in Toyama safely.

　On December 24th, I enjoyed Christmas Eve with my friends. We had the standard Christmas fare of chicken, pizza, and cake. My friend is not fond of fruits and cannot eat whole size shortcakes, so we had a green tea cake. I used to eat whole size shortcakes for Christmas, so this was my first chance to eat a matcha cake. Even though it was a cake, it was not only sweet but also had a strong bitter taste. We also exchanged Christmas gifts with each other. I received this scarf and a wallet. I was very happy to see that they were very thoughtful gifts.

　In addition, Hearing that the Christmas-only light-up event was being held, I visited Toyama's famous KANSUI PARK. I was thrilled by the illumination, which was much more vivid than I had seen on the Internet. It was a limited time, but it turned out to be a very fulfilling Christmas.

　If any of you are from Toyama, I'd love to know where else it's famous for!

　Thank you for reading!!

　Aizawa Yu

Winter Landscape(SOL #10)

　Good morning. The week has just begun!!

　The amount of snowfall since the day before yesterday was amazing. I commute to school by train, so I lost my only way to school due to the shutdown, so I had to stay home more often.

　Yesterday I had some free time, so I went outside for a while. Then I found this beautiful snow scene. Whenever I see such a scene, I am glad that I was born in Niigata, a snowy prefecture.

If you are from outside of the prefecture, what was it like to see snow in Niigata Prefecture?

　Thank you for reading!!

　Aizawa Yu.

Finish The Hardest Assignment Of Second Semester(SOL #9)

　Today is Monday when I write this SOL. I want to talk about the hardest assignment.

　Before we start talking, how is everyone progressing with their assignments? To tell you the truth, I just finished my assignment today. As you all know, the longer you leave this assignment, the harder it gets. So I am relieved that I finished it quickly.

　Our class limit is 120,000 words, which is 20,000 more than last semester, so it was very tough. However, as a new trial for the second semester, we actively read stories over 10,000 words. Surprisingly, stories with higher word counts were easier to quiz and more easily earned than stories with lower word counts. If anyone hasn't finished yet, I recommend reading stories with higher word counts, even though they may be harder to read in the beginning.

　My goal for the second semester is to reach the 200,000 words I didn't reach last semester!

　Thank you for reading!

　Aizawa Yu. 

My Cherishing Thing For A Long Time(UP 1)

　My artifact is a paper-knife that is made of stainless. Its color is mainly silver. The size is about a mechanical pencil. It cannot cut something like fruits, vegetables, and so on. The purpose of using a paper knife is to cut something like paper. For instance, we can cut the top of the envelope parallelly and clearly. Owing to this knife, important documents for you can be protected.

　The first time I met my artifact was in April 2014. In March 2014, the history of the elementary school named “Minami-Shogakko”, which I went to from grade 1 to grade 4 ended. However this is the way that is united with neighborhood elementary schools together. In order to build and prepare a newly integrated school, my school had to transfer some necessary functions to the new school.

　After finishing the transfer, the empty school was renovated and started as a new facility named “Sanjo Manufacturing School”.  The facility is now using the past classrooms as offices for many companies mainly local. There remains a blackboard in some offices now.

　Of course, the opening ceremony had been held in 2014. In celebration of the opening ceremony, some events were done. Among them, I encountered the experience event of making a handmade paper knife.

　To tell the truth, I did not find this event at first. My mother found and said

　“There were some events you thought you would probably want to take part in. Did you want to participate in?”

At first, I was not interested in these events. So I said

　“I was reluctant to do this because I was poor at making something. But, if I was able to participate, I wanted to try.”

However, once I took part in the experience event of making handmade paper knife by myself, I was absorbed in the attraction of making our own. In the event, the person who worked and held this event showed me the another one which is made by creators, I was amazed by the beautiful silver body and sharply. Compare to me, my handmade one was not sharp, beautiful color and like cheap. So I was not so much fun. But, my parents and I have thought this paper knife as cherishing one, not a mere one. Furthermore, there is another reason why I cherish the fact that my name is engraved on it to commemorate the creation of the piece. That's why we have been using it for 8 years. For me, it is very convenient, precious and reminds me of that day. 

　So, it is good to make something by ourselves. The reason why I observe is that maybe it is just that Sanjo City thrives on manufacturing, from this experience, I could learn the importance of 3R. This activity to make a paper knife is similar to reducing. For example reducing, what we have without leaving any leftovers, buying only what we can eat, and cooking only what we can eat. In addition, we refrain from using disposable products and use refillable products. Thanks for this thought, not only I but also everyone will be able to refrain from buying something extra. And, we might grow feeling that we treat these more carefully regardless of handmade or produced things.

　That's saying the most forgettable thing I want to convey is that we live in a future that has limited resources. For living, it is too significant to use the ones well.

　Thank you for reading！

Meeting My Friend On Friday(SOL #8)

　Hello, everyone. This week has been ended soon.

　Luckily, I didn't have an hour of class today. So I was going to stay home for the day and rest. However, I had an earlier appointment to have lunch with a friend who attends another college. So I took the train to Niigata as usual. Since my friend's university is in the opposite direction of my own university, I took the Echigo Line for the first time in a long time since I went there to take an entrance examination. I enjoyed the view along the Echigo Line from the train because I was not as nervous as when I took the exam.

This is the ramen and bowl of rice with food on top at Mihamaya.

　I met my friend for the first time since my part-time job last week, so we had a great time talking. When we were making plans, my friend asked me to buy her a bowl of ramen to celebrate his starting to live alone this winter. So I bought him a bowl of ramen. I went to his recommended ramen restaurant for the first time. The ramen was a bit large, probably due to the proximity of the university and the large number of students who visit the restaurant. The ramen I had for the first time at the restaurant was very delicious. I would like to visit there again if I have a chance. In addition, I encourage him to live on his own!

　Thank you for reading!

　Aizawa Yu.