Stay Free

Many free magazines are available in Tokyo at major stations, supermarkets and CD stores. A 80-page 'Metropolis' is the most popular free magazine for non-Japanese speakers. It carries information about entertainment, events, culture and news. Also classified ads for cars, job, real estate, and everything else.

'att.JAPAN' is free seasonal magazine that I recommend. It focus on Japan travel and culture in both Chinese and English. Why don't take one to obtain more tourist information, such as accommodations, transportation, restaurants and useful numbers, before you plan your next spot?

Besides the above two, I found 'ELLE cooking', available in some supermarkets, is definitely a handbook for cooking lovers. It carries a lot of recipes including Japanese, Italian and other cuisines. Now I have less stress on thinking what to cook for the rest of the week.

在東京主要車站、超級市場和唱片店等地,都有很多可以免費取閱的雜誌。對於外國人而言,一冊80頁的「Metropolis」算是最流行的免費雜誌了。其內容包括娛樂，活動，文化和新聞等資訊。此外還有汽車、求職、房地產等的分類廣告。

另一個推介是'att.JAPAN',它是一本免費的季刊。內容主要是介紹日本旅遊和文化，並以中英對照。大家也不妨在計劃下一個行程前,先看看這本雜誌,取多一點如住宿，交通，飲食等旅遊信息吧!

除了上述兩本雜誌,最近我在超市拿了一本烹飪雜誌'ELLE cooking'。這絕對是一本烹飪愛好者的手冊。內容包含大量的食譜，包括日本，意大利和其他各國的美食。我現在不用煩惱下一週該做什麼菜了。

Is "spoon-fed" education better?

I do think a more flexible education could inspire the children more. There is nothing wrong to learn from games. Look at the photo! I asked two children aged 5 and 7 to draw their faces for a English game. Their pictures look great! I think Japanese kids are very smart and good at music and art. However, surprisingly Japanese starts learning English since Junior high. Won't it be too late?

Since I grew up in Hong Kong where was a British colony, it stands to reason that I learnt English from kindergarten. There are always varies education reforms in Hong Kong. After 1997, the government had advocated the new generation should master two written languages (Chinese and English) and three spoken languages (Cantonese, English and Mandarin). Won't it be too much for the children?

The mainstream education system in Hong Kong has been often described as "spoon-fed". I was well educated under this system by doing massive amount of "mechanical work and meaningless homework". Obviously, this system is less welcomed than before. I rarely heard Japanese who was "spoon-fed" educated. Their schools and parents tend to encourage children to develop different interests and abilities freely. However, according to some researches, the academic performance of Japanese children falls behind China or Korea. Given all that, it seems Japanese is more willing to adopt the "spoon-fed" education system in the future. Education reforms seem to be essential, though it will be a very difficult task. It's hard to tell what is the best method, but I do believe it's more effective to learn new things in native tongue. Although I do believe it's better to start to learn a new language in early age.

習慣就好了

昨年の同じ日はちょっと遠過ぎますか。

その日は何をしていましたか。

遠くまで走り過ぎていたと思う。

這麼遠那麼近

在這麼陌生的城市　不論身處在那

都不怕迷路 　怕是怕一種距離

以為是這麼近　卻是那麼遠　是一種無形的距離

習慣了就沒感覺

習慣就好了

Yesterday , today and tomorrow

Yesterday is a history,

Tomorrow is a mystery,

But today is a gift,

that is why it's called the present...

Forget about the history

Enjoy the present Prepare for the mystery...

植日/ Planting day

最近私は自宅でいろいろな花を植えるようになり始めました。

I've started to plant some flowers at home recently.

もったいない/ What's a waste

現在、世界には様々な社会体制が混在している。。多様な文化があると同時に再使用という概念においても、各国間で様々な違いが見られる。

東京はリサイクルを推進している。わたしは日本に住んだ後で、リサイクルの大切さに気づいてきた。

Nowadays, the world is a mix of various forms of social structure. There are diverse cultures, even the concept of reuse, there is a difference between various countries.

Tokyo is demanding in recycling. After I lived in Japan, I have noticed the importance of recycling.

日本に住んでいます / Live in Japan

自分でトマト寒天サラダを作りました。

I made myself a salad tomato agar.

今日は市役所の係員は私が連絡して、私は市役所へ行きました。 今私は「中国人」になって、よかったです！

The staff from the city office has contacted me today, so I go to the city office. I'm glad that I become " the Chinese" now.

イギリス人でしょうか / Why British?

今朝台風で外を出ないでずっとうちで日本語を勉強しました。

午後、不動産屋に行って、アパートを探しました。不動産屋の社員は外国人に好意的なので、何の問題もなくて、新しいアパートをすぐ決まりました。

すごいナイスアパートを見つけてとてもうれしいです。それでスーパで食べ物を買って、家へ帰りました。

びっくりしたことにドアの前でレオン様が知らない女の方と話していました。彼女は市役所で働いています。

彼女は私の国籍を確認するために私達の家まできました。実は中国人のパスポルトは赤いけど私のは青いですから、彼女は私がイギリス人だと思ていましたので、外国人証明書の国籍はイギリスです。

Athena Fisher になりましたかましれませんね。

I stayed home and studied Japanese this morning because of the typhoon.

I went to real estate agents this afternoon to look for an apartment. A friendly staff from the real estate agent welcomes foreigners without any questions. Therefore, we has decided on a new apartment quickly. I am very happy to find a nice cool apartment.

I have been to supermarkets shopping for food before home.

Surprisingly, there was a lady chatting with Leon in front of my home. She worked for the City Office and she came to our house to verify my identity. Since my passport color is in blue, but not red as the Chinese one, she thought that I was British. So they offered me a foreign nationality certificate with the British nationality.

Did you find it better to be Athena Fisher?