Long weekend in Canada!

Do you remember that July 1st is a holy day?
Do you have any plans for the coming long weekend? If you have, it’s great! If you do not have any plans yet, it is never too late to organize something.

There are so many beautiful places in British Columbia.

Have you already been to Stanley Park?
Have you eaten fish in Steveston?
Have you been to Victoria on Vancouver Island?
Have you seen beluga whale in Vancouver Aquarium?
Have you visited North Van?

I wish you a very nice weekend!
Ju.

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How to write a poem?

Topic for this week in TESOL class is “Teaching reading”. It may seem to be difficult but I think that all students really enjoy it.
Yesterday we were using poetry in the class and we became poets. Real poets!!! You may believe or not but it is not so complicated. You should use your imagination and try to write even a very easy poem, even a poem about everyday life.
Just try!
We tried. We worked in pairs and each group wrote a poem. You can read it below.


Picture

The picture is blurred
It is dark and scary
I’ve never seen him smiling…
His eyes are sad, waiting for happiness
His small hands need love
I wish I could help him

Ju&Yu

***

The bizarre girl

The smiling and not so shy girl seems happy
She is thinking about the weekend but actually
She is dreaming of another life
She then looks at her clean hands and says:
“Oh, my hands can do so many things!”
So she grabs the plant and felt like throwing it out
But the window was like a cage
And in the whitish artificial neon light
She suddenly became sleepy
But the humming of the ventilation awoke her
Then she saw through the windows a beautiful
View despite the many towers.
She realized that her future wasn’t bright but soft and dark.

Lawrence
Christine

***

no title

World wide map is stretched on the wall and wind makes plants dance.
The light through the window since I was here but I didn’t even notice.
On the other hand it makes me happy though.
The hands were weird like hers.
Outside is shining and beautiful but who knows tomorrow could be raining.
I wonder he has new haircut but I don’t think he would notice that I’m staring him.
It may be ridiculous

no names

***

Do you like it?
Now it is your turn! If you want, you can write a poem or a fairy tale and share with us by publishing it here. It may be real fun.

ju.

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おすすめレストランin Vancouver

バンクーバーは国際色豊かな町で有名です。
私が初めてバンクーバー空港に到着した時、「私はどこの国に来たんだっけ？」と思ったぐらい、色々な国からバンクーバーに旅行、留学、又は移民としてたくさんの人が訪れています。
その為、バンクーバーでは、多国籍な料理が食べられます。
日本、韓国、中国、タイ、フィリピン、インド、メキシコ、ギリシャ・・・など、上げきれません。
私のホストファミリーはベトナム人家庭だったので、フォーや生春巻きがよく食卓に並びました。
日本ではなかなか食べられない料理もレストランなどで気軽に楽しめるのがいいですね♪

そこで、おすすめのレストランを１つ紹介したいと思います。
私のお気に入りのタイレストラン｢Sala Thai｣です。http://www.salathai.ca/
メニューはたくさんあるので全て食べたことはないんですが、ここのグリーンカレーがおすすめ！！
他にも、シーフードの炒め物、チャーハンもおいしいですよ。
是非お試しあれ（＾＾）

by Yukiko

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Enjoy your life in Vancouver!!

How is your life going inVancouver?
The weather is getting better and many people is going out after school or work.
I like summer in Vancouver, because we can get much sunshine and don't have so many rainy days.
I remember that last summer was warmer or hotter than this year for this time.
I hope we will have more sunny days this summer!!

I have been to Vancouver for more than 1 year.
I have been having a great time with my friends, co-workers and host family in Canada.
It was not only good time but also bad time. It's life.
Many people helped me when I had some problems.
For example, when I was in trouble at my work, my co-workers gave me advice and helped me.
I usually ask someone to give me advice when I have some problems for myself.
And their advices helped me many times.
So if you have any problems, please try to get any advice from your friends, family or anyone you know.
It might help you!! Good luck (^-^)/

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My Love. Stanley Park

I came to Vancouver to study English but also to enjoy nature fully.
I love being in the nature. Stanley Park is an ideal park for me.
I heard this park is the most biggest public park in Canada.

We can find a lot of things to see such as Lion's Gate Bridge which leads us to North Vancouver, Prospect point which shows us fantastic sunset, Totem poles, and Vancouver Aquarium.

We can also borrow a bicycle around Stanley Park. The pavement for people and driveway for bicycles are divided according to outline of the park. Riding bicycle will provides you to have more fun!

Vancouver Aquarium is also in Stanley park. We can see some fishes we've never seen in our country, so It would be interesting! Dolphin show is the main flower of aquarium. You can enjoy the main show as well!

We can find a sculpture which looks like a mermaid if we go to near the ocean. It is called "Girl in a Wetsuit statue". It sinks under water at night as the water rises. Isn's it interesting?! However, I feel sad whenever I see this sculpture. Because, she seems like she's been waiting for someone for a long time.

I will go to Stanley park today to be her friend and enjoy the nature ^^;;

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Are you a shopaholic?

"O.K. DON'T PANIC. Don't panic. It's only a VISA bill.
It's a piece of paper; a few numbers. I mean, just how scary can a few numbers be?"

This is the first paragraph of the book "The Confession of Shopaholic".
The story starts by the heroine Rebecca coming to a crisis by receiving a demand note.
This book is pretty fun to read because I could easily get into her.
I have never thought about myself as a shopaholic, but sometimes I'm out of control spending money for goods I don't need.

Here's a test for you to check if you are a shopaholic or not.

1. Do you usually go shopping when you are feeling depressed?

2. Do you spend a lot of money that you do not have on things that I do not need?

3. Do you get a rush when you make a purchase?

4. Do you have closets full of clothes that you have never worn?

5. Have you lied to your friends and family about how much money you spend?

If you answered “yes” to any one of these questions, you may just be a “shopaholic”.
You are in the lack of the self-control to resist the urge of buying a desired item
– even at the expense of their finances or relationships.

How to keep our spending under control?

1. Get rid of your credit card before you go shopping. Use only cash

2. If you would like to purchase, never allow yourself to purchase it on the spot.
Instead, walk away and give yourself a “mandatory waiting period”
If you still want the item in a few days, then you can go back and make your thought-out purchase.

3. Make a budget and put it on paper.

4. Write down everything you purchase for two weeks
;groceries, clothes, the electric bill, and even that chocolate bar from the vending machine!
Being more aware of your spending will also make you more in control.

Let's get our lives back in control! ^^

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Office Yoga

Many of us spend most of our working hours sitting at a desk, typing on a keyboard. Work place might be not an ideal spot for excercise but you don't need yoga mat, block, blanket to perform yoga at work. All you need is what is in front of you (your desk) and what is underneath you (your chair).

Work can be a stressful situation - people yelling, people running around, people refusing to put more paper in the copier. Stress generates more stress. However, practicing yoga at work helps keep you calm, helping you to rise above the stress rather than be piled under it.

Yoga helps to center you, and to focus on positive emotions - bringing you into balance. This, ultimately makes you a calmer, more productive employee. It also facilitates focus and concentration, allowing you to get things done one task at a time.


Also, practicing yoga at work gives you a well deserved break. Sometimes we get caught up in what we are doing that we forget to take a conscious breath, to open the body through a stretch, to get fresh air, or to take a moment for ourselves. Purposefully performing yoga, however, allows us to be more in tune with when our body needs a break. This rest is not only important to your muscular structure and physical functions, but it is also vital to your eyes, your mind, and your work morale. Some companies, in fact, have found that practicing yoga at the office helps employees get along easier, and generates a team building atmosphere.

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