From Australia

I went to Matsue Castle for volunteer guiding. Soon after arriving there, an elderly couple asked me a guide to the castle. They were from Australia. 

The husband asked me many questions. I answered him as much as I could, but I hardly answered for some specific questions. I have to study more about Matsue Castle. 

He really liked Kurosawa movies. That was one of the reasons they came to Japan. We talked about Kurosawa films like Seven Samurai, Kagemusha and Ran. He said he liked hose riding scenes in battles. 

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NYT Editorials

I've subscribed to the New York Times Weekly for the sake of improving my English ability since last year. To be honest, I wasn't a serious reader. I rarely read the paper. 

To get more English vocabulary and  knowledge, I'll try to read three editorials in a week. I'll check unfamiliar words in the editorials. And if I have time, I'll make the summary of the editorial. I prepared a notebook for it. 

To continue to do that would be important for me. 

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Hard to Understand

I'm listening to GRIT and almost finish it. To tell the truth, I had a hard time to understand some parts of the audiobook, especially about experiments. I should check the original text later. And also, I'm still suffering lack of vocabulary. 

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GRIT Again

I began to listen to GRIT in English with Audible app. I just finished the Japanese edition so I should relatively understand it easily. But with my lack of vocabulary, I was lost sometimes. I felt the importance of vocabulary, seriously.

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GRIT with Audible

I finished "GRIT" in Japanese. It was a good book. Grit is important for our business, study and life. 

I'll listen to the audiobook in English next. The Japanese edition will help my understanding for the audiobook in English. 

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Bad Whether

It's been raining. The temperature became lower recently. Time flies. 

I've been busy for work this year. It might be good for me, but I'm frustrated because I don't have enough time for studying English. It might be an excuse, but I really think so. 

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Translator

When I was an elementary and middle school student, I liked mystery novels. I was a big fan of Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle. I realized there were translator. They translate English into Japanese. I had a vague images of translator then. And I dreamed if I can be a translator. I just remembered. 

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Audiobooks 300 days

I began to listen to audiobooks in English 304 days ago. At that time, I listened to English news with Tuneinradio app every day. 

Since then, I listened 19 titles. I even tried to listen some titles several times. I really enjoy audiobooks now. I would be very happy if the prices were little bit lower. 

English radio news and audiobooks help improving my listening ability. But I feel lack of my vocabulary. It depends on my effort. 

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Guiding to Matsue Castle

I went to Matsue Castle for volunteer guiding in English. There were lots of tourists there today. After designated for a National Treasure, the number of visitors have been increasing. 

Soon after arriving the castle, a Taiwanese woman asked me guiding to the castle. And we went to the castle. She asked me lots of questions. I tried to answer her questions as much as I can. But I couldn't explain everything precisely. I have to study more about Matsue Castle. 

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A TOEIC Day

My Twitter time line is filled with TOEIC because tomorrow is the day of the test. I don't take the test this time. I even didn't take that test since last May. I'm scared of taking TOEIC now. The test is so harsh for me. The test makes me confused. Lack of my knowledge is the problem.

Anyway I hope everyone can perform well tomorrow. 

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Silence Again

I'm listening to a Shusaku Endo's novel Silence in English again. I had a hard time to listen to the audiobook, so I'm trying to do it again.

I read the novel when I was in my teens. I was really hooked on his novels. I've heard the news that a famous American film director Martin Scorsese has made its movie. I look forward to watch the film.

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Reviewing English Grammar

I'm rewiewing a grammar reference book. It has example sentences. The author said that they were good for practice speaking English. I'm trying to read aloud these sentences, but I couldn't do it a lot. I'm too tired recently. I have to save my works. 

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English Grammar Book

I began to read a grammar reference book. I'll learn a lot from the book. And I'm trying to read aloud example sentences in the grammar book. 

I don't speak English much recently, so that will help me to speak English. 

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The Five People You Meet in Heavn

I downloaded Mitch Albom's audiobook "The Five People You Meet in Heavn". It was one of my favorite English novels. The story is not so long. It's 4 hours and 40 minutes long. I could through it in three days. I think I'll listen to the audiobook several times. 

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Lazy

I fallow many English learners on Twitter. I really admire them. Even though they are busy for work, they spend lots of time as much as they can. 

On the other hand, I'm lazy for studying English, but seriously I want to be good at English. Only thing I'm doing now is listening to English audiobooks. I should do more for it. I'm kind of flustered. 

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Listening to a Murakami

I'm listening to Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" with Audible. The story is 26 hours lond and I'm at 23 hours now. 

I once read the novel, but I didn't remember the story. The story is a typical  Murakami. I enjoy the world, but I can't understand the meaning of each episodes immediately. Maybe, when I finish it, I would feel something from the novel.

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The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

I'm listening to English version of "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" by Haruki Murakami now. The audiobook is 26 hours long. I can enjoy it for a long time. 

I've read the novel right after it had published. It was an interesting and strange story as well as most of Murakami's novels. Once you begin to read it, you couldn't stop it, perhaps. 

If I tried to read the long story in English, I would need at least six months to finish it. But, I can enjoy it easily with audiobook. That's wonderful. 

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Next Audiobook

I finished an audiobook "Life if Pi". It was a nice story. I could imagine the scene in the story. The last three chapter was a little bit chilly. Anyway I really recommend the novel. 

My next audiobook is a long story. It's 26-hours-long Haruki Murakami's book called "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle." I read the novel once, but I almost forgot about that. I really look forward to listening to it. 

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1000th Post

My blog posts have reached 1,000 today. I began to post in 2008, but once I stopped posting. I restarted to post in November 2013 and since then I've been posting a blog every day. 

I'm not good at writing in English, so you can find lots of mistakes in my posts. Forgive me, this blog is only for my fun. I just enjoy writing something in English. 

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Life of Pi

I took "Life of Pi" for my next audiobook. I once read the book in English. It was really interesting story. But to tell the truth, I had hard time to reading the novel because of my poor English skills. 

I prefer listening to English novels, so I'll try it again if I can understand it well. The recording time is over 11 hours. I can enjoy it at least a week. 

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