木に登ったカタツムリ (2) 木に登ったカタツムリの2部です。直して頂けますか？ よろしくお願いします！ 「どうした？寂しそうな顔して。友達がまだ出来ていないのかい？」 木の下に現れて、老人が気に入った根に座りながら言いました。人間に化けていたカタツムリはこう答えました。 「街を廻って、色んな人に出会えました。普通な人、寂しそうな人、素晴らしい人。でも、素晴らしい人のなかで、誰も僕と友達になってくれませんでした。なぜなら、僕は普通の人になった普通のカタツムリだからです。素晴らしい友達が出来るように、素晴らしい人になりたいのです。」 「ならばその木から降りて来て、素晴らしいことをやればよい。」 そうやってカタツムリが木から降り、街へ戻りました。でも数日後、木の元へ戻り、大きなため息を吐きながら枝に座り登ったのでした。 つづく

木に登ったカタツムリ (1) 短い文書を3つに分けました。これが第1部ですが、直して頂けますか？ 日本の昔話っぽくない部分も教えて貰ったら、勉強になります。 よろしくお願いします！ 木に登ったカタツムリ むかしむかし、緑の多い町に、黄色のカタツムリが暮らしていた。 このカタツムリは、裏庭の一番美味しそうな木に登り、周りを眺めるのが好きだった。 ある日、道路で遊んでいる子供達を見て、カタツムリがつぶやいた。「友人が欲しいなぁ。一日中遊んだり、いろいろ話したり出来る友人が。」 とても小さなカタツムリで、声が冬の朝日よりも小さかったが、驚くことに誰かが答えてくれたのだ。 「その願いを、実現してあげようか」と、木の下から声がした。カタツムリが長い目を下へ向けると、大きな根に座っている老人が見えた。 「人間にして欲しいです。友達が出来るように、街を廻りたいのです。」と小さな声で、カタツムリが老人に望みを伝えた。 「ならばその木から降りて来て、友達を探せばよい。」 そうやってカタツムリが人間になり、街へ出って行った。だが数日後に木の本へ戻り、大きなため息を吐きながら枝に座り上がったのだ。 つづく ちなみに、カタツムリの目って、日本語でなんと言いますか？長い？ぐにゃぐにゃ？細長い？

The Snail On a Tree, Part 3 This is the last part of the fairy tale, "Snail On a Tree". Would you mind helping me correct the English version? "Get down here and start living your life, then." said the Old Man. And the Snail climbed down and went back into the city. He lived his life and forgot that he once was a Snail On a Tree, and he did not recognize the Old Man when he knocked at his door (for the Snail now had his own House and Garden). "Who are you?" asked the Snail politely. "I am the Old Man Sitting on a Root, and I came to hear from you. Are you Happy yet?" "I am quite happy." said the Snail. "Well then." said the Old Man. He was going to turn away, when the Snail called him back. "Wait!" cried the Snail. The Old Man looked back, squinting his eyes. He was now very old, and couldn't see well any more; but the Snail had good eyes, and he looked at the Old Man's gentle face, his white hair and deep wrinkles for a moment. "Would you like a cup of tea?" finally asked the Snail. The Old Man smiled. They went inside the House, had a cup of tea, and talked for a long time; I have heard that they are still Friends to this day. There are several ways to interpret this little tale, but isn't it strange that nobody ever cares for the happiness of the various fairies and elfs who keep helping our favourite protagonists? If you ever encounter pixies and goblins, offer a cookie and a cup of tea ! :)

The Snail On a Tree, Part 2 This is the part 2/3 of the fairy tale "The Snail On a Three". Would you mind helping me correct the English version ? Thanks a lot. I couldn't include the French version for comparison, because of the notebook length limitation... "What is it that make you sad ? Don't you have a Friend yet ?" The Old Man was there, sitting on his root. The Snail, who was now a Man, answered: "I explored the city and I met a lot of people. There were Normal People, Sad People and Extraordinary People. But none of the Extraordinary People became my Friend, because I was just a Normal Snail turned into a Normal Man. I wish I was an Extraordinary Man, so I'd have extraordinary friends." "Get down from that tree and start making Extraordinary Things, then." said the Old Man. And the Snail climbed down the tree and went back to the city. But after only a few days, he came back to the tree, sat on a branch and sighed. "What is it that make you sad ? Don't you have a friend yet ?" asked the Old Man, sitting on his favourite root. The Snail, that was now an Extraordinary Man, answered: "I explored the city and did lots of Extraordinary Things. I've helped some people, I've been nice to everybody, all in all I've been an admirable citizen. But only Needy People came to befriend me, because Happy People didn't need my help or advice. I wish I was as Happy as them, so I wouldn't need to keep looking for a friend." [To be continued]

The Snail On a Tree, Part 1 Here is the first part of a three-parts fairy tale. Would you mind helping me correct the English version ? I included the French version for comparison. Thanks a lot. The Snail On a Tree Once upon a time, there was a tiny yellow snail living in a town with lots of houses and gardens. The Snail liked to climb up the tastiest tree in his favourite garden and gaze at the neighbourhood. One day, as he was watching at the children playing in the street next to the house, he muttered: "I wish I had a Friend, a Friend to talk and play all day long". It was a very tiny Snail, and his voice was even faintest than the first winter sunrise. What a surprise when someone answered : "I could help with that, if it is really what you wish." The Snail turned his graceful eyes to look at the bottom of the tree, where the voice has come from. There was only an old man sitting on a big root. "I wish I was a human, so I could explore the city and find a Friend." said the Snail. "Get down from that tree and start looking for a friend, then." said the Old Man. And the Snail turned into a man and started exploring the city. But after only a few days, he came back to the tree, sat on a branch and sighed. [To be continued] French version : L'Escargot et le Vieil Homme Il était une fois, dans une ville semée de maisons et de jardins, un petit escargot brun. L'Escargot aimait grimper le long de l'arbre le plus goûteux de son jardin préféré et observer le voisinage. Un jour qu'il regardait des enfants jouer dans une ruelle près de la maison, il se prit a grommeler: "J'aimerais avoir un Ami, un Ami avec qui parler et jouer toute la journée." C'était un très petit Escargot, et sa voix ne portait pas plus loin qu'un premier rayon de soleil hivernal. Quelle ne fut pas sa surprise, quand quelqu'un répondit : "Je pourrais arranger ça, si tu le souhaites vraiment." L'Escargot dirigea ses yeux graciles vers le pied de l'arbre, d'où s'était faite entendre la voix. Il n'y avait là qu'un Vieil Homme, assis sur une grosse racine. "Je souhaiterais être un homme, pour pouvoir parcourir la ville et me faire un Ami." dit l'escargot. "Descends de cet arbre et commence a chercher un ami, alors." répondit le Vieil Homme. Et l'Escargot se changea en homme et s'en fut parcourir la ville. Mais après seulement quelques jours, il revint grimper à l'arbre, s'assit sur une branche et soupira. [A suivre]

Cultural exchange with japanese students

Hello everyone !

 

I have a japanese friend who is going to visit Spain, Belgium, Germany, France and Switzerland to join some classical car races (rally) with his team. They are students and they love motorsports, but they would also like to have some cultural exchange on the way. They want to organize small parties and BBQs, introduce people to japanese culture by wearing traditional japanese clothing and discussing about animes, food, etc.

Unfortunately they don't have any contact in those countries. They are looking for volonteers who could help them gathering people and organise those small events. If you live in one of those countries, can speak english or even better, japanese; if you have some free time between March 21st and March 26th and are interested in lending a hand, send me a message. It's also a good opportunity if you want to practice your japanses with native speakers or if you want to see classic rally cars !

 

I helped a similar team 2 years ago in France and they helped me back when I came to Japan.  I made some awesome friends, I can only recommend you this experience ! Now I leave in Japan ( :D ), that's why I cannot help them myself this time...

好久没有给你写信了 Sandra, 你好！ 我也好久没有给你写信了，对不起。 我很好，在日本好玩儿。 你有客户吗？真好呢！你现在可能好忙，可是如果新工作习惯(if you get used to your new job)你可能还赚钱，还有空儿。 如果我们去一个凉爽的地方的话，我很高兴。可是如果你们没有假期的话，我觉得在你们城市也好。 我最要的事是去看你们，好说话，好玩儿。 现在我没有一个中国朋友跟他说话，所以我觉得我忘了什么中文说的好。 我们合时，要好练习！ 再见！ 思思

Sunny，你好吗？ Sunny，你好吗？ 我很好。 我的 考试完了，我已经在日本。 因为我要在一个商务工作，所以我没有暑假 。 每日的工作不容易，可是也不太累。 现在，日本很热。 你呢？中国的天气热吗？你的工作怎么样？ 我也想看你们，可是还要等2个月。我是8月28日的来中国！ 思思

「ちょうだい」and「・・・ってごらん」 Hello ! My question is about what make those words different from "standard" words. I've been told that ちょうだい was a world only used by women and children, but actually, the only people that I heard using this world were both grown up men... I'm very interested in these kind of details in foreign languages, so what really makes 「お茶ちょうだい」 different from 「お茶ください」 ? Is it more friendly ? More familiar ? Less imperative ? Same question aboout ごらん : I've been told that it was used by elder speaking to children, but the first (and only) time that I heard it, it was from a young men telling me 「座ってごらん」. As he's only slightly older than me, I don't think that it's a "talking to a child" thing, so what's the difference between 座ってごらん and　座ってみて ? Thank you !