My Current Situation Might Be A Gift

---So the next time you're faced with something that's unexpected, unwanted and uncertain, consider that it just may be a gift.---by Stacey Kramer

This video changed my way of thinking. It made my eyes shift toward another aspect.

Stacey Kramer received a present from God, which was not so big, but very incredible. She described it as a gem. She even said it totally changed her life in good way. Actually, it was a tumour, called "hemangioblastoma".

When people face terrible situations, they tend to be disappointed by thinking of bad aspects of them. So do I. Recently I have been suffering from a kind of disease whose treatment is mentally severe and unsure enough to be often compared  to a long tunnel of which no one can  see ahead. Sometimes this situation really makes me feel devastated. Once in a while, I find myself to want to sob and take it out on somebody.

She, who suffered from an absolutely fatal illness and has fortunately recuperated, didn't consider her harsh situation as an affliction. On the contrary, she took it in a positive way, because she was able to tighten the bond with her families, friends, and acquaintances, thanks to it. Why can she think like this? Is she originally very positive? 

Whether she is originally a positive person or not, it is sure that she is such a person who can see the other aspect of a thing. She might have wanted to say that if people change their point of view, something else pops up and it is up to us whether we take the bad situation as bad or else. Yes, I should do that. This long distance to recuperation must be a present from the sky--- a meaningful present for me, who is really impatient.

Some Fabulous Online English Teachers

Every day I take Filipino's online English lessons at least 5 times a day. Before I described stupid online teachers, but there are many splendid teachers. Let me share 2 of them.

One is very good with American accent and sometimes I feel she can be beyond Americans. Her English is a kind of art. Every time I meet her in our lesson, I can't help but be entranced with her spoken English. What is better, her knowledge about English and its background are colossal. She is the woman that I want to be down the road.

The other is also fantastic. Needless to say she is good at English and besides that, she is very patient with me. While I'm speaking English in lessons, because I can't do that fast, many teachers try to cut me off and take over what I'm trying to say. I really hate it since I think, it might depend on the student, teacher shouldn't interrupt their students until they give up making their own sentences up. That is to say, in English conversation lessons, teachers should make their students speak as much as possible. Being different from such ordinary teachers, she always wait until I finish my construction of sentences so I can think calmly.

Of course besides above, there are a lot of nice teachers. I am a happy camper indeed to be able to meet them. Actually one of my dreams is to go to their country to meet them, not through the monitor, but in person.

My First Bike

---Generally people can get their first bikes easily and very early in their lives, then they just have good memories about it. However, my case was different. My memory about it was a bit pitiful one.---


"Even though you are already so big, why are you still riding a bike with training wheels? It is weird!" When I was riding my first bike in a park, a kid who I didn't know approached me and told me this. At that time I was already 6 or 7 years old but I had just gotten it. Hence it was helpless that I couldn't ride it without training wheels. 


In Japan, we normally get our first bike when we are around 4 years old.  However my house was a little bit poor, so my parents couldn't afford it for me like other children. Actually the bike was my cousin's hand‐me‐down, so it was kind of dirty with many stains.  

His remark not only embarrassed me but also hurt me so much. I almost cried on the spot because I felt like my parents was insulted. His words meant I was a dimwit, but it sounded that my parents couldn't buy even a bicycle for me. Come to think of it, I should just have gotten angry at him, but I couldn't help being depressed and  feeling miserable.


The first bike is the symbol of my needy childhood. My parents didn't buy toys or gadgets as much as other parents did for their children, so I was always green with envy to them. It is one of my bitter memories.

Some Ridiculous Online English Teachers

Thanks to the emergence of online English schools, it became possible for us Japanese to study English conversation easier and more frequently than before. Actually, the school fees are very reasonable and we can study at home. It means we can save both money and time. We cannot thank these schools and their teachers enough, indeed! However, there are some problems about online schools, and one of them is their teachers. Being different from face to face schools, in online schools, we students can't know what the teachers really do besides teaching. I have experienced having classes with some stupid teachers. Let me share the cases.


During the entire lesson with the teacher, she was cutting some kind of paper with a pair of scissors. I couldn't see her scissors but I was sure that she was since I was able to clearly hear the sound of it. Then, what was worse, she didn't listen to me while I was reading the English textbook. I asked her what she was doing and she replied that she was preparing something for my lesson. Why did she need to create the sound of scissors during on online lessons? Of course it didn't make sense. At that time, I swore that I would never make a reservation in her class anymore. 


There is another case. The teacher's teaching skill was good but beside her was a barking dog all along. I didn't know why but she neither apologized nor tried to make it shut up. Naturally my lesson was ruined.


In the same way as face to face schools, teachers must concentrate on their students and they have to set up the circumstance that suit lessons well. Why do these stupid teachers like I mentioned continue to teach? I think they lack professionalism. I sure hope these teachers won't spoil the online school's valuation.　

Gross! A Plump Cockroach Turned Up

Finally, it has shown up in my house at the first time since my husband and I moved here.


Yesterday while taking care of my puppy, I caught a strange object at the corner of my eye. It was still on the ceiling. So I told him,"Yuck! A big cockroach! Over there! Come and kill it! Right away!!", and he said,"Oh, what a big one! And...very black!" He was really impressed by it and it irritated me, so I said,"An idiot! Don't describe it! Kill it! It may run away!".


The cockroach was different from the ones which I had seen so far. It was indeed fat, black and glossy. At that time I was frozen, because I hate all insects, especially cockroaches. Then, what was worse, we didn't have any insecticides. Therefore he killed it with newspaper and peace came back.


Anyway, I think cockroaches are enemies of human being. I sure hope that they will become extinct.