Formerly worked at a travel company in Tokyo. Now writing a journal of a life in time of Covid 19 from a little corner of Japan
Keeping up with language skills during COVID days
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One of the most difficult thing during the self-isolation period was to keep up with language. I read newspaper every day, chat with my family, read articles on the internet, listened to radio. These were just not enough. I needed somewhere to communicate more with other people – particularly with my colleagues, partners, and clients. I missed the communication with them. Contacting my old friends was a daunting task, even just for a chat, knowing that they were busy working or taking care of kids at home.
To put aside the worry, I took myself for reading novels. There are conversations in most of the novels, and that was what I was looking for. I heard few years ago that some of the doctors recommend hospitalized patients to read novels to keep up with language – especially conversations. Novels do have many conversations, just like in reality.
Once I finished my daily routine, I took some time to read novels from my TBR pile. Novels on business settings would have been more appropriate, but I gave up this choice. There are millions of books out there, but none of them seemed to have been set on travel industry.
Here are some of the books that I read during May 2020.
This novel is based on historical fact about the riot of silk weavers in London, which took place in mid-18th century called Spitalfield riots. This novel was also inspired by a silk designer called Anna Maria Garthwaite, who lived from 1728 to 1763. She produced many patterns for damasks and brocades, many of which are today in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The book was not serious, had a light touch of romance with historical background. I enjoyed it very much.
This was written by Roald Dahl. The book was written before he wrote children’s stories such as “Charley and chocolate factory” or “Matilda”. This is a collection of short stories, all in macabre settings. It was not a best choice during Covid days, but the stories were brilliant, gripping with unexpected ending.
This is perhaps one of the best stories that I enjoyed during the self-isolation. A detective story which travels from Paris to London, ending in Scotland. Knowing the fact that no one can travel, this novel helped me to imagine myself traveling with the protagonists, while deciphering the mystery given by one of the character.
One important thing during the quarantine was to keep laughing or smiling. This book did help me to keep laughing. This is the third sequel to “Crazy Ritch Asians” which became a film few years ago, and is the final of the trilogy. Very gorgeous, hilarious, and heart-warming in the end. Quite satisfied that my own life have nothing to do with billionaires. As the title suggests, the problems were deep and utterly beyond imagination.
This is a story of a Japanese girl who was totally obsessed with Ameirca, based on my real experience of encountering many people at a University in Tokyo back in 90's.. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I never lose. No way, no how. That’s just not me. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been obsessed with America. Like, OBSESSED. Back in the Showa era, around 1970's, Japan was flooded with all this American stuff—TV shows, movies, music. You name it. And let’s be real: America is just... wow. It’s the best at everything. Biggest, strongest, richest. The land of freedom and opportunity. Where else has THAT much influence on the whole world? Nowhere. America’s the kind of country everyone looks up to. The kind of country people dream about. The kind of country that someone as amazing as me deserves to be in. Someday, I’ll live there. I’ll talk just like them....
The third COVID state of emergency was lifted in the Kanto region of Japan at the end of March 2021. People gradually started to go out more often. On the surface level the life seemed to be returning to normal – except that people were wearing face masks even those without cedar pollen fever – allergy similar to hay fever. On a weekend, I visited Yokohama. Yokohama is located about 30 minutes from Tokyo by train. It is known as one of the oldest port towns which started trade with western countries, such as France, Britain and America about 200 years ago. It is pretty big city with many areas to visit, such as the three towers of King, Queen and Jack, Hikawa-Maru ocean liner, Minato-mirai area, China town, Yokohama English Rose garden and many more. The Yokohama station is one of the spots where you can see some iconic figures which represent Yokohama’s history. Once you are out of central ticket gates of JR or other private railways, you might notice very small trails of the hi...
Permit me to indulge in a bit of nostalgic musing, a reminiscence from nearly forty years ago. At the time, my family had relocated to London due to my father’s work. As a result, I found myself attending an international school in the city, and, after a spell, transferring to another one. London, even then, was a vibrant mosaic of cultures, a veritable melting pot of peoples. Yet, these two schools, both ostensibly “international,” had strikingly different demographics. The first school I attended had only a sprinkling of British students. The rest of the cohort hailed predominantly from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, with a significant number adhering to the Islamic faith. This was, of course, decades ago, and one imagines the mix has shifted since. At that time, however, it was clear: the school’s corridors echoed with a rich blend of accents and languages from these regions. What struck me most was how forthcoming everyone was about their origins. It was as if announcing ...
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