Blog #5

Q.How does the information from the book compare with the information from the article you read on Aging?

A. I think these two opinions are necessary for us to live long. The book says there are four powerful mental outlooks to grow old and stay young. It's optimism, gratitude, proactive, and embrace learning and change. These all relate mental, way of thinking. The article I read was “Why Do Japanese People Live So Long? (And What You Can Do To Live A Long Time Too)” This article relates way of living. There are some topics, Japanese diet, how to commute, family and social and so on. If we care of these things, our life will become fun and fruitful. As a result, there are two ways of living long, and these two are very important for us to live. We also have to think the balance of two.

Blog #4

page 40

Q2. What effects has consumerism had on your society, on your environment?


A. I think there are good influences on the society and on the environment. At the beginning, consumerism stimulates economic activity on our society. Perhaps, it also has influence on the world. Many consumers always care of economic condition. It makes economy much active. Moreover, there is a word, ethical consumerism. Ethical means moral, so it reads to environment conservation or contribution to society. For instance, we use eco-friendly goods. By looking positive aspects, we can be a conscientious consumer.

Reference: http://www.thesalon.jp/themagazine/social/ethical-consumerism.html

Blog #3

page 21

Q2.　Do you have a sense of your cultural identity? If not, why not? If you do, what has helped you develop it?

A.    I have a cultural identity just a little. I am Japanese, so I like Japanese-style architecture, Kyoto and Kimono. I can relax, and I am proud of Japanese culture. It is not until we compare our country's culture to other country’s culture that we realize our cultural identity. It also might be happen when we discover the goodness of our culture. In my case, media such as TV or internet and daily life has helped me develop my cultural identity. These are good to know our culture. I experience my cultural identity through my five senses in daily life. It is very important thing to discover each cultural identity.

Blog #2

1.      Were you born during the years of the Millennial Generation? Do you consider yourself a Millennial? How are your attitudes similar to or different from those described in the reading as typical of Millennial?

 Yes, I was born in 1992 so I think I’m a Millennial. According to data, they say Millennial is altruistic, globally minded. However, I don’t think so in point of altruistic. To be sure, some people may be altruistic. But it is not only Millennial Generation. People having volunteer spirit exist in any generation. I mean generation has little or nothing to do with altruistic or not. And I agree with globally minded. From 1981 to 2003, Millennial is pretty much the age of information. People use computer and communicate with people all over the world. It is impossible for us to live without information equipment like computer and cell phone. As a result, we always pay attention to trends in the world. So I think Millennial is globally, but they are not necessarily altruistic.

Blog #1

1 about me

 My name is Maya. I'm from Nagasaki and grew up there. I like reading books and net surfing. My major is English Literature, so I have a class about William Shakespeare. I have never visited other country. I want to study abroad. For this, I will learn many things through this intensive course.

2 my opinion of reading in English

 I think reading is very fun both in English and Japanese. However I may feel that I cannot sometimes understand the meaning of the sentence. Perhaps it is the cause that I have a limited vocabulary. I want to overcome it. And I was told that reading skills get better if we read written document every day.

3 my hope

 My goal is to read documents smoothly and correctly. And I want to read foreign books such as Harry Potter or other famous books.