Sing a Japanese Song: "Ue O Muite Aruku ( I look up when I walk)"

          

We have translated a book into Khmer

         Last February, a group of Japanese students from Nihon Fukushi University (NFU), a university which I went to, came to Cambodia Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC), which is located in the Institute of Foreign Languages(IFL) of Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP). There were many fun activities on that day because it was also a day that RUPP celebrated a Fund-raising day. Moreover, on the same day, there was also another event celebrated at CJCC; it was KIZUNA festival.

On that day, I was very busy because I had to do multitask simultaneously. I ran here a bit and there a bit, but I was very happy, though tired. One of the most memorable experience of that day was when I joint a program organized by NFU students. We, Cambodian students, are asked to translate children fairy tales into our language, Khmer. At that time, three languages were used, Khmer, Japanese and English. Actually, the fairly tales were originally in Japanese, but they had translated into English, so our job was to translate those English texts into Khmer. 

After that, we, all together, sang a song titled "Ue O Muite Aruku", which means that "I look up when I walk." This song was the first and single Japanese song that hit number 1 in the US. It was in the top chart for three week in 1963. Here is the English subtitle of this song:

I look up when I walk
So that the tears won't fall
Remembering those spring days
But I am all alone tonight

I look up when I walk
Counting the stars with tearful eyes
Remembering those summer days
But I am all alone tonight

Happiness lies beyond the clouds
Happiness lies above the sky

I look up when I walk
So that the tears won't fall
Though the tears well up as I walk
For tonight I am all alone
(Whistling)

Remembering those autumn days
But I am all alone tonight

Sadness lies in the shadow of the stars
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon

I look up as I walk
So that the tears won't fall
Though the tears well up as I walk
For tonight I am all alone
(Whistling)

Cute Penguins

      Have you ever seen penguins? Your answer must be "YES", I guess. They are lovely, aren't they?

Photo taken at Oarai Aquaworld, Japan in December before X-mast

Penguins are groups of birds who cannot fly. They live in cold weather. I think that I can't stand cold weather as they do. One more thing I like about them is their swimming style; it's so cute that I cannot stop laughing when seeing them swimming. Following is the video I captured when watching them swimming.

They swim so languidly that I cannot turn my eyes off them. It's incredible mind-blowing when seeing them doing so. :D

Sentences Ordering in Chronological Order

Knowledge is a source of light in your life. Darkness will fade as long as the light of your knowledge still burns out.

Photo taken by: You Ratanaksamrith 

The following exercise is what I am going to use as an exercise in my Practicum at the Institute of Foreign Languages.  I will be teaching Writing Skill (WS 102) to a group of freshmen at Department of English, class E.19 (Academic Year 2012-2013). This exercise is derived from my original article titled "A Kiss Mysterious", which is also posted in this blog.

                                                            

                                                              Exercise

 

Look at the following sentences for a paragraph titled “One night in Tokyo”. Number the sentences in chronological order.

One Night in Tokyo

A.    At that time, as I remember, it was around 11p.m, and there were not many people in the street.

B.     On one wonderful winter night, about five months ago, I encountered the most wonderful experience in my life.

C.     My friends and I were roaming a street of Tokyo. It was so cold outside, so we wore thick clothes so as to avoid catching a cold.

D.    After fifteen minutes, I arrive at a small house, where I met a young, beautiful, Japanese girl whose age was around 18 years old.

E.     We were walking chit-chatting happily when suddenly all of my friends disappeared.

F.      I was so shocked that I didn't know what to do besides running as fast as I possibly could.

G.    Then, she approached me and gave me a glass of water. I drank it happily because I was thirsty after running for a long distance.

H.    When seeing me, she smiled at me and said hello to me. She was very friendly.

I.       After drinking water, we were talking about this and that for the whole night, and finally we became friends

J.       The next morning, I decided to go say good bye to her and went back to the hotel. I told her I would see her again the following year.

Answer: 1. B, 2.C, 3. A, 4. E, 5. F, 6. D, 7. H, 8. G, 9. I, 10. J

An Unforgettable Experience of Cambodian Delegates of Kizuna (bond) Project

     During 10 days exposure in a study tour sponsored by Ministry of Foreign Affair of Japan cooperated with Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE), we, delegates from Cambodia, have gained many things we never undergone before. It was the very first time for all of the delegates from Cambodia to step on the land of the rising sun, Japan except for me who had been there once. 

       On 1st December morning, we arrived in Narita International Airport safely. Then, we continued to Tokyo by bus. Haggard and tired of a long traveling, some of us slept peacefully on the bus while some other still were awake because they were very surprise to see high-rise buildings, fabulous overpasses, and the like. They were not hesitant to take any photos because it was a right time for them to enjoy the beauty of city in Japan. We spent roughly one hour to get to Tokyo.

A collection of some of our photos and activities

        When arrived at the hotel at around 9a.m, one of our supervisors from JICE came to greet us and told us what to do during the first day. He put us into a group of three to be staying together in one room. We had 3 hours and a half to relax before our first lesson started. 

        At 2p.m the same day, we started our first lesson about the Earthquake and how to escape when it happens. .......( Sorry..Will finish soon,,Now sleepy 'coz it's late at night now. Hehe)

Khmer Dance in Japan

     A group of Cambodian students from the Institute of Technology of Cambodia and from the Royal University of Fine Art, Itako's administrative staffs, Director of Itako Hotel, JICE's staffs, and people of Itako districts are dancing Khmer dance happily in Itako Hotel which is in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan.

Dinner Time at Itako Hotel, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

We danced after having dinner.

 

First, we danced Romvong, which is dancing around a circle. Then we dance Saravann, which 2 people dance together in pair face to face.

      

After dancing was finished, we took photos together as a souvenir. 

Lim Sary (left), a delegate from Cambodia, and Yumeka Onuma(right), a Japanese high school stdent

Life experience before, during, and after the Great East Earth Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

"Natural disaster is an unforeseen event, so we need to be well prepared to overcome it. We need to make sure that we have enough food and drink stored to survive for a few days during the disaster before the help arrives."~ Victims of the Great East Earthquake and Tsunami

On 11th March 2011, I was very shock to hear one of the most tragedies happening in eastern Japan. Thousands of lives have been taken away, and other thousands are still missing. The attached video is what two of Japanese high school students who and whose family, relatives, and friends have encountered that event.

They said that they witnessed the event through their own eyes. They saw houses falling down, electricity columns breaking down, and many others infrastructures being destroyed. They were very shocked and did not have the faintest ideas about what to do besides praying for the good sake. They told me that everything at that time was dark and gloomy. Electricity and water supply were cut down, and transportation did not work because some parts of the area were severely damaged. Roads and bridges were inaccessible. 

They wish that this kind of catastrophe would not ever happen again.