Are you superstitious?The reason I ask is because as most of you probably know, last Sunday was October 10, 2010 or 10/10/10 and for many people, they saw yesterday as a very special day and one that would bring them luck.Similar to August 8, 2008 (08/08/08) and July 7, 2007 (07/07/07), there was a rush on for many people to get married, buy lottery tickets, and to just generally

Do you have any regrets in life? Are there any times when you wonder what your life would have been like if you had made some different decisions or chosen a different path? Are there times when you have felt regret over a decision that you made? Or perhaps, do you regret not making a particular decision in your life?Almost everyone I know (including myself, of course!)

Last week, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released new statistics for the most overweight countries in the world. The most obese countries are as follows:Mexico (69.5% of people are overweight)America (68% of people are overweight)New Zealand (62.6 of people are overweight)Australia (61.4% of people are overweight)United

Please Note: I know that money and salary are slightly taboo topics so before we speak, I want you to know that during our classes this week, I do not want to know how much money you make, I simply want to talk about how much money would make you happy. OK, on to the question.　注釈：お金や収入について話題にあげることは、わずかながらタブーであることは理解していますので、このトピックについて話す前にわかっておいて頂きたいの�

Title：「尻に敷く」人は誰？There is an English expression to describe the dominant member of a family or the dominant person in a relationship. We say that person, “wears the pants.”The phrase came from a time when men typically were the leaders of a house and when women usually wore dresses, not pants.In my family when I was younger, my father “wore the pants.” Whenever

This week, let’s discuss two main questions: 1) What are the things that are most important in your life and 2) what, if anything, is missing in your life?I was thinking about this question after I read a news story about a family that just returned to the US after a 7-year journey around the world on their 43 foot (13 meter) sailboat.In 2001, Tom and Kathy Crafton were a successful couple living

I took a little break from the weekly question last week because so many students took an O-Bon holiday. But now I am back to work and ready for the dog days of summer.So let’s start our conversations this week with a few simple questions about O-Bon.What did you do for the O-Bon holiday?Do you do the same thing every year?Do you or does your family follow some traditions for O-Bon?Do you or

This week, let’s talk about something called the “American Dream”, the stereotypical ideal life and lifestyle in America. Then, let’s talk about what is the “Japanese Dream” for most Japanese (if there is one)?The phrase "American Dream" was coined in 1931 by an American writer named James Adams in his book, The Epic of America. Part of what

In this week’s question, I wonder what (if anything) you have learned from others, specifically, other cultures.As for me...Since I first traveled to Japan, I feel very fortunate about my personal perspective: I have been able to see America from the outside looking in and I have been able to be an outsider on the inside of Japan. And the one part about living in Japan that has been the most

Do you ever engage in any kind of a PDA?What kind of PDAs, if any, are acceptable to you?What kind of PDAs are acceptable in Japan?How about when you were younger—were any kind of PDAs acceptable in Japan?How does it make you feel when you see a PDA at a park or in the train?A PDA, or public display of affection, is a physical expression of love or affection for someone while in public. Some