swimming the city
I breathe in wisdom
from my hands
町泳ぐ手に持っている知恵を吸い
まちおよぐ てにもっている ちえをすい
– Chay Schiller

swimming the city
I breathe in wisdom
from my hands
町泳ぐ手に持っている知恵を吸い
まちおよぐ てにもっている ちえをすい
– Chay Schiller

So it’s March and winter doesn’t seem to want to leave. This past Monday people were expecting to celebrate St. Patricks Day watching parades on the warm sunny streets of Maryland but were instead suprise to be stuck indoors watching snow fall. Yes, it’s mid-March, and we are still getting snow. Despite the yearn for warm spring, the snow still looks beautiful. I drove around the neighborhood and found some pretty scenes near the golf course. It is now Saturday, and the snow is nearly all gone. However, the weather calls for the possibility of more snow next week! I guess we’ll keep our snow shovels out for a little while longer.



私たちの活動する藤沢市善行に、グリーンライフ湘南という特別養護老人ホームがあります。
12月に初めて招かれて、ヴァイオリンコンサートをしました。
今日も呼んでいただいて、弾いてきました。
皆さんがとても喜んでくださって、私も励みになりました!
また、介護士さん達、職員の皆さんがとても明るくて、素晴らしいと思いました!
「また来月も来てください」、ということです。
スケジュールを調整して行けるようにしたいと思います。
中村美智子
There is a nursing home called Green Life Shonan near my town, Zengyo, in Fujisawa city. In December I was invited to perform violin, and today I performed again. Everyone enjoyed my performance and their response was very encouraging for me. The staff was very warm and helpful. It was great. After the performance they asked me to come agian next month. I hope I can find a spot in my schedule…
– Japanese by Nakamura Michiko
– English by Sam Morrison




Many conditions, such as strokes and cerebral hemorraging, often result in “prognostic symptoms”, which are after-effects that can linger in a patient for quite a while.
Physical therapists at hospitals play a vital role in planning for the physical and mental recovery of such patients.
However, there are many cases in which making a full recovery before being discharged is unrealistic due to prognostic symptoms.
In these cases, it becomes important to devise a home environment in which the patient can live comfortably in spite of their prognostic symptoms.
At my hospital, we conduct something called a “home evaluation”. This term refers to a home visit whose purpose is to determine whether or not a patient with prognostic symptoms can live safely and comfortably in their own home. Rehabilitation staff visit the patient directly in their home and conduct the evaluation together with them and their family.
As a result of these visits, we then decide on measures such as installing hand rails, enhancing the accessibility of bathrooms, and eliminating the difference in level between rooms. After these modifications are finished, we ask the patient to test them.
Through this procedure, patients are able to start practicing all the functions they need to live their lives on their own, and they begin to reconstruct their home lives.
The scope of rehabilitation therapy, which extends even to home evaluation and assistance, is truly wide.
– Umi Oda
– English by Chay Schiller

I have eaten many types of food in my life. I’ve found that the food I like most to eat is Japanese food. Japanese food is my favorite food to eat for a few reasons. First, I like the nutritional value. I like healthy eating. Second, the small yet frequent portions. Easy on the digestive system. Third, I like sushi. Mostly, salmon, tuna and shrimp. Finally, I like a beautifully colored plate. Whenever I go to a Japanese restaurant I am served such delicious colorful foods that satisfy my stomach as well as my eyes. What’s your favorite food?
languages meet
and worldly souls aspire
to pass a test
言語あわせ賢人の夢合格へ
げんご あわせ けんじん の ゆめ ごうかく へ
– Chay Schiller


天井画龍の息吹や春の風
てんじょうが りゅう の いぶき や はる の かぜ
Spring wind
a dragon’s breath
from the ceiling
– Nakamura Michiko

私は、一人旅が好きです。一人で日本へ行く時、私は、大阪を選びます。一人でブラブラ歩き回るには、大阪は、本当に便利な所です。東京は、外国人が多過ぎます。大阪でこそ、日本を、じっくりと味わうことが出来ると思います。大阪では、道頓堀にある、大きなグリコの看板の見えるホテルに泊まりました。大阪で、一番、面白かったところは、海遊館でした。ここは、大きな水族館です。私は、大阪大好き人間です。
私は日本の料理が好きです。日本料理は、勿論ですが、日本で食べる外国料理も大好きです。メキシコ料理、イタリア料理、中華料理、何でもおいしいです。調理のタイミング、又、料理の質も素晴らしいと思います。ソースの種類が豊富なことにも驚きました。卵オムレツも、トッピングソースが多くて、おいしかったです。私の故郷ハワイでは、普通、トマトケチャップだけかけます。日本の料理には、色々な知恵が詰まっていると思います。
I just arrived into Siem Reap, Cambodia. The air is heavy with humidity. The streets are bustling with tuk tuks, mopeds, and people. This is an amazing place & I’m so grateful to be here.
