ChanomiTalk

This morning was very difficult. It included a series of adventures that began when I discovered that I needed to get more cash. First, I tried to use the local ATM machines but they would not accept a foreign card. Next, I looked for a bank that would exchange dollars for yen. When I tried the Bank of Yokohama, the woman there told me that branch did not exchange foreign currency but she told me about another branch on the other side of the Fujisawa station that did. So, I went looking for the other branch and found it. I was able to exchange currency and the attendant helping me even complimented my Japanese. Afterwards, I returned to thank the woman at the previous bank for her assistance. I told her that I found the other bank branch and said thank you to which she was very happy. Then, I returned to the hotel hoping to change clothes and rush to visit NACOS. The weather had turned cold so I needed to change from short to long sleeves. Unfortunately, the front desk attendant told me that I would have to wait an hour before I could go to my room because it was being cleaned. After what seemed like a long time, I finally made it to my room. Once I got what I needed, I went to the train station. At the station, I had some trouble with the ticket machine but did not think much about it until I arrived at my destination. Suddenly, I realized that the machine would not let me leave and something was wrong. I decided to put more money on my card and discovered the problem was that I had almost no money left. However, even after adjusting the money on the card, the turnstile would not let me leave. At that moment, an attendant came over, asked me which station I just came from, and updated it in the computer system. Finally, the system correctly charged my card, I was able to leave the station, and made it to NACOS.

積んどく本の一番下から漢字パズル雑誌が出てきました。
パラパラとめくってみたのが運のつき。面白くてやめられません。

<img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3795/10074236645_2f247f9390.jpg&quot; alt="漢字パズル１" /＞




種々あるパズルのなかでも好きなのは漢字クロス、
ヒントは漢字だけの文で、まるで中国の新聞を読んでいるよう。
それでいて意味は汲み取れ、答は平仮名でクロスワードになっていて、
日本語の複雑さをずばりと言い当てています。

苦しい時　悲しい時　辛い時　怒りの時
このお地蔵様の顔を思い出したいです。

今日は素晴らしい秋晴れに恵まれました。
朝の１０時頃、藤沢を出発して、２時頃まで、
鎌倉に吟行に行ってきました。

境内で真剣に英語俳句を作りました。
（一つ目の写真、ベンさんと二人、大仏様の後ろで・・・）

The weather today was bright and sunny with a big blue sky. This means it was a great day for sight seeing but really hot! The first stop today was the Kamakura Buddha. This is a giant statue of the Buddha in a seated position meditating. The statue is very large and impressive. Crowds of people crowded around the Buddha with many schools also sending student field trips to the scenic spot. The scene was so moving that I wrote a NACOS haiku to commemorate the visit. The Hasedera Temple was the second stop. This spot is famous for the 11 headed wooden Buddha statue that it contains. The statue is very ornate and impressive to see but unfortunately picture taking is not allowed. Finally, the last stop was a Shinto shrine called Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. The shrine rests on top of a steep hill with many steps. After walking all day, it requires a strong will to make the climb. At the top, the shrine has a museum with artifacts from ancient Japan. Photographs are not allowed in the museum, and only very low light is used, in order to protect the precious treasures.

夕方には、みんなで家の近所を散歩しました。

どれだけ風が強かったか、ご覧ください！