ChanomiTalk

Made it through another lesson. Actually, it went great. A few mistakes here and there, but, there was more improvement.

My work day was interesting. One of my patients fell out of bed and opened a pretty big cut above his left eye. It was glued shut at the E.R. and my patient was released within four hours. While at the hospital a man without any identification passed away. It was sad because there was no one that could be called to be notified of his death.

Yesterday, another patient of mine fell forward out of his shower chair while taking his shower and hit his head on the shower knobs. Thankfully there were no cuts or bruises. I couldn’t tell whether or not he was in pain, though, because he can’t speak or gesture. I felt really bad for him because I knew by looking at what had happened that he surely must have been sore.

I thank God that things didn’t get any worse and I’m thankful that tonight’s lesson sparked the start of a happy weekend.

Cedric

I have 13 tattoos. Most of them come with an important meaning or sentiment. Some of them I got on a whim. I plan to get more…at least 2 more. But tattoos have changed for me over time. In the beginning, after my 1st few I couldn’t stop staring at myself in the mirror thinking how cool I was. What a Dork. In time however, I didn’t even notice them there. It became more about the experience. I enjoy enduring the pain that comes with it. It’s living journal of my life and personality.

Recently, I went on a trip to China. It was certainly noteworthy. I experienced a lot of things both good and bad. The people were very nice and I tried a lot of great food including spicy Sichuan dishes and Muslim style lamb skewers. Unfortunately, the smog in Beijing was terrible. Indeed, it was so powerful that it was hard to breathe. The thickness of the smog even blocked the sun! Even so, I enjoyed visiting the Summer Palace because the strong winds there dispersed the smog and the palace grounds were sprawling with a lake, a temple, and the famous long hall. The long hall is special because Chinese artists adorned it with colorful murals all the way down its vast length. The China I saw has a lot of potential but faces a lot of problems. Places like the Summer Palace are inspiring and indicative of the best of Chinese culture. However, the terrible pollution, and the incessant news reports of poor water quality and tainted food, serve to underscore the predicaments facing Chinese society today.

The long hall

Summer Palace Temple

As I look back over the past 12 lessons, I am amazed to see my progress. I am able to now recognize specific hiragana characters as I read. Each lesson I am able to memorize several more. After numerous practice tries with reading my story, I am beginning to memorize phrases and answer simple comprehension questions. Each lesson we add a new type of question & answer. We have also begun to practice writing hiragana. Thank you so much, Michiko, for your time and patience.

Kannanshinku is a word that combines four different kanji that all refer to difficulty or trying times. One might translate it as trials and tribulations, because these too are words that we use together quite often without thinking about what each one means individually. Kannanshinku is mostly used in reference to prior experience, i.e. things that happened in one’s past that have made one a stronger and wiser person.

For example, you could say “my childhood was rife with kannanshinku, but now that I’m older I’m wiser for it.”.