Football season (アメフトの季節)

It's raining now. It looks like I wouldn't be able to go for a walk today. 

In spite of the rain, a lot of people are gathering and heading for the stadium. That's because this season's first match of  Bulls, a university football team, is going to start today. The people are so enthusiastic and love our team. They're already drinking beer and barbecuing at parking lots. I heard this is a common scene of a football match. I wanna go join one when another game takes place.

Walk Distance: 30 min, 1.5 miles (2.4 km)

Fall season (秋到来)

The temperature outside during daytime rose to only 20 degrees, and it was chilly like a day I used to go mushroom-picking in the middle of October. 

気温は日中で20度までしか上がらなく、朝も10月中旬のまつたけを穫りにいく時のような感じ寒さ。ここは残暑とは無縁のよう。

It's about the season to pick fruit. The pictures are about fruit that I found walking on campus. As I've paid college  tuition and fees a lot, I bet I have right to eat the fruit.

自然の果物も食べごろになってきたようだ．ウォーキング中に見つけた実。キャンパスの中の茂みにあるので、授業料のほか様々な料金を払ってる自分は食べる権利があるはず。

Apples りんご

Grapes ぶどう

Pears 西洋なし

Walnuts くるみ

I woke up today at 2 am. So I can say " it worked but is not sufficient." I may have no option but try to get accustomed to the Buffalo time gradually.

Walk Distance: 1 hour, 3 miles (4.8 km)

First Day and Walking

Today is the first day of this semester.

The classes are what I've really wanted. They seem tough. The classes I took previous semester were too easy. So I'm satisfied with and excited about taking them. 

今日は今セメスターの初日。

授業は自分が望んでいたものだった。難しそうだ。前セメスターの授業が簡単過ぎたので、今回のに満足していて、わくわくしている。

As I wrote the previous post, today's classes were introductions. As we haven't had assignments yet, I had free time in the evening. So I went for a walk around the campus. During the summer in Japan, I often worked out and to keep on working out is a decision I made before I came back to college. That's why I walked today. 

前回のブログに書いたように、授業はイントロだった。まだ宿題は出ていないので、夕方から時間が空いた。それでキャンパスのまわりを歩いた。夏、日本にいる間、よく運動していて、アメリカに帰っても続けようと決めていたのだ。

There is a path, which is for bikes, inline skaters, joggers and walkers and is constructed by the city of Amherst, along a creek and I walked on the path. Part of the path is on campus, and part of it is on private place, and it stretches over 5 miles. I mainly walked on campus part, and it was three-hour walk, 6 miles or 9.6 km. This purpose of the walk was not only for diet but also for overcoming the jet lag I'm suffering. While I was walking, 4:30 to 7:30, I was extremely sleepy. It's quite natural because I fall a sleep at 4 and wake up midnight in Buffalo due to the jet lag. By walking during the time, I had to stay awake and get exhausted. SoI thought I'd want to go to bed at right time at night. It's 9 O'clock now. So I don't know it'd work well but I'll realize its result when I wake up.  

バイク、インラインスケート、ジョギングする人、歩く人用に道が川沿いに整備されていて、そこを歩いた。一部はキャンパス内、一部は私有地に通っていて全長8キロにもなる。主にキャンパス部を歩いて、結局3時間、9.6キロも歩いた。健康のためもあるが、実は時差ぼけを治すためでもある。4:30から7:30まで歩いている間、非常に眠かった。それも当然。アメリカに帰ってきていつも夕方4時に寝て、夜中に起きているのだから。歩くことで、夜まで起きていられ、しかも疲れる。だから夜に眠れるはず。今９時だ。明日起きた時点でこれが効果あったか分かる訳だ。

Trailway passing through the campus.

This looks like a golf course, doesn't it?

A house and its yard by a creek. Pretty beautiful!

Kids foot bool clubs. 

みちばたの植物

買物に行く途中で、道ばたに色々な植物があったので写真にとってみた。前の学期(冬)ではここら辺は地獄かと思える程、荒涼とした風景が広がっていたのに、夏になって木々が芽吹いて綺麗になってる。冬と夏では景色が全く違う。広葉樹ばかりだから、秋には美しい紅葉が見れそうだ。

雪の結晶みたいで綺麗。

葉っぱがブドウっぽい。野生のブドウか？実を食べてみれば。。。毒入りだったらいやだから、食べるのは止めておく。

でかい実。食欲は湧かね。

くるみみたいだけど、実にイボイボがあって違うなあ。なんだろう。秋になったら割ってみよう。

Cooking tools (調理器具)

This is a discount department store called wall-mart. I found it on google map and closer from my apartment than the supermarket I usually go shop

ping at. In fact it was only thirty-minute walk, which is 30 minutes shorter than the time to the previous supermarket. But I had to walk cross a bridge that seemed dangerous. At the end of the bridge there is a sign board showing "WALK WITH A FRIEND", which means "DON'T WALK ALONE". It is an isolated place surrounded by tall trees. So nobody watches you walking there, if you're in danger, you cannot call for help. Although I will NEVER walk alone at night, I will have to walk there carefully in daylight for shopping.

この写真はディスカウントショップのウォールマート。グーグルマップで見つけて、今まで利用していたスーパーよりアパートから近そうだった。実際30分と前のスーパーより30分も短縮。でも怪しそうな橋を渡らなければいけなかった。橋のサインボードには「友達と歩け！」と書いてある。「独りで歩くな」と言う意味だ。その橋は高い木で囲まれていて見通しが悪い。危険な状況に

至っても、助けを求められないということだ。夜は絶対に歩かないが、買物のためには十分注意して行くしか他は無い。

These are mainly cooking tools I bought today.  I packed all of them including the toaster in my backpack to bring home!! My backpack looked like balloon! The room mate I lived with in the previous semester moved out with his cooking tools. I used his during the semester, so I didn't need to buy tools. This semester I have to get what I need for cooking. So these are what I need for cooking! Not all, least amount of tools.

今日買った調理器具だ。トースターも入れてこれ全部バックッパックに入った！バックパックは風船のようだった。。。前のルームメーとは料理器具と一緒に引っ越して行った。だから買わなくちゃいけなくなった。これは十分ではないけど、まあとりあえずはいいとする。

This is a toaster. It cost only 6 dollars (600 yen)!! What a cheap!! I used to eat bread unbaked, which isn't tasty, now I will be able to eat tasty one baked by this.

このトースターは600円！安っ！以前はパンを焼かずに食べていたが、今度からはおいしいパンが食べれそうだ。

New semester (新学期)

The new semester starts on Monday!! I can't wait for the classes that begin!

月曜から新しい学期が始まる！授業が始まるのが待ちきれない！

Due to the jet lag, I fell asleep in the evening and woke up midnight. Buffalo's time is 13 hours behind Japan's. So these two places are almost antipodal. Usually, it takes at least one week for me to adjust a local time. But although next week the classes begin, those in the first week in the semester will be an introductions or orientations. I believe no assignments would be given to us, and it'll be a good week to conquer the jet lag.

時差ぼけのせいで、夕方寝て夜中に起きる。バッファローと日本の時差は13時間だ。ほとんど地球の真裏だ。たいてい一週間くらい時差ぼけが治るのにかかる。次の週から授業が始まるが、最初の週なので授業はイントロかオリエンテーション程度だろう。たから宿題も無しで、時差ぼけを治すには良い週になりそうだ。

This was the first meal on U.S. soil. I hadn't had 24 hours until this meal. The last meal was on the plane. After I got to my apartment, I had no chance to buy food because right after I arrived at my apartment, I went to bed and woke up in midnight. No food in the fridge. No car to go buy food. I had to stay hungry until it dawned.

アメリカに到着して初めての食事がこれ。24時間食事をしてなかった。前の食事は飛行機の中。アパートについてすぐに寝て、起きたのが真夜中だったから、食事をとる機会がなかったのだ。冷蔵庫は空っぽ。食べ物を買いにいく車は無し。夜が明けるまでお腹が空いたままで我慢しなければならなかった。

Today I went grocery shopping. I bought vegetables, meats, fruits and seasonings. I decided to stop eating at cafes and restaurants and to start cooking from this semester. So I bought them to cook. I may need a cooking book. From the seasonings sold here, nothing tasty comes up in my mind because they are so different from Japan's. I often use "soy sours" when I cook. I must learn western cooking through a book before I produce a  lot of awful dishes.

今日は食品と日用品の買物に行った。野菜、肉、果物と調味料を買った。この学期からカフェやレストランで食事をとるのを止めて、自炊しようと決めた。これらはそのための食材だ。料理本も必要かも。売られている調味料が日本のものとは全然違って、その調味料からいい料理のアイディアがでてこない。醤油があれば色んな料理が作れるのに。まずい料理を大量生産する前に、料理本で西洋料理の勉強をしよう。

Driver's license（運転免許）

I had to renew my driver's license.

運転免許の書き換えをしなければいけなかった。

There're still eight months until my license would expire. But I'll be in the states when the expiration date comes, I'd better renew the license before I leave. 

期限が切れるまで８ヶ月ある。しかし、期限が切れるときにはアメリカへ滞在中なので、日本を離れる前に書き換えをした方が良かったのである。

I needed to prepare a picture for the license. So I went to a photo studio and had some pictures taken. I believed the pictures would be very nice but they weren't nice, even awful!!! They were like pictures of a military man of Southeast Asia countries. The shirt and hair style I was wearing were bad. I can't stand it imagining I'm going to have it for four years from now. I'll never show it anybody else.

免許の写真を用意する必要があったので、証明写真を撮ってもらった。写真はいいはずだったが、実際にはそうではなかった。東南アジアの軍人のようだ。。。シャツと髪型が悪かったようだ。いまから４年間もこの写真かとおもうと耐えられない。誰にも見せないぞ。