My grandmother lived there when the big earthquake hit.

But she was safe because she slept among the bureaus.

Chiko, a bureau is a big chest with large drawers. Did you mean that your

grandmother was safe because she stayed under or near the furniture in her

home? I would think that the furniture would crush a person in a quake. I'm

glad she survived that quake. That must have been the most frightening

experience of her life.

My aunt and uncle lived near the seismic center. They were saved, but their

house collapsed..

They live in temporary shelter.

I have many relatives in Kobe, but everybody lived.

My goodness, what an experience your relatives had! It is lucky they all

survived. I am so sorry for your aunt and uncle who lost their house and all

their possessions. It is most important to escape with your life, though.

Did the government help them with a new house? Or did they have to pay for

one entirely on their own? In the US, we have insurance for catastrophes like

that. Unfortunately, earthquake insurance is too expensive in the areas that

need it. We have earthquake insurance on our house. It is cheap! It is only

$20 each year. Our friends in California do not have earthquake insurance on

their house. It is several thousand dollars each year. Very few can afford

it. The government helps a little bit. Most people have to rebuild on their

own. That is hard.

Have you ever felt an earthquake? I only have felt one. About thirty years

ago, in North Carolina, we felt the house rumble while starting to take a nap.

It sounded like a very large truck driving down our small street. Trucks of

that size cannot fit on the street. We learned later it was a small quake.

Nothing rattled. Most people didn't feel it.

my grandfather's grave and I went to inquire after my aunt's health.

I went to Canada for a homestay from sep.11 to Sep.26.

My classes were beginning classes.

I felt my classes were very easy.

But I made many friends in my classes.

I enjoyed being with my friends.

My classes were communication and pronunciation classes..

My teachers were very interesting.

I understood my teacher's and my friends' English.

But my host family's English was difficult for me to understand.

I used to speak words.

I was used to saying words (not sentences).

But my host father taught me English and many pronunciations.

Wow, what a vacation! Are you teaching your host family any Japanese? Do you

write to them the old-fashioned way, with paper and pen? Or do you email

them, too? I can't hear the difference between Canadian and American English.

And I can't speak any Japanese, either! Sumi massen.

It certainly is a lot different when you hear a language, instead of reading

it or writing it. I remember my experience in Japan ten years ago. I talked

and then showed people my phrase book. They could read what I was trying to

say. Everybody was very polite. Nobody laughed. But I know my Japanese was

unintelligible!