Lesson 5
Dear Prof. Sue Garreis
Thank you for your message so quickly. My replies follow in gray.
Dear Mei,
Thank you for this
prompt reply to my interim message. My comments follow in
orange.
Sincerely,
Prof. Sue Garreis
Do American men or women hope that they join the Army? I have never known that
women also join the Army. I don't take my thinking seriously enough.
⇒ Some Americans join solely because of patriotism. There was a great upsurge of that in the year or so following the attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York City in 2001. Some join because they come from military families and it is almost expected that the children, or some of them, will join the military also. Some join for economic reasons. If you sign up before college (right after high school), then the military, especially the Army, will pay for college. After you graduate, you must join the regular branch of the military for about six years. Some join right out of high school because they want to put themselves on a better career path than is available to them in regular life. Christian's (Bec's boyfriend's) reasons for joining are complex and I am not really aware of them. He decided rather suddenly about a year ago to join the Army rather than go to college. He certainly is college material and I am sure that the Army will encourage his higher education after the critical need for him in a war zone is over. I do not know if Christian plans to stay in the military as a career or not. Women have the same reasons for joining the military as men. I think it is harder for women in the military because it is such a strongly male environment. Now that we are at war on at least two fronts, the enrollments in the military branches are down a lot. I keep forgetting that Japan is not permitted a standing army. So the military as a way of life for a Japanese person is not a career option for a whole generation now.
How do you cook whose you grew tomatoes? I usually eat with putting olive oil on tomato and sliced cheese. Is good soil expensive? In Japan, good soil is about 200 yen ($2.2?) per 10 kilo gram. My mother's field is so small, so her field doesn't need much soil.
⇒I am so lazy! I do not cook the tomatoes. I usually stand in the garden and eat them on the spot. I do not use chemicals on my plants so they are safe to eat without washing. I love them still warm from the sun! My favorite tomato "dish" is a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich. It is two slices of fresh, white bread with 3 or 4 slices of cooked bacon, 3-4 slices of raw tomato and 2-3 lettuce leaves as the filling. I like a little mayonnaise on the bread. Yummy! It was very costly in terms of time to make the good soil in my yard. Jo and Tim spent hundreds of hours over two decades raking in the manure, topsoil, peat and compost into the clay soil that was here in the beginning. Jo and Tim got the manure for a very low cost, or maybe for free, because it came from a local stable. But they had to fill the truck themselves. Very smelly!! They made their own compost and I do, too. They bought truckloads of peat and topsoil. I am not sure how much that cost. Jo was an excellent bargain hunter, so I am sure her cost was relatively low.
I also feel young children are so cute. Your granddaughter, Emma was going well, wasn't she? Good for her! She will get a lithe body in the future. I envy her.
⇒Yes, she should be very lithe now and when she is older. That is a very good thing. She certainly didn't get that desire to move and be strong from this grandmother!
⇒Congratulations to you!!!
Thank you! I did it!
⇒I am not sure what you mean here: of the test-takers, 30% pass? If yes, kudos to you!
Yes. Of the test-takers, 30% passed this time. Last exam was 5%.I am having a run of good luck this time!
⇒Wow! Congratulations again. Tough exam.
Thank you for giving some links. I will take the exam at the end of October. My register will be in the Washington state. I am a graduate student, so I think I 'll have enough credits to take a license. Though I need to pay extra money, I will take in Guam. Moreover I have been to Guam. I must go alone to America. I suppose Japan is safe than America. So I want you to warn what I should be careful.
⇒In general Japanese tourists should think of America as less safe than Japan. It is not the wild frontier any more, but not as carefree as Japan. Do not go by yourself alone anywhere after dark. You must take public transportation by yourself, but you are in a crowd. Most definitely do not walk down streets at night if you are the only one on the street. Stay where there is a crowd. Try not to hold a map and look like a tourist. Look like you know where you are going. When you are in America, do not lock yourself in the hotel room and see nothing. Plan ahead to know where you want to go. Take a map, but be discreet when looking at it. Taxis are very expensive in the US, so stick to public transportation. Stick to the normal tourist spots because there will be many people going to the same place. Go to the out-of-way places when you have a travelling companion. There are good sections of town and bad ones. Ask at the hotel where to stay away from. Ask at the hotel the best way to get to [whatever place you want to go]. They may suggest a taxi. Ask about public transportation. It is not as tourist friendly in the US, as it is in Japan. So if they say taxi, then use one. I guess travelling in the US is relatively cheap for you now. That's good! Research ahead of time what tourist spots you want to see.
⇒In Matuda, it broke out a serious murder case. Matuda is the auto car industry in Japan. A man was a contract worker before. he had a grudge against the firm because he had been laid off. And he ran over 11 employees and killed a employee after he trespassed the firm by his car. In fact, he resigned by himself as he couldn't keep up with the work. It happens many what the reason is not clear, in Japan. Formerly, a teacher of finance said that an economic problem cause crime or war. Recently I came to be fully convinced of correctness of his view.In Japan, I suppose it is increasing rather spirit crime than for money. I am fearful as we can't expect such crime.
⇒Unfortunately that type of crime is not as rare in the US as it is in Japan. In fact, we often say a disgruntled employee is "going postal" if he attacks former co-workers. That's because a few years ago, individual, isolated, former postal workers shot their old bosses and some co-workers after they were fired from their jobs. I am sorry it is happening in Japan. I am sure economics is a factor. Also it may be easier for Japanese workers to become disaffected while working. In the old days, workers at Japanese companies were well taken care of. They had jobs for life in many cases, regardless of their performance at work. And the employees were acutely aware that their own actions reflected on the company, so employees were constrained from acting badly. Not so here in the US, and less so now in Japan, I think.
I will be looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,