今朝徒歩で銀行へいきました。アメリカ人はどこでもへ徒歩で行くことがちょっと変だ思うけど、今日いい天気でしたよ。涼しくて晴れだったよ。

この高いビル新しいです。オーステンはオースティンで一番高いビルです。きれいだと思います。小さくて古いビルも好きです。このビルはパブです。

この写真は何か変ですか。下町です。水曜日です。９時半です。人がない。変ですね。

What I meant to say

This morning I went to the bank on foot. I think it's a little strange for Americans to go anywhere on foot. But today was such a beautiful day. It was refreshingly cool (down to 76F/24C!) and the skies were perfectly clear.

The tall building (in the background) is new. When it opens (next January) it will be the tallest building in Austin. I think it's beautiful. I like the older, small buildings (in the foreground), too. These are pubs and restaurants.

Do you notice anything strange about these pictures? It's downtown. Wednesday morning. 9:30AM. And there are no people. Strange, huh?

質問とコメント

1. In America, we used to go drink at a bar. Now, we have a lot of places styled after English pubs (short for public house--to distinguish them from private clubs). They are more upscale and serve food and lots of varieties of beer, especially Irish and English beer. In the 1990s, we had a lot of "brew pubs" which brewed their own beer on site. But now that the economy is in recession, many of these have closed. These buildings used to be warehouses, but they have been converted into restaurants and pubs.

私はプログラマーの時、IF-THEN-ELSE と言うことができる大説でした。

今週の月曜日日本語で if と言うことが勉強していました。面白かったですけど、ちょっとむすかしかったと思います。そのを知ったら、久しくれんしゅうします。

What I'm Trying To Say

When I was a programmer, it was important to know how to make conditional statements, to say "IF-THEN-ELSE". Last Monday (in Japanese class), we learned how to say "if". I think it's one of the most interesting things we've studied, but it's sort of hard, too. It's going to take lots of practice before I really know it.

れんしゅうしましょう

私は仕事があったら、お金がある。お金があったら、日本へ行きたいです。日本へ行ったら、温泉に入って、お酒を飲んで、おすしを食べます。とてもうれしいですね。うれしすぎたら、アメリカに帰りたくない。私は帰ったら、夫はさびしいでしょう。だから私は仕事がないのがいいですね。

What I'm Trying To Say

If I had a job, I'd have some money. If I had any money, I'd go to Japan. If I went to Japan, I'd go to the onsen, drink a lot of sake, and eat a lot of sushi. I'd be very happy. If I were too happy, though, I wouldn't want to come back to America. If I didn't come back, (maybe) my husband would be lonely. So, it's a good thing I don't have a job.

字引を読んでいるとき、面白い言葉を「見出します」(found, discovered?)。 意味は英語で「baby talk, babbling」。日本語で片言「かたこと」と言います。いいブログの名前だと思います。とくにこのブログ。私は片言の日本語で話します。

What I'm Trying to Say

I was reading through the dictionary just now, when I found an interesting word. In English it means "baby talk" or "babbling". The word is "katakoto". I think it would be a great name for a blog. Especially this blog, which is written in very broken Japanese.

質問とコメント

1. I see that the kanji 片 , which means "one-sided" or "one of a pair", is used in another word that my Japanese students used to say in English by translating it literally, "one-sided love". 片思い「かたおもい」. Isn't that a wonderful expression. In English, though, we say "unrequited love". Requite (a little used word) means to return or to reciprocate. So unrequited love, is love not returned by the other party.

2. Do you think there is a difference is saying "I have a love, but it's all on my side." and "I gave him my love, but he did not return it." Is love a state of being, or an action? That is, is there a difference between "being in love" and "loving him". In English, we can say it both ways.

In Japanese class, we are just now learning how to say "when"--たとえば、「子供の時」(when I was a child);「日本へ行ったとき」(when I went to Japan);「雨が降るとき」(when/whenever it rains) and so forth. Wow! This is one of the most useful constructions I've learned yet--especially for writing blogs. I don't know how I did without it.

れんしゅうしましょう

• 私は子供のとき、沖縄（おきなわ）に住みました。 When I was a child, I lived in Okinawa.
• 息子は10才とき、別府市の亀川小学生だった。When my son was 10, he was a student at Kamegawa Elementary School (in Beppu).
• 寒くて雨が降るとき、本を読みながらベッドをねるのが好き。When/whenever it's cold and rainy, I like to lie in bed and read a book.
• 先週買い物したとき、友達と会った。When I was shopping last week, I ran into a friend of mine.

質問とコメント

Do you know what the English expression "Just say 'when'." means? When someone pours you a drink or serves you food, you should say when (at what point) you have enough. "Thanks. That's good. That's enough." But sometimes people literally say "when" as a joke.

Host: Just say 'when'.
Guest. Okay. When!