Mar 19, 2014

American souvenirs / アメリカのお土産

My American friend was visiting Tokyo for his job interview, so we met up. :)  He was very proud of himself that he did well at the 3-hour interview all in Japanese. :)  He still has to finish his last couple of months at university in the States, but if the visa thing all goes well, he will start working in Tokyo by the summer.  I’m so happy for him!! :)
 
He brought me something from Boston.  They're American beer called “Samuel Adams”.  Honestly, I only knew Budweiser as an American beer, so I'm very excited to try a new taste!  I wonder what other American beer brands are…
He brought me some of his old books from his Japanese history class at university.  I love reading history books, so this is perfect for me. :)
The Samurai book is interesting.
And lots of lovely postcards from Boston!  He knows me so well. :)  This postcard shows Boston seen from the South Slope of Beacon Hill, older part of the city.  Very beautiful!
The Harvard University Shield.  Harvard University is the oldest institution of higher learning in the US.
Whale watching off Massachusetts
Postcard from Salem.
According to the postcard, Salem is one of the oldest towns in America.  It has tourist attractions, museums, historic homes and natural seaside beauty.  Salem was a shipping center for many years.  The famous witch trials of 1692 that resulted in the hanging of 19 people gave the city its nickname.
A postcard of "La Japonaise" by Claude Monet.  The woman is wrapped in a kimono, Japanese traditional costume.  This card is from a famous museum, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. :)
I added Boston to my list of “Must Visit Before Die”.  Do you have a list of “Must Visit Before Die”?  Maybe some of you have Japan on the list?! :D
 
去年、日本での1年間の留学を終えアメリカに帰国した友人が、日本での就職活動のため来日したので、会ってきました。3時間に及んだ日本語の面接を無事終えて、日本語に自信がついたみたいです。まだ、大学4年生が数か月あるので、またアメリカに帰りましたが、ビザなどの手続きが順調に行けば、今年の夏には日本で働けるそうです。海外で働くなんて尊敬します(^^)
 
さて、今回お土産にと色々持ってきてくれました。まず、ビール好きの私にぴったりのアメリカビール。バドワイザー以外知らなかったので、楽しみです。また、歴史好きの私に、アメリカの大学の日本史の授業で教科書として使った本を持ってきてくれました。嬉しい(^^)『サムライの秘密』という本では、剣術などについて絵入りで解説されていて面白い。読むのが楽しみです。
 
そして、沢山のポストカードも持ってきてくれました。ボストンの街並みや、ボストンといえばのハーバード大学のカード、クジラのウォッチング、セイラム(Salem)という町のカード(アメリカで最も古い町のひとつで、17世紀に起こった魔女狩り(セイラム魔女裁判)で有名だそうです)、そしてクロード・モネの「ラ・ジャポネーズ」という絵のカード。どれも素敵です。
 
ボストン、いつか行ってみたいです。
 
↓いつもありがとうございます。押していただけると励みになります☆

4 comments:

  1. Lovely Gifts!!! I loved the history books and yes, definitely I have "Must Visit Before Die" list and Japan is in that. I wish I could visit your country as early as possible because I just love it.....

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    1. Yay! You should let me know if you really decide to come here. Maybe I can give you some tips for where to visit and what to see. :)

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  2. I have way too many places I want to visit before I die, mostly locations outside of Europe.. And yes, Japan is in my list as well :) But I think I'll first cross the locations in Europe before I start planning my trips to Asia :)

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    1. I have some places that I want to visit in Europe, but Europe is so far from here. I wish the air plane could take me there in 3 hours instead of 13 hours! Let's hope the future technology could make it happen some day!

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