イギリスハーフ英語教師の旅

東京で英会話、ビジネス英語、そして無料で参加できる西洋文化レッスンを実施しているイギリス系ハーフのブログです! 東京は2015年3月から住み始めたので、アドベンチャー意識をもって挑んでいるので、その話をしたいと思います。

2016年02月

今晩は、

自分は元は、サッカー選手を目指していたロンドンの小僧。

「ボールがあれば蹴る」 、それが自然な体のリアクション。抑える必要もない。

 チャレンジする者は股を抜いて倒す。

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 Ho君の無様な敗北

でも楽しかったみたい:

 IMG_20160223_165620
やっぱりゲストハウス楽しい :D

Julian 

*** 本投稿は日本語と英語で書きます ***


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嬉しい報告があります。今週の週刊雑誌アエラに僕のグループが載っています。

 

アエラが僕のやっている事に興味を示してくれた事をとても光栄に思っています。

DMM.com本社で実施した、「How to Write a Love Letter」レッスンにアエラからジャーナリストの方が来てくれて、取材の前の準備とリサーチをしてくれました。

「凄い念入りに取材のリサーチしてるんだなー」と思いました。

 

本ブログをお読みの方がありそうな質問、自分で答えてみました:

 
 

Q:「何故取材されたの?」

 

A: 恐らくですが、コミュニティーを築き上げる事に成功しているのと、「貧富を問わず」、質の高いレッスンを提供しているから取材の対象になったのだと思います。この、「貧富を問わず教育を全社会に提供する」という発想は、イギリスの教育理念なんです。

教育とは全社会が恩恵を受ける事だと言われています。だから当然、アエラも含め人々が興味を抱くのは自然だと思います。

41 PM
 

 

Q:「緊張した?」

 

A: まったく緊張しませんでした。僕 は150%この教育理念に自信があるので喜んでそれについての質問に応答することができました。ただ一つあった懸念は利害関係のポテンシャル。これにつき僕を取材した方と相談したら、「この人ならしっかりやってくれる」という印象を受けたため、まったく緊張することは無かったです。

 

Q:「記事はどうだった?」

 

A: すごく良いと思いました! 僕自身が言えるより全然上手に伝えたい事が伝わっていました!

 

Q:「次はどうするの?」

 

A: 現在新しい有料コースを2つ企画しています。1つは初級者向け、もう1つは超上級者向け。

 

初級者向けはおもしろいと思います。何故なら、文法には一切執着しないからです。どちらかというと、コーチング・コンサルティング傾向になります。僕の日本語能力も活かすことによって、一ヶ月以内に英語を喋れるようにする方向に持っていこうと思います。

 

超上級者向けコースは、コミュニケーション能力を新しいレベルへ導きたいという、ガツガツのビジネスマン向けの講座になります。本当にあるビジネス問題を積極的に解決していく、戦略作り、実行とリーダーシップを重視する講座になります。一般のMBA講座よりも内容の濃いものにしたいと思います。

 
39 PM

週刊雑誌アエラは近くのコンビニで390円で売っています!
日曜日までなら今週号なので、是非お買い上げください :D


英語版:

I have a happy announcement to make! I’m on this week’s edition of AERA!

 

You know, it’s truly gratifying that AERA took an interest in what I’m doing. They even came to research me by taking my “How to Write a Love Letter” lesson for Valentine’s Day.
 

 02 PM

Some questions you may have:

 

“Why was I featured?” – I think I was featured because I’m doing something community-oriented and because I’m working hard to provide top quality lessons to everyone – regardless of rich or poor. This is what I was taught in England – that education is for the good of all and should be open to all. It’s only natural that people, including AERA, are interested.

 IMG_20160209_150134

 

“Were you nervous?” – Not at all. Haha! I rarely get nervous. I am 150% confident in my philosophy so I was more than happy to answer all questions related to it. The only thing I had reservations for was the potential for conflicts of interest. This conflict is something I often deal with in my lessons but after chatting with the interviewer, I was very confident in her ability to relay my message in a managed way. So no, not nervous at all.

 

“Did you like the article?” – Yes! I thought the lady that interviewed me and wrote the piece did a brilliant job putting into words what I am trying to achieve – much better than I could!!

 

What’s coming next?” – At the moment I am creating two paid courses – one for beginners and one for super-advanced people.

 

The beginner course will be interesting because the focus will not be on grammar at all. Instead, it’ll be a coaching-style set-up. Using my natural Japanese ability to explain cultural aspects, learners will improve very quickly and be able to communicate in English within one month.

 

The super-advanced course will be for serious businesspeople who want to enhance their communication ability in a more general sense. The focus will be on real business issues centered on strategy and leadership. It’ll be much harder than an ordinary MBA course.

 

 

 Julian



 

おはようございます!

昨日、British Tea Partyに参加された皆さま、お疲れさまでした。ありがとうございました!

昨日はパリ出身の友達Ferdinand が一緒に参加してくれました。彼はかなり頭がいい人で、今では有名な僕の住んでいるあのゲストハウスの中であう多くのフランス人の中で、彼がダントツに日本語が上手です。

1年も住んでいないのにあそこまで流暢だとは、よっぽど勤勉なのか才能があるかのどちらかと思います。

***

話したトピックの中でも最も盛り上がったのはやはりブラック企業について。

日本特有なんですよね、労働者を守るルールを常習的に破る会社っていうのは。

僕もこういった企業で働いたことがあります。私生活なんて、会社にとってはなんともないことでした。唯々会社に尽くせと言う雰囲気でした。

面白かったのは、現に、その会社で終身雇用されていた社員たちは、我は社畜と普通に認めていたんです!

それでもそれが普通だと受け入れていたような社風でした。変なところで自分にまったくあっていなかったけども、ブラック企業で働いた事は色んな意味で経験豊富な機会でした。

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また会いましょう!

ジュリアン
 

先日お客様から面白いプレゼントいただきました。

それは名古屋の名物(だと思う)「わらびういろ」。その方は岐阜県から来たんですけど。

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 とっても柔らかく、粉状の黄な粉と黒いソースが合って、美味しかった。

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どうもありがとうございます! 
***
えっと、独り言ですが、最近物事が思うようにいきません。

まず、新しいスマホを買ったのですが、LINEアプリの移転に失敗して、友達リストが全部なくなってしまいました。取り戻そうとしたら 、どうやらSIMカードがブロックされてしまったようで、大変苦慮しています。この時代にLINE使えないと、かなりきついです。

その他、ビジネス面でも、物事が思う通りにいかない。

人はせっかく良い戦略があっても、それを実行する勇気が無いのか、興味が無いのか、わからない。

自分の態度・行いに問題があるのか、考えさせられます。

それでも自分の主義として負けは認められない。道が封鎖されていたら、別の道を探す。
あるいは、道なんて要らないと言い、オフロードで行くのが僕の主義。

大変だが、やりがいがある。いや、むしろこの方が楽しい。

何事も前向きに進んでいかないと、後で後悔してしまうと思います。

ジュリアン

 

日本語は英語の後に来ます。

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who used to attend my classes regularly. Her name is Miho.

Miho
(left)

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She had barely spoken to anyone from Japan since that fatal car accident in December she was involved in. Our mutual friends hadn't been able to get in touch with her due to the lack of wi-fi.

She showed me her scars via LINE video. She was in a wheelchair and could barely move.  The injuries to her frail body, her fractured and dislocated hips, the multitude of cuts to her legs, face and arms were so terrible that I couldn't hold back my astonishment. 

I gasped as Miho broke into an awkward smile and revealed to me the empty space where her front teeth used to be.

She always had a beautiful smile that made me feel assured and gave me confidence during my sometimes intense donation-based lessons. I still remember clearly the encouragement I felt when she smiled at me as I struggled with a lecture on hedge fund strategy. 

***

December 31st. Miho and 3 of her friends from France were on holiday in rural Brasil just driving through a small town in a small car at normal speed.

Miho was sat in the back seat, behind the driver. As she unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned in to ask the driver a question, her life changed forever.

A car (driven by a young Brasilian man who was driving on the wrong side of the road, and was probably high on drugs) smashed into the side of Miho's vehicle, propelling her tiny body face first into the front windscreen at breakneck velocity. The recoil from the collision added a further injury - her pelvis was hoisted onto the gearstick, causing irreparable damage to her hip structure.

It is a miracle that Miho survived to tell the story. The same cannot be said for the young Brasilian man's passenger; his poor girlfriend. She was pronounced dead on the scene.

Miho's friends also survived, but they too suffered traumatic injuries. Thankfully for them, they were covered by generous French insurers and were given the best private medical care that money can buy. 

Not so for Miho.

Miho's insurance barely covered the transportation expense from the accident scene to the nearest hospital. She was transported to the nearest major hospital in Rio de Janeiro, and lay unconscious in the Accident & Emergency ward for two whole days, drifting between life and death.

When she awoke, her injuries and trauma were so severe, the pain so great and her face so swollen beyond recognition, she started to wish it was her who died. 

Her misery was compounded when the public hospital treating told her she must leave immediately, as other accident victims needed care. The hospital cannot be criticised; the national health system is there for the poorest of the poor to receive care, and as her injuries were not considered life-threatening, she was discharged after three nights in their care. 

It was only the beginning of the nightmare for Miho. She pleaded with the Japanese travel bureau for help, any kind of help, be it with an interpreter or to introduce some doctors sensitive to her situation. But they said there was nothing they could do and that she was barking up the wrong tree. She was advised to plead instead with her insurer.

Out of pocket, unable to move, and without a place to go to, Miho was generously taken in by a Brasilian friend out of the goodness of her heart. 

Further, as Miho's French friends recovered, they began a campaign on facebook to generate support from France. One of their employers, Clubmed, fronted the cash for Miho's medical expenses and wheelchair.

****

For one month and a half Miho lay in bed, without proper medical care, taking a cocktail of painkillers every single day to deal with the unbearable pain. 

Her relatives in Japan have been unable to help. Her parents too old to do anything for their daughter. Her brother in hospital himself for a different illness.

She couldn't conjure up the courage to call her friends. "What if I cause them bother?". "What if they should decline my calls for help?". Her anxiety exacerbated the dark cloud of depression that was taking hold as it slowly became clear that her life would never be the same again. 

***

Miho finally contacted me tonight. I was so happy to hear her sweet voice again but so sad as she told me all the details of the nightmare she had been through.

She was so lonely. She just called to chat to see how I was doing. I told her about my Love Letter lesson at DMM and about the way I am making big strides in business. Miho was one of the first people to take my lesson almost 11 months ago outside Tokyo station, so she has seen my journey from the very beginning. 

As Miho finished tellling her story - I couldn't believe it, but she actually wanted me to do a lesson on her nightmare in Brasil to talk about the state of healthcare there!! 

There she was, sat in her wheelchair in Rio, lonely and in pain, trying to give me lesson ideas.

Sometimes, Japanese people and their reservedness leave me speechless.

***

Really, there are more important things that need to be done before any lesson.

I promised her I will do absolutely everything in my power to bring her back to Japan and help her get back to some form of normality. 

I will set up a fundraiser and donate money towards her medical expenses. 
I will raise awareness by re-telling her story and notifying my group members of her predicament. 

If you read this and a) speak Portugese (the language in Brasil), b) are a doctor, or c) a dentist who can offer her advice, assistance or some words of comfort, please let me know as she desperately needs it.

Miho is in a foreign country, doesn't understand the language, and cannot even move - she needs your help - but she is too shy to ask for it. Therefore, I will plead her case.

If you can help Miho financially, the fundraiser will be up here shortly. 

Please, Miho is such a generous soul and a kind-hearted person.

This community I have on meetup.com, it's not just about lessons, it's about culture, business, English, of course, but at its heart, it's about humanity. 

Not just the humanity of me, but the humanity of you and a few thousand other people like you. 

***

Miho-san, don't worry. We'll get you back to Tokyo in no time at all. You'll be eating Japanese food again soon. Hang in there. 

Julian








 

 

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