Meeting #153

6th March 24 at 21:00 Asia/Tokyo

10attendees

Word of the Day: warm the cockles of the heart 💕

Spring is just around the corner. I can see some kind of cherry blossoms on streets, which warms the cockles of my heart💕 though it’s still cold in my area. Other members also have some news related to ‘spring’. It can be often associated with the word ‘commencement.’ I think it’s the second good chance to set goals and start something new in addition to the New Years’ resolution. haha…

Anyway, first and foremost, Yukimasa-san has finally come back! We were so relieved to see him again:) I guess he hasn’t got out of the tough situations yet in Ishikawa, which was greatly affected by the gigantic earthquake on New Year’s Day. Having said that, he decided to concentrate on keeping his job in the stricken area. Yukimasa-san, we are always rooting for you! Oh, honorable readers, if you want to try some gin, go to the website: https://www.notogin.com ;)

Next adventurer is Erika-san! She is going to Africa to do volunteer work in April. Ah, maybe that’s why she made an intriguing speech about an African country Burunji last time. Erika-san, we hope you have a safe journey and good luck! The third adventurer is Yoichi-san! He is going to challenge himself to Shikoku 88 Buddhist temples pilgrimage. Wow! He is older than me but he is young at heart!

More big news are coming: according to Takako-san’s report, Mikiko-san won a speech contest and proceeded to the Kansai area speech contest! Wow! Congratulations, Mikiko-san! We are so happy for you :) Speaking of another great speaker, you can’t forget about Kazuko-san. You have already known she is not only a fluent speaker of English but also a robust runner :) She will give another try to run a full marathon next month in Tokushima. It is the place Mikiko-san and Takako-san live. They can get together in person! How exciting! I want to listen to her speech too. She said in her speech she mentions some type of Taiwanese cake. Surprisingly enough, Ritsuko-san has been making the same kind of cake for an international festival in her area. Last but not least, talking of Japanese spring, Kimiko-san and I have suffered from hay fever. My nose looks like that famous Rudolf the reindeer because I blew my nose so many times. It is another reason I definitely need to wear a mask. haha..

　　The next session Thought of the Day was conducted by Yukimasa-san. He started his speech with an example to describe his thoughts. It is “a pinch of salt makes watermelon sweeter.” It can enhance the sweetness. In other words, bitter taste can change into sweet. Through his ‘bitter’ experiences in the devastated area, he encountered wonderful people and he realized how much he has felt blessed with them, who he thinks sweeten his life. It sounds to me that he has been counting his blessings on a daily basis. Yukimasa-san, thank you for your thought-provoking idea.

　　Now is the time for prepared speech session! Ritsuko-san, stage is yours! Her speech title is “Where Peace Begins” from Presentation Mastery #2-1 - Effective Body Language. The speech objectives are: to choose a topic that lends itself to expression through movement and gestures; deliver a speech containing practiced and refined nonverbal communication. She described how easy it is to make peace as the first step, saying “Peace begins at a dinner table.” And she shared one of her favorite quotes: “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”― J.R.R. Tolkien. We learned a lot from your speech, Ritsuko-san. Thank you!

The most heart-pounding moment for me has come: Table Topic Session. Kazuko-san as the conductor set the theme as commencement. The well-crafted questions she prepared were as follows: what was your memorable ceremony as a graduate or an attendee?; Imagine you’re delivering a commencement speech to graduating students, what messages would you convey?; Looking back on your life, what was your personal story of a new chapter of your life?; Do you think commencement ceremony is necessary?; What are new things you would like to challenge?; and as my answer to the last question, I shared my episode relevant to my favorite school subject English (of course! ) and my passion of teaching English with other members.

Unfortunately, after Kazuko-san finished her marvelous evaluation speech, it was about time for me to leave the zoom meeting due to my family matter. However, I can say we had a fruitful and enjoyable meeting again. I believe some day seeing them in person will warm the cockles of my heart 💕