英会話サークルの紹介と現状
It's been two months since I started thecommunication circle at the studio on Thursdays.
It's a space where people can freely chat abouttheir daily lives in English for 30 minutes.
In this circle, I'm not a teacher. I'm just afacilitator who provides the space and makes sureeveryone gets a chance to speak.
Because of that, I don't charge any tuition fees.
All I ask for is a 500 yen session fee to helpcover the rent and electricity.
At first, I thought no one would be interested inthe so-called chat lounge.
However, to my surprise, we now have two regularmembers who show up almost every week plus anotherperson who occasionally drops by.
By the way, do you think a 30-minute session istoo short or too long?
In fact, those 30 minutes fly by every singletime, even when it's just one member and me.
In many cases, our sessions stretch to 40 minutesbecause it's hard to keep track of time when wedive deep into a topic.
Plus, the conversation usually gets even moreexciting toward the end.
Anyway, I was thinking it would also be wonderfulfor visitors from abroad or other prefectures inJapan to join us.
Here are three reasons why you should stop by.
理由1：ユニークな地元の人々のライフスタイルを発見する
1. Discover unique local insights and lifestyles
First of all, our regular members live veryinteresting lifestyles that you'll love learningabout.
For example, we recently talked about making sourpickle plums, umeboshi.
Right now is the season when umeboshi fans getbusy with production.
If you jump into our conversation, you'll learnall the nitty-gritty details of the process.
Interestingly, I was the only one who had nevermade them before.
As we talked, we realized how many different waysthere are to make them.
From traditional methods to modern efficiency-focused approaches.
2. Experience the fun of bridging language gaps
理由2：言葉の壁を乗り越える楽しさを体験する
This brings me to the second point.
As we kept talking, we hit a wall with words andphrases we didn't know how to say in English.
So, we all pulled out our smartphones and searchedfor translations together.
For instance, we ended up talking about doyo-boshi, midsummer plum drying, and doyo-no-ushi,midsummer day of the ox.
My understanding was simply the day we eat unagito keep up our stamina in the hot weather.
But then I learned about the traditional dryingprocess.
You need three consecutive sunny days with clearskies to dry and sterilize the plums.
When the word doyo came up in the context ofumeboshi, I was so confused.
Umeboshi and unagi? What are you talking about?
This is a great example of why you should come.
You get to experience the excitement of crossinglanguage barriers.
Some words defy literal translation and requirecreative explanations.
It's also fun to relearn the exact meanings ofJapanese words we thought we knew.
These assumptions can surprise you, but that's allpart of the learning process.
Since I dropped the teacher title, I've become ahappy ignorant learner.
It's so liberating.
I would much rather be open to learning new thingsthan pretend to be a know-it-all.
So if you decide to join us, don't worry about notbeing perfect.
Be happy to learn from others.
It's super affordable and welcoming.
理由3：手頃な価格と温かい雰囲気
Lastly, my final pitch.
As I mentioned, it only costs 500 yen per session.
Can you believe it? Just 500 yen!
You're welcome to bring your own drinks, or I canbrew some coffee for you.
It's all covered by that 500 yen.
If you recently moved to Sapporo and are lookingfor friendly people to talk to or a new hobby,
visiting our studio is the perfect way to checkthose off your to-do list.
Don't overthink it. Just give it a try.
We're all friendly and ready to chat. Let'ssocialize and learn together.