Last Vermont trip

 Today, we had a last Vermont trip.
 First, we went to Gingue Brothers Diary. The scene was very beautiful. There were few buildings and the grass plain spread as if it was the world of picture books. After we arrived, the owner talked us about the ranch. I was surprised that the ranch produces milk more than I expected. There were a lot of cows and they were eating grasses. Moreover, we was able to see milking machines. To tell the truth, I don't like milk but I was glad to learn how to produce it.
 Second, we went to the Fairfax Recreation Path. I ate a strawberry shortcake, it was so good. After that, I played in a river. It was hot today, and I felt comfortable. I have not played in a river for a long time, so I enjoyed it. The place was blessed with nature, and I remembered that I camped some years ago in my hometown.
 I was able to have good times through "discover VT"! I enjoyed the class. Thank you so much.

Farming in my country

Many people engage in farming in Japan. Japan has four and rainy seasons, so it is easy to grow food. One of the most famous products is rice. It is our staple diet and made in a lot of places but it takes a long time to harvest. I came to America, and I was surprised that I can eat rice at SMC cafeteria! However, the rice is little different from Japanese one, especially the shape and taste.
Japanese people grow many kinds of vegetables too. My hometown  is one of the towns where farming is popular. It is famous for lotus roots, melons, lettuce and so on. My grandparents grow some vegetables and fruits as a hobby. They send me watermelons in summer. They are very delicious.

Gingue Brothers Diary

I found five facts on Gingue Brothers Diary's facebook.

Cows eat grass which include the beta-carotene, so butter is not white but yellow.

When we eat spicy food, we should have a glass of milk. The reason is the casein in milk cleanses our burning tongues.

It takes about 7hours for cows to eat food in a day.

Milk is made of 85%-95% water. The other percentage is nutritious vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates and fat.

Cows consume anywhere from 30-50 gallons of water each day.


 

COTS 2

I went to the shelter last Thursday. This is the first time for me to visit a shelter. I learned homeless people and shelters in the class and got some informations on COTS' homepage before I went to there. However, I have never seen such a place, so I didn't imagine how the place was.

The shelter was cleaner than I expected. There were a lot of beds and I thought it could accommodate many people. Moreover, it had a social room and a kitchen.
One of the staffs talked about their activity. I learned about the shelter and homeless people in detail through her lecture. I was't able to understand whole meaning of the lecture, but I could learn their lives in the shelter.

After that, we were going to go to other places at down town, but we could not go because of rain. I was very sad.
I didn't have a cellphone and a camera, so I can't publish pictures. I'm sorry :(

   

COTS

I learned about homeless people in the last class. I have not thought them well, so the topic was interesting for me. I have three questions about COTS and homeless people.

First, how was your life before you entered the shelter?
I was able to catch COTS' activities roughly in the homepage, but I couldn't know the outside of COTS well. I think there are many homeless people who can't find a shelter all over the world. I want to know their lives and how did their life change due to COTS.

Second, what do you need the most now?
Homeless people in the shelter got their house, then I want to know what they want. It may be some stuff or manpower and so on. There are a lot of possibilities to support them. If we know the answer, we can make COTS's activities better.

Third, this is a question for the staff, how are you going to spread their activities?
I didn't know COTS at all before the last class, but now I think the activities are good. I feel there are many problems around the world, for example, poverty, starvation, and war. Many people are in need, so I think they sould spread their activities in wider region.     

lake champlain chocolates

We went to the lake champlain chocolates factory last Thursday. There were a lot of kinds of chocolates. As soon as we arrived at the factory, the staff gave us a lecture about chocolates. We learned the history of chocolates and how to make it. I found that chocolates was very famous all over the world, but I didn't know about it well. Moreover, we saw and touched a cacao which is used to make chocolates. It was hard and didn't smell sweet. We ate three types of chocolates in the lecture. White chocolate was very sweet and it tasted like milk. Brown one was probably normal taste but it was too sweet for me. Block one was the most bitter. I like it the best of the three. I was able to learn that there were many types of chocolates and various ways of making them. I also saw the chocolate factory. There were a lot of machines so I was surprised. After the lecture, we walked around the shop. I ate a free sample of chocolate. It was bitter, and I thought it was very good. Through the trip, not only I was able to learn chocolates but also I became more interested in Vermont. I am looking forward to next trip too!

self-introduction

Hi, my name is Natsumi Namekawa. I am an International Christian University student. I am from Ibaraki in Japan but now I live in Tokyo apart from my family. I have a brother, he is 18 years old.
I have practiced Japanese calligraphy for eleven years. It is called "Shodo" in Japanese.
I am interested in linguistics so I want to major in it at my university.
This is the first time I come to America. I was looking forward to visiting Vermont so much. I enjoy my life at SMC. This place is blessed with nature and I am having good time here. I have to leave this university in 3 weeks, so I want to improve my English skills more.