I went to Israel last week to attend my niece's wedding ceremony. She was beautiful, the ceremony was touching and the party was so fun and exciting. Guests came from all over the world from about 30 countries because the bridegroom was born in South Africa and moved to the US when he was a child and his parents have businesses all over the world.
2 days before the wedding
1 day before the wedding
Went to get the wedding gown.
The night before the wedding.
The wedding day morning.
Afternoon. Guests are arriving.
The bride.
The wedding ceremony took place at sunset.
The party!
Great food!
Great music!
Although my sister has lived in Israel for a long time, I had never visited there. Her children have visited Japan many times. This time I finally made it there and I find it a fantastic country! People are from all over and very friendly. Most people speak beautiful English and it is so easy to make friends. The weather was perfect and the food was great. It really reminded me of Los Angeles. This wedding was very carefully planned by the groom's family. There were lots of surprises: fireworks, neon light stuffs to wear or hold when dancing, slippers for the people who are tired of wearing heels, beautiful shawls to wear when temperature went down, baskets to put any fruits or flowers or vegetables you like to take home with (even the people working for the event could take them home), etc., etc. I think it cost a lot of money, but the groom's mother's enormous love to her son and the bride and the great care to the details made this a fantastic unforgettable moment not only for the wedding couple but for all the people who were there that night. I'll show you some more pictures outside the wedding scene next time.
下の写真はEuropeとAsiaの境界となるBosphorus海峡あたり。先ほどIstanbul経由で帰国したばかりです。Turkey (トルコ）は食べ物がおいしかったです♥ Well, I just stayed at the transit area of the airport, though...
A storage facility constructed of logs *azegi校木, cut in appropriate lengths to be piled up horizontally to make the walls. Best known are those with the logs cut in triangular shape and chamfers made along each angle. Sometimes the logs are circular or square. The logs are laid so that they interlock with each other at the corners. There are no corner pillars. The flat side always faces inward to make a smooth wall, while the diagonally cut parts face outward making a 'saw tooth' pattern. Mostazekuraare relatively small, having only one storage area.
なんと１７年前から５年間エスタミネー英語教室に通っていたKenちゃんが訪ねて来てくれました！彼と初めて会ったのは彼の中学校の入学式の日。おかあさんと当時やっていた喫茶店に式の帰りに寄ってくれました。とっても素敵な母子で、いろんなことに話しが弾みました。高校時代は部活の後も試験中も一度も休まず教室に来てくれました。学校の教材でわからないところがあると、夜遅く電話で聞いてきたりして、とっても熱心に勉強していた姿が心に残っています。彼のいたクラスはユニークな人たちの集まりで、大人と高校生がまぜまぜで、ひとりの人は高校時代アメリカ留学、そして大学時代はドイツ留学を果たし、もうひとりは５０代の方でしたが、仕事を辞めアメリカの大学に入学されました。別の男の子は最近結婚し、なんと式は京都の平安神宮！彼は大学は名古屋でそのままそこで就職し、今回人生の次のステージに行くための小休止で長崎に帰っているということです。成長した生徒さんに会えるって本当に感動です！Kenちゃん、please come visit us again!!
President Obama's message right after the successful operation: オバマ大統領の国民へのメッセージです。
(very rough draft )
Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Quaeda and a terrorist who was responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. It was nearly ten years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9-11 are seared into our national memory: hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky, the twin towers collapsing to the ground, black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon,the wreckage of the flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction. And yet we know that the worst images of those that were unseen to the world: the empty seat at the dinner table, children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father, parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace, nearly three thousand citizens taken from us leaving a gaping hole in our hearts. On September 11th, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other and our love of community and country. On that day no matter where we came from, what god we pray to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family. We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation, and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice.
