My favorite country

France is one of my favorite countries. It has attracted me for a long time and there are many things what I want to do in France. In particular, there are three things what I really want to do in France.

  Firstly, I want to hear some orchestra performances in Paris. My favorite comic is “Nodame cantabile” and it’s a start of knowing about orchestra. The main character, Nodame, studies music at the Conservatoire national superieur de Musique de Paris. She often goes to some concerts and many kinds of classical music are introduced in the story. It’s possible for me to go to a concert and hear a live performance in Kumamoto. In addition, I have a few MD which are recorded various pieces of classical music. However, I want to hear a real performance at a French concert hall. Even if we have few knowledge of music, the concert would entertain us. It is said that there are a lot of concert halls in Paris. So we can know a schedule from seeing many advertisements when we walk a street. From thinking about it, it makes me excited. So what I want to do in France is go to concert hall and hear an orchestra performance in Paris.

  Secondly, I want to see French historic structures. World history was my major of geography and history in my high school days. Then I learned about French classical architectures; Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. For example, they are Chartres Cathedral, Nortre-Dame, Palace of Versailles and so on. My teacher taught us the difference of them in each dates. I want to compare them and see for myself. Also there are other historic buildings which I learned. For example, one of them is in the Place de la Bastille. The Bastille was the beginning of the French Revolution on the 14^th of July in 1789. It’s interesting for me because my birthday is July 14^th. I have only seen them in pictures of text book. It would be exciting me if I really see them. According to these reasons, I want to see French historic architectures which I learned in my high school days.

  Thirdly, I want to eat French bread in France. One of my teachers said it was really different from eating French bread in Japan. Even if we make the bread by using ingredients which are made in France, it is impossible to make the bread which is made and eaten in France. She said the French bread was delicious because of French atmosphere and it makes us feel tasty. Though there are many famous French cuisines; beef steak or roast chicken, I want to have simple French bread in France. It is one of French attractions even a loaf of bread makes us happy.

According to these reasons why France is my favorite country, France has a lot of fascinations. I’m suffered from people around me, and their information makes me excited. It would be gratifying me when I actually visit France sometime. (507 words, total 11,882 words)

My Favorite Movie

One of my favorite movies is “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.” It is the third series of High School Musical and the first and second series were broadcasted on Disney Channel in the United States. The cast is Zac Efron who played Troy and Vanessa Hudgens who played Gabriella. They are lovers as well as the role. The director is Kenny Ortega. It is not just a musical youth movie. In my view, the movie’s main theme is to find meanings of high school after high school students overcame their conflicted feeling. There are three songs in the movie which describes it well.
The first is “Scream.” It is sung by Troy who is the main character. He likes basketball and belongs to a basketball club. He also likes playing and singing. In addition, he loves Gabriella and he want to be with her for the rest of his life. The song seems to mean that he is likely to be crushed by expectations from his father and want to run away from them. In other words, he is conflicted between the idea and reality. The song well describes the conflicted feeling of high school students.
The second is “Can I Have This Dance.” It is a song of prom and sung by Troy and Gabriella with dancing. She thought that it was the best way to break up with him but she keenly feel the importance of him after she separated from him. They sung the song after they took their decisions. My feeling of prom is a rite of passage into adulthood. The conflicted feeling in high school life should be needed to become an adult. The prom in the movie shows that they overcame their conflicted feeling and matured mentally. The song is very calm and fantastic by comparison with other songs. It also means that they are not like a kid but they are near an adult.
The third is “High School Musical.” It is sung by the senior high school students at the commencement exercise. My favorite scene of the movie is their dance to the song at that time. The positive song is surely make viewers happy. At the same time, they dance with refreshed and smiled faces so it is impressive for me. The song describes that the students’ own conclusion about meaning of high school. It is that high school is the best part to step into the future and graduation from high school is not end but beginning. They can only make a first step toward their future if they experienced and overcame their hard feelings.
These songs are features and essential elements of the movie. They helped us to understand characters’ feeling easily and nicely. And another thing the actors dance and sing very well so viewers can enjoy not only story but also their dancing and singing. It is popular with teenagers but it will delight adults in the same way. After we watched it, we can realize the meaning of high school. They are the reasons why it is my favorite movie. (515 words)

To my host family

Hello. I’m Yoshiko. I’m very glad to stay with you this summer. Let me tell you about myself. I study English at KGU. I’m interested in foreign languages, especially English. Recently, I have started to study French and Korean. I want to be able to teach Japanese to foreigners, if you are interested in Japanese, I want to teach you as much as I can.
Talking of my likes, I like sports very much. I especially like badminton and baseball. When I play some sports with some of my friends, they say I’m very competitive. I sometimes continue to play the game until I win the game.
I like cooking these days. I try to cook Chinese dishes and dessert. Do you feel you know something about me now?
Next, let me tell you about my family. There are five people in my family. My father works at city hall. He is interested in various things. My mother works at a preschool. She is very kind and cooks well. I live by myself, so I often miss her cooking. My older sister works at a hospital. She has three medical qualifications. My younger brother is a high school student. He and I used to play many sports when I lived with my family. I love them very much.
I have something to ask you. I want to know what is famous in your city. If there are famous or interesting places, please take me there. Do you have some Japanese goods? I’ll try to bring them if possible. Do you like Japanese manga or anime? Please tell me your answer.
I can’t wait to see you! I’ll look forward to having a wonderful time with you.
Love, Yoshiko (285 words, total 10,082 words))

My treasure

My treasure is all of letters from some of my friends. I’ve adored exchanging letters from 13 years ago. I have letters from two special pen pals and a precious letter of mine.
First of all, I’ll write about one of my friends, Midori. The beginning that I’ve started to be like changing letters is she. She and I went to a same kindergarten and we were the best friend. However, before we were the second-year student, she moved to another city. After she moved, we have started to exchange letters. I wasn’t able to wait to receive letters from her because not only contains but also envelops and seals of her letters were cute, funny, humorous and unique. I keep in touch with her still now.
Secondly, it’s one of my friends, Manami. She and I have been friends since we went to the same kindergarten. We didn’t be the same class in elementary school. So we have started to exchange letters. Although we were able to hand over the letter to each other, we have sent letters. She often used to send me letters with something. For examples, a necklace, beautiful stone, character good which I liked and so on. Some of letters were shortage of postage if postage was 80 yen.
Thirdly, my precious letter is from my mother. When I was a first-year elementary school student, she gave me a letter. She encouraged and praised me on the letter. In addition, her handwriting is beautiful and easy to read. I love it so I used to imitate it and read her letter again and again. This letter is in my drawer of my desk in my hometown.
These letters are my priceless treasure. I feel like exchanging letters with foreign friends in the future. I want to keep in touch with some of my friends and save all of letters that is my treasure. (318 words, total 4'163 words)