January The Newsletter ofCROSSROADS Language Studio 2003

January 1st begins a new year
in most countries.
Different countries havedifferent c u s t o m s andtraditions to welcome the New
Year. For example:
Brazil: People wear whiteclothes for good luck. If they
live near the sea, they go in
the water, jump over 7 waves
and throw in flowers.
China: The New Year iscelebrated in February andchildren get “lucky money”
from adults.
Colombia: People make a dollcalled “Mr. Old Year.” Theyburn it for luck in the NewYear.
Korea: A bell rings 33 times.
Thailand: New Year’s Day is April 13th.
People play with water, throwing it oneach other.
Venezuela:
People wear yellow
underwear for good luck!
In many countries, people makeresolutions.

These are like promises about things
they want to do in the New Year.
The most
popular New Year’s
resolutions are: to lose weight; to stopsmoking and; to start exercising.
Unfortunately, a lot of people find it
difficult to keep resolutions for thewhole year, so sometimes they have torepeat the same resolution the nextyear, too!
What resolution did you make for2003?
In America, 4 holidays are very close
together. They are: 1) Halloween, onOctober 31st;2) Thanksgiving, at the end ofNovember;
3) Christmas, on December 25th; and4) New Year’s Day, January 1st.
The time from Halloween throughNew Year’s Day is called the “HolidaySeason.”On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day,people in many countries have celebrations,parties, parades and fireworks.
If you like sports, you should knowthat New Year’s Day is a very importantday for American football.

GLOSSARY (These words are in Blue in the story)

Joshua Says: Thank you all for making our Christmas party at Spice
Kingdom restaurant so much fun. It is always nice to see everyone outsideof school. I hope you enjoyed the food and friends. I also hope you got what
you wanted for Christmas! Happy New Year!!
Junko Says: I am very happy to see everyone again at the beginning of2003. We have many new students, and many of our long-time students arealso returning. We have new things planned for you this year. Moreparties, more events, and lots of ways to make learning more fun.
Joanna Says: December was a very special month for me because it was
my one-year anniversary in Japan. I took a walk down ‘memory lane’,remembering how strange and lost I felt in my first week here! I celebrated
my anniversary with a glass of wine and a big pizza! Cheers!
Drew Says: Some of you know I love jazz, so I am very happy because in
December I bought a CD player. Sometimes, we don’t know how much welike something until we don’t have it any more. After 5 months inMatsuyama without music, I now know how important it is to me!
Tamara Says: Last month I bought a sewing machine and have been
having a lot of fun finding all of the craft and fabric stores aroundMatsuyama. I enjoy making my own clothing and accessories. If you sew or
do crafts, let me know where your favorite store is!
Greg Says: I hope you all had happy holidays. I was home in Australia forChristmas. It was nice to see everyone there, but I’m glad to be back inMatsuyama and to see you all again. I look forward to hearing your New
Year’s Resolutions. I hope you can keep yours longer than I do!
Peter Says: I had very happy holidays and hope you did too. I stayed inMatsuyama and had fun going to parties and seeing all my friends. I waseven Santa Clause at one party! I went snowboarding, too. That’s one of
my favorite things to do. I look forward seeing you all in 2003!
Yuka Says: Last month I went to Kobe to see a wonderful show of Vincent
van Gogh paintings in a museum. There were so many people, the lines
were very long. I bought some postcards with van Gogh paintings on them.
Do you want to see them?

Takuyoshi Shioni Says: Greetings from Canada! Guess what? I decided
to travel around Europe this winter. My French friend studying inVancouver is going to France for vacation and asked me to go. I’ll write youfrom there!
Atsushi Kineda Says: I went to Thailand for 6 days in December. I like Thailand
very much. I am learning to cook Thai food. Maybe I’ll cook for you one day!”
Miho Takeyama Says: I took the highest level exam for Kimono and passed! Afterthe exam I received a certificate. Now I can help other people dress in a Kimono for
special occasions!

EASY ENGLISH LESSON“GET”
The word get has many meanings in English. For example:
1. To receive: “Did you get my e-mail? 2. To become: “I get sleepy at night.” 3. To understand: “I don’t
get question number six.” 4. To buy: “Did you get new shoes?” 5. To answer the phone: “The phone isringing. Can you get it, please?” 6. To arrive: “I got to work at 8:00. 7. To put something on something(usually by accident): “Oh no, I got ketchup on my new shirt!
Good luck with your English!

Do you have a question? Please ask us!

Phone: 0120-21-7594
Tel: (089) 921-7595
Fax: (089) 921-7319
Email:info@crossroadsco.com
Web Site: www.crossroadsco.com