February CROSSROADS Language Studio’s Newsletter 2007

Ladies! We’ve found the perfect “guy” forThe energy she has expended during heryou! This fellow is willing to stay at home gestation period will have been depleted and shealone for more than two months at a time and must replenish it. Within a couple of hours oftake care of the kids while you go off pursuing laying her egg, which she balances on her feet, she
your career; and he is willing to endure the gingerly passes her precious bundle of joy ontomost physically extreme conditions imaginable hubby’s feet. Now she sets off on an epic journey ofwhile doing it. Not only that, he will remain 80 or 90 kilometres to reach the open sea and food.
strictly monogamous and devoted to you andMr. E. Penguin will take care of their precious
the family, no matter how tough life gets for egg for the next 8 or 9 weeks. He will not eat thehim!
whole time, spending much of that time dozing on
Too good to be true? Well, he may be in our his feet with his egg snugly protected between hisworld, but not in the penguin world. This is brood pouch and his feet. The weather will be
extreme with temperatures at -40C and winds of up
especially so of Mr. Emperor Penguin.
These extraordinary birds live in the to 200 km per hour. To keep warm, Mr. Penguin
coldest place on earth, the South Pole. huddles with his buddies in large groups of dads
Although Antarctica is a continent, they never and their kids (eggs). The guys on the outside ofput foot on land. They live their entire lives the huddle turn their backs to the wind for(typically about 20 years, unless they run into, protection. Slowly they trade places with those on
and not away from, a Leopard Seal or an Orca) the inside so that everyone gets a chance to warmon the ice or in the freezing sea.
up before it’s his turn at the rim of the circle again
And yet, for these birds, nothing stands in – talk about male bonding!
the way of their devotion to their families.
About two months latter, E. P. junior hatches
Unlike all other birds that mate in spring, just in time for Mom’s return home. She takes overthe love-bug bites the Emperor Penguin family the child-caring duties and it is only then, after 2in March-April at the start of the winter months of starvation and extreme
season in the Southern hemisphere. Mrs. E. hardship, that dad can go off
Penguin lays her one and only egg a couple of and pursue his own careermonths later at the coldest time of the year in opportunities in the open sea.
May-June.
Now, that’s devotion!!

(These words are in colour in the story)
pursuing 従事する endure ～に耐える monogamous 一生一回婚の（に） devotion 献身的愛情
expended 消費したgestation 妊娠
depleted 涸渇させる
replenish 補給する
gingerly きわめて慎重に dozing まどろんでいる snugly 居ごこち良く huddle 群集

Joshua Says: What amazing weather we’re having! We chose our leader story on penguins
and Antarctica to correspond with the “coldest month of the year”, but it feels that thisFebruary Spring has already arrived in Matsuyama! I’d say that this is proof positive that“global warming” is upon us, except that I read recently countries in South-East Asia,Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, etc are having their coldest winter on record! What’s going on?
Junko Says: Matsuyama City Government is now working on an “Urban Renewal Plan”. They
want the center of Matsuyama to be interesting and convenient. In the center of the city there are
now 13 information booths, including 3 in Okaido. At these booths, you can get a “Matsuyama
Information Card”. With this card, you can accumulate points and win an i-pod or a trip toShanghai. You take the card to a “Pocotan Reader” to collect points. And, Crossroads has one ofthese readers on our counter! So, quickly go to a booth, get a card and start accumulating points!!
Alice Says: This week I tool the Kansai ferry to Beppu. I wanted to see the steam rising from thegeysers around the hot springs and relax in one of the onsens. I was planning to stay there onenight and visit near-by places the next day. However, I didn’t think to book a hotel and when I
arrived, they were all fully booked! So, unfortunately I had to cut my trip short and return toMatsuyama on the same day. It was an interesting day, but a long way to go to take a bath!
Iain Says: It is a month into the New Year and I have decided once again to try and go against
my nature. I got one of those little daily planners. It has a calendar and a note section. With
this I will be able to plan out my day. My hope is that by sticking to a schedule I will get moredone and waste less time. I doubt I will stick to this plan for the whole year, but I will be happy
if I can stay on schedule for a couple of months. How many of you struggle with organization?
Adrienne Says: We have two kittens. They are brothers. One is very friendly
and the other is very shy. Leo is constantly jumping onto my shoulder to watch
what I’m doing, and jumping into my arms to be held. He follows me everywhere.
He’s very much like an affectionate and hyperactive baby. Unlike a baby, I don’t
have to change diapers and I can put the cats outside and go out myself.

William Says: The Japanese plum blossoms and the beautiful sakura
have begun to bloom. They will come early this year. Let's hope thatthe wind is easy and the blossoms last a long time. March and April are
my favorite months in Ehime. Incredible beauty awakens from theEarth. Bicycle and motorcycle season have officially begun!
Dean Says: Well, hopefully winter is about over. Even though it was a mild
winter this year, I am always happy to see the weather warming up. Springis almost upon us. Traditionally in Australia and the United Kingdom, it’stime for a spring clean, throwing out all unwanted items in the house andgiving the house a thorough cleaning. It’s also thought to be a good time tocommence a new project or relationships. Good luck for your spring plans!
Yuka Says: Every year on the evening of Feb. 3rd, my family throws roasted beans to drive away
evil spirits, and this year was no exception. You might think this is superstition, but we are great
believers in the power of soybeans. Unlike those TV shows that air bogus health claims, we haveliving proof … my father. He has been eating tofu and natto for breakfast for almost 40 years. Inspite of his age and lack of exercise, his blood tests always show good results. Natto is not myfavorite food, but I try to eat it as often as possible for my health, not for losing weight.

Special from Suzuko – OUR TRIP TO GREECE, Part 1: On December
26th , we left Kansai bound for Greece. There were 14 women and two men
in our tour group. Our plane flew to Doha, in the Arabian country ofQatar. We had to wait at the airport for our flight to Greece. Qatar is aMuslim country and the airport had a prayer room and a room for women
only. Most of the women covered their heads with scarves. One woman’swhole body was covered in a black stole…. Continued next month.

This end-of-term’s Performance Night will be held at
8:00pm on Saturday 31st March at the school. Everyone iswelcome to come along and join in the fun, even if you’re
not performing. And, please invite your family andfriends to come along too. There will be plays, music and
A little background musicfrom Adriennemagic and after, we will celebrate with a party!
* Sign up early, get your tickets at the Office!

Courses you can take at CROSSROADS
NET LESSONS:
Are you too busy to come to CROSSROADS to study? Try ourlessons on the internet! --- It’s CROSSROADS in your homeor office! You get CROSSROADS’ great teachers, teaching
programs, even classmates, all on-line! Call for details.

GENERAL COURSES:
2 x’s 60mins / week
1 x’s 90mins / week
Private 1 x / week
Semi-Private 1 x /week

NET SITE OF THE MONTH:
You can find info on all kinds of penguins at: FRENCH with Natacha
SPANISH with Patricio
http://www.siec.k12.in.us/~west/proj/penguins/main.htm
RUSSIAN with Natasha
NET NOTEBOOK: Don’t forget to take a look at theInternet activity notebook in our open-house. You’ll findgames, news and English learning sites.

GERMAN with Marita & Matthias
CHINESE with Noriko
KOREAN with Kim

MOTHER & CHILD, group or private
KIDS, group or private
COSMOPOLITAN COURSES:“Singing in English” with Alice
Yoga with Dean
Guitar with William“Cooking in English” with Alice“Magic English” with Iain
Piano with Adrienne
Acting with Alice
NETLESSONS:
group or private

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