CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter January,January, 201
20 1 4

Horses have been around for about 55
million years, much longer thanhumans. It was from about this timethat they began their evolutionary
journey in North America. Back thenthey were about the size of a small dog(only 20-35 cm tall) and looked very
different to today’s modern horses.
They have gone through many changes
on their long journey through time andtheir physical transformation over the eons has
been extraordinary. They died out in theAmericas about 10,000 years ago, only to bereintroduced to that continent by man millennia
later. Indeed, it is their relationship withhumans that has perhaps been the most
momentous event of their entire history.
Humans first domesticated horses some
6,000 years ago and by about 3,000 BC it isbelieved that the horse had become an
integral part of human societies throughout
most of the known world. However, itappears from archeological evidence thatearly hominids were hunting horses for foodas much as 500,000 years ago. Even to thisday, horse meat is consumed as food in someparts of the world.
Of course, today horses are much more thanmere food for people. Because of their speed andstrength, humans havebeen employing ourlong-legged friends innumerous ways
for a long time.
NET LESSONS: Are you too busy to come toCROSSROADS?....Try our lessons on the Internet!

SITE OF THE MONTH:
You can find everything about horses here:
www.amnh.org/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/horse

These animals remained essential
in many human societies until theadvent of the engine. Horses still
hold a place of honor in many
cultures, often linked to heroic
exploits in war. But there is also
the loyal, hard working draft
horse that has plowed fields for
Henson Recording Studios, LA, USA
the farmer and helped him growcrops. There arecarriage and wagon pulling horses that havegiven us great mobility over the centuries. We
still race horses; we show them; and we jump
them. In fact we do so much with horses that it
is impossible to imagine human society without
them.
Horses have influenced us beyond just thephysical world too. They have entered therealms of our imagination. They have, throughmyths and legends, existed for thousands ofyears as powerful symbols helping toguide humanity. Think of the Unicorn,a mythical creature said to have theability to distinguish between truth
and lies. And Pegasus, a winged
legend symbolizing, as some researchers
have suggested, the spiritual energy needed tolift mankind up
into
the heavens(to a higher state).
The Centaur
has symbolized
man’s inner
struggle between hisbase instincts
andhigher intellectsince early
Greek times. However you lookat it, the horse has been anessential part of human
evolution, as humans have been
to the horses’.

Happy New Year for this Year
Year of theHorse!

Joshua Says: Another year has passed and we are entering a new year onceagain. At this time of the year, I am reminded of the old adage, “the only constantis change”. And this year, we are going to see even greater changes than usual.
For those who haven’t heard yet, we are moving to Ichi-bancho in March. This
will be an exciting time for us and I’m eagerly looking forward to it. There’ll be
more details in next month’s NL, and you can find out more from Junko.

Junko Says: The 2014 Oscar nominations have been announced. If you
search for “Oscar Nominations” with Google, you’ll find all the films ineach category listed. And if you’d like to see any of them, just type“watch” plus the movie title in the search engine. Usually you can get
several links to the movie you want. You may find that it’s easier tounderstand English watching a movie without Japanese subtitles.

Kenneth Says: We had an enjoyable Christmas holiday with mymom here visiting Japan from Calgary, Canada. We took her tomany sites in Shikoku (Matsuyama Castle, Dougo, Sadamisaki, abeach in Hojo, Imabari and a quick trip across the KurushimaKaikyo bridge to Oshima). The days were warm for the most part sothat we even went barefoot on a beach at Hojo.

Adrienne Says: Continuing with the theme of marriage between men
and women, Dr. Love says that problems develop primarily because men
are vulnerable to the feeling of “shame”, that is, they feel terrible when
they think they have failed at something. Woman, on the other hand,are vulnerable to the feeling of “fear” of being emotionally isolated,materially deprived, and physically harmed.

Stephanie Dit: Bonne année 2014 !!! Que cette nouvelle année vous
apporte santé, joie et bonheur ! Janvier est le mois des bonnes
résolutions. Quelle est la vôtre ? Faire plus de sport ? Manger plus
sainement ? Economiser pour vos projets ? Les favorites des Francais...
Mais comme Janvier est aussi le mois de la raclette, des crêpes et dessoldes, ces résolutions sont souvent vite oubliées !

This year you might find yourself
occasionally thinking about horses – after
all, this is The Year of the Horse . And as you
contemplate these marvelous creatures, has the thought ofhaving one as a pet ever crossed your mind? “Yes, but they are
too big for my apartment,” you might say. Well, for true horse lovers,
space should not be a problem when it comes to a miniature horse.
These little fellows really love to interact with people and otherpets, as you can see from the photos here. So, what
do you think about adopting a house-horse as a pet?!

Don’t forget… Our SPECIAL 1+1 Campaign offer! Up to 50% off!!
See our notice board, or ask Junko in our office, for the details.