Work it Out
I learned many things during my year abroad in New Zealand: how to speak
English, how to play touch rugby, and how to cook. More than these things
though the most important skill I gained while overseas was learning how to‘work it out’ when I had difficulties with another person.
In Japan I have an older sister and we would often fight and argue about thesilliest things. Every time we fought, our mother would come and sort things out
between us. In New Zealand however things were very different. My hostmother was a believer in working things out for yourself and she would rarelyinterfere when I had an argument with my host sister, Julie. Julie and I would
sometimes disagree, especially when I first arrived as a new member of theirfamily.
It was strange for me but my host mother would make us work out ourdisagreements by talking, which was really tough for me at first! “If I am always
fixing your problems then they aren’t really fixed”, she would tell us, so Julie and I
had no choice but to ‘work it out’. And you know what? Julie and I are nowBFF, or ‘best friends forever’ and I know her better than anybody else in theworld. I want to thank my lovely host mother for teaching me this wonderful skill,and even though I’m back in Japan now I am still going to ‘work it out’ whenever I
have a problem.

Music is my Life“Are you ever coming down for dinner?”, my mother yells. “Right after this songis over!”, I reply. This is a pretty common conversation in our house...you see,
I’m totally and completely crazy about music. Morning, noon, and night I’meither playing or listening to some form of music, and I’ve been this way eversince I can remember.
When my mom was pregnant with me she would listen to classical music and I
would dance in her tummy. After I was born the only thing that would put me tosleep was music, and by the time I was in kindergarten I could already play thepiano and the harmonica. I’m 15 now and belong to the band club and themusic club at school, and I think I have over a thousand songs on my computerthat I constantly listen to.
I’m always asked if I want to be a musician but to be honest my dream is to
manage other musicians and help them to achieve their dreams. This way I canbe involved in various types of music and interact with different types of people.
I plan to take a music management course in university once I graduate, and myparents seem to be supportive of my idea...though these days I think my mom
just really wishes I would get to the dinner table on time. What can I say?
Sometimes I need music more than I need food. Music is my life!

Cats or Dogs?
I had a really interesting conversation with my friend last Thursday. We werearguing over whether dogs or cats were better and discussing which made abetter pet. I didn’t realize she was such a ‘dog person’ though I guess I could
have guessed because her family owns three little Cocker Spaniels.
“Cats don’t really do anything”, she said. “Well, they’re independent, that’s why”,
I replied. “And dogs kind of smell and always want attention”, I added. “That’s
why I love them”, she said. “My dogs always want to play when I get home fromschool...but my aunt’s cat just hisses and tries to scratch me every time I see it”.
“Hmmmm”, I said, “well my cat is super-friendly but the neighbor’s dog justmakes a mess of their yard and barks all night”. In the end we decided that sheshould keep her dogs and I’ll stick with my cat.
I realized that different types of animals suit different types of people. Somepeople crave companionship and enjoy the playfulness of a dog while others
prefer the quiet independence of a cat. Dogs might be more fun but they also
require more care than a cat. When I mentioned all of this to my family thatnight my little brother gave his opinion: “Well you were both wrong; I think
everybody knows that the best pets are iguanas!” We had a good laugh at thatone.
Cats or dogs?

It really depends on the person.
Renewable Energy

Fossil fuels like oil and coal are not going to last forever so we need to start
thinking of other sources of renewable energy. In my school we have been
researching alternative sources of energy and I’d like to tell you about some ofthem today.
Renewable energy comes from natural sources such as the sun, the wind, thetides, and the hot water inside the Earth, called geothermal power. Many
houses now have solar panels which ‘catch’ the sun’s energy and convert it intoelectricity. Maybe even your calculator has a small solar panel on it too. Wind
‘farms’ are areas with giant windmills whose huge blades move in the wind,
turning gears inside and creating energy. There are similar machines that
capture the power of the moving ocean tides and turn it into electricity, and somecountries use the hot water within the Earth to create energy too.
Renewable energy is not perfect yet however. Solar panels are expensive, fairly
heavy, and only work when it’s sunny. Windmills are also expensive and can be
noisy, and not every country has access to tides or geothermal power. However,research is continuing and renewable energy is becoming a more realistic andefficient option. Eventually fossil fuels will run out and we will need safer,cleaner sources of energy. I plan to keep studying these new methods andmaybe someday I can be a scientist or engineer and get involved in bringing
these new energies to people all over the world.

The Accidental Volunteer
In Canada last year our class had an optional course called Community Services.
This course involved doing good works in the community...but without receiving
any kind of payment in return. The whole idea seemed a bit strange to me soneedless to say I didn’t join that class. My friend, however, did.
Two weeks into the term my friend called me one Friday evening and said, “I
really need a huge favor. I am sick and need somebody to take my place on thevolunteer field trip tomorrow.” “I don’t know anything about volunteering”, Iargued. “Pleeaaase!”, she begged, “my place is reserved and they’ll be expecting
me...or at least somebody.” After about twenty minutes of begging I finally gave
in. But what did I know about volunteering?
Well, it turned out to be one of the best days of my life. In the morning wehelped brush and feed stray cats and dogs at an animal shelter. I absolutely
love animals so it didn’t feel like ‘work’ at all. In the afternoon we helped serve
meals at a seniors’ center and they seemed so happy just to talk to us. I
somehow ended up playing some songs on the big old piano they had in thecommon room for the seniors and many of them were crying with joy. It was somoving. I don’t know how to describe it, but something changed inside me thatday, and on the following Monday I also managed to join Community Services.

Movies vs. Books
As more and more popular books are being made into big Hollywood movies itraises the question of which is better, movies or books? I would have to saythat I prefer books because, in my experience, the movie is never quite as good.
Our imaginations can paint a much richer story than any director ever could, andwith a book the experience can last as long as you decide. With a movie it’s overin two hours. I also like the fact that you can carry a book around with you
wherever you go.
I know some people think that movies are better because you don’t have to thinkmuch; all the sights and sounds are supplied for you. You can just sit back andrelax, and let the whole experience unfold before your eyes. I guess movies arealso cool because you can go with all your friends. I understand all that but I
still love to sit back and let my imagination run wild as I turn the pages of myfavorite new novel.
To be honest though, I usually do both if I can. If I read a book I really like then I
will often also go and see the movie and see what’s the same and what’sdifferent. In some cases the story is totally different! How about you guys?
What would you rather do? Sit back and relax with a good book or head down
to the theater with your friends?

Rugby: Pride of a Nation
Japan has sumo and baseball. America has basketball and football. Canada
has ice hockey and lacrosse. But in the small island nation of New Zealand thesport that lives in the heart of the people is rugby. Originally from England, therules of rugby can be confusing at first, especially to those people who grew up
watching American football, soccer, or hockey.
Perhaps the most unique rule is that you cannot throw the ball forward - you must
instead throw the ball back to your own players while moving forward down thefield. This is very different from most other field sports. Also different is thefact that you cannot check players who do not have the ball. And in rugby you
can score points with your hands or your feet. All this makes for a very
interesting and entertaining game.
In New Zealand, boys and girls start to play rugby from a very young age, andbecause the sport is so well-supported, the country is able to raise some of theworld’s most dominant players. There are many different leagues andtournaments where Kiwi rugby players can improve their skills and move up theranks. New Zealand’s national rugby team, the mighty All Blacks, have the best
winning record of any professional sports team and are feared in every otherrugby playing nation. The pride of an entire nation rides on the shoulders ofthese gigantic athletes and they rarely disappoint their many loyal fans.

Helping in English
It wasn’t until I found myself suddenly playing ‘emergency translator’ that I truly
realized the value of all my years of English study. It was a Sunday afternoonand as I walked through the crowded station I noticed a little boy crying. I could
see he was not Japanese and there were already several people kneeling beside
him trying to help. I walked closer and one of the ladies helping suddenly asked
me if I spoke any English. “We don’t know what he’s saying”, she said to me inJapanese. The little boy looked scared but I asked him who he was and if hewas lost. “I’m Michael Brown and I can’t find my mommy and daddy”, he said.
“It’ll be okay Michael; we’ll find them”, I replied.
In the end, the station staff asked me to do an announcement over the speakersystem in English asking the parents to come to the main office. Within
seconds a desperate-looking couple came running up to the office and burst
through the door. “You are a hero!”, the parents told me as they hugged their son.
“He somehow got away from us in the crowd and when we turned around he wasgone,” said the tearful mother. Now, I’m not sure if I’m really a hero but I can’t
describe how good it felt to be able to help those people...and I wouldn’t havebeen able to do it if it weren’t for my English skills.

Laughter is the Best Medicine
Everyone loves a good laugh but did you know that it’s been scientifically proventhat laughing can make you healthier? There have been many studies recently
looking at the positive effects laughing can have on your body and mind.
Laughing can increase your productivity, reduce pain, boost your energy, andeven help cure certain illnesses. And laughing just feels good - who doesn’t
enjoy having a good laugh?
When we laugh our bodies produce hormones that calm the mind. We also
breathe more oxygen when we laugh which is good for our hearts and brains.
There are now some companies around the world that have their staff take‘laughing classes’ which can relieve stress and also increase productivity.
Laughter Yoga is also spreading across the world and is now practiced in over 60
countries. This practice combines yoga poses with laughing and members saythat they feel happier and healthier because of it. You can even become aLaughter Therapist as several universities are now offering such courses. I thinkthat sounds like a really fun job, don’t you?
So the next time you are feeling down or a little bit stressed out, instead ofreaching for the ice cream or just crawling into bed, why not try having a goodlaugh? Watch your favorite comedy, tell some funny jokes, or just be silly withyour friends. It’s fun, it’s free, and you might just discover that laughter truly is thebest medicine.
Good News
Have you ever noticed that most news these days is negative? Whether you’rereading the daily newspaper or listening to the evening news it always seems likesomething bad has happened or is going to happen. Is this really the way theworld is or are we only hearing part of the story? Now, I’m not sure if everythingthat we hear on the news is true or not, but I do think that for every bad thing thathas happened there are probably 10 good things that have also happened. Ithink people should know about these stories too.
They say that people are naturally attracted to negative headlines, that it’s‘human nature’, but I believe that people love hearing positive stories too. Oncepeople get used to it I think they would enjoy reading about the many wonderfulthings that happen each day in our world and that is why I want to create a‘positive news only’ website.
My dream is to have a website that reports only good news, from positive
agreements between countries to the lady down the street who found her lost cat.
Right now it’s only a dream but I’m already learning how to make a website andsome of my friends have agreed to report for me. I think we need to hear thegood in this world along with the bad. What do you think? Would you beinterested in reading positive news? I’ll let you know when my website is ready.