CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter May,May, 201
20 1 8As a newcomer to Matsuyama I have beensurprised by the warmth in welcome by thelocal people. Shikoku’s long history as aplace of pilgrimage seems to have made thepeople more welcoming to outsiders –though maybe the nature of the visitors
themselves has helped form and strengthen
this bond: After all, It takes a special kind of
person to want to do a 1400-kilometre-longpilgrimage by foot in the first place, but theactual physical and spiritual process ofwalking itself has also been shown to have a
profound impact on the person.
The origins of walking great distances forfood and shelter may be traced back to before
man became man, and walking for reasons
beyond necessity may too come from our ‘prehistory’ before mentions in the tomes of world
religions, Buddhist monks’ scriptures and of
the great pilgrimages practiced by devotees
for thousands of years. Walking is a practicethat seems to lie at the heart of allEllamajor
spiritual movements, and a common
metaphor repeated by the world’s majorreligionsis of walking a path, while aiming
Janisforspiritualenlightenment
orprogress.
Indeed, many of
the world’s greatest
minds have foundwalkingvital:
Dickens saw walking
as a ‘psychological release’ without which
he’d ‘burst’ if kept static. Aristotle would
hold walking lectures, Wordsworth walked
around 290,000kms in his time, Beethoven,Einstein, Darwin, Plato, and countlessothers have used walking as an essential
tool to clarify thought, meditatively clear themind, contemplate and solve complex
problems, become inspired and refreshedand to feel ‘at one’ with the world.

So what is so appealing about putting one
foot in front of the other?
Exercise in general obviously aids the(blood’s) circulation, replenishing oxygen to
the brain as muchas the muscles, andaerobic
exercises,
such as walking,
are
known
to
particularly benefit
the mind. Memory
and levels of focus
andattention
increase considerably
afterwards, partly
because complimenting mental with bodily
exertion
helps
theprocessingandcompartmentalization (storage) of newfound knowledge, and clears the way for
additional information.
Regular walking in particular has beenshown to help create stronger and more
complex neural networks, and increase thevolumeof
thememory-responsible
hippocampus region of the brain. Prolonged
retention and regeneration of brain cells into
old-age also means walking helps stop brain
shrinkage, and can ward off dementia andother degenerative maladies. Improved
plasticity too – allowing
the brain to
restructure and adapt itself to better
comprehend and process new tasks – also
helps us keep expanding our skill-sets andstay mentally adept. Walking, then, seems
to be the perfect pursuit for the lifelong
language learner too!

Article by MarkNET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons on the net!
Walking for exercise – how to get started:
https://www.wikihow.com/Start-Walking-for-Exercise

Joshua Says: There really is a purpose for remaining active throughout life.
It’s when we stop trying, stop challenging ourselves, that we start to let go of
all that’s positive about life. It’s with this thought that I want to encourageolder people to get involved with something....anything really; computergames, shared interests in social clubs, sports and of course language studies.
Keeping the mind and body healthy and young as we age is a blessing.
Junko Says: Recently we worked on our front garden for spring. A few years ago, we planted
Avocado and Olive trees and a few other flowers there. The trees have now grown tall and theirbranches are spreading out. So we pruned them and put support poles around them to carry someof their weight. The delightful news is that we even found some olive flowers on a few

branches. Our garden is a collaboration as most of the flowers have been given to us byour students, including two new ones this year which make the garden more colorful.
Mark Says: So it’s getting warmer, and Matsuyama city gents have alreadystarted going tie-less, as part of the ‘cool biz’ initiative. Maybe it’s a little
earlier than normal, but we should be grateful that Japan seems to be missing
the worst effects of global warming – where I lived in Thailand, for example,
increased rainfall meant waist-deep flooding for 2 months of rainy season!
Darrin Says: It was my birthday at the beginning of this month and with
it another milestone has been reached. I hit the half century, reached
my fifth decade, was dragged kicking and screaming into middle
age...Yes, I turned fifty!! But all is good. I still have my health and I
have my young daughter to help get me through the next fifty, when I’ll
raise my bat in celebration on reaching my century.
Mandcy dit: Comme disait le proverbe: “Mai, met ce qu’il te plait!”
l’arrivée des beaux jours signifie donc de renouveler sa garde-robe etde porter des vêtements plus légers. Les français profiteront donc desbelles journées ensoleillés du mois de mai pour faire la grève et offrir
des fleurs. Sacrés français!!
1ACROSS
4 consider as a possibility
8 not moving
9 recalling past experience
11 give new life or energy to something
12 of great importance
14 large scholarly books
15 followers, admirers
16 a deep and serious way of thinking
DOWN
1 refilling or restoring
2 very skillful
3 to a great extent, far-reaching
5 impairment to normal physical functions
6 use of physical or mental energy
7 relating to the nervous system
10 a gradual deterioration
13 absolutely necessary (print version here)

4576891011121314151623

Did you know....
What do you call a group of jellyfish? Or turtles, or Hyenas....? There are some unusualThat’s me!

names for groups of animals. Here are some collective nouns you may not be familiar with:I N T E G R A L
NTI
P R I M A L
N
QDR I T E SUUXIPLHC O N T O R T I N GIOYAE
L U R K I N GCIDAVTNN A R R A T I V E
M E D I A T O RAYCEATANVD E P I C T
T W I R L
DIOENNDG

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
1 lacking nothing essential
4 essential, fundamental
5 a religious ceremony
8 twisting or pressing out of shape
9 hiding intending an attack
11 story-line following a course ofevents
12 go between, especially fornegotiations
14 show as in a picture
15 turn in a twisting or spinning

DOWN
2 an extremely old period in history
3 enjoyed to excess
6 feeling of lively, cheerful joy
7 actual or real
8 make known
10 anticipated or planed outcome
13 participating in an all-night dance
party

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.