September CROSSROADS Language Studio’s Newsletter 2004

BACK TO SCHOOLWhen September arrives
with its breezy weather andbrief daylight, it often
means back-to-school timein many countries. After abusy summer of travelling,working and socializing, students are once
more faced with the task of hitting thebooks. Have you ever wondered what theschool system is like in English speaking
countries?
New Zealand, America, Canada andAustralia have more or less similar school
hours, from 8:30 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. to 3:00
p.m. or 3:30 p.m. while England’s schooldays are longer, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
England, Canada and New Zealandrequire students to complete eleven years ofschooling. They are permitted to quit school
atthe age of sixteen. Americanstudents must finish only ten
years and can leave school fromage sixteen to eighteen depending
on state law.

Australian students must do ten or
eleven years, and may quit at the age ofeither fifteen or sixteen depending onstate law as well.
Public schools are subsidized by thegovernment in all five countries, so
education is free for students.
Lunch
break is free time forstudents.
They either bring apacked
lunch from home or
buy it at school. Lunch is often eaten in
the cafeteria, and the lunch break is
usually for an hour. American students
have thirty minutes and in bigger
schools, there are several different
lunch breaks. There’s no cleaning up to
do by students, which is theresponsibility of the schools’ janitor.
So, whatsimilarities anddifferences do you see between theschool systems in English
speaking countries and inJapan?
Story by Grace(These words are in color in the story)

Joshua Says: Well, I have no good news, nor bad news, to report to you about theWest Japan Cricket Tournament because the “typhoon” (which didn’t come)washed the game out! The tournament has been postponed to early October so,with any luck, I hope to be reporting on the game next month. In fact, the weather
on the planned date for the game was just right for cricket. Was it the weather orthe MCC that other teams were afraid of?
Last month we were able to see the Summer festival go along
Okaido from our window on the second floor. Some of you came up to watch it withus. The view was pretty good too! Next month the Autumn Festival will also passby our window. It won’t be as colourful or as big as the last one, but we will be able
to see the portable shrines go by, so if you want to watch, just pop in!
Junko Says:

Grace Says: I’m so glad that September has arrived, because this means that

autumn is just around the corner. I’ll be so relieved when the temperaturestarts getting fresher, since it’ll be more comfortable to live and to sleep atnight. I’m also eager to see the leaves change colour once again. In Canada,
autumn is really beautiful. The trees look like they’re on fire when the sun isreflected off them!!
Naomi Says: Having spent the last month gallivanting around Shikoku it is

now time to shift back out of beach mode and back into work. There are somany amazing sights to see here!! I recently walked through Ryugado Cavein Kochi. It was simply breathtaking!! If you get the chance to see it before it
gets too cold, I recommend you do!!

Greg says: Well another Olympic games have come and gone. I must admit I was
surprised at how well the Japanese Team performed. They excelled themselves by winninggold after gold (but, 2 less than Australia). Actually Asia as a whole did great. The next
Olympic Games in China should be an exciting event with China out to prove to the world
their dominance. However, the next four years will come and go just as quickly as theSydney Olympic and the Athens Olympics did.
Adam Says: I’ve just moved to Matsuyama from Okinawa and let me tell youit’s a big change. Okinawa is a wonderful place to live. While I was living inOkinawa I was able to visit many beaches and local attractions. My favorite
attractions in Okinawa were Shuri Castle and Peace Memorial Park. I have
many stories to share with you all so don’t hesitate to ask when you see me.
Natasha Says: When in Sakhalin I drive my Nissan Sunny. The population in

Far-Eastern Russia is 7 million and every year 200,000 used Japanese cars
are imported into this area. This May, Vladivostok car dealers held the“Trans-Siberian Rally” – 20,000kms both ways from Moscow to Vladivostok –with 19 used Japanese cars to advertise the invincibility of these cars. Now inthe Far-Eastern area of Russia, the used Japanese car business rivals fishery,
forestry and mining as a major industry!
Yuka Says: Did you enjoy your summer vacation? I hope you did. Thissummer, my ten-year-old nephew brought quite a few beetles to our house andstayed with us for a week. Actually, I hate insects and can’t even bring myself
to touch them. But, thanks to him, now I can tell the difference between
female and stag beetles and cockroaches!

Tomoko Says: Last month I was invited to a wedding in Tunisia. It
was the first time for me to visit Africa and I stayed at my friend’shouse. The wedding ceremony was gorgeous. We danced every night,but Muslims don’t drink alcohol. They do like sweet tea and cakethough. I had a nice time, but I didn’t go sightseeing. Next time I
would like to go to the desert.
Kikuko Says: At the
beginning of August, myhusband and I went toAomori City to watch the“Nebuta Festival”. Weflew to Tokyo to transfer
to Aomori Airport. The trip took 2 hours andthirty minutes in total. Nebuta is a kind ofcarnival. At first you see many people
hopping and dancing to the sounds of flutes
and drums. This is followed by a parade ofmoving floats along the road. These floats
depict famous scenes of people fromtraditional times that are made with paper
and are lit up. They are very colourful and
we enjoyed watching them very much.

If you have plans togo overseas for study,
or just a holiday, tell
us about it. We will
help you plan a greattrip.

CRICKET–TheWestJapan Cricket
Tourney has been postponed toearly October,2004…
Results still tocome…….!>>>FALL
NET LESSONS:
Are you too busy to come to CROSSROADS
to study? Try our lessons on the internet!
It’s CROSSROADS in your home or office!
You get CROSSROADS’ great teachers,
teaching programs, even classmates, all online! Call for details.

NET SITE OF THE MONTH: To read about
the use of English around the world visit thisweb site:www.athens2004.com/athens2004
Don’t forget to take a look at the N E TNOTEBOOK in our Open-house lounge.
You’ll find games, news and English study
sites.

In keeping with the arrival of Fall (Autumn), here
are a couple of idioms with the word “FALL” inthem:
Fall in love –Brian and Barbara fell in love with each other themoment they met.
Jan is hoping to fall in love and get married before
she turns 30.
Diana has never fallen in love with anybody.
Fall through –The deal between those two companies fell throughages ago.
I hope their plans to turn the park into an officeblock fall through!
He is one of the unfortunate people that have fallen
through society’s safety net.

Phone: 0120-21-7594
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