Advanced DW Term 1 2024

  Give one step back, maybe even the second one is a good idea. Recognize your peripheral blindness, and try to amplify you view. Choose different angles, change the shape of the surface and the volume of things, transform everything to your convinience, to your pleasure. A fact is a fact, but the way it impact you will be defined by the way you perceive it, and your mental predisposition. You always have the oportunity of play with that predisposicion and perception. When something make you feel uncomfortable, try to take a new perspective of it. 

  Hello, I want to tell you why I choose this word. I am from Argentina, and there we are not living a good situation, it’s not secure to go to street, people can steel, hurt or kidnap you, just for money or a pair of shoes. But why I choose this word, because I been traveling abroad this las year seen different cultures, like Spanish culture, us culture or Kiwi culture. And that shows me a new perspective of living, how people live here, not worrying about if something wrong will happened if they go to street or if the price of the basic food will change for tomorrow. And that’s why I love this types of countries.

  Do you have an obstinate family member or friend?   Even if you say "yes", they cannot obstinate than my brother.  My youngest brother, Jun will be 10 this year. First, I would like to introduce an episode that symbolizes his obstinate personality. This was when he was 2 years old, even could not speak well. Another brother was injured that night, but my father was not at home for  work that day so my mother took him to the hospital. Then, I was left to look after my youngest brother for a while until my mother came back to home. It was late at night so I tried to put him to bed, but he followed my mother and sat down on the porch. I thought he would get tired and sleep after a while, but he kept waiting until my mom got home 3 hours later. He was just a two year old baby!! In addition to his born obstinate personality, growing up fighting with his two older brothers made him even more stubborn. However, this his personality has became his strength in studies and sports.

When I do something bold, it's often impetuous. For example, when I travel, I suddenly feel like going somewhere just two days or even the day before. So I rush to research and prepare accommodations, places, and transportation before setting off the trip.  I like to make a plan to do something but in most cases, I don't act as planned. I'm satisfied just making plans. In addition, if I want to do something, I just do without thinking the results of my actions. I don't think I've ever regret acting like that, so I'll continue to follow my impetuous instincts.

     Amamioshima is my hometown. It is an island in Japan and about 60,000 people live there. There are a lot of picturesque nature in Amamioshima. My favorites are the beaches. The view of the beaches takes my breath away every single time I see. In my opinion, Amamioshima 's beaches are the best in the world. People love and care the beautiful nature, so we can enjoy picturesque nature. The nature is one of the things I am proud of. I hope a lot of people will know the appeal. 

 People's name includes some meaning. My name is also included the meaning of "defeat myself". My parents named me to hope that ,if I lose to others, I do not lose my greed and keep making an effort to my goal. I try to live up to my name. When I am giving up about something, I always remember the meaning of my name. It is sometimes said that names don't have any effects on people's way of living and it is just like a sign. But a name is like a guidepost of life, I think.    

    When I was 16 years old, I had the chance to be an exchange student in China for one year. This was the first time I lived far from home by myself. I can say that it was an eye-opening experience in my life. While living in China, I learned about a new culture and how to adapt to Chinese people's daily life. It was a new experience for me, but I quite liked China anyway. I also had the opportunity to visit many places, such as the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, which is the largest ice and snow festival in the world.  It was the best new experience in my life.

I would like to write about the phrase "a tough cookie". "A tough cookie" is used to describe someone who is strong, resilient physically and emoionally to overcome hardships. My experience was a six-month time during which I kept getting up at 5:30 every moring and went to the gym with some workout buddies at least 5 times a week. Even in the frigid winter in Shanghai, we maintained this kind of ritual to meet each other at 6:30. We all have different interests regarding exercises, from weightlifting to powerlfting, from running to yoga, but somehow we managed to have a lot of ideas to share. It genuinely became a pleasure. After workingout in the dawn, I would go to a study room to learn English and Japanese, while others would go to work, and the breakfast at McDonalds was utterly tasty! I really miss that time, bringing me a sense of fulfillment, at which point I knew I had a goal to achieve.

 I think I'm an inquisitive person because I sometimes have a tendency to be interested in various things around me. For example, I am curious about the mechanism of airplanes flying in the sky. Airplanes are so heavy, and it is incredibly fascinating that they fly easily and freely. I would often take pictures of aircraft at the airport, wondering why these chunks of metal could fly in the sky. To convince me, I read some books about the mechanism of airplanes with an enthusiasm.   Moreover, I'm an inquisitive person in terms of seaching information about what I want to know immediately. I often search how to improve my English skills by using some contents such as English drama and English songs. I frequently look for a correct and effective way of studying English. Thus, I believe that I am inquisitive.

I think I am a solitary person. I prefer to do things alone because I am always thinking about something( this makes me relax) and I like to be lost in thought. In New Zealand I went to a lot of places by myself. For example, Tunnel Beach, St. Clair Beach, Signal Hill, Skyline View Point in Queenstown, and Milford Sound. I  went to these places and spent several hours just staring at the scenery and thinking about something, listening to music. Of course, I like to spend time with my friends, however the time of being alone is vital for me.

Becoming an expert in a field is difficult. I spent 10 years striving to become an expert. I worked tirelessly, sacrificing sleep, vacation time, and family time to pursue my goal for 10 years. And eventually, I earned recognition as an old hand in that field. After a year had passed, I suddenly had a thought. Was I being too set in my ways ? Was I repeating the methods I had used every single day? So, I decided to try a different path. This decision wasn't easy. I had invested 5 years of effort and had achieved some level of success in the field. I believe that with prolonged effort in a particular field, we can become experts. However, I also believe that we must always be open to different perspectives.

  I went to Australia in last summer break and had a chance to get on a helicopter. The view was scenic!!! The contrast of the blue from the ocean and the blue from the sky was clear and had a nice combination with white from t the building and green from the nature. I would like to get a chance to get in a helicopter in another place where I can see a nice view. It was just about five mints but it was a nice experience because riding a helicopter was my one of the thing I wanted to do before I die.😂

           In Rugby World Cup 2015, Japan’s national team on the game against South Africa's national team. At that time, Japan hadn't won any games in the World Cup for 24 years. On the contrary, South Africa had become the champion twice. It was incredibly surprising for every rugby fan, and I remember being  significantly excited and impressed when watching the game. Japan’s national team at that time was definitely a dark horse.

Choose a word or phrase from one of the vocabulary lists and write about an experience of it. For instance you could choose 'steep learning curve' and talk about an experience you had with one. Title your post: 'Your Name -- The Word or Phrase' and add a relevant image to the post.

     At first I wanted to share a “real" trip I'd taken, but instead, I decided to tell you about a brief outing I went within my own hometown. One day, my boyfriend took me to an old quarter I had never been before, promising it had a magical setting. We parked the car and strolled through its cobbled narrow streets, lined with modest dwellings and mom-and-pop local shops. We also wound our way through a shabby railroad track on a deserted unpaved street surrounded by woodland which seemed kinda gloomy. Finally, we picked up some snacks from a dairy store and settled on a bench in a small central square to enjoy them. The neighborhood was far from bustling. On the contrary, it felt like a glimpse into the past when the city still had the unspoilt charm of a provincial lifestyle and had yet not become sprawling and industrially developed. This little adventure has left its mark on my memory. It reminds me of how simple things can become great when we set out to explore somethi

I took this picture in the summit of a hiking in Wanaka on December last year. I like this photo because bring me a lot of amazing memories, I remember taking it after one of the best nap of my live with an amazing view. We hiked our first day there in the morning, which is supposed to be a easy hike end up in a really tough one, but it was totally worth it. It was an improvised three nights trip with two of my Belgian best friend here in NZ who are not longer but have left me many adventures and good memories.  I think the photo perfectly captures the spirit of Wanaka and New Zealand's landscapes through the panoramic view of its majestic mountains. 

  I took this photo last year when I was staying in Chongqing, China. That day was the day I graduated from university. At the end of the day, I decided to go to Nanbinlu (南滨路) just to take a picture before I went back to Thailand. This place was very beautiful; you could see the bridge, monorail, river, and skyscrapers. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. I stayed there for a while just to look at the view. I miss Chongqing so much. I wish I could go back there someday.

I took this picture last weekend at Queenstown. I when to Queenstown for a trip form language center. We gathered in front of Plaza building in Saturday morning. It was kind of hard to wake up in a such morning but I made it an have a long nap time on the bus on the way.   I took this picture on the second day, which was Sunday. This was my second visit to this particular place because I went there at Saturday night to see the star. It was extremely beautiful, most beautiful star view I saw in my entire life. I had a nice two and a half hours chatting with my friends under the stars and hope to see a beautiful star view that exceed that I saw on Saturday someday in my life. Because I went there at night i was really impressed with this beautiful view which I wasn’t able to see in Saturday because of the darkness. I will recommend everybody to go there in day and night.

  Last winter, my family came to Dunedin.  Despite the extremely cold weather, I explored the area around Dunedin with our family every weekend.  Our Kiwi friend recommended Tunnel Beach, so we decided to visit.  Since Dunedin weather changes frequently, like children picking toys in a toy store, we checked the weather forecast before going.  My wife loves taking photos because it brings her great joy to reminisce about those memories while looking at them.  Tunnel Beach, privately owned, was created by a father to allow his disabled daughter to play comfortably on the beach. It's such a heartwarming story. The tunnel was very narrow, dark, and damp, but somehow I felt like I could understand the father's heart. Imagining the father carrying his daughter down the tunnel.  The beach accessed through the tunnel was so quiet and cozy. It truly felt like my own private beach.  The kids happily played around, even though their clothes got wet, of course.  My wife was able to take so

  I took this picture at Milford Sound. I wanted to see the fjord for a long time and I knew that the Scandinavian peninsula is famous for fjord, so I wanted to go there. But after I came to New Zealand, I heard that we can see fjord in New Zealand, so I would like to see it. When I searched for the meaning of "Sound", I realized that it is not fjord, but sound, so I was a little disappointed, but I misunderstood about it! The name "Sound" was added by James Cook and he mistakenly thought it was a sound instead of a fjord! So my dream came true.  It took about 5 hours to get there by bus, but I didn't get bored because Driver's bus tour guide was great and interesting (actually I couldn't understand all of his description because of my poor listening skills, but it was great.), and the scenery from the bus on the way to Milford Sound was magnificent. It was so beautiful that I took more than 100 pictures on the bus.  At Milford Sound I rode the cruise. T

 Before I came to Dunedin for studying abroad, I have visited Ako-city in Hyogo prefecture. My hometown is also located in Hyogo, so it took only an hour by train. Especially, I have visited the rural area called “Sakoshi” because I like rural areas very much.  In Sakoshi area, there are lots of traditional buildings which are awarded of the top 100 cityscapes, and they are extremely beautiful. Also, Sakoshi is surrounded by bay, river, and mountains. I like traveling alone, and I went to the Ako-city by myself.   In particular, I was impressed by the scenery from a hill. I would like to share the picture. It was one of my unforgettable experiences in my life. 

 I would like to describe my memorable holiday. I went to Brighton Beach with my host family, my flatmates, and two dogs on the holiday. At this time, I went to a beach for the first time since I came to New Zealand. It was much bigger than I have expected. Moreover, the beach was very magnificent and beautiful. I and my flatmates are so excited that we ran around like my two dogs. We enjoyed doing several things. For example, we picked up gorgeous seashells and took wonderful pictures. Furthermore, we drew funny pictures on the sandy beach. In addition, my host parents grilled sausages in the beach. We ate the sausages while having fun talking. Although it was a windy and cold day, I became warm because I ate hot delicious sausages. I decided to write about this holiday because it was the last holiday memory that my family all could make. My flatmates will come back to Japan this weekend. Though I miss them, I was glad to make a lot of amazing memories in New Zealand.

 I took this photo in my hometown probably when a junior high school student. There is a castle called Takada castle. Around it there are so many cherry blossoms about 4,000 trees. This place is famous for one of the Japan's top three grand destinations for nighttime cherry blossoms. In the season when cherry blossoms bloom, there is held festival for about a week. There are many stalls and cherry blossoms are illuminated. I used to go to the festival. It was really fun. This is my memory of my youth. I just show you everyone this picture. This is why I chose this.

Before I came to Dunedin, I travelled to Japan, more specifically to Kansai region. On the orientation day of the class, I thought what a coincidence to see so many students from Japan which reminded me of the peaceful and joyful days in the twelve-day trip. I spent most of the days in Osaka and Kobe. Since I have never been into tourist attractions, wandering around in the neighbouhoods and taking different railways are always the ideal recreations. Kobe is my favorite city. I am not local, so I couldn't tell which part is the downtown or which is the surburb. The place I stayed is an extraordinarily tranquil area, facing Osaka Bay in the south and seeing mouantains in the north. I enjoyed ramen and  found a park to practise some pull-ups. This photo is a scene I took of the neighbourhood which I think is definitely better than Dunedin haha. As fans of railways, my freind suggested that I 'd better take as many kinds of railways as possible which sounded very weird. I picked a

 I took this photo at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland in Rotorua on February 15th. I like this photo because of its colors. For example, the sky is light blue, the cloud is white, the water is blue, red, yellow, and so on. And I think it captures the spirit of Rotorua because it shows its beauty and geothermal thanks to the steam in it.

Share a photograph you have taken while on holiday and tell the story behind it. Say where and when you took the photograph and explain why you have chosen to share it. In other words why do you like it? In what way do you think it captures the spirit of the place where it was taken? Title your post 'A Holiday Snapshot -- Your Name'.

 During my time living at Dunedin I have lost many things, from diving to how to cook better. But the one of the most important thing that I have realize is the fact that is possible to live a high quality life independent of how much money you have, our living is not that expensive. Nature give us the posibility of keep our body healthy if we decided to go into the wild, at the same time that a litlle bit of hard work can give a guy who is in their twentys the money enough for pay for a roof and goog food, finally, the free time must not be wasted, its priceless. Vicente

  Something that I have learned along the way is to be grateful about the persons that surround me and enjoy the moments with them. Also, here in NZ I have learned to share more with people and don't worry to much about material things. I'm flatting with 8 persons (five different nationalities) at the moment where we share almost everything, that for me is really nice and an opportunity to learn how to live with different cultures and personalities. This have been an eyes-opening experience and I realized how lucky I am and appreciate more confort zone in Chile. 

For me, one of the most valuable lessons I have learned as a human being is to truly and attentively listen to what others have to say, even if I do not agree with them. The world does not need to reflect who we are, because we only grow through difference. So, whenever I can, I listen and embrace the words of those different from me, trying to understand all the circumstances that led them to think that way and trying to learn from it.

   The things that I’ve learned are good things take time. It takes time for something good to happen. My mom always told me being patient and doing what needs to be done in the right manner will eventually do wonders.    When I graduated high school, I had planned to take a bachelor’s degree at China University. I’ve been waiting 3 months for my acceptance . So, I have second thoughts. Maybe I should take a bachelor’s degree at Thailand University because I already got an accepted offer from Thailand University. But my mom told me not to be in a hurry when making my decision. I decided to wait for an offer from China University, Then I finally got it. It made me realize that it is worth waiting for something good. I’m very happy to study at China University. It was the happiest time of my life.  

  I learned “time is money” is a true thing. I didn’t mean I was cautious about it but I think I wasn’t understanding everything. I am going to be 3rd grade as a university student from this April. Because to get a job in japan has a lot of things to do like internships from 3rd grade I don’t have much time to have fun before I graduate my university now. And so I kind of regret not hanging out or not using time useful when I was in my first year. And because I have this regret i now understand that time is unchangeable to anything. But I still tend to spend time looking SNS on my phone and waist it so I still need to try to use my time usefully and try to get red of addiction to phone.

 My father always tells me that do what you want, not to regret something that you didn’t. So whenever I hesitate to do something, I remember this and do it. This is important advice for me because I created who I am by following his advice. I do kendo(japanese martial arts) and play the piano. Then I am  studying in NZ now. These are all what I want. Moreover, if I fail and regret to do something , I can learn some from the failure. Next time, I can remember that experience and do it better. I don’t remember when my father told me this first, but he says this repeatedly when he is drunk. Although he gives me other advices, this advice had the biggest effect on my life.

 I have learned a lot of important lesson so far. Of these the most impressive one is "do your best to everything". It is a word my basketball club supervisor said to me. I don't think it made impression on me if he didn't do it. But He did. He was also my math teacher. He tried to make the students who are not good at math understand it. He cleaned the school more enthusiastic than us students. He made effort for us to be good at playing basketball. By seeing his attitude, the word really hit me. And by doing my best to everything, I could get a good score on a test and be good at playing basketball. So it is my favorite word.

 My motto is 'endeavor' and I have learned a lot of lessons about it by Kobe Bryant who is one of the hall of fame players in NBA. He was a hard worker and his mindset is called Mamba Mentality. "Mamba Mentality is all about focusing on the process and trusting in hard work when it matters most", he said. " It's the ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit, It started just as a hashtag that come to me oneday, and it's grown into something athletes, and even non-athletes, embrace as a mindset".  He spent a lot of time and making a lot of sacrifices. He sacrificed the time of  leisure, sleep, spending with family or friends, and so on, and focused on achieving his goal. He always had ambition to improve himself, and practiced  when people sleep and when people hang out. He pushed himself thoroughly everyday. He said"If you really want to be great at something, you have to obsess over it. A lot of people say they want tobe great, but they're

 When I was a child, my grandmother and grandfather often took care of me because my parents were busy to work. My grandparents taught various important things to me. One of the most impressive words is "The sun always sees us". This is my grandmother's word. She often says that to me. This word means if you do a good thing, good things come to you later because the sun sees your action. Also, if you do a bad thing, bad things return to you later.  I always keep this word in mind. Although no one sees me, I do something for people. For example, I align slippers and pick up trash. Even if it's small like this, I'm going to do something for people. Moreover, even if I'm not seen by anyone, I never do something bad because the sun can see everything. When I see a person doing something bad, I think the person will absolutely have a bad experience.  I'm going to spend days cherishing this word from now on.

  I have learned the importance of being confident and making an effort continuously. When I was a high school student, I wasn't confident so much in every situations and I felt stressed every day. I was afraid of doing something. Especially, although I like learning English and studied it hard, my English skills didn't get better than I thought. Before an university entrance examination, I lost my confidence due to lack of my English skills, and I thought I should give up making an effort.   However, my English teacher said to me that my English skills were great, so I should be confident in any situations and continue to make an effort. Thanks to her, I could pass the examination of the university that has a faculty of foreign languages.   Now, I am studying abroad in New Zealand, and I think my English skills have improved than before, but I also believe that I must keep making an effort of studying English hard. I was taught the significance of not only being confident but

  There has been a gap in my life in which I don't posssess any purpose of life. I was so addicted to the gym suff, viewing it as a way to escape from reality. Sometimes I even wanted to practise wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I had thrown too much money into those things, including a bunch of memberships, shoes, clothes, jumping ropes,etc. As you know, I am a fairly introverted and solitary person, my only joyful social life then was enjoying exercising time with those workout buddies in the early morning. The pleasure brought by dopamine was temporary, and this sort of addiction never helped me switch to a more optimistc life. Then in 2022, I met with Gabriella, or Gaby. She is more than a weightlifting coach to me. She taught me how to breathe. I am not able to translate what she said me into English. That has changed me a little bit. What I have learnt is that, perhaps, I shall be relaxed, reassuring, and "inappropriate".

  During my university years, I had the opportunity to study Eastern philosophers.  At the time, I was studying Confucius( 孔子 ) , and there was a particular saying of his that deeply influenced to me: " 삼인행필유아사 " ( 三人行必有我師 ). Translated, it means, "When three people walk together, one of them can be my teacher." While interpretations may vary, I understand it as meaning that there is something to learn from everyone in this world, whether they are humans, plants, or animals, no matter how small it may seem. Every morning I come here by waking, every night I do homework, it is hard for me. But I always come with a joyful heart. By meeting someone and having a conversation, regardless of whether they are younger or older than me, I can have new teachers. (even though my English is not good, plz understand) The knowledge and wisdom gained from these teachers help me understand the world and enrich my life. And I want to pass on this knowledge and wisdom to future

     A lesson I've learnt is time is limited. I learned it since I came to Dunedin. Since I found English more difficult than I expected and I felt I needed more time to master English, I learned the importance of time. I felt it's important because I began to think I shouldn't waste time when I realized it. I’ll try to spend the rest of the time in New Zealand effectively.

Share with your classmates something you have learned so far. Say, for instance, where and when you learned this life lesson, how you learned it and why you consider it an important 'finding' in your life. Illustrate your post with a relevant image.