Watch Your Step Mr. Rubbit! 2-10

I read a book. The book's name is "Watch Your Step Mr. Rabbit!" This book is interesting for me, because the action of main character in this story was very funny. This story is very short. There were many pictures, but there were few wards. So, I can read this book too easy. Mr. Rabbit is main character in this book. He was reading newspaper, but he didn't get the length his foot. So, he set foot in a road paved with concrete before concrete sets and he couldn't move his foot. People around him tried help from there, but foot of Mr. Rabbit didn't stuck easily. However, he was scooped by bulldozer. I like this book. Mr. Rabbit was very cute. I also like his action.

THE BOOKSTORE GHOST 2-9

I read a book. The name of book is "THE BOOKSTORE GHOST" Main character is a man and his name is Brown. He liked ghost books, cheese and cats. He wanted his bookstore and cat. So, he carried out the plan. He was looking forward come a lot of customer. However, some customer got out of his store, because there were some mice. He said his cat "eject the mice from here", but the cat cooperate with mice and they tried thrive to Brown's bookstore. Some mice become ghost to surprising customer. At the result, Children liked this trick. Customer increased and this bookstore thrived. Brown didn't like mice, but he appreciated their cooperation. I don't like ghost, but I thought I want to go to this bookstore. There were a lot of picture in this book and it was very colorful. So, it was easy to reading this book for me.　

ARTHUR TRICKS THE TOOTH FAIRY 2-8

I read a book. The name of book is "ARTHUR TRICKS THE TOOTH FAIRY" Arthur is main character in this book. He has a younger sister. Her name is D.W. Arthur said D.W. Tooth Fairy gave a dollar to me, because his baby teeth took. D.W. also wanted a dollar, and she tried pull her tooth. However, she was told your teeth are perfect to dentist when she went to dentist. So, she was disappointed. After she was saw a dentist, she went to museum with Arthur and their mother. And she was bought shark's tooth by her mother. That night, D.W. put shark's tooth under her pillow. And Arthur changed the tooth to a dollar. He gave him sister to him dollar. Next morning, D.W. pleased very much!
I thought Arthur is very kind when I read last scene, because he gave a dollar he was gave by Tooth Fairy to his sister. If I were Arthur, I would not do so.
I found about difference between Japanese custom and American custom. While they put their teeth under their pillow in America, we throw our teeth on roof when our tooth falls out in Japan. I felt this book is funny and I think good reading this book, because I can find about American custom.

In New Zealand 4/8/2008

We looked round Unitec with my classmates in this day. Unitec was a spacious building, but I think that there are very good facility in KGU better than Unitec. However, there were a lot of cafeterias in Unitec. I didn’t know the system in there, but I thought this university is very funny for me. I had a razagne at lunch. I ate i first time and it was very good. After school finished, I went to home with Yui and we did our homework. Yui's home was near my home. My host mother gave us refreshment. Cheese was on cracker. We liked it very much. After Yui came back her home, I handed over souvenir that I brought from Japan to my host mother. The souvenir was lilies, a small vase that was made with bamboo, origami and chopsticks. She pleased very much and she wreathed the wall with my souvenir. I was happy when I found it. After we ate dinner, she ate lilies. She said “It is very nice” I couldn't eat the lolly, because it is not good taste for me. However, the taste is Japanese taste. But I tried eating it. I also felt it was nice unexpectedly. Dinner was toast, bacon and egg. I usually eat toast morning or lunch. So, I ate it as dinner, but it was very good. Dessert was can of peach and yogurt. I like peach very much. So, I was in high spirit then. After we ate dinner, I took a shower and I went to bed. My room was very cute. So I could sleep very well. It was a comfortable room for me, because there are TV, big bed, desk, drawer and so on in my room. I had a very good time in this day!

In New Zealand 2/8/2008, 3/8/2008

I will write diary that I experienced in New Zealand.

I left Japan. It was first time in my life. I got up early in this day. My sister cut some peach and she also made miso soup in early morning. My father took me to KGU. And we went to airport in Fukuoka from Kumamoto. We felt a lot of check is troublesome. However, when I got on a plane, I was excited to go to New Zealand. We cashed money in R.S. Then, she gave me Singapore dollars about $2 to us as free gift. In Singapore airport, there are a lot of tree and flower. It was very beautiful and big flower bed. The airport also has much store and the each store was very cute. We had waiting time and we dropped into the lots store during our waiting time. And when we were waiting in floor, we heard examiner said “whose jacket is this?” And I looked it, I found it is mine! What with this and that, we could get on a plane. There are many foreigners in there. We had in-flight meal, but it was not so good for us. The sky and scene that we saw from plane was very beautiful and I took some pictures. Our flight time was about 13 hours. So, we were very tired. Next day, we visited Unitec. We studied in there. When we were waiting our host family, some people came in. A grandmother came in there. She was my host mother. It eased me, because she looks very kind. And we went to her house by her car. There is a cat in her house and him name is sam. We introduced ourselves and we sat down at the table. My host mother prepared Sushi for me. I was surprised at the Sushi, because the sushi had avocado, but it was so delicious. And I took a shower and I slept in this day. I was very happy.

My research

When I went to New Zealand, I was research about difference between staple food of Japan and New Zealand. So, I will write about my research.

1. Introduction　
Staple food is the food that we eat mainly in our everyday life. In Japan, carbohydrates like rice are the common. For example, rice ball, sushi and curry rice. Japanese often eat many carbohydrates together. Do they do so in New Zealand as well? I researched about difference between the staple food and carbohydrates of New Zealand and Japan.
In Japan, most people eat rice every day, but they eat bakery goods too. Recently, young people eat breads every breakfast and lunch in Japan. What do they eat every day in New Zealand? Perhaps people in New Zealand eat baked breads every day too. What is the staple food and carbohydrates in New Zealand diets?

2. In Kumamoto 　
Japanese staple food is rice. Side dishes are made to match rice. For example, pickled ume, miso soup and fish are good with rice. Many people also like sushi which is made rise. A Japanese-style confectionery called rice cake covered with bean jam also exists in Japan. It is made of rice and it is popular among Japanese. And there are other many foods which are made of rice. For example, bread that is made from powder of rice is sold at supermarket lately.
Almost all Japanese people eat rice at breakfast, lunch and dinner in Japan. However, we eat bread and noodles as staple foods too. At the present day, although potato isn’t a staple food, some people eat potato as staple food with butter, cuttlefish and so on in Hokkaido. Even so, almost all people live on rice. That is to say, our staple food is carbohydrate.
The reason why rice has been our staple food is that it suits the Japanese climate. Rice is our main food and main source of life for Japanese, but it depends on the weather whether there is a large harvest of rice or not. Rice determines people’s life and fate in its hands.
However, rice was not our staple food from ancient times. Before rice farming started 2000 years ago, the staple food was millet. The millet was barnyard grass, barley and beans. Japan’s population was about 200,000 before rice farming started, but now, it is about 100,240,000.
Rice is a carbohydrate and has much nourishment. Rice also contains a lot of protein, calcium, magnesium, vitamins, dietary fiber and so on.
Finally, Japanese often eat the many carbohydrates together. For example, we put some potatoes in curry and put curry on the rice. Sometime, we also eat bread with pasta. Potato and rice are both carbohydrates. Bread and pasta are carbohydrates too. It is usual for us to eat some carbohydrates together at a time. However, it is different in New Zealand.

3. In NZ
People of New Zealand haven’t a notion of staple food, but they have a concept of main food. I sent out questionnaires to my host mother, her friend and my friend’s host family in New Zealand about their main food at breakfast, lunch and dinner about 15 people. According to the survey, their main food was potatoes and bread. Though cereal also popular in people of New Zealand, almost of New Zealander eat bread and potatoes every day. They also eat carbohydrates as their main food. It is same to Japanese about thing that we eat carbohydrate as staple food.
Potatoes contain much glucose and food value is high. We can cultivate potatoes and sweet in poor soil. Generally, the advantage of growing potatoes is that it is easier than growing grain and good efficiency. However, potatoes do not keep for a long time and they have to have protein as a side dish.
As for me, I ate bread every morning in my home in New Zealand, but we didn’t eat bread at dinner, because dinner is a big meal. Almost every day, we ate meat and potatoes at dinner, for example, beef and mashed potatoes or chicken and baked potatoes, and even lion meat! However, we didn’t eat carbohydrates together. For example, potatoes and rice or noodles and bread together, because according to my host mother “it is too much carbohydrate for me.”
My host mother often cooks mashed potatoes and baked potatoes of Kumara to me. It is a kind of potato and carbohydrate. I ate this as staple food in New Zealand. She taught me how to cook the baked Kumara. It is very easy. This is the recipe. (At first, cut the Kumara. Next, mix the Kumara with butter and soy sauce. And bake it in oven.) I made it when I got back to Japan. And my family said me “good”. Many people who live in New Zealand knows many recipes how to cook, because to make a lot of kind dishes with only one carbohydrate. (Though the main foods are potatoes and bread, they have a lot of recipe to enjoy much kind of dinners in New Zealand.) Kumara looks like sweet potato and it is Maori language. There are some Maori people in New Zealand. They learn fishing and they ate fish as staple food during 150 years. However, they couldn't’t eat other food, because the climate changed and it ruined plants and animals. And they made a field of Kumara and Taro. Then, they also eat potatoes and bread as staple food every day.
As to whether or not they eat carbohydrate together, the question about it was split right down the middle. The people who answered “I don’t eat them together” and “I often eat carbohydrate together” were about the some. One person who answered “I don’t eat it together” explained “because it is too much carbohydrate for me”. Another person who answered “I often eat carbohydrate together” explained “I eat bread and noodles” and “I eat potatoes and rice!” It is usual to eat carbohydrate together in Japan, but it was not usual in New Zealand.

4. Conclusion　
From the above research, Japanese live on rice and we eat rice everyday. Our staple food is carbohydrates. In addition, we eat carbohydrate together at the some time. And it is usual for us. On the other hand, though people of New Zealand haven’t a notion of staple food, they eat mainly bread and potatoes. And my research said they are also carbohydrates. However, there are both people who eat carbohydrates together and people who don’t eat them together. In brief, it was split right down middle.

5. Bibliography
(Rice Wikipedia) from http://www.iy-place.com/kome-eiyou/
(encyclopedia; Wikipedia) from http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/主食
(Q&A of Making rice Wikipedia) from http://agrin.jp/hp/q_and_a/shushoku.htm

Below question is question that I heard to my host family and friend’s host family.
1 What staple food do you eat at your breakfast, lunch and dinner?
2 Do you eat some carbohydrates together? yes→Q3 and no→Q4
3 What carbohydrates do you eat together?

Above picture is chicken, mashed potatoes, beans and tomato. It was very delicious!

Hot spring

I went to Tukasanoyu with my mother and my father. It is name of hot spring. I was soaked in various baths in there.　Open-air bath, Hinoki bath and so on. I also went in sauna bath with my mother. The sauna has much salt. The name of sauna was salt sauna. I knew that there is salt sauna in hot spring first time. So, I was very amazed then. I rubbed salt my legs and arms. And I sweated part that I rubbed salt. I like taking a hot spring very much. So, I took some bath about one hour and a half with my mother.
After we took some bath, we had lunch in restaurant. Tukasanoyu also have restaurant. We had smorgasbord and I ate a lot of meal in there. The lunch is above picture. It was very delicious for us and I was satisfied the meal.
When we went to home, we saw beautiful scene. Above picture is this scene. Yesterday was sunny day. So, we could see the scene.I had a good time yesterday and I liked a hot spring that we went to. I want to go there again and I want to go with family next time.