ジェイソン先生から見た日本その②『Summer Vacation』
2024.07.31
※こちらはLittle Red English School 校長兼講師ジェイソンによる、英語学習のため記事です。2007年から日本に住んでいるジェイソンの目から見た日本、ニュージーランド(英語圏、西洋文化圏)との相違点、共通点などを記載しています。
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Hello everybody and welcome to the Little Red English School blog section of our website. My name is Jason Oleary, and I’m going to write a series of blogs to help you all learn a little, hopefully be entertained a little, and finally want to express your thoughts and feelings in English a little, too.
Summer Vacation
Summer in New Zealand starts in December and continues through to the end of February. The summer school holidays start mid-December until the end of January/beginning of February. This is an awesome time for kids because both Christmas and New Year’s holidays are contained within the summer holiday so there is much to celebrate.
Kids are not expected to do as much homework as they are here in Japan. Also, there isn’t the culture of going to cram schools, so most kids spend their holidays outside playing with their siblings, relatives, or friends. I remember spending much time at the BMX track riding, jumping, eating sandwiches and drinking juice made from a concentrated syrup, and just hanging out with my friends. I also remember spending many days at the local swimming pool that had a large 50-metre pool, a large grassy area for picnics, a putt putt golf course, a hydroslide, and most importantly diving boards. The diving pool had two 1-metre and one 3-metre diving boards and a 5-metre diving platform.
The summer heat is quite different when comparing the two countries. Japan’s summer is very humid. This forces many people to stay indoors to seek the comfort of air conditioners. Therefore, activities like shopping in big box department stores, going to game centers, visiting libraries, art galleries, and museums are very popular in Japan during the summer holidays. Whereas the sunlight in New Zealand is very strong so people who are outside gardening or playing sports wear protective clothing like a sun hat and a long-sleeved shirt to prevent sunburn. People do have air conditioners, but they are not as prevalent as they are here in Japan.
These summer holidays please remember to keep hydrated while you’re in the sun and if you do go outside maybe go out in the evening when it’s a little cooler. Enjoy those fireworks and summer festivals these holidays!
Photo by Brandon Hoogenboom on Unsplash