My weekends are usually busy, but they are fun. I usually wake up late and make breakfast on weekends. In the afternoon, I go out with my friends. After I get back home, I eat dinner with my mother. After dinner, I wash the dishes. Last wekend, I went out to lunch with some friends. After lunch, we went to bedrock bath house. The place was very hot. We talked about a lot of things. We enjoyed ourselves there. Next weekend, I’m going to meet my friend. She lives in Hyogo now. I haven’t met her for a long time, so I’m looking forward to seeing her.
 Moeko talks a lot about her future. She is going to graduate this year from high school. She is going to go to technical college in Tokyo. She wants to be a cartoonist. I think she will become a wonderful cartoonist because she makes picture of cartoons very well. I’m anxious for her to succeed.
Hi Yurie,
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 How are you? I am good. It is Sunday, night and I am sitting in a my room. It is a cool autumn day in Toyama. I am sitting at a blue table near the bed of the my room. I am listening music and thinking of you.
 I had very interesting afternoon. I went to the bookstore. It was a really cool day. There were a few people at the bookstore. Some people were reading books, and others were looking for them. There was a counter in the front of the bookstore. A storekeeper was sitting in a chair at the counter. He was an old man. When I went to the counter, he was sleeping. When I woke him up, he was surprised. Because of it, his toupee fell off!! Everyone laughed at him, so he felt humiliated, but he also laughed! After this event, he became friendier.
 I live in a good town, but I miss you and my friends in Kanazawa. I hope you are good and fortunate. When will you come to Toyama for a visit? I
want you to talk about a lot things. Please answer soon. Write to me in English!
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Your friend,
Mariko
Mariko’s First Job
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   Today was Mariko’s first day at her new part-time job. The job was setting tables for wedding ceremonies. During lunch she thought what she had to do, and she wanted to do her best. At 14:00, she left her home for the ANA hotel.Â
   After Mariko arrived at the hotel, she got dressed in her new uniform. She became tense. When she arrived, the host told her that today would be busy. Mariko felt nervous. At 15:30, the wedding started. She carried dishes and so on. After about an hour, Mariko was very tired, but the wedding was very beautiful and inspirational. At last, she gave flowers to a woman who attended the wedding. When she gave them, the woman said, “Thank you for the beautiful flowers!! I’m glad.”  Mariko was happy when she heard these words.
    Mariko’s first day of work was very tiring. She was very nervous, but it was fun in the end. She wanted to become accustomed to working there quickly.
Unit 9: Kumi Koda
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   I really admire Kumi Koda. I listen to her CDs every day. Her songs move and encourage many Japanese girls. Her singing voice is very beautiful. I always feel cheerful when I listen to her music.
   Kumi Koda was born in Kyoto in 1982. In 1999, she had an audition at “Avex Dream 2000″ and passed it. On December 6, 2000, she released her 1st single in America. Her CD got 18th place in the sales chart. She was pleased. But, after that, her CDs were unsaleable from 2001 to 2002. As a result, she sang in Tokyo clubs. In 2003, she released her 7th single. The name was “Real Emotion”. The song used a video game software’s theme song. It got third place in the charts. This year, she tried to diet and succeeded. She was called “Sexy and Cool” by the media. In 2004, she released her 4th album,”Secret”. The album got third place in the charts and sold five hundred thousand copies. In 2005, she released her 16th single, “Butterfly”. It got second place. This was her new record. This year, she released a ”Greatest hits” album called ”BEST～first things～”. It has sold 187,0000 copies. From December 7, 2005 to February 22, 2006, she began the “12 Singles Project” in which for twelve consecutive weeks, she released one single per week. The her first single of the 12 Singles Project, “You”, debuted at the top of the charts, giving her first number-one single. ”You” remained in the Oricon Top Ten during the release of “Shake It Up” and “Lies”, making her the first female artist to have three singles in the Top Ten of the Oricon Weekly Singles chart. After the “12 Singles Project”, she released her second greatest hits album, “Best Second Session”. This featured all twelve singles along with two new tracks. Best Second Session debuted at the top of the charts with 983,000 copies sold in its first week. On December 31, 2005, she took part in the “red and white song battle”. She won her first award at the 47th Japan Record Award for “Butterfly” on January 1, 2006, and was awarded the “Triple Crown” at the Japan Gold Disc Awards on March 10, 2006, for pocketing three awards: “Pop Artist of the Year”, “Pop Album of the Year”, and “Music Video of the Year”. When she received her award, she cried and was pleased. In 2007, she designed a kimono. It had seven patterns and twenty colors. On December 1, the anniversary of her debut in the music industry, she held a special performance at the Tokyo Dome for her third nationwide and first arena tour. She became the seventh solo female singer to perform at Tokyo Dome with an estimated audience of 45,000 people. In 2008, she committed a slip of the tongue. She remarked that, “When women turn 35, their amniotic fluid goes rotten, so I’d like them to have a child by 35″. Because of the controversy instigated by her comment, Avex released an apology stating that as a consolation, all promotion of her album “Kingdom” would cease. She herself made a public apology on TV. On April 13, she came back to public life.
   Kumi Koda’s life had some troubles. However, she has gotten over them. Therefore, her songs are popular among Japanese girls. I have felt strong messages in her music. When I am sad, I listen to her and feel encouraged. I respect her and will continue to listen to her songs from now on.
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