あなたの仕事のベストな部分とワーストな部分は何ですか？

Hello again everyone. I hope you had a good week. It’s getting colder so please stay warm and healthy as the winter season bears down on us.

And thanks to everyone who answered last weeks question about their 死ぬまでにしたいこと list. It seems many people want to travel around the world, see the Aurora, and live in the countryside—the top three answers. Very interesting answers.

OK, let’s move to this week’s vocabulary and question:

First, Vocabulary:

bear down on: …によりかかる, のしかかる, を圧迫する；〈人を〉しかる
bear down on a cane｜つえにすがる.

click:｟略式｠（物事が）わかってくる.

polished:〈文章物腰人などが〉洗練された, 教養のある, 優雅な
a polished sentence｜洗練された文章.

witness: …を目撃する, （まのあたりに）見る, 目にする
witness a car accident｜交通事故を目撃する.

cryptic: 隠れた, 秘密の；不可解な；わけのわからない；あいまいな
a cryptic remark｜なぞめいた言葉.

puzzled: 動　詞•他動詞
1｟しばしば受身｠〈人を〉途方に暮れさせる, 当惑［困惑］させる, 困らせる
That crime puzzled the police.｜その犯罪は警察をてこずらせた.
2［III名　詞（副　詞）］〈人頭心を〉（…で）煩わす, 悩ます｟over, about, as to ...｠
puzzle oneself ［one's brains］ over a problem｜ある問題で頭を悩ます
I was puzzled as to where to go.｜どこへ行こうか悩んだ.

nútshèll
名　詞堅果の果皮［殻］.
in a nutshell
きわめて簡単に（言えば）, ほんの一言で.

And this week’s question:

What are the best and worst parts of your job?（あなたの仕事のベストな部分とワーストな部分は何ですか？）

The best part of my job is watching a student study hard for months (or more) and then witness when their English finally starts to click. I love when they really start to put their thoughts and ideas into English and really become better and more polished English speakers. It is fun for me because I get to see their hard work pay off.

I also love to meet people and talk to them about what’s important in their lives.

The worst part of my job is when I can’t explain something in English because there is no Japanese translation. Or, sometimes, American slang is so cryptic that even when you DO understand the English words, the meaning is still unclear.

Or, people ask me how to translate “おつかれ‐さま“ or “おさきに” or “おねがいします” into English and when I tell them that there really is no English translation, they look at me with a puzzled face and really don’t believe me!

So, that, in a nutshell is what I like and dislike about my job. Now, it’s your turn to think about what you like and dislike about your job.

I will look forward to hearing your thoughts and answers when we speak to each other this week. Have a great start to your week and be well.

Keith//