The cold winter days ahead

ENTRY

2020.11.30

カテゴリー：ブログ

Hello everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the mild weather this month. I heard that it will get colder soon and winter will be in full swing. Which do you prefer, the hot summer or the cold winter? The days are certainly getting short now. The sun sets at about 4:30PM these days, so the days feel short and it’s a long night. Ireland is even more extreme, the sun begins to set at 3:30PM in December, and it doesn’t rise until 8:30AM. So people often have to go to work in the dark during winter mornings in Ireland. If they didn’t have “daylight savings” in October, the sunrise time would be 9:30AM! On October 24th the clocks went back one hour, to make the mornings brighter. They go forward again in spring, when the days are long again. I prefer the longer days in summer, however the dark evenings remind me that Christmas is coming. It’s nice to stay warm at home on a cold winter evening. I Ireland, all homes have central heating, so every room in the house is warm. In Japan, however, air-conditioners are the more common form of heater. Usually only one room is heated at a time. People here use a kotatsu to stay warm. I had never seen one before i came to Japan. They are nice and comfortable, but I think they are a bit too easy to fall asleep in! Once I get under to kotatsu, I’m lying down, and that makes me sleepy. It’s almost like being in bed. Do you have a kotatsu at home?

Alan

みなさん、こんにちは。アランです。

今週には気温が大きく下がるようで、冬への準備が必要です。

皆さんは、暑い夏と寒い冬、どちらが好きですか。最近では、昼が短くなりました。４：３０には日が沈みます。昼間短く夜は長い。

アイルランドでは、１２月になると３時過ぎには沈みます。朝の８時半まで日がでません。出勤する時間は真っ暗でです。なので、１０月２４日になると冬時間が始まり、１時間時計がずれます。私は昼間が長い夏の方がいいですが、寒い夜はクリスマスが来ることを知らせてくれます。寒い夜は、家で温かくして過ごすのがいいです。アイルランドでは、すべての家にセントラルヒーティングがついているので、家の中はとても温かいです。日本ではエアコンが主流ですね。またコタツも使います。私は日本に来るまでコタツをみたことがありませんでした。とても気持ちがよく、つい寝てしまいます。ベットの中にいるようです。