Hello(^v^) I'll answer your question, Ms. Meiki!! (11/30)

The " petticoat government" means couple that women are storonger than men.
In other words, wives rule their husbands!! I think it is rather good.
Actually, my father is really obstinate, so I really really don't like (hate!) that kind of men!!
My thought mentioned above came this reason.

Home work (11/20)

I think Japan is not a modern society completely when it comes to love and marriage, but there are many nice couples. First, I know a couple which husband and wife truly best friends. They met when they were university students, so their marriage isn't the omiai, arranged marriage. Although they don't have any children, there is no problem. That is to say, they don't think that it is the important purpose of marriage to have a child. They think the most important point of marriage is to be happy for each other. As well as them, I think that marriages in China don't have the purpose of having children, because Chinese government encourages the only child system now, so I wonder that Chinese people don't get married for purpose of having children. However, it seems that there is still a cleavage in society between the rich and the poor in China, so there might be many cases to get married for their financial purpose.
Although there are some couples to marry for business purpose because being married is seemed one of the social trusts in Japan. In addition this, married men can get the family allowance. I think this type of marriage isn't for love. It seems the marriage for profit.
As concernes marriage in foreign country, I found that Thai married men often have another women outside the marriage through the presentation in the last class. Regrettably, this case is often true of Japanese men. I wonder why men often have another women outside their wives? It must be one of the universal problems!!
By the way, I think that to choose the style of omiai for their marriage is one of the good ways. They will be able to build respectable relationships each other more than the couple which got married from friends, because I think that not to become too cozy between the couple is good for maintaining their own free time at home. Such couple won't force their role at home to the partner even if they are tired after work. Of course to help each other is very important for couples.
Through thinking about marriages, I think that the best relationships of marriage is to be "petticoat government"couple!!

Hello!! I'll write my homework(11/13) .

1. Is Japanese life affected by superstitions?

I think it depends on person. There are many superstitions, so people often choose some of them to believe. I think elder people tend to believe and practice superstitions more than young people, because my grandmother sometimes tells me some of them. Actually I don't believe such as superstitions and the fortunetelling very much, but when I found that the magazine said a good prediction, I often believe it. On the other hand, if the magazine said a bad prediction, I don't choose them to believe. As well as the fortunetelling, people probably know that superstitions doesn't always come true, but people sometimes regard them as the strength of their mind especially when they have some important events. We shouldn't become too nervous about superstition, but it sometimes is a good way to regard them as one of advices.

2. What superstitions do you practice? Which ones? Why?

I would often practice some superstitions when I was a child because my mother told me to follow them. I have the unforgettable one. She often said, "Don't cut your nails at night." This superstition implies that if we cut our nails at night, we'll not be able to see my parents on their deathbed. I practiced it because I wanted to avoid such misfortune. However, now I have little chance to cut my nails in the daytime, so when I cut my nails at night, I always reflect my mother's word.

Hello, Ms. Meiki. I'll write my homework(11/6).

1. Time is money.
I think it means that time is very important as well as money or more important than money. We can't return time. We are living at the moment, now. And we can't buy time by money. But we tend to be controled by time. It's also important to have mental leisure in our mind.

2. A stitch time saves nine.
It means that to do something in advance prevents every failure. If we are beforehand with something important, we won't be in panic. So, I think that to start something early will bring good results.

3. There's no time like the present.
It means "Now is the moment of the chance." So we should carry out the plan right now without hesitation. There is a proverb like this. It's "He who hesitates is lost." It means that people who hesitate what to do or what they should do will miss a golden opportunity. There's not a moment to lose. As I stated above 1. , the moment,now is important. And we sometimes have to decide someting to do in an instant.

4. Let's meet at four. If I'm not there by five, leave without me at six, and I'll be there at seven.
I'm not sure about this proverb. I don't have the clear idea of this meaning. So I have to guess. I think that it's a kind of roundabout expression of refusal of date with someone you don't like. Or it might be used when we don' t know our schedule yet. Although these are my speculation. I want to know the real meaning.