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Lesson Notes April 30, 2024 (TUESDAY ZOOM)

• This Golden Week the Ueno area is probably going to be busy. A lot of people will be going to various museum exhibits.

• There seems to be a lot of people hanging out around Ueno.

• When I was younger, my friends hung out at the mall on the weekend.

• Yoshiwara in Edo was known as the pleasure quarter.

• The brothels were worked by courtesans who were paying back debts.

• In many countries, prostitution is illegal, however the escort service is a grey area.

• Men hire escorts when they are travelling to keep them company.

• Nowadays, there are many mixed marriages between people of different cultural backgrounds.

• Three by-elections took place yesterday. Voter turnout rates were also abysmal.

Vocabulary

• Hang out; (informal) spend time relaxing or socializing informally

• Pleasure quarter; a red-light district

• Red-light district; an area of a town or city containing many brothels, strip clubs, and other sex businesses

• Courtesans; (mainly in historical contexts) a woman who entertained and had sexual relationships with wealthy or upper-class clients

• Escorts; a person who engages in sexual activity in return for payment, especially one who arranges to meet clients by appointment

• Bi-cultural children / Children of mixed heritage; “half-children” is a problematic term, and should be avoided

• Mixed marriage; a multicultural marriage; a marriage between individuals from different cultural background

• By-election; an election held in a single political constituency to fill a vacancy

• Abysmal; extremely bad; appalling