"In Other Words"

My students and I are just starting to have fun with Christopher J. Moore's book In Other Words:  A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing Words Around the World.  The book is filled with words from dozens of the world's languages that are not directly translatable to English, but that can be explained with multiple sentences and examples.

The word I put on the board yesterday is from Japanese: aware, which means being able to appreciate the ephemeral beauty of the world, recognizing the cherry's trees blossoms are beautiful but that they will soon fall.  Moore explains that aware is "that poignant sensation one has of time passing, of the inevitable cycle of life and death."  I feel aware now as I look at my Christmas tree, realizing another season has passed and it is time for the decorations to come down.