08/07/2026 (rewritten)
Open to any feedback
I'm already running out of ideas of my journal, so I'm going to talk about the book I'm reading. I'm currently on "Twilight" (which I mentioned in my journal before), and I'm trying to immerse myself into the characters but it's difficult. It's because the school culture is totally different from Japan. Who on earth would get their own car and go to high school by it? Are they children of the richest oil king or something? ("石油王"= an oil king is often used to refer to rich people comically in Japanese. Is it a common expression in English? ) Also, you can't get a driver licence until you're 18 in Japan, so that's another factor making it seem unusual to me.
I'm already running out of ideas offor my journal, so I'm going to talk about the book I'm reading.
I'm currently working on "Twilight" (which II've mentioned in my journal before), and I'm trying to immerse myself intowith the characters but it's difficult.
the first half of the sentence needed an action verb, I used working so you could keep your preposition, but it's a more slang way of saying that you're part way through reading a book. The second part "immersing yourself with a character" is a little odd here. This is indeed an English phrase, but it's more used to describe actors who are learning the character they're going to play in a movie/show/play in order to improve their performance than used to describe literary experiences. You're using it correctly though so even if it's a little bit odd I'm leaving it as-is.
It'sThis is because the school culture depicted in the book is totally different from Japan.
Who on earth would get their own car and use it to go to high school by it?
Are they the children of the richest oil king or something?
("石油王"= means an oil king, and is often used to refer to rich people comically in Japanese.
Is it a common expression in English? )
No change suggested
Not really. I've been in some video game communities where popular streamers would call the rich players that support live service games by spending lots of money there as either "oilers" or "whales," but that is a very limited use. Outside of those specific video gaming communities I haven't heard it before.
Also, you can't get a driver licence until you're 18 in Japan, so that's another factor making it seem unusual to me.
No change suggested
Overall feedback
Good practice! I know you've gotten a lot of comments already, but I thought I'd give another American perspective, if that helps. I'm in the northeast US, and living here without a car would be extremely difficult/almost impossible. I've also lived in the suburbs of Philly before (Philadelphia), which is one of the cities with decent public transit in the US, and even there I would say that living without a car would be fairly difficult. Most people would still use a car to drive to the metro station and then use the metro to get into the city proper. And beyond that, you'd still want to have a car to pick up groceries and such, since most houses aren't close to shops (1.5+ miles away from the nearest shop). I'm not sure how it is for high schoolers now, but I was in high school around the time that Twilight was popular and I was allowed to drive one of the family cars. I'd say a lot of the descriptions of high school were fairly relatable for American kids of the time (like me). My family got a new car while I was in high school, so my Dad drove the new car, my Mom drove the second car, and I was allowed to drive the beater (a beater is an old car that still works but is near the end of its usable lifespan). I was in marching band and practice was pretty early in the morning, so I was allowed to use the car to drive myself there. Both of my parents needed their cars to get to work so it was the best solution.
- BBoulderAug 8
Thank you for the correction and comment! 1.5+ miles is a lot! The city design is not as intensive as in Japan, maybe.
- PPositiveParallelAug 8
Yep, things are just different. In the US there are zoning rules. I don't know all the ins and outs, but one is that if an area is zoned for residential use, then shops aren't supposed to be built there. Shops are supposed to be built in commercial zones. That's why there is a lot of distance between shops and houses a lot of the time.
- P
I'm already running out of ideas offor my journal, so I'm going to talk about the book I'm currently reading.
ideas FOR [something] "currently" may seem redundant (because it is!) but this is how most people will say this. You use "currently" in your next sentence, so how you originally structured this is better but if you hadn't, I'd recommend "...book I'm currently reading."
I'm currently on "Twilight" (which II've mentioned in myprevious journal beforeentries), and I'm trying to immerse myself intoin the characters but it's difficult.
immerse myself IN [something]
It's because the school culture in the book is totally different from how it is in Japan.
It's best to be more clear about what you are comparing.
Who on earthEarth would get their own car and gotake it to high school by it?
Earth is typically capitalized. take [mode of transportation] to [place] For example: take the train to the library, take my bike to work, take my car to school
Are they the children of the richest oil king or something?
Missing the article "the" before "children" "richest oil king" is not a saying in the US. I'm not entirely sure how best to correct it since it depends on if you are talking about all the teens in the story, Bella, or the Cullins specifically. If everyone: Are all the kids in this story rich or something? If character specific: Are all their parents rich or something? But as for Twilight (if I remember correctly), the Cullins actually are rich because of how long they have been alive for. Lots of time for investments to flourish!
("石油王"= is an oil king and is often used to comically refer to rich people comically in Japanese.
The adverb "comically" sounds more natural closer to the verb it's qualifying.
Is it a common expression in English? )
No change suggested
No correction. No, its not a common expression. This is the first time I've heard of this. Thanks for the fun fact!
Also, you can't get a driver licencedriver's license until you're 18 in Japan, so that's which is another factor making it seem unusual tohard for me to relate to.
Just providing a smoother alternative for you.
Overall feedback
As another corrector stated, the US is very car-centric. I, myself, grew up in Texas which is arguably one of the most car-centric states in the US and had more relaxed age requirements for a driver's license when I was growing up in the 2000s. I got my learner's permit at 15 and my license at 16. My family has always had two cars and who drove what largely depending on what jobs and schools were closest together. So once I got my permit, I was the one responsible for dropping my sister off at middle school before continuing on to my high school. I'd estimate that I grew up lower middle class for Texas so far from the child of the richest oil king! It's just how it is because everything is so far from each other ...and the South is not known for public transportation systems or bikeable streets. However, this is not the case for everyone in the US, especially for those who grow up in the Northeast. There is very little physical real estate in terms of land area so in cities like New York, Philadelphia, or Boston, it not uncommon for someone to never own a car or even get a driver's license. Everything is so close that you only need a car if you're planning to leave the city entirely and even then, you might just choose to fly instead! ...and great work on your journal!
- BBoulderAug 8
Thank you for the correction and comment! I remembered my geography teacher once told me that trains are mainly used for freight transporataion, not for passengers.
I'm already running out of ideas offor my journal, so I'm going to talk about the book I'm reading.
I'm currently onreading "Twilight" (which I mentioned in my journal before), and I'm trying to immerse myself intoin the characters but it's difficult.
Who on earth would getbuy/have their own car and use it to go to high school by it?
I think this way sounds more natural.
("石油王"= an oil king, and is often used to refer to rich people comically in Japanese.
Also, you can't get a driverdriver's licence until you're 18 in Japan, so that's another factor making it seem unusual to me.
Overall feedback
For what it's worth, I also find it quite strange. It's definitely not as common in the UK as the US. Also, I've never heard the phrase "oil king" before, so if it is a set phrase it's probably not used as much as in Japan. There are a few ways to informally describe someone as rich, e.g. you could say that someone is "loaded", but in the sentence you wrote I'd probably just say something like "do they really have that much money lying around?" - I can't think of a set phrase or term I would use to describe them.
- BBoulderAug 8
Thank you for the correction and alternative expressions!
I'm already running out of ideas offor my journal, so I'm going to talk about the book I'm reading.
Who on earth would get their own car and godrive it to high school by it?
'go to high school by car" is a valid, but "go to high school by it" sounds a little funny, because "by car" is sort of using car as an abstract category rather than that specific car. If you want to focus on the teenager's ownership of a car, then "drive it" gives the focus to driving a specific car.
Are they children of the richest oil kingbaron or something?
"oil baron" is an option in English, it gives an image of the people running oil companies in America in the early 1900s. Other examples people might use as examples of rich people in English are "Tech CEOs", "Saudi princes", "trust fund kids".
("石油王"= an oil king is often used to refer to rich people comically in Japanese.
No change suggested
Is it a common expression in English? )
No change suggested
Not as "oil king", no. "oil baron" is common though getting a bit old fashioned these days.
Also, you can't get a driverdriving licence until you're 18 in Japan, so that's another factor making it seem unusual to me.
Overall feedback
So when I was in secondary school, you would have a few of the older secondary school students driving themselves to school as you could get a learner permit at 16 and a full licence at 18, and the oldest secondary school students would be 19 depending on when in the year they were born. However, nowadays you need a full license holder with you to drive on a learner permit, and insurance costs have made it harder for 18/19 year olds to get started driving, so it's much less common now I think. That said, America has a very car-centric culture, so I think it's still normal for people to start driving at 16 there.
- BBoulderAug 8
Thank you for the correction and comment and vocabulary! I added them to my lexicon😊(I kind of liked "Tech CEOs")
I'm already running out of ideas offor my journal, so I'm going to talk about the book that I'm reading.
Who on earth would get their own car and use it to go to high school by it?
We wouldn't use "by it" like this.
Also, you can't get a driver licencedriver's license until you're 18 in Japan, so that's another factor making it seem unusual to me.
Overall feedback
I've never heard oil king before.
- BBoulderAug 8
Thank you for the correction and comment!
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