Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 7:40pm
So, as some of you may or may not know, I am working on a book about my life in Japan. Considering the levels of racism, harassment, and simply bad experiences here, I feel that I need to step back and look at them. And I have been. Writing this book has reminded me that not all of my experiences have been total shit, but a lot of stuff recently, including exchange students, death threats, and people simply abandoning our friendship because of silly rumors, has impacted me a lot. You know, when you go from having over 50 people that you can talk to (even if you don't consider them all your friends), multiple parties to go to during the week, and just having a fantastic time -to- a couple of friends, no parties, and having people come up to you between classes threatening to kill you, with all of this happening over the course of a couple of days... it really messes with you.
I have a rough draft mostly finished (since I am still in Japan, I can't be completely finished yet). I am working on writing the full story now, which I will send off once I get back to America.
The biggest problems have been coming up with new names for people, since I don't want to be an asshole and ruin their lives, even if they messed mine up pretty badly, and remembering everything that I want to write about. For example, after I finished my rough draft, I went through it and read it, remembering things like Yukata Matsuri and whatnot, which I had forgotten. And I do write about a lot of stupid stuff that I do. At this point, I feel that me staying in Japan for this long is a bit stupid, but I am pretty stubborn and want to try to tough it out a little bit longer. I know my family wants me to come home though, so I am thinking about when I might want to leave.
I hope to be finished with it by this time next year, but who knows how things will go. Right now, the book is going to cover my life from August 2007 - whenever I leave Japan.
The most common question I seem to get is, "Why are people threatening to kill you? What did you do?" I would imagine it has to do with the rumors/lies, but otherwise, I don't know. So stop asking that.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Birthday
Monday, November 16, 2009 at 2:04am
So, here is how my birthday went this year.
It started off with me supporting ChartJackers, spreading the word before November 14th ended in the UK (which happens at about 9am in Japan). If you are confused, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYDRWXjJlB4
Basically, you buy their song on iTunes for .99 cents/.79p and that money goes to charity. It doesn't seem like much, until you realize that they also were aiming to get to the number 1 spot in the UK iTunes charts. Granted, I can't do much myself for the UK charts, but I did tell all my UK friends about it.
The thinking is, the higher they get in the charts, the more people who will buy the song, and the more money that goes to Children in Need: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/
I think they got into the top 40, but I am not sure what number they are.
Why am I talking about this? Because you can still buy their song and donate money to Children in Need. If you're interested, here is a link: http://itunes.apple.com/album/ive-got-nothing/id336614737
Anyway, so I stayed up until about 4 or 5am doing that, until I fell asleep. Woke up at noon, ate some Udon, took a nap, took a shower, talked to Steve for a bit, and then got a call from Sheri and I spent about 4 hours with her and Merry (these are their English names. They are Chinese). Sheri gave me a bracelet, and Merry gave me some candy.
I came home, had a couple of confusion conversations, emailed a couple of professors, and now I am going to go to bed.
Oh, and I should be getting my heat fixed in the morning. Yay!
So, here is how my birthday went this year.
It started off with me supporting ChartJackers, spreading the word before November 14th ended in the UK (which happens at about 9am in Japan). If you are confused, watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYDRWXjJlB4
Basically, you buy their song on iTunes for .99 cents/.79p and that money goes to charity. It doesn't seem like much, until you realize that they also were aiming to get to the number 1 spot in the UK iTunes charts. Granted, I can't do much myself for the UK charts, but I did tell all my UK friends about it.
The thinking is, the higher they get in the charts, the more people who will buy the song, and the more money that goes to Children in Need: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey/
I think they got into the top 40, but I am not sure what number they are.
Why am I talking about this? Because you can still buy their song and donate money to Children in Need. If you're interested, here is a link: http://itunes.apple.com/album/ive-got-nothing/id336614737
Anyway, so I stayed up until about 4 or 5am doing that, until I fell asleep. Woke up at noon, ate some Udon, took a nap, took a shower, talked to Steve for a bit, and then got a call from Sheri and I spent about 4 hours with her and Merry (these are their English names. They are Chinese). Sheri gave me a bracelet, and Merry gave me some candy.
I came home, had a couple of confusion conversations, emailed a couple of professors, and now I am going to go to bed.
Oh, and I should be getting my heat fixed in the morning. Yay!
Re: Irrelevant Crap: Dreams
Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 9:58pm
This is a blog response to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4ED8CZXwk0
When I was a kid, my dream was to be a Paleontologist, in part because of Jurassic Park. I love that movie, even to this day. Sure, it doesn't give dinos a good rep, but it makes them seem sorta beautiful, in a way. I continued to want that for many years, and still do to some extent. The idea of discovering lost creatures...something about it just seems magical to me.
Next, I wanted to be an actor. A comedic actor, to be specific. However, school didn't really promote that sort of thing, and I only got to work with comedy a few times. After that, I always had to play weird, stupid roles. I eventually got sick of it (since I couldn't turn them down - they were "assignments"), and decided that acting wasn't for me if I had to take roles I didn't want/like. I still enjoy acting and being comedic from time to time, but I doubt I will ever make a living doing it. Justin Guy is a great straight man, though.
Back in 5th grade, I started working on video game ideas I had been having for a while. Nothing too special, just writing them down and fleshing them out from time to time. I continued coming up with them for years, but I haven't done much with them yet, to be quite honest. Even when I mess around with making video games now, I never use those ideas, because I don't think I could be satisfied with it at my current ability, and with my current resources. My ultimate dream, back in 5th grade, was to work for Sega in Japan. I do work for a game company (Kemco) in Japan, so I am halfway there, in a sense.
Some dreams have been fulfilled though. I wanted to visit Japan for a long time, and I did back in 2008. I enjoyed the bit of time I spent here, so I thought that living here might be fun. 2009, mission accomplished. Now...I want to start my own video game company. Maybe it will become official in 2010? I am already working on my own personal games, so I am halfway to making that dream come true.
A couple of small dreams I have involve reading The Tale of Genji in Japanese and visiting the 88 Temples alone.
This is a blog response to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4ED8CZXwk0
When I was a kid, my dream was to be a Paleontologist, in part because of Jurassic Park. I love that movie, even to this day. Sure, it doesn't give dinos a good rep, but it makes them seem sorta beautiful, in a way. I continued to want that for many years, and still do to some extent. The idea of discovering lost creatures...something about it just seems magical to me.
Next, I wanted to be an actor. A comedic actor, to be specific. However, school didn't really promote that sort of thing, and I only got to work with comedy a few times. After that, I always had to play weird, stupid roles. I eventually got sick of it (since I couldn't turn them down - they were "assignments"), and decided that acting wasn't for me if I had to take roles I didn't want/like. I still enjoy acting and being comedic from time to time, but I doubt I will ever make a living doing it. Justin Guy is a great straight man, though.
Back in 5th grade, I started working on video game ideas I had been having for a while. Nothing too special, just writing them down and fleshing them out from time to time. I continued coming up with them for years, but I haven't done much with them yet, to be quite honest. Even when I mess around with making video games now, I never use those ideas, because I don't think I could be satisfied with it at my current ability, and with my current resources. My ultimate dream, back in 5th grade, was to work for Sega in Japan. I do work for a game company (Kemco) in Japan, so I am halfway there, in a sense.
Some dreams have been fulfilled though. I wanted to visit Japan for a long time, and I did back in 2008. I enjoyed the bit of time I spent here, so I thought that living here might be fun. 2009, mission accomplished. Now...I want to start my own video game company. Maybe it will become official in 2010? I am already working on my own personal games, so I am halfway to making that dream come true.
A couple of small dreams I have involve reading The Tale of Genji in Japanese and visiting the 88 Temples alone.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
I Love Bean Sprouts
Quick update on my life.
For a while now, I have been eating bean sprouts, noodles, and sausage...and I have to say, it is a pretty good meal to have on a regular basis. It fills you up, tastes good, and probably isn't too bad for you either. I am not too much of a health freak, but it is something interesting about life.
Also, I impressed a few ladies, ones that I was teaching, and now they want to learn twice as often. It makes me feel good that I can make people interested in learning English.
For a while now, I have been eating bean sprouts, noodles, and sausage...and I have to say, it is a pretty good meal to have on a regular basis. It fills you up, tastes good, and probably isn't too bad for you either. I am not too much of a health freak, but it is something interesting about life.
Also, I impressed a few ladies, ones that I was teaching, and now they want to learn twice as often. It makes me feel good that I can make people interested in learning English.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Incoming Students
I finished exams and have spent the majority of the summer working at Kemco and a private school. It is a lot of fun, actually, but a bit time consuming.
In terms of new videos, I have no real idea about what I should film next. The only real suggestion I has gotten is to look at other vloggers and copy them, or do a colab video with them... I don't think it is a good suggestion, but it is one. Better than someone saying I should dress up like a catboy and dance around... Obviously, my viewers are not the most enlightened indivuduals. I mean, if I do what everyone else is doing, what is the point in doing anything at all?
Maybe I should have been more specific and said that I want to know what they would like to see. Yeah, sure, the peace park is great and all...but is that really something you can't see? Do people have nothing they want to know or see in Japan? Maybe no one likes or cares much for Japan outside of anime and women.
The new international students will begin arriving in less than 2 weeks now. The school asked me to write something for them about my experiences here in Japan. It turned into an 8 page report...basically. I had a ton of people proofread it before finally decided that there really wasn't anything left to add. I will be here for a while longer, but I am not really sure how long anymore.
I want to stay until next August, but I may only be able to stay until Feb or March, in terms of the Study Abroad program. If that is the case, I will end up missing a semester in America, meaning I will be a year behind, rather than just a semester (study abroad usually puts you behind). The semester I had prepared for, but a year... I have a few plans if I can't continue to Study Abroad in Japan after March.
In terms of new videos, I have no real idea about what I should film next. The only real suggestion I has gotten is to look at other vloggers and copy them, or do a colab video with them... I don't think it is a good suggestion, but it is one. Better than someone saying I should dress up like a catboy and dance around... Obviously, my viewers are not the most enlightened indivuduals. I mean, if I do what everyone else is doing, what is the point in doing anything at all?
Maybe I should have been more specific and said that I want to know what they would like to see. Yeah, sure, the peace park is great and all...but is that really something you can't see? Do people have nothing they want to know or see in Japan? Maybe no one likes or cares much for Japan outside of anime and women.
The new international students will begin arriving in less than 2 weeks now. The school asked me to write something for them about my experiences here in Japan. It turned into an 8 page report...basically. I had a ton of people proofread it before finally decided that there really wasn't anything left to add. I will be here for a while longer, but I am not really sure how long anymore.
I want to stay until next August, but I may only be able to stay until Feb or March, in terms of the Study Abroad program. If that is the case, I will end up missing a semester in America, meaning I will be a year behind, rather than just a semester (study abroad usually puts you behind). The semester I had prepared for, but a year... I have a few plans if I can't continue to Study Abroad in Japan after March.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Exam Time!
I haven't posted in a while...
So most of my exams are next week. A few papers, a couple of presentations and exams, and I am done with my first semester here.
This week has been amazing. In particular, the last few days.
Wednesday, I used Pokemon to teach English. That was probably the most amazing thing for me, because it is something me and my students have in common. Granted, I don't know all 500, but I know up to the Silver and Gold games. It's kind of like teaching kids with something you loved growing up.
Thursday, I got to spend time with my best friend here in Japan. We ended up drinking a bit, and stayed up all night together. It reminded me of how me and Jon use to stay up a lot (we were/are both insomniacs), but...replace Jon with a Chinese girl, and replace Waffle House with 7/11 and Booze.
Then today, despite my lack of sleep, I am studying and whatnot.
The only real issues I have had are the same issues I have been having all year: The school is sorta lame, students are hard to meet and talk to, and Japanese people are really obsessed with studying. And while I really want to study, practice my Japanese, and learn more about the culture, it seems like it is easier to learn Chinese than Japanese here in Japan. Ironic, isn't it?
So most of my exams are next week. A few papers, a couple of presentations and exams, and I am done with my first semester here.
This week has been amazing. In particular, the last few days.
Wednesday, I used Pokemon to teach English. That was probably the most amazing thing for me, because it is something me and my students have in common. Granted, I don't know all 500, but I know up to the Silver and Gold games. It's kind of like teaching kids with something you loved growing up.
Thursday, I got to spend time with my best friend here in Japan. We ended up drinking a bit, and stayed up all night together. It reminded me of how me and Jon use to stay up a lot (we were/are both insomniacs), but...replace Jon with a Chinese girl, and replace Waffle House with 7/11 and Booze.
Then today, despite my lack of sleep, I am studying and whatnot.
The only real issues I have had are the same issues I have been having all year: The school is sorta lame, students are hard to meet and talk to, and Japanese people are really obsessed with studying. And while I really want to study, practice my Japanese, and learn more about the culture, it seems like it is easier to learn Chinese than Japanese here in Japan. Ironic, isn't it?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Finals & Racism
So summer in Japan starts in about a month, and finals are coming up at the end of July.
I am mostly worried because it feels like I am not doing much work in the classes. For example, I never do anything in the English class I am taking. The teacher doesn't even ask me questions. Instead, he asks the Russian. It is a bit confusing and upsetting, since I am a native English speaker, from America, and many questions are about American english.
Another is Psycholinguistics, where I also do nothing. At the end of the semester, however, papers are due, so at least I know there is something that will be graded.
Aside from those two though, I am not too worried. I have recently encountered a lot of racism, and not even in the "trying to be helpful" way. For example, I was buying items from the Lawson store on Campus, and the clerk said, in Japanese, "stupid foreigner" instead of "thank you very much." When I told the school about this, they ignored it. In addition, most Japanese women around the area that I live are very similar to American men - which is a bad thing.
As a result, I spend more time with the Chinese population on campus, or Japanese who are not from this area - who also agree that this area is very different from every other part of Japan.
Japan has a lot of wonderful things about it, such as the nature, food, and (in most areas), very very polite people. However, just as in America, not everyone is this way. I am surprised that my Japanese teacher recommended that I live in this area.
I am mostly worried because it feels like I am not doing much work in the classes. For example, I never do anything in the English class I am taking. The teacher doesn't even ask me questions. Instead, he asks the Russian. It is a bit confusing and upsetting, since I am a native English speaker, from America, and many questions are about American english.
Another is Psycholinguistics, where I also do nothing. At the end of the semester, however, papers are due, so at least I know there is something that will be graded.
Aside from those two though, I am not too worried. I have recently encountered a lot of racism, and not even in the "trying to be helpful" way. For example, I was buying items from the Lawson store on Campus, and the clerk said, in Japanese, "stupid foreigner" instead of "thank you very much." When I told the school about this, they ignored it. In addition, most Japanese women around the area that I live are very similar to American men - which is a bad thing.
As a result, I spend more time with the Chinese population on campus, or Japanese who are not from this area - who also agree that this area is very different from every other part of Japan.
Japan has a lot of wonderful things about it, such as the nature, food, and (in most areas), very very polite people. However, just as in America, not everyone is this way. I am surprised that my Japanese teacher recommended that I live in this area.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Salsa's & Jobs
Last Monday (8th), my laptop broke, so I haven't been able to update for that reason.
Tuesday (the 9th), I went to a party With Matt (an American from my home university), Kazu (friend of Matt and I), and Tsun (a Chinese guy who wants to learn English). I saw Patricia, but we didn't talk much. I also met a Chinese girl named Yuan. She's friends with Matt and is really nice, though she didn't really talk to me until Matt and company left for English Table. She sort of just came up when I was talking to a chinese girl and started talking to me, which was a nice change of pace. We also shared a few “I don't speak enough Japanese to understand this speech” moments (it was some faculty dinner).
After it ended, we went to English Table. We talked to some people, and to each other until she had to leave.
I talked to Tsun some, mostly about stuff like Star Ocean, and then headed home.
Wednesday (10th), I found out that I have a Midterm in Japanese, and that the Salsa was moved to Saturday, because they were having a party instead.
Thursday (11th), I went to Karaoke with Matt, Kazu, and Tsun. I invited Yuan, but she declined.
Friday (12th), I met with my friend Angel, who I played Volleyball with, and a freshman (Kaga - first part of his last time. forgot his first, so I will update this later with it) who wants to learn English.
Saturday (13th), I met with Yuan and Matt at school and we talked until late. Yuan wanted to read some of my poems, but. Then I went to the Salsa Party, Danced with Patricia a little, but got bored and went home early.
Sunday (14th), I went to the English Cafe near my house, hung out with Matt some, and then went to an Italian Buffet, where I have around 3 or 4 plates - American sized - worth of food, some of which was piled on pretty high.
Monday (15th) was dull. I was suppose to meet with Yuan, but she was sick. I paid some bills and hung out with Tsun (I see him pretty much every day, and we practice English, Japanese, and Chinese together).
Tuesday (16th), I went to the second of my three classes, missing the first because I over slept (it's at 8:45am), and the third because I had some person business to take care of. I was also hired as an English teacher at a private school.
I went to English Table, where I met a girl who can make Okonomiyaki. She invited me to go to her restaurant and try it.
She ended up leaving a bit early, and then I went over and sat with my friend Kaga, who asked me questions. They were a bit dull, and when I saw a Japanese girl staring at me, I waved her in to try and excite things a little. She asked me some questions until then Yuan came.
I let her read my poetry book again, since she was interested in seeing my new poems, and explained some of the poems to her, while also answering questions that the Japanese girl and Kaga were asking me (via texting Yuan).
Eventually, table ended and I went with some of the people, including Kaga, to a Ramen shop.
Wednesday (17th), I went to Salsa Club with Dr. Moldova and Yuan. Towards the end, I got bored and started improving a little bit of what I had learned into the dancing, which almost everyone was ok with.
Even after class was over though, me and Yuan had practically sneak out, because one of the students said that we had to stay longer because we were new, thus showing me that Americans come from countries that aren't America.
After running away from the scary lady, we drank some ice strawberry milk (from a vending machine) and talk for a long while.
Thursday (18th), I missed my first class because of some personal business I had to take care of, applied for a job at a video game company, missed half of my second class because I was working on a paper for my third class, which was canceled.
I studied some, getting Yuan to teach me some Chinese, ate dinner with her at the Okonomiyaki place that I had been told about on Tuesday, spent a good while talking to her (including learning some more Chinese that makes her laugh when I say it), and then headed home, took a shower, and wrote this on my cellphone.
Tuesday (the 9th), I went to a party With Matt (an American from my home university), Kazu (friend of Matt and I), and Tsun (a Chinese guy who wants to learn English). I saw Patricia, but we didn't talk much. I also met a Chinese girl named Yuan. She's friends with Matt and is really nice, though she didn't really talk to me until Matt and company left for English Table. She sort of just came up when I was talking to a chinese girl and started talking to me, which was a nice change of pace. We also shared a few “I don't speak enough Japanese to understand this speech” moments (it was some faculty dinner).
After it ended, we went to English Table. We talked to some people, and to each other until she had to leave.
I talked to Tsun some, mostly about stuff like Star Ocean, and then headed home.
Wednesday (10th), I found out that I have a Midterm in Japanese, and that the Salsa was moved to Saturday, because they were having a party instead.
Thursday (11th), I went to Karaoke with Matt, Kazu, and Tsun. I invited Yuan, but she declined.
Friday (12th), I met with my friend Angel, who I played Volleyball with, and a freshman (Kaga - first part of his last time. forgot his first, so I will update this later with it) who wants to learn English.
Saturday (13th), I met with Yuan and Matt at school and we talked until late. Yuan wanted to read some of my poems, but. Then I went to the Salsa Party, Danced with Patricia a little, but got bored and went home early.
Sunday (14th), I went to the English Cafe near my house, hung out with Matt some, and then went to an Italian Buffet, where I have around 3 or 4 plates - American sized - worth of food, some of which was piled on pretty high.
Monday (15th) was dull. I was suppose to meet with Yuan, but she was sick. I paid some bills and hung out with Tsun (I see him pretty much every day, and we practice English, Japanese, and Chinese together).
Tuesday (16th), I went to the second of my three classes, missing the first because I over slept (it's at 8:45am), and the third because I had some person business to take care of. I was also hired as an English teacher at a private school.
I went to English Table, where I met a girl who can make Okonomiyaki. She invited me to go to her restaurant and try it.
She ended up leaving a bit early, and then I went over and sat with my friend Kaga, who asked me questions. They were a bit dull, and when I saw a Japanese girl staring at me, I waved her in to try and excite things a little. She asked me some questions until then Yuan came.
I let her read my poetry book again, since she was interested in seeing my new poems, and explained some of the poems to her, while also answering questions that the Japanese girl and Kaga were asking me (via texting Yuan).
Eventually, table ended and I went with some of the people, including Kaga, to a Ramen shop.
Wednesday (17th), I went to Salsa Club with Dr. Moldova and Yuan. Towards the end, I got bored and started improving a little bit of what I had learned into the dancing, which almost everyone was ok with.
Even after class was over though, me and Yuan had practically sneak out, because one of the students said that we had to stay longer because we were new, thus showing me that Americans come from countries that aren't America.
After running away from the scary lady, we drank some ice strawberry milk (from a vending machine) and talk for a long while.
Thursday (18th), I missed my first class because of some personal business I had to take care of, applied for a job at a video game company, missed half of my second class because I was working on a paper for my third class, which was canceled.
I studied some, getting Yuan to teach me some Chinese, ate dinner with her at the Okonomiyaki place that I had been told about on Tuesday, spent a good while talking to her (including learning some more Chinese that makes her laugh when I say it), and then headed home, took a shower, and wrote this on my cellphone.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Weekend After Midterms
So my Midterms are over...I think. I am glad.
So Saturday, I went to the International Dorms and worked on a project for a bit. It started raining just as I was unlocking my bike, which caused me to be trapped outside for about an hour. When I finally did get inside, about 5 minutes later, the horribly heavy rain stopped.
Next, I went to YouMe Town and wandered around for a little bit until I ran into Aki (who is friends with Yoshi, who started talking to me randomly [which I am perfectly fine with - I actually enjoy that sort of thing] and agreed to introduce me to a lot of people - one of which was Aki). Aki showed up with two friends, one was Nao (I think that is how you spell it), and the other was Jun. We went to McDonalds (their choice), ate, and talked for about 3 hours until Shun showed up, who is also friends with Yoshi. We decided to meet for Volleyball the next day, just before parting ways.
Shun and I were invited to a party. We arrived with Dr. Moldova about 10 minutes early, and the party ended up starting about 30 minutes late. I saw Makiko, but didn't say much of anything to her. I spent most of my time talking to two new people: Patricia from Fiji, and a Japanese girl named Manako.
Patricia had my attention for a good part of the first half of the party. I was really interested in talking to her more, because she had amazing English, amazing Japanese, and was just really fun to talk to in general. She talked to Dr. Moldova some, who was explaining some engineering stuff. She looked at me, expecting me to translate what he said, which I responded with by turning around and trying to walk away - she grabbed my arm and wouldn't let me though. She also invited Dr. Moldova and I to a Salsa Club.
I am not sure when, but she sort of disappeared, and when I noticed, I was a little sad since I didn't get to say goodbye or exchange phone numbers so that I could ask about the Salsa location (I did find her on Facebook though, so I think it will be fine). But by the time I noticed, I was talking to Manako.
So Manako approached me at the start of the party, introduced herself, and then walked off. Later, we spent a good while talking, and I got her to try some Nihonshu (Rice Wine). I enjoyed talking to her, and we plan to practice together again sometime. At one point, I wanted to sit down because my knees were hurting (I had been standing without moving much for almost 3 hours), so I had to lead her to some seats, which Makiko commented on. We sat and talked for a bit until she decided that she had to go. We exchanged numbers, and then she left.
After that, I roamed around for a bit, finishing off my Nihonshu before finally crashing a conversation that started with the word Communism and ended with Child Rape. Don't ask.
I headed home, got some rest, woke up Sunday morning, got ready, and then headed over to a meeting spot that had been decided. I had to buy some shorts ($5), then I met up with Nao and a Japanese guy who everyone kept calling Ghost. We headed to the gym, set up for Volleyball, warmed up for a bit, split into teams (my team was myself, Nao, Bobby [his "middle" name], Ghost, and Angel [Ghost said "she looks like an angel,"]), and then played 3 games. It was fun, intense, and I got to spike a lot of balls. The way that the team was set up, Ghost and Angel protected the back, Nao and Bobby would help protect the front, and I would smack the ball to the other side because I had "a lot of power." At one point, I had "too much power," but I managed to tone it down.
After that, and once I realized Ghost was obsessed with Gaikokujin (especially me), I we changed back and went out to eat at a resturant called Joyfull (I did not make a typo). I kept my order pretty cheap, and a lot of the people in the group were picky, so I ended up getting some of free food, such as Tomatos, Pickles, etc...
I headed home after that and took a hot shower, followed by a hot bath.
That was my weekend in a nutshell. Hopefully Wednesday I will be going to Salsa with Dr. Moldova and Patricia.
So Saturday, I went to the International Dorms and worked on a project for a bit. It started raining just as I was unlocking my bike, which caused me to be trapped outside for about an hour. When I finally did get inside, about 5 minutes later, the horribly heavy rain stopped.
Next, I went to YouMe Town and wandered around for a little bit until I ran into Aki (who is friends with Yoshi, who started talking to me randomly [which I am perfectly fine with - I actually enjoy that sort of thing] and agreed to introduce me to a lot of people - one of which was Aki). Aki showed up with two friends, one was Nao (I think that is how you spell it), and the other was Jun. We went to McDonalds (their choice), ate, and talked for about 3 hours until Shun showed up, who is also friends with Yoshi. We decided to meet for Volleyball the next day, just before parting ways.
Shun and I were invited to a party. We arrived with Dr. Moldova about 10 minutes early, and the party ended up starting about 30 minutes late. I saw Makiko, but didn't say much of anything to her. I spent most of my time talking to two new people: Patricia from Fiji, and a Japanese girl named Manako.
Patricia had my attention for a good part of the first half of the party. I was really interested in talking to her more, because she had amazing English, amazing Japanese, and was just really fun to talk to in general. She talked to Dr. Moldova some, who was explaining some engineering stuff. She looked at me, expecting me to translate what he said, which I responded with by turning around and trying to walk away - she grabbed my arm and wouldn't let me though. She also invited Dr. Moldova and I to a Salsa Club.
I am not sure when, but she sort of disappeared, and when I noticed, I was a little sad since I didn't get to say goodbye or exchange phone numbers so that I could ask about the Salsa location (I did find her on Facebook though, so I think it will be fine). But by the time I noticed, I was talking to Manako.
So Manako approached me at the start of the party, introduced herself, and then walked off. Later, we spent a good while talking, and I got her to try some Nihonshu (Rice Wine). I enjoyed talking to her, and we plan to practice together again sometime. At one point, I wanted to sit down because my knees were hurting (I had been standing without moving much for almost 3 hours), so I had to lead her to some seats, which Makiko commented on. We sat and talked for a bit until she decided that she had to go. We exchanged numbers, and then she left.
After that, I roamed around for a bit, finishing off my Nihonshu before finally crashing a conversation that started with the word Communism and ended with Child Rape. Don't ask.
I headed home, got some rest, woke up Sunday morning, got ready, and then headed over to a meeting spot that had been decided. I had to buy some shorts ($5), then I met up with Nao and a Japanese guy who everyone kept calling Ghost. We headed to the gym, set up for Volleyball, warmed up for a bit, split into teams (my team was myself, Nao, Bobby [his "middle" name], Ghost, and Angel [Ghost said "she looks like an angel,"]), and then played 3 games. It was fun, intense, and I got to spike a lot of balls. The way that the team was set up, Ghost and Angel protected the back, Nao and Bobby would help protect the front, and I would smack the ball to the other side because I had "a lot of power." At one point, I had "too much power," but I managed to tone it down.
After that, and once I realized Ghost was obsessed with Gaikokujin (especially me), I we changed back and went out to eat at a resturant called Joyfull (I did not make a typo). I kept my order pretty cheap, and a lot of the people in the group were picky, so I ended up getting some of free food, such as Tomatos, Pickles, etc...
I headed home after that and took a hot shower, followed by a hot bath.
That was my weekend in a nutshell. Hopefully Wednesday I will be going to Salsa with Dr. Moldova and Patricia.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Vlog Count
I got up to 45, but 39, 40, and 41 I will need to go back and figure out how I want to edit them. I will probably worry about that next weekend, after Midterms.
The reason I have to go back and edit them is because they are from when I went to Nagoya, and Momo wants me to edit her out... I didn't get too much video of her, but I got a decent amount of her friend Saki because she kept explaining things. Not sure what I am going to do honestly... if anyone has a suggestion, feel free to share it with me.
The reason I have to go back and edit them is because they are from when I went to Nagoya, and Momo wants me to edit her out... I didn't get too much video of her, but I got a decent amount of her friend Saki because she kept explaining things. Not sure what I am going to do honestly... if anyone has a suggestion, feel free to share it with me.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Midterms
A quick update on my life.
It is time for midterms. I have a take home one that is due Friday in Linguistics, and 3 projects, two of which I have to present next week.
I have about 6 vlogs left that are ready to be posted. I will probably work on throwing a bunch together this weekend. I am set until June 2nd, because I have a total of 32 videos done.
(26 are online now - http://www.youtube.com/user/Ariketh)
I will probably head up to a temple on Friday if I can and get some info on additional temples for videos.
I will update you once I know how many videos I've made sometime this weekend.
It is time for midterms. I have a take home one that is due Friday in Linguistics, and 3 projects, two of which I have to present next week.
I have about 6 vlogs left that are ready to be posted. I will probably work on throwing a bunch together this weekend. I am set until June 2nd, because I have a total of 32 videos done.
(26 are online now - http://www.youtube.com/user/Ariketh)
I will probably head up to a temple on Friday if I can and get some info on additional temples for videos.
I will update you once I know how many videos I've made sometime this weekend.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Classes
So Midterms are happening. I have 3 projects and received a take home midterm today. Actually, I realized I haven't told you my classes yet. So here is a quick rundown for you. Each class lasts for 1 hour and 30 minutes, and I am taking 9 total, which translates to 18 hours of credit at my University. Kendall is taking 3 classes, which is equal to 6 hours of credit (he is taking the same Japanese Language classes as me).
Monday
- Japanese Language
Tuesday
- Psycholinguistics
- What is Religion?
- Japanese Language
Wednesday
- Japanese Language
Thursday
- English Grammar
- Politics and Foreign Relations of Japan
- Peace & Human Rights
Friday
- Linguistics
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
- Japanese Language: I continue learning the Japanese Language. I have 3 of these classes a week (A, B, and C - all the same level, but different teacher).
- Psycholinguistics: This class is about how people learn languages, and mathmatical formulas that are used for people learning the language to help define how difficult each language is to learn. This class is mostly in Japanese.
- What is Religion?: A class about studying the philisophical properties of religion and emotion. So far, I have learned about how we need to be at one in body and mind, both masuculine and feminine in our thoughts, and how God is complete, but not perfect, and you must accept "evil," rather than trying to hide it, or else it will come bursting forth suddenly. Basically: do not deny or resist evil, just learn to control it. Does that make sense?
- English Grammar: This class is mostly because I wanted to meet people and help them with their English. I also wanted to see how Japanese people teach English so that I can understand what Japanese people are use to.
- Politics and Foreign Relations of Japan: I wanted a basic understanding of Japanese politics and laws, and how they interact with the world.
- Peace & Human Rights: I heard it was a good class, and it seems to help me understand Japanese people and culture better.
- Linguistics: Mostly to help me figure out how to break down a language... It is surprisingly very helpful. I expected it to not actually work out the way I was hoping, but it causes languages to make more sense.
Monday
- Japanese Language
Tuesday
- Psycholinguistics
- What is Religion?
- Japanese Language
Wednesday
- Japanese Language
Thursday
- English Grammar
- Politics and Foreign Relations of Japan
- Peace & Human Rights
Friday
- Linguistics
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
- Japanese Language: I continue learning the Japanese Language. I have 3 of these classes a week (A, B, and C - all the same level, but different teacher).
- Psycholinguistics: This class is about how people learn languages, and mathmatical formulas that are used for people learning the language to help define how difficult each language is to learn. This class is mostly in Japanese.
- What is Religion?: A class about studying the philisophical properties of religion and emotion. So far, I have learned about how we need to be at one in body and mind, both masuculine and feminine in our thoughts, and how God is complete, but not perfect, and you must accept "evil," rather than trying to hide it, or else it will come bursting forth suddenly. Basically: do not deny or resist evil, just learn to control it. Does that make sense?
- English Grammar: This class is mostly because I wanted to meet people and help them with their English. I also wanted to see how Japanese people teach English so that I can understand what Japanese people are use to.
- Politics and Foreign Relations of Japan: I wanted a basic understanding of Japanese politics and laws, and how they interact with the world.
- Peace & Human Rights: I heard it was a good class, and it seems to help me understand Japanese people and culture better.
- Linguistics: Mostly to help me figure out how to break down a language... It is surprisingly very helpful. I expected it to not actually work out the way I was hoping, but it causes languages to make more sense.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Crazy Fun
So here is a quick rundown of what life has been like lately.
During Golden Week (May 3rd-6th), I went to Hiroshima City with my a Moldovan friend, who has a PHD. We went salsa dancing for a bit (I have some videos of him dancing with people), but then ended up heading outside for a bit. We went to a 7-11, got a carton of Sake, and then walked back. We decided to split it.
After nearly 2 hours of searching, we finally find our way back. Dr. Moldova is VERY drunk. The Salsa bar is closed, but the International Bar is still open. We went inside, and he started dancing some. He put his head on a table and just danced around some. Some drunken guys were encouraging him to dance more, but with some help, I got him to sit down. Then he passed out. I called the police, who called the hospital, who said that he was fine, but would take about 5 hours to recover and I had to stay with him. Apparently, if you're not dead, then the hospitals in Japan can't take you? I'm not sure.
So a police officer helped me carry Dr. Moldova to a park, where I waited for him to recover until runrise. We started walking around, searching for the bus or train station - but mostly just trying to find out where we were. I went to a 7-11, found out, and then headed to the train station. We got there, and he was fairly sober. I told him about some tents we had passed and how it was a shame that we couldn't go to the Hana Festival, since today was the last day and I had really wanted to go. He said that we should go, so we went to the area with the tents and fell asleep on some steps for a few hours.
We woke up about 7am, went to a 7-11. I got some coffee and a light snack while we waited for McDonalds to open. It finally did, and we went in and ate breakfast. Then we wandered around the Hana Festival, which was starting it's last day, and I got to get some ice and whatnot. I visited the Hiroshima Peace Park again, which was emotional (last time, I didn't really understand what it represented). Then we started looking for an electronic store, which we never found. Around 2pm, after nearly 2 hours of searching, we realized that the parade was probably over. I was really upset about this (still am)... but we got on a bus and headed back.
When we got back (we left May 4th, returned May 5th), I couldn't find my bike key. I had lost one previously, and now had lost the spare. I was very upset, and was forced to walk back home - which took about 30 minutes. It takes ~10 minutes by bike from that bus stop.
I searched my entire apartment, but no dice; I could not find the key. I was annoyed and upset. I started talking to my friend Momo, who suggested that if I am ever in Aichi (aka: Nagoya), I should visit her. She helped cheer me up and make my sleep deprived and bleek-feeling life seem somewhat better. We have a lot in common too, I found out. I sent off some emails and started asking about Aichi. One of my friends from college said that I could crash with him for free if I wanted. I asked him when, and he said that anytime would be fine, including this weekend, Steve.
Like fate, I was told shortly after that I had to head to Nagoya Castle (technically, a Japanese castle) for school, and write a report on it. It was like the world was telling me, "GO TO AICHI!" So I listened.
I started looking up information and Momo told me the ticket price - which seemed fairly cheap. I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to get to Aichi ASAP. Thursday, I talked to my Sensei, who helped me find cheaper tickets - in fact, cheaper than I was expecting. With that, it was decided that I was going to leave for Aichi tomorrow - giving me less than 24 hours to pack and leave. Momo made plans for us while I packed and notified Steve, who was happy to hear that I was coming.
Friday, I went to my last class, headed back home, took a bath, packed up some clothes, and then headed off to the bus stop. I took the bus to Hiroshima City, and from there, to Nagoya. I arrived around 6am Saturday morning. I took the trains to meet Steve. I ate breakfast, then headed off to meet Momo, who mailed me shortly after I arrived and told me to meet her an hour early. Steve tagged along and we met up with Momo. I took what I needed and let Steve take the rest back to his apartment - which he was very kind to do. I decided to keep my umbrella on me, just in case it suddenly started raining.
We got on our train and left to meet up with one of her friends named Saki. We went to a mall for a bit, then visited a temple. I had my fortune told - which was that my life is bad now, but it would get better soon. They said it was a "medium fortune."
Next, they took me to Nagoya Castle, which was pretty amazing. I enjoyed it. It was a lot bigger than I expected, and looked familiar, but I am not sure why (Akira Kurosawa film maybe?). I took a lot of video from it though, which will get on YouTube eventually. After that, we met up with one of Saki's friends named Chi, then headed to Mountain ("A legendary cafe called "Mountain" is serving various unprecedented dishes in Nagoya, Japan."). I got some Mexican food (Fried Rice & Doritos topped with Salsa = Mexican, according to Japan), Momo got a sweet drink, Chi got some sort of Spaghetti soup (it had azukian [Red Bean Paste] in it), and Saki got a giant icy - Goya flavored. We all shared, though everyone agreed that mine was the best.
Next, I headed to the train and went back to Steve's apartment. He drew a map for me, but wrote it for going to the bus stop, rather than coming back from it (which defines which side of the road you are on). I took about 30 minutes before I realized that the directions were wrong, another 30 to get back, and then another 30 to get to his apartment. He apologized, though I wasn't too upset about it. We ate some fried tempura tofu with rice (best description I can think of). It was pretty good.
The next day, I visited Momo again, and she wanted to introduce me to her mom. So I went to her apartment and talked to them some. Her mother made Kitsune Udon (Udon topped with sweetened deep-fried tofu pockets [Aburaage]) - which was delicious - and then I headed back to Steve's place. We ate some rice and eggs, then went off to check out a couple of shrines and a temple. We got back to his apartment around Sunset. I watched The Vice Guide to North Korea on YouTube, and then showed him Persona 4 on GiantBomb.com. He made Udon Curry for dinner - which was pretty good.
Monday, I packed up and headed out. When I was about to leave, I found my bike key in the pocket of the pants I had just put on (cargo), which made me very happy. I wandered around Nagoya for a bit, and ate at Mos Burger for the first time (Delicious, but messy). I ended up seeing Momo one last time before I left, which made me happy. We said our goodbyes and then I headed off to the bus station.
I waited there for an hour, and ended up talking to a girl named Yuki, who goes to Ehime University. She helped me figure out which bus was mine. We ended up talking about America, my life in Japan, and what brought me to Nagoya. I got on my bus and headed back to the Hiroshima City. I got back an hour later than my ticket said, and ended up missing my first class because of it.
I felt better after getting back, and got a lot of videos for YouTube out of it. Now I just have to write that paper...
During Golden Week (May 3rd-6th), I went to Hiroshima City with my a Moldovan friend, who has a PHD. We went salsa dancing for a bit (I have some videos of him dancing with people), but then ended up heading outside for a bit. We went to a 7-11, got a carton of Sake, and then walked back. We decided to split it.
After nearly 2 hours of searching, we finally find our way back. Dr. Moldova is VERY drunk. The Salsa bar is closed, but the International Bar is still open. We went inside, and he started dancing some. He put his head on a table and just danced around some. Some drunken guys were encouraging him to dance more, but with some help, I got him to sit down. Then he passed out. I called the police, who called the hospital, who said that he was fine, but would take about 5 hours to recover and I had to stay with him. Apparently, if you're not dead, then the hospitals in Japan can't take you? I'm not sure.
So a police officer helped me carry Dr. Moldova to a park, where I waited for him to recover until runrise. We started walking around, searching for the bus or train station - but mostly just trying to find out where we were. I went to a 7-11, found out, and then headed to the train station. We got there, and he was fairly sober. I told him about some tents we had passed and how it was a shame that we couldn't go to the Hana Festival, since today was the last day and I had really wanted to go. He said that we should go, so we went to the area with the tents and fell asleep on some steps for a few hours.
We woke up about 7am, went to a 7-11. I got some coffee and a light snack while we waited for McDonalds to open. It finally did, and we went in and ate breakfast. Then we wandered around the Hana Festival, which was starting it's last day, and I got to get some ice and whatnot. I visited the Hiroshima Peace Park again, which was emotional (last time, I didn't really understand what it represented). Then we started looking for an electronic store, which we never found. Around 2pm, after nearly 2 hours of searching, we realized that the parade was probably over. I was really upset about this (still am)... but we got on a bus and headed back.
When we got back (we left May 4th, returned May 5th), I couldn't find my bike key. I had lost one previously, and now had lost the spare. I was very upset, and was forced to walk back home - which took about 30 minutes. It takes ~10 minutes by bike from that bus stop.
I searched my entire apartment, but no dice; I could not find the key. I was annoyed and upset. I started talking to my friend Momo, who suggested that if I am ever in Aichi (aka: Nagoya), I should visit her. She helped cheer me up and make my sleep deprived and bleek-feeling life seem somewhat better. We have a lot in common too, I found out. I sent off some emails and started asking about Aichi. One of my friends from college said that I could crash with him for free if I wanted. I asked him when, and he said that anytime would be fine, including this weekend, Steve.
Like fate, I was told shortly after that I had to head to Nagoya Castle (technically, a Japanese castle) for school, and write a report on it. It was like the world was telling me, "GO TO AICHI!" So I listened.
I started looking up information and Momo told me the ticket price - which seemed fairly cheap. I spent most of the day trying to figure out how to get to Aichi ASAP. Thursday, I talked to my Sensei, who helped me find cheaper tickets - in fact, cheaper than I was expecting. With that, it was decided that I was going to leave for Aichi tomorrow - giving me less than 24 hours to pack and leave. Momo made plans for us while I packed and notified Steve, who was happy to hear that I was coming.
Friday, I went to my last class, headed back home, took a bath, packed up some clothes, and then headed off to the bus stop. I took the bus to Hiroshima City, and from there, to Nagoya. I arrived around 6am Saturday morning. I took the trains to meet Steve. I ate breakfast, then headed off to meet Momo, who mailed me shortly after I arrived and told me to meet her an hour early. Steve tagged along and we met up with Momo. I took what I needed and let Steve take the rest back to his apartment - which he was very kind to do. I decided to keep my umbrella on me, just in case it suddenly started raining.
We got on our train and left to meet up with one of her friends named Saki. We went to a mall for a bit, then visited a temple. I had my fortune told - which was that my life is bad now, but it would get better soon. They said it was a "medium fortune."
Next, they took me to Nagoya Castle, which was pretty amazing. I enjoyed it. It was a lot bigger than I expected, and looked familiar, but I am not sure why (Akira Kurosawa film maybe?). I took a lot of video from it though, which will get on YouTube eventually. After that, we met up with one of Saki's friends named Chi, then headed to Mountain ("A legendary cafe called "Mountain" is serving various unprecedented dishes in Nagoya, Japan."). I got some Mexican food (Fried Rice & Doritos topped with Salsa = Mexican, according to Japan), Momo got a sweet drink, Chi got some sort of Spaghetti soup (it had azukian [Red Bean Paste] in it), and Saki got a giant icy - Goya flavored. We all shared, though everyone agreed that mine was the best.
Next, I headed to the train and went back to Steve's apartment. He drew a map for me, but wrote it for going to the bus stop, rather than coming back from it (which defines which side of the road you are on). I took about 30 minutes before I realized that the directions were wrong, another 30 to get back, and then another 30 to get to his apartment. He apologized, though I wasn't too upset about it. We ate some fried tempura tofu with rice (best description I can think of). It was pretty good.
The next day, I visited Momo again, and she wanted to introduce me to her mom. So I went to her apartment and talked to them some. Her mother made Kitsune Udon (Udon topped with sweetened deep-fried tofu pockets [Aburaage]) - which was delicious - and then I headed back to Steve's place. We ate some rice and eggs, then went off to check out a couple of shrines and a temple. We got back to his apartment around Sunset. I watched The Vice Guide to North Korea on YouTube, and then showed him Persona 4 on GiantBomb.com. He made Udon Curry for dinner - which was pretty good.
Monday, I packed up and headed out. When I was about to leave, I found my bike key in the pocket of the pants I had just put on (cargo), which made me very happy. I wandered around Nagoya for a bit, and ate at Mos Burger for the first time (Delicious, but messy). I ended up seeing Momo one last time before I left, which made me happy. We said our goodbyes and then I headed off to the bus station.
I waited there for an hour, and ended up talking to a girl named Yuki, who goes to Ehime University. She helped me figure out which bus was mine. We ended up talking about America, my life in Japan, and what brought me to Nagoya. I got on my bus and headed back to the Hiroshima City. I got back an hour later than my ticket said, and ended up missing my first class because of it.
I felt better after getting back, and got a lot of videos for YouTube out of it. Now I just have to write that paper...
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
On My Mind
(Written: Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 7:07pm on Facebook via Mobile)
I just got my new glasses. They are nice. Black frames instead of silver. I will post a picture later. But now on to the main point of this post.
I have had a lot of people asking if I am home sick or suggesting that I am because I am trying to make friends or find people to hang out with or things to do. It was silly at first, but now it is just annoying. There is an American here who reminds me daily why I hate America.
Which leads me into my next topic: The American. He can be funny and is occasionally fun to hang out with, but he does not understand how to hold his tongue. He will call me a Creepy American. A lot. It does not help in the meeting people process.
But today, he did something that trumps all: he started telling me that his friends think I am creepy. Now, what bugs me is that he tries to justify them being ok with saying that. “Well, you know it is true.” If a fat lady knows she is fat, should you bring it up constantly? Should you tell her that people she has never met think that too? It just reminds me why I hate America.
Which brings me back to point one: I want to make friends, but when I try, people accuse me of homesickness.
So, there is a good reason why I am having issues and end up depressed sometimes.
Some other random things that annoy me are his use of “Nya” and other general American-Otaku words, and the fact that if would rather spend his time reading Manga than exploring Japan.
I just got my new glasses. They are nice. Black frames instead of silver. I will post a picture later. But now on to the main point of this post.
I have had a lot of people asking if I am home sick or suggesting that I am because I am trying to make friends or find people to hang out with or things to do. It was silly at first, but now it is just annoying. There is an American here who reminds me daily why I hate America.
Which leads me into my next topic: The American. He can be funny and is occasionally fun to hang out with, but he does not understand how to hold his tongue. He will call me a Creepy American. A lot. It does not help in the meeting people process.
But today, he did something that trumps all: he started telling me that his friends think I am creepy. Now, what bugs me is that he tries to justify them being ok with saying that. “Well, you know it is true.” If a fat lady knows she is fat, should you bring it up constantly? Should you tell her that people she has never met think that too? It just reminds me why I hate America.
Which brings me back to point one: I want to make friends, but when I try, people accuse me of homesickness.
So, there is a good reason why I am having issues and end up depressed sometimes.
Some other random things that annoy me are his use of “Nya” and other general American-Otaku words, and the fact that if would rather spend his time reading Manga than exploring Japan.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday Night
So last night I went out with some friends. Drinking and Karaoke. I do not like singing, but I am a fan of drinking and stupidity. So normally, when it was my turn to sing, I would sing songs like Y.M.C.A. and Barbie Girl.
I got pretty drunk, and then discovered I was the only one drinking. I can't decide if it is worse to drink alone, or be the only one drinking. I had about 3 bottles of Sake, plus some of my friend's nasty wine.
I took a short video, which I will post on YouTube probably sometime next month (June) (videos are up now: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=982086EE81B8E4BE), mostly because I have ~30 blogs done already.
I woke up this morning with no hangover - which I give credit to my super fast metabolism and C.C. Lemon for that - went to class (when I finally found the classroom), and started uploading videos and pictures online. Videos are on YouTube, in the above link, and some cellphone pictures are on my Facebook, but I will probably post a couple here.
Not much else to tell, really. Still trying to figure out how exactly Japanese people think - but I think that is a neverending process. They make figuring out American Women feel easy. I have yet to start to even try to crack the nut that is Japanese Women. I doubt I will try to, honestly. Most of the information I know is about approaching Japanese people. I can do that just fine. Now I have to figure out how to talk to them.
Left to right: Japanese Toilet, What I wore Thursday Night (size = medium, which is why they look small), Awesome Hat, Cherry Blossoms
I got pretty drunk, and then discovered I was the only one drinking. I can't decide if it is worse to drink alone, or be the only one drinking. I had about 3 bottles of Sake, plus some of my friend's nasty wine.
I took a short video, which I will post on YouTube probably sometime next month (June) (videos are up now: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=982086EE81B8E4BE), mostly because I have ~30 blogs done already.
I woke up this morning with no hangover - which I give credit to my super fast metabolism and C.C. Lemon for that - went to class (when I finally found the classroom), and started uploading videos and pictures online. Videos are on YouTube, in the above link, and some cellphone pictures are on my Facebook, but I will probably post a couple here.
Not much else to tell, really. Still trying to figure out how exactly Japanese people think - but I think that is a neverending process. They make figuring out American Women feel easy. I have yet to start to even try to crack the nut that is Japanese Women. I doubt I will try to, honestly. Most of the information I know is about approaching Japanese people. I can do that just fine. Now I have to figure out how to talk to them.
Left to right: Japanese Toilet, What I wore Thursday Night (size = medium, which is why they look small), Awesome Hat, Cherry Blossoms
Friends & Strangers
(Written April 28th, 2009, ~10pm)
I have had multiple people tell me that they miss me and want me to hurry back to the states. While my FRIENDS saying this is nice, when people I hardly know, or don't know at all, start saying this, it is weird.
For example, one person, like many do, asked how long my stay would be. After finding out, they said that we should hang out when I get back, if it is before a date, which is not even half my stay here. I do not know that person, never met them. I know OF the person, but only because she is...I guess, well known? At my home university, that is.
Now, to some people, this may sound wonderful, but this stranger messaging me, privately, and encouraging me to see her when I get back - trying to get me to come back early so she can see me, on top of it all - it is a bit odd.
I do not want to worry about returning to America yet. I have been here less than a month, and when my friends want to talk or find out about my stay, they can ask, read this blog, watch my videos, or even them saying that they miss me is fine. But when a stranger messages me and encourages me to return early, it is weird and creepy. Especially when this is something that I have wanted since I was a little kid, watching Godzilla destroy this country - Japan.
I am more worried about my night out with some people (Kendall, Take, and one other [her friend, Saaya]) Thursday, than I am about America and whether it will even still be around in a year (seeing as all I hear about is how it is falling apart). I am enjoying myself, and have offered my shelter to many friends, if they have the time and money to stay. The only snags I have found are people wanting to bring friends and/or family too. My apartment could not house more than two people. It seems as if they want more than I can offer - and rather than saying "that's ok," they want to push the envelope and see how badly I want to see them.
My offer is free shelter, TV, a fridge, microwave, toilet (western), tub, washer (you have to dry your clothes outside), and someone to help them find the best food nearby (Q!). It does not sound like much until you factor in a hotel in Japan being around $30 a night (capsule hotel) - American-style hotels being $70-$100 per night - and the fact that they can stay as long as they like, the only condition being that they will bathe daily.
So for ~$2,000, or ~¥200,000, they can buy a round trip ticket and stay for a couple of weeks (a month if they stretch it) - most of the money they bring being used for food. The more $$, the longer they can stay. Sure, they will have to sleep on the floor like I do, unless they are willing to buy a bed, but they would be in a different country. So many people claim to want to come, but when the price is reduced to the point that a college student could even do that. Hell, last year, I came for 2 weeks and it cost me ~$5,000. I had to squeeze my money pretty damn tight. So to me ~$2,000 sounds amazing.
So in conclusion, I do not have plans to return home anytime soon - but I do enjoy knowing that people miss me. And to my friends, my door is currently open if you are interested in visiting. I do not know how long it will be (exams are at the end of July, so I might need to close it for a month) - but I am sure we can work something out.
I have had multiple people tell me that they miss me and want me to hurry back to the states. While my FRIENDS saying this is nice, when people I hardly know, or don't know at all, start saying this, it is weird.
For example, one person, like many do, asked how long my stay would be. After finding out, they said that we should hang out when I get back, if it is before a date, which is not even half my stay here. I do not know that person, never met them. I know OF the person, but only because she is...I guess, well known? At my home university, that is.
Now, to some people, this may sound wonderful, but this stranger messaging me, privately, and encouraging me to see her when I get back - trying to get me to come back early so she can see me, on top of it all - it is a bit odd.
I do not want to worry about returning to America yet. I have been here less than a month, and when my friends want to talk or find out about my stay, they can ask, read this blog, watch my videos, or even them saying that they miss me is fine. But when a stranger messages me and encourages me to return early, it is weird and creepy. Especially when this is something that I have wanted since I was a little kid, watching Godzilla destroy this country - Japan.
I am more worried about my night out with some people (Kendall, Take, and one other [her friend, Saaya]) Thursday, than I am about America and whether it will even still be around in a year (seeing as all I hear about is how it is falling apart). I am enjoying myself, and have offered my shelter to many friends, if they have the time and money to stay. The only snags I have found are people wanting to bring friends and/or family too. My apartment could not house more than two people. It seems as if they want more than I can offer - and rather than saying "that's ok," they want to push the envelope and see how badly I want to see them.
My offer is free shelter, TV, a fridge, microwave, toilet (western), tub, washer (you have to dry your clothes outside), and someone to help them find the best food nearby (Q!). It does not sound like much until you factor in a hotel in Japan being around $30 a night (capsule hotel) - American-style hotels being $70-$100 per night - and the fact that they can stay as long as they like, the only condition being that they will bathe daily.So for ~$2,000, or ~¥200,000, they can buy a round trip ticket and stay for a couple of weeks (a month if they stretch it) - most of the money they bring being used for food. The more $$, the longer they can stay. Sure, they will have to sleep on the floor like I do, unless they are willing to buy a bed, but they would be in a different country. So many people claim to want to come, but when the price is reduced to the point that a college student could even do that. Hell, last year, I came for 2 weeks and it cost me ~$5,000. I had to squeeze my money pretty damn tight. So to me ~$2,000 sounds amazing.
So in conclusion, I do not have plans to return home anytime soon - but I do enjoy knowing that people miss me. And to my friends, my door is currently open if you are interested in visiting. I do not know how long it will be (exams are at the end of July, so I might need to close it for a month) - but I am sure we can work something out.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Lake Party
(Written: April 25th, 2009 @ 4:00am)
I went to the Lake Party and made a lot of friends. I arrived with Kendall, Katsu, and one of his Kohai (Azu) - who was even better at English than Katsu. I was forced to wait for the party to start before I could start drinking. After talking to a few people, I finally found one very interesting Japanese girl (Take) and talked to her for at least 2 hours. She had heard about me from one of her friends. Kendall occasionally popped in, but for the mostpart, me and her talked alone, which was nice because it was the first person I got to talk to for a long period of time who wasn't an American or assigned to work with me. She was pretty much fluent - and was happy to finally meet someone who was willing to talk to her in English, since most of the Gaikokujin want to talk in Japanese.
It started raining pretty hard, so she decided to go home since it wasn't getting any better, as did the majority of the people. I stayed for a bit longer, until only a handful were left. We made our way back (Makiko, Kendall, Bob, some asian guy, and Nate). Bob went to his dorm, Nate had to be helped to his dorm, Kendall rode home on his bike, and Makiko hugged me goodnight at her apartment - which was weird, until I realized just how drunk she was (Japanese people are not very touchy, normally).
I also met Lee, who was pretty awesome and friends with Bob. Bob was pretty kickass, and kept yelling at people to get their "arses back here." I got to watch Kazu (not Katsu) get totally wasted, and realized just light Japanese alcohol was - and how light all of these students were.
Anyway, after saying goodnight to everyone - the last being Makiko, because her apartment was on the way back to mine - I rushed home on my bike while the freezing rain slapped my face, ran in, threw off my soaking wet and ice cold clothes, ran a hot bath, and sat in it for a bit while I warmed up. (I got home about 3am, btw) I talked to Makiko a bit more, who told me to take care and not get sick (because we were both soaking wet by the time we got to her apartment) before falling asleep.
I got out of the bath and am now laying in bed, fairly warm. Hopefully, I will not get a cold.
*Note: I did not get a cold.
I went to the Lake Party and made a lot of friends. I arrived with Kendall, Katsu, and one of his Kohai (Azu) - who was even better at English than Katsu. I was forced to wait for the party to start before I could start drinking. After talking to a few people, I finally found one very interesting Japanese girl (Take) and talked to her for at least 2 hours. She had heard about me from one of her friends. Kendall occasionally popped in, but for the mostpart, me and her talked alone, which was nice because it was the first person I got to talk to for a long period of time who wasn't an American or assigned to work with me. She was pretty much fluent - and was happy to finally meet someone who was willing to talk to her in English, since most of the Gaikokujin want to talk in Japanese.
It started raining pretty hard, so she decided to go home since it wasn't getting any better, as did the majority of the people. I stayed for a bit longer, until only a handful were left. We made our way back (Makiko, Kendall, Bob, some asian guy, and Nate). Bob went to his dorm, Nate had to be helped to his dorm, Kendall rode home on his bike, and Makiko hugged me goodnight at her apartment - which was weird, until I realized just how drunk she was (Japanese people are not very touchy, normally).
I also met Lee, who was pretty awesome and friends with Bob. Bob was pretty kickass, and kept yelling at people to get their "arses back here." I got to watch Kazu (not Katsu) get totally wasted, and realized just light Japanese alcohol was - and how light all of these students were.
Anyway, after saying goodnight to everyone - the last being Makiko, because her apartment was on the way back to mine - I rushed home on my bike while the freezing rain slapped my face, ran in, threw off my soaking wet and ice cold clothes, ran a hot bath, and sat in it for a bit while I warmed up. (I got home about 3am, btw) I talked to Makiko a bit more, who told me to take care and not get sick (because we were both soaking wet by the time we got to her apartment) before falling asleep.
I got out of the bath and am now laying in bed, fairly warm. Hopefully, I will not get a cold.
*Note: I did not get a cold.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Americans Are Not Rapists
(written today, April 21st, 2009)
Despite being a Gaikokujin (foreigner) from America, I find most others (from America) to be very immature and annoying - most, but not all. Just because some Americans are jerks does not mean all are. I hope that is understood.
For example, a girl from my University back in America keeps going around, reinforcing the idea that all American men are rapists and only want to talk to asians for sex - whether it is a girl to get in her pants, or a guy to get in his friends/girlfriends pants. It is annoying and ends up causing a lot of problems when people are trying to make friends. After talked to a few people about this, I asked her to stop in the nicest possible way (Which was basically, 'Can you please stop telling Japanese people that we are rapists? It's very troublesome), to which she responded, "If you are having issues, it is not my fault. You are just coming off as creepy."
Rather than addressing the fact that anytime she sees a Gaikokujin talking to an Asian, she tells them that he is only after sex, will go to any lengths to get it, and that they should avoid talking to him - rather than addressing this, she says that it is their own fault (because it is not just me I am complaining for) for coming off as creepy.
Now, I am a big, scary guy as it is, so her telling people I want to rape them is a bit troublesome when I am trying to introduce myself to people and make friends. But when she starts claiming that about people like Guy, who is a pretty awesome person who does not want sex with anyone (he does not have time for a relationship), she is just being a バカだよアメリカ人 (stupid american - no idea if I did that in the right order though).
Luckily, she is in a different prefecture (Aichi Prefecture, I believe), so I don't have to deal with this like I did last May (during my visit to Japan via a University class). Also, the reason I am writing this is more for my own future reference, but I thought I would share it with you.
Despite being a Gaikokujin (foreigner) from America, I find most others (from America) to be very immature and annoying - most, but not all. Just because some Americans are jerks does not mean all are. I hope that is understood.
For example, a girl from my University back in America keeps going around, reinforcing the idea that all American men are rapists and only want to talk to asians for sex - whether it is a girl to get in her pants, or a guy to get in his friends/girlfriends pants. It is annoying and ends up causing a lot of problems when people are trying to make friends. After talked to a few people about this, I asked her to stop in the nicest possible way (Which was basically, 'Can you please stop telling Japanese people that we are rapists? It's very troublesome), to which she responded, "If you are having issues, it is not my fault. You are just coming off as creepy."
Rather than addressing the fact that anytime she sees a Gaikokujin talking to an Asian, she tells them that he is only after sex, will go to any lengths to get it, and that they should avoid talking to him - rather than addressing this, she says that it is their own fault (because it is not just me I am complaining for) for coming off as creepy.
Now, I am a big, scary guy as it is, so her telling people I want to rape them is a bit troublesome when I am trying to introduce myself to people and make friends. But when she starts claiming that about people like Guy, who is a pretty awesome person who does not want sex with anyone (he does not have time for a relationship), she is just being a バカだよアメリカ人 (stupid american - no idea if I did that in the right order though).
Luckily, she is in a different prefecture (Aichi Prefecture, I believe), so I don't have to deal with this like I did last May (during my visit to Japan via a University class). Also, the reason I am writing this is more for my own future reference, but I thought I would share it with you.
私は馬鹿だよ
(written today, April 21st, 2009)
I hope I used the right Kanji...
I feel really stupid. Did I come to Japan too early in my studies? I feel so confused in class. I understand some Japanese, but I just got done with Japanese Society and Lifestyles (first time in that class), and all I got from about an hour and a half of her talking was that wives were/are parasites to their husbands, pention plans (Japanese people have them), old Japanese cellphones look like modern day American cellphones (also, they way they used to dress is how Americans dress now - judging both cellphones and clothing from a VHS tape that looked like clothes that Americans wear today - did that make sense?), and there is a reason why Japanese people hand out tissue paper (but I have no idea why - something about the 80s). We watched a video that said something about Freet and NEET. It showed money, which is probably related to the pention plan.
I feel really dumb, but maybe it is just because I just got here and my advisor will not be back until Thursday. Even then, I may not be able to talk to him until Friday. The deadline for classes is the 28th, which is next Tuesday. Or maybe it is the 27th, and the 28th is when you can no longer turn it in? I dunno.
And as much as people want to think that the fact that I am in Japan means that life is wonderful - which it is pretty nice compared to America, all things considered - if a problem comes up, it is a bigger deal because my Japanese is not up to snuff. To repeat what I told a friend, "does getting hit by a car in Japan make it any better than getting hit by a car in America?" The Japanophile responce is, "yes, because you are in Japan," until they realize that the hospitals here are extremely expensive.
Something else I noticed is that last May, when I visited Japan with my school, a lot of guys thought they were making headway and going to score with some Japanese girls because they gave them their emails and phone numbers. "I got 17 email addresses!" "Yeah? I got 20!" I discovered that they were just entertaining the girls, and the girls were giving them the addresses and numbers to play with them. It's like how you give a dog table scraps. It is a BAD idea to go up to a group of girls and expect to get anywhere, because they cockblock eachother. If she wants to get picked up/hit on, she normally goes about it alone, so that she does not lose face and end up being called a slut. Rarely, they go out in groups of two, looking for some fun with a trusted friend.
So, from what I understood, only 3 guys were "lucky" on the trip to Japan last May - Myself and Jon (who ended up on a Japanese-style date with two girls), and Guy, who could have hooked up with a girl had it not been his last night in Japan (she basically said, "you want to come home with me?") So if you're out to entertain, then feel free to talk to groups of girls, but if you want to actually try and get someplace, talk to one girl - and only one girl.
I guess it is good that I am more interested in learning about the culture than the language. In fact, the only reason I started learning the language is to have a better understanding of the culture, and so I could read about the culture in it's native tongue. I have a long way to go for both.
I hope I used the right Kanji...
I feel really stupid. Did I come to Japan too early in my studies? I feel so confused in class. I understand some Japanese, but I just got done with Japanese Society and Lifestyles (first time in that class), and all I got from about an hour and a half of her talking was that wives were/are parasites to their husbands, pention plans (Japanese people have them), old Japanese cellphones look like modern day American cellphones (also, they way they used to dress is how Americans dress now - judging both cellphones and clothing from a VHS tape that looked like clothes that Americans wear today - did that make sense?), and there is a reason why Japanese people hand out tissue paper (but I have no idea why - something about the 80s). We watched a video that said something about Freet and NEET. It showed money, which is probably related to the pention plan.
I feel really dumb, but maybe it is just because I just got here and my advisor will not be back until Thursday. Even then, I may not be able to talk to him until Friday. The deadline for classes is the 28th, which is next Tuesday. Or maybe it is the 27th, and the 28th is when you can no longer turn it in? I dunno.
And as much as people want to think that the fact that I am in Japan means that life is wonderful - which it is pretty nice compared to America, all things considered - if a problem comes up, it is a bigger deal because my Japanese is not up to snuff. To repeat what I told a friend, "does getting hit by a car in Japan make it any better than getting hit by a car in America?" The Japanophile responce is, "yes, because you are in Japan," until they realize that the hospitals here are extremely expensive.
Something else I noticed is that last May, when I visited Japan with my school, a lot of guys thought they were making headway and going to score with some Japanese girls because they gave them their emails and phone numbers. "I got 17 email addresses!" "Yeah? I got 20!" I discovered that they were just entertaining the girls, and the girls were giving them the addresses and numbers to play with them. It's like how you give a dog table scraps. It is a BAD idea to go up to a group of girls and expect to get anywhere, because they cockblock eachother. If she wants to get picked up/hit on, she normally goes about it alone, so that she does not lose face and end up being called a slut. Rarely, they go out in groups of two, looking for some fun with a trusted friend.
So, from what I understood, only 3 guys were "lucky" on the trip to Japan last May - Myself and Jon (who ended up on a Japanese-style date with two girls), and Guy, who could have hooked up with a girl had it not been his last night in Japan (she basically said, "you want to come home with me?") So if you're out to entertain, then feel free to talk to groups of girls, but if you want to actually try and get someplace, talk to one girl - and only one girl.
I guess it is good that I am more interested in learning about the culture than the language. In fact, the only reason I started learning the language is to have a better understanding of the culture, and so I could read about the culture in it's native tongue. I have a long way to go for both.
Likes and Dislikes
(Written April 16th, 2009)
A quick rundown of things I enjoy doing.
- Going to Q for Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-Style.
- Riding my bike around to random spots, then sitting and watching the clouds go by.
- Going to a vending machine to get a cold drink without having to get off my bike or even deal with people.
- Sitting in my bathtub for hours, surfing the net on my (waterproof) cellphone.
- Waking up to see what people have emailed me about or commented on (via my phone).
Though I have run into some things I do not like, mainly people staring at me, but being a 6'5" gaikokujin with long curly hair does not help. Especially someone like me, who is naturally scary-looking (so I've been told).
On the plus side, the little kids here like me and I am very memorable. So maybe I will make it out ok. Assuming I try to get out. I may just stay. Who knows.
I have an apartment, I bought all my appliences, I have a cellphone, but I am still working on getting a job.
I do not feel like my Japanese is improving, but that is probably not true. I am happier here, though. And the worlds problems seem less important here - probably because I do not have internet or watch the news too much anymore. When I do see the news, though, it is always taking about Obama.
By the way, I am writing this on a piece of paper in Q. I will be getting my usual (Specialty A, Udon) soon though, so I am going to end this now.
A quick rundown of things I enjoy doing.
- Going to Q for Okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-Style.
- Riding my bike around to random spots, then sitting and watching the clouds go by.
- Going to a vending machine to get a cold drink without having to get off my bike or even deal with people.
- Sitting in my bathtub for hours, surfing the net on my (waterproof) cellphone.
- Waking up to see what people have emailed me about or commented on (via my phone).
Though I have run into some things I do not like, mainly people staring at me, but being a 6'5" gaikokujin with long curly hair does not help. Especially someone like me, who is naturally scary-looking (so I've been told).
On the plus side, the little kids here like me and I am very memorable. So maybe I will make it out ok. Assuming I try to get out. I may just stay. Who knows.
I have an apartment, I bought all my appliences, I have a cellphone, but I am still working on getting a job.
I do not feel like my Japanese is improving, but that is probably not true. I am happier here, though. And the worlds problems seem less important here - probably because I do not have internet or watch the news too much anymore. When I do see the news, though, it is always taking about Obama.
By the way, I am writing this on a piece of paper in Q. I will be getting my usual (Specialty A, Udon) soon though, so I am going to end this now.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
CoE
My Certificate of Eligibility has arrived at the post office. They called to tell me that I can either pick it up today, or they will deliver it tomorrow. I am foolishly excited. I'll be down in Atlanta either today or tomorrow. I'll film the happenings and post it.
Yay! My next blog will probably be from Japan (might be a little while though). Stay tuned!
Yay! My next blog will probably be from Japan (might be a little while though). Stay tuned!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Yay! Going To Japan!
So I was informed today that the letter from the Dean has been sent, and my Certificate of Eligibility is on it's way here. I'm going to get it, run down to Atlanta (GA), grab my VISA, and then I'll be off to Japan.
I'm happy and excited. Even though it's 4:20am, I'm wide awake because I just read that email. Yay! I'm actually going to go! My family has been trying to keep me down to earth by saying that "maybe you wont get to go," especially my mom since I'll be so far away, but "confidence begets confidence" (from a fortune cookie), and I held onto every ounce of hope and it feels like I might actually be going. Yay!
I'll probably post a video before I leave, just to say "Yo, what's up. I'M GOING TO JAPAN!" I'll answer any questions, if you have any. PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com
I'm happy and excited. Even though it's 4:20am, I'm wide awake because I just read that email. Yay! I'm actually going to go! My family has been trying to keep me down to earth by saying that "maybe you wont get to go," especially my mom since I'll be so far away, but "confidence begets confidence" (from a fortune cookie), and I held onto every ounce of hope and it feels like I might actually be going. Yay!
I'll probably post a video before I leave, just to say "Yo, what's up. I'M GOING TO JAPAN!" I'll answer any questions, if you have any. PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com
Friday, March 20, 2009
Biggest Issue Thus Far
So I've been having some issues recently, specifically with getting my VISA, so let me give you a rundown of exactly what has gone on.
So the head university in the partnership held my application for a little bit longer than expected, but it eventually made it's way to my choice about the end of January. We've all been working hard to get myself and the other student to Japan, but my adviser has been less than helpful.
Everything was fine until we found out that the Dean of my college had yet to write me a letter. After about 2 weeks of myself, my Japanese teacher, and my Study Abroad adviser trying to get him to write me one, my Study Abroad adviser wrote one for me, but I need one from the Dean of my college when I get to Japan.
On top of this, I have been studying and hard at work on some personal projects. The projects are mostly just game ideas that I have and I work on them until I run out of stuff to work on.
Remember: if you have any questions, email me at PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com and I'll respond on here.
So the head university in the partnership held my application for a little bit longer than expected, but it eventually made it's way to my choice about the end of January. We've all been working hard to get myself and the other student to Japan, but my adviser has been less than helpful.
Everything was fine until we found out that the Dean of my college had yet to write me a letter. After about 2 weeks of myself, my Japanese teacher, and my Study Abroad adviser trying to get him to write me one, my Study Abroad adviser wrote one for me, but I need one from the Dean of my college when I get to Japan.
On top of this, I have been studying and hard at work on some personal projects. The projects are mostly just game ideas that I have and I work on them until I run out of stuff to work on.
Remember: if you have any questions, email me at PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com and I'll respond on here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Useful Links
Here is a rundown of useful sites and some content that is on them.
Wakan - I used it for a class when I had to type some journals in Japanese. I never tried to learn words from it's dictionary like some of my friends did, but it is useful if you want to know how to say like for a sentence such as: I like Strawberries - わたしはいちごがすきです。
Tofugu - Good site for Japanese language and culture. Teaches you how to be polite and rude, and he recently talked about some Free Japanese Courses.
Gimmeabreakman - Great guy to go to for lots of Japanese language and culture videos. He's the first person I started watching on YouTube who was actually helpful with learning Japanese and about Japan in general. I highly suggest you take notes if you're serious about learning Japanese. Also check out his website Gimmeabreakman.com.
Oborogin - He's really useful for people learning Japanese. I have to agree that you should learn the verbs before anything else. He's awesome for beginners who know nothing about Japanese. He's also really good for review if you haven't studied Japanese in a while.
Katexgg - She reviews what she learned in class and teaches it to us. Since she's learning with you, it's easy to follow along.
Hikosaemon - An amazing vlogger. Definitely someone to check out if you're interested in Japan at all. He posts videos weekly, which is pretty amazing if you ask me, because I have issues posting videos monthly. Maybe one day I'll learn his secret.
Cruxay - I watch his videos when he posts them. He's lazy, like me, and doesn't post videos too often. But when he does, they're really good.
ElevenColors - Cool vlogger. He does everything from showing you how to use Japanese salad dressing to Japanese tongue twisters. He's pretty big on Japanese bands too.
Also, a good way to practice your listening and getting used to picking out words is by watching TV Shows and listening to music. I don't advise you to learn Japanese that way, but to each their own. Though, you should note that it will sound weird to a Japanese person if you talk like an anime character. As Tofugu pointed out once, we wouldn't want them learning English from Goofy.
Wakan - I used it for a class when I had to type some journals in Japanese. I never tried to learn words from it's dictionary like some of my friends did, but it is useful if you want to know how to say like for a sentence such as: I like Strawberries - わたしはいちごがすきです。
Tofugu - Good site for Japanese language and culture. Teaches you how to be polite and rude, and he recently talked about some Free Japanese Courses.
Gimmeabreakman - Great guy to go to for lots of Japanese language and culture videos. He's the first person I started watching on YouTube who was actually helpful with learning Japanese and about Japan in general. I highly suggest you take notes if you're serious about learning Japanese. Also check out his website Gimmeabreakman.com.
Oborogin - He's really useful for people learning Japanese. I have to agree that you should learn the verbs before anything else. He's awesome for beginners who know nothing about Japanese. He's also really good for review if you haven't studied Japanese in a while.
Katexgg - She reviews what she learned in class and teaches it to us. Since she's learning with you, it's easy to follow along.
Hikosaemon - An amazing vlogger. Definitely someone to check out if you're interested in Japan at all. He posts videos weekly, which is pretty amazing if you ask me, because I have issues posting videos monthly. Maybe one day I'll learn his secret.
Cruxay - I watch his videos when he posts them. He's lazy, like me, and doesn't post videos too often. But when he does, they're really good.
ElevenColors - Cool vlogger. He does everything from showing you how to use Japanese salad dressing to Japanese tongue twisters. He's pretty big on Japanese bands too.
Also, a good way to practice your listening and getting used to picking out words is by watching TV Shows and listening to music. I don't advise you to learn Japanese that way, but to each their own. Though, you should note that it will sound weird to a Japanese person if you talk like an anime character. As Tofugu pointed out once, we wouldn't want them learning English from Goofy.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Q&A
This is to answer some commonly questions.
-_-_-_-_-
Q: Why are you going to Japan?
A: Study Abroad.
Q: What are you going to Study?
A: Japanese.
Q: How long are you planning on being there?
A: 16 months.
Q: Why do you want to learn Japanese?
A: I have a large number of reasons, one of them being so that I can study about Japan without needing documents from Japan translated for me. I have a couple others, but with nothing set in stone, I would rather keep those to myself.
Q: Why do you want to learn about Japan?
A: Because it's the Asian country we have the most contact with, and yet we (the schools I went to) barely studied Asia at all, especially compared to Africa, Europe, and America.
Q: If you love Japan so much, why do you have so many issues with Anime?
A: Because they're all so similar and people who watch them can be very annoying about it (if you're offended by that, then you're probably one of those people). That is to say, it's fine to like anime, just like it's fine to like SpongeBob, but the second you start wearing Naruto headbands, you've gone too far.
Q: Do you think Japanese people will comment on your height?
A: Probably not to my face.
Q: Don't they eat dogs and cats in Japan?
A: No, but some Asian countries do.
Q: Have you ever been to Japan?
A: Yes, last May, for 2 weeks.
Q: What do you like best about Japan?
A: The food. Specifically: Hiroshima Okonomiyaki.
Q: What do you hate about Japan?
A: Nihonjinron.
Q: Do you believe in Ninjas?
A: To a degree. If you're only interested in Japan for this reason, I recommend SKH Quest. Click the "Schools" tab check out their locations.
-_-_-_-_-
If anyone has any questions that I didn't answer (regardless of whether you think they're silly or not), email them to PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com. I'll answer them in my next post.
-_-_-_-_-
Q: Why are you going to Japan?
A: Study Abroad.
Q: What are you going to Study?
A: Japanese.
Q: How long are you planning on being there?
A: 16 months.
Q: Why do you want to learn Japanese?
A: I have a large number of reasons, one of them being so that I can study about Japan without needing documents from Japan translated for me. I have a couple others, but with nothing set in stone, I would rather keep those to myself.
Q: Why do you want to learn about Japan?
A: Because it's the Asian country we have the most contact with, and yet we (the schools I went to) barely studied Asia at all, especially compared to Africa, Europe, and America.
Q: If you love Japan so much, why do you have so many issues with Anime?
A: Because they're all so similar and people who watch them can be very annoying about it (if you're offended by that, then you're probably one of those people). That is to say, it's fine to like anime, just like it's fine to like SpongeBob, but the second you start wearing Naruto headbands, you've gone too far.
Q: Do you think Japanese people will comment on your height?
A: Probably not to my face.
Q: Don't they eat dogs and cats in Japan?
A: No, but some Asian countries do.
Q: Have you ever been to Japan?
A: Yes, last May, for 2 weeks.
Q: What do you like best about Japan?
A: The food. Specifically: Hiroshima Okonomiyaki.
Q: What do you hate about Japan?
A: Nihonjinron.
Q: Do you believe in Ninjas?
A: To a degree. If you're only interested in Japan for this reason, I recommend SKH Quest. Click the "Schools" tab check out their locations.
-_-_-_-_-
If anyone has any questions that I didn't answer (regardless of whether you think they're silly or not), email them to PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com. I'll answer them in my next post.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Getting Ready For Japan
Studying Abroad can be a lot of work, totally overwhelming, and scary, so I thought I'd give you a rundown of what I've done thus far to get ready for it. I am in no way saying you have to do any of this, but I am documenting my experience so maybe you can learn from it.
Fall of 2007 (First semester of college)
- Talked to the head of the Study Abroad department about going to Asia, namely Japan.
- Began to attend "Japanese Table," which was made to help reinforce what we learned in class. I guess you could say it was kind of like a "Japanese Club."
- Started making plans to go on the summer trip to Japan.
- To help prepare me, I took Japanese I, Chinese I (Kanji), and Japanese Pop Culture.
Spring of 2008 (Second semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad.
- Continued attending Japanese Table.
- Continued with my summer trip meetings.
- Continuing my preparation, I took Japanese II, Eastern Religious Traditions, Chinese Culture (give me a wider view of Asia as a whole), and an independent study on Shinto.
Summer of 2008
- Traveled to Japan with my Sensei, the Study Abroad adviser, and 27 other students. It was my first airplane ride, first time out of the country, and first time going to Japan. It what helped me decide that I really wanted to do this.
Fall of 2008 (Third semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad, filled out A TON of paperwork, and had it all sent over to Japan. It wasn't until around this time that I finally decided on which university I wanted to go to.
- Attended a couple of meetings designed for Study Abroad students, met another student who was planning on going to the same university, and got some advice from my Sensei and a student who went to the university the previous semester.
- Through the student who went there previously, I got in contact with a student (who is fluent in English) from the university and have gotten lots of advice and help from him, especially with a couple of forms that were in Japanese.
- Continued Japanese Table.
- I took Japanese III and the minimum amount of hours (12) so that I could focus on spending more time with Japanese.
Spring of 2009 (Fourth semester of college)
Well, that would be now. I've been listening to my Sensei's podcasts and YouTubers like Gimmeabreakman, Hikosaemon, and tokyojosh. Since all I'm doing is waiting around for my acceptance letter so I can get my visa, now is an awesome time to study.
I won't lie, I get distracted, and things do come up on occasion, but I still manage to find time. I'm also ordering Genki I, Genki II, Minna no Nihongo I, Minna no Nihongo II, Minna No Nihongo: Kanji I, and Minna no Nihongo: Kanji II. "How are you going to use all of those?!" Well, I'm glad I pretended you asked.
My main goal is to get down a lot of vocab, so I'll make a bunch of flashcards using the dictionaries. My second goal is to run through verb conjugation, which will be assisted by my Sensei's podcasts. I also want to learn as much kanji as I can, at least for recognition.
Fall of 2007 (First semester of college)
- Talked to the head of the Study Abroad department about going to Asia, namely Japan.
- Began to attend "Japanese Table," which was made to help reinforce what we learned in class. I guess you could say it was kind of like a "Japanese Club."
- Started making plans to go on the summer trip to Japan.
- To help prepare me, I took Japanese I, Chinese I (Kanji), and Japanese Pop Culture.
Spring of 2008 (Second semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad.
- Continued attending Japanese Table.
- Continued with my summer trip meetings.
- Continuing my preparation, I took Japanese II, Eastern Religious Traditions, Chinese Culture (give me a wider view of Asia as a whole), and an independent study on Shinto.
Summer of 2008
- Traveled to Japan with my Sensei, the Study Abroad adviser, and 27 other students. It was my first airplane ride, first time out of the country, and first time going to Japan. It what helped me decide that I really wanted to do this.
Fall of 2008 (Third semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad, filled out A TON of paperwork, and had it all sent over to Japan. It wasn't until around this time that I finally decided on which university I wanted to go to.
- Attended a couple of meetings designed for Study Abroad students, met another student who was planning on going to the same university, and got some advice from my Sensei and a student who went to the university the previous semester.
- Through the student who went there previously, I got in contact with a student (who is fluent in English) from the university and have gotten lots of advice and help from him, especially with a couple of forms that were in Japanese.
- Continued Japanese Table.
- I took Japanese III and the minimum amount of hours (12) so that I could focus on spending more time with Japanese.
Spring of 2009 (Fourth semester of college)
Well, that would be now. I've been listening to my Sensei's podcasts and YouTubers like Gimmeabreakman, Hikosaemon, and tokyojosh. Since all I'm doing is waiting around for my acceptance letter so I can get my visa, now is an awesome time to study.
I won't lie, I get distracted, and things do come up on occasion, but I still manage to find time. I'm also ordering Genki I, Genki II, Minna no Nihongo I, Minna no Nihongo II, Minna No Nihongo: Kanji I, and Minna no Nihongo: Kanji II. "How are you going to use all of those?!" Well, I'm glad I pretended you asked.
My main goal is to get down a lot of vocab, so I'll make a bunch of flashcards using the dictionaries. My second goal is to run through verb conjugation, which will be assisted by my Sensei's podcasts. I also want to learn as much kanji as I can, at least for recognition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
