I haven't taken the time to research it as I don't care about it that much, but among some girls there is this trend of raising the pitch of their voice to obscene levels. I write about this now because there is this one woman who comes in to my schools sometimes and does some paperwork for a while before leaving. She is here today.
She's got to be in her mid to late 40s but she sounds like she's breathing some concoction of half oxygen half helium. It drives me up a wall listening to her try to be all cute and young sounding when she doesn't look the part at all. If the others teachers are bothered by it they sure don't show it.
One time I was in a convenience store and one of the clerks was a woman that did this. A customer dropped something and she made a sound, but I could hear her normal voice, which was much lower, in that sound. It has to be annoying to try and warp your voice all the time like that.
I've got to get a video of this woman sometime because it's so surreal.
栗鼠【りす】 (risu) (n) squirrel
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Ryoko Aota
So around the middle of March I met this girl through mixi which is basically the Japanese Facebook. We talked back and forth for a while online and through text messages and phone calls. I knew she liked me so we agreed to go out. I met her a few times and it was fun. But not even a month later her uncle died. During this time her family gathered up and kept asking her about when she was going to get married. Then she got sick and had to go to the hospital, where her parents again asked her about marriage.
30 is a big age for Japanese women. They are supposed to be married by then. Not sure why but that's just how it is, and she was a few months from 30. The questioning apparently got to her and she was embarrassed by the fact she couldn't tell her parents about me because we weren't going to get married since I will be leaving to the US in the future, so she ended the relationship. I actually knew she was going to do this eventually, but I didn't know it would be so soon. But that's ok, because now I still have time to find and develop something substantial.
I'm tired of being single...
独身【どくしん】 (dokushin) bachelorhood; single; unmarried
30 is a big age for Japanese women. They are supposed to be married by then. Not sure why but that's just how it is, and she was a few months from 30. The questioning apparently got to her and she was embarrassed by the fact she couldn't tell her parents about me because we weren't going to get married since I will be leaving to the US in the future, so she ended the relationship. I actually knew she was going to do this eventually, but I didn't know it would be so soon. But that's ok, because now I still have time to find and develop something substantial.
I'm tired of being single...
独身【どくしん】 (dokushin) bachelorhood; single; unmarried
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Japan America Differences Part 2
Continuing the list from a few posts ago, here are some more differences. As I get past the the biggies, I'll probably start finding and listing a lot more small and subtle differences.
21. Parents don't discipline kids.
22. People will leave their car running while they run in and do business somewhere for many minutes at a time.
23. Japan claims to have four seasons, but they really only have two. One is called "Natsu" which means "too damn hot," and the other is called "Fuyu" which means "too damn cold."
24. For the most part, Japanese assume that all foreigners cannot speak Japanese.
25. No such things as detentions, suspensions or expulsions in schools. In fact, the teachers are THRILLED if the bad students even come to school a lot of the time.
26. When people pour you beer, half of the cup is filled with foam.
27. In the bigger cities, they have a train system that is efficient (even if overly expensive)
28. Japanese people will say you are super awesome if you can use chopsticks or speak 2 words of Japanese (whether they actually think this or not is debatable).
29. The school system in general, by design, promotes closeness of the students and teachers.
30. No tipping anywhere! And you generally will get awesome service in restaurants.
31. Many toilet seats are high tech and will be warm in winters.
32. There are bars here where guys or girls can go to talk to really good looking people of the opposite sex. You can spend lots of money on alcohol and such, but it's just for talking. (Called kyabakura, snack, or host bars)
33. At restaurants they will give you an "oshibori" or a wet towel (sometimes really hot) to wash your hands off with before settling in to eat.
34. Japan, while years ahead in cell phones, for the most part doesn't know what Wi-Fi is yet.
35. Even at the lowest of jobs (fast food restaurants and such) you will find people who work HARD and take their job seriously... usually resulting in awesome service.
36. Eating raw fish and eggs here is normal.
37. You can't drink without eating something, whether it be edamame or peanuts or SOMETHING.
38. No guns allowed in Japan.
39. Ratio of hot to not hot girls in Japan easily eclipses America's ratio (my opinion obviously).
40. Going back to trains, they are ON TIME. If your train is set to arrive at 8:00, you will catch it if you get to the platform at 7:59. You'll have missed it if you arrive at 8:01. No joke.
四季【しき】 (shiki) four seasons
21. Parents don't discipline kids.
22. People will leave their car running while they run in and do business somewhere for many minutes at a time.
23. Japan claims to have four seasons, but they really only have two. One is called "Natsu" which means "too damn hot," and the other is called "Fuyu" which means "too damn cold."
24. For the most part, Japanese assume that all foreigners cannot speak Japanese.
25. No such things as detentions, suspensions or expulsions in schools. In fact, the teachers are THRILLED if the bad students even come to school a lot of the time.
26. When people pour you beer, half of the cup is filled with foam.
27. In the bigger cities, they have a train system that is efficient (even if overly expensive)
28. Japanese people will say you are super awesome if you can use chopsticks or speak 2 words of Japanese (whether they actually think this or not is debatable).
29. The school system in general, by design, promotes closeness of the students and teachers.
30. No tipping anywhere! And you generally will get awesome service in restaurants.
31. Many toilet seats are high tech and will be warm in winters.
32. There are bars here where guys or girls can go to talk to really good looking people of the opposite sex. You can spend lots of money on alcohol and such, but it's just for talking. (Called kyabakura, snack, or host bars)
33. At restaurants they will give you an "oshibori" or a wet towel (sometimes really hot) to wash your hands off with before settling in to eat.
34. Japan, while years ahead in cell phones, for the most part doesn't know what Wi-Fi is yet.
35. Even at the lowest of jobs (fast food restaurants and such) you will find people who work HARD and take their job seriously... usually resulting in awesome service.
36. Eating raw fish and eggs here is normal.
37. You can't drink without eating something, whether it be edamame or peanuts or SOMETHING.
38. No guns allowed in Japan.
39. Ratio of hot to not hot girls in Japan easily eclipses America's ratio (my opinion obviously).
40. Going back to trains, they are ON TIME. If your train is set to arrive at 8:00, you will catch it if you get to the platform at 7:59. You'll have missed it if you arrive at 8:01. No joke.
四季【しき】 (shiki) four seasons
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Hanami
Cherry trees are a big part of Japanese culture and if you've never seen them they are quite a site to behold.
But not for long. Depending on where you live in Japan (and of course elsewhere in the world) they can bloom anywhere from January until May, but it only takes about 1 week for the trees to come full bloom (満開【まんかい】) and about a week after that for the petals to start falling.
It is customary to take walks and have picnics in areas with the trees. This is a path near my home and most of the time the trees are bare and you can see an old granny walking along the path for exercise once in a while, but once the petals are in full bloom there are people walking along the paths and I saw a few people having picnics with their families. So nice...
The only thing that sucks about this whole ordeal is that it's all over in the span of around 2 weeks. Not all the trees bloom at once so when they do, you might only have a few days to appreciate the entire beauty of it all, provided there's no rain, then the pedals start falling and then you're done. It's just my opinion, but I think Japanese are really taken with transient things, which is why they love cherry blossoms so much. It's only for a short time, but for that short time you get this awe inspiring beauty that can even give ugly people with bad personalities a shot at a date (if you can get your potential significant other to the tree sites). Also, April is the month where business start their new years and when the new school year starts, so it's also looked at as the beginning (or transitioning into) of a new year. If this isn't on your to-do list to do with a loved one before you die, it should be!
花見【はなみ】 (hanami) (n,vs) cherry blossom viewing
花見【はなみ】 (hanami) (n,vs) cherry blossom viewing
Friday, April 27, 2012
Japan America Differences Part 1
Going to be writing a few of these, 20 at a time, and will keep adding as I figure out more things. If I refer to "here," I'm talking about Japan.
1. Japanese drive on the left side of the road. The steering wheel of the car is on the right side, but the gas pedal is still on the right side.
2. Even at a small and insignificant crosswalk with absolutely no cars, the majority of Japanese people will stand there and wait until the crosswalk light turns green.
3. There's no daylight savings time or anything here, so in the summer, the sun rises at 4:30.
4. There are no school buses. Students walk or ride their bikes.
5. In a lot of Japan, houses don't know what insulation means.
6. There are toilets here where you have to squat down to use them because they are basically holes in the ground.
7. Japanese people go to the hospital for the SMALLEST things. Case in point: They go when they have colds, and they get medicine.
8. Recycling is a nightmare here. You have to tie up papers and cardboard with a certain string, make sure to rinse and clean the cans and unscrew the tops. Fail to do this all just right and it won't get picked up by the garbage trucks. On top of that? Recycle day is once a month.
9. Business that requires you going to some center (bank, DMV, etc) takes a LOOONG time. You thought the DMV in America was bad... hoo boy. Maybe it's just that way for foreigners.
10. The banks have the worst hours in the world. 9-3, only from Monday to Friday.
11. The "close door" button in elevators actually works here, and everyone uses it.
12. The speed limits force you to crawl. Except for a road here and there in my city, the speed limit is 25 mph. That's twenty-five boys and girls.
13. They have public baths called "onsen" where you bathe naked with everyone else.
14. If you're looking for a vending machine, well, more accurately, it's almost impossible to NOT see one no matter where you look.
15. On the other hand, you could search all day and never find a trash can unless you go to a store.
16. Convenience stores are actually convenient.
17. When people don't understand something they tilt their head to one side.
18. Japanese people will be saints to your face, and demons when your back is turned. As long as you can't see what they're doing, anything is fair game (gossip gossip gossip)
19. Japanese can finish their work in a few hours, but will spend often over 10 hours at the workplace doing who knows what (this is to give off the feeling of "everyone's working together," even if only 1 or 2 people actually have something to do)
20. Deviation from the book is UNHEARD OF. Suggesting to do something different is met with bewilderment and often rejection.
違い【ちがい】 (chigai) difference
1. Japanese drive on the left side of the road. The steering wheel of the car is on the right side, but the gas pedal is still on the right side.
2. Even at a small and insignificant crosswalk with absolutely no cars, the majority of Japanese people will stand there and wait until the crosswalk light turns green.
3. There's no daylight savings time or anything here, so in the summer, the sun rises at 4:30.
4. There are no school buses. Students walk or ride their bikes.
5. In a lot of Japan, houses don't know what insulation means.
6. There are toilets here where you have to squat down to use them because they are basically holes in the ground.
7. Japanese people go to the hospital for the SMALLEST things. Case in point: They go when they have colds, and they get medicine.
8. Recycling is a nightmare here. You have to tie up papers and cardboard with a certain string, make sure to rinse and clean the cans and unscrew the tops. Fail to do this all just right and it won't get picked up by the garbage trucks. On top of that? Recycle day is once a month.
9. Business that requires you going to some center (bank, DMV, etc) takes a LOOONG time. You thought the DMV in America was bad... hoo boy. Maybe it's just that way for foreigners.
10. The banks have the worst hours in the world. 9-3, only from Monday to Friday.
11. The "close door" button in elevators actually works here, and everyone uses it.
12. The speed limits force you to crawl. Except for a road here and there in my city, the speed limit is 25 mph. That's twenty-five boys and girls.
13. They have public baths called "onsen" where you bathe naked with everyone else.
14. If you're looking for a vending machine, well, more accurately, it's almost impossible to NOT see one no matter where you look.
15. On the other hand, you could search all day and never find a trash can unless you go to a store.
16. Convenience stores are actually convenient.
17. When people don't understand something they tilt their head to one side.
18. Japanese people will be saints to your face, and demons when your back is turned. As long as you can't see what they're doing, anything is fair game (gossip gossip gossip)
19. Japanese can finish their work in a few hours, but will spend often over 10 hours at the workplace doing who knows what (this is to give off the feeling of "everyone's working together," even if only 1 or 2 people actually have something to do)
20. Deviation from the book is UNHEARD OF. Suggesting to do something different is met with bewilderment and often rejection.
違い【ちがい】 (chigai) difference
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Driver's Test 3, Exactness of the Japanese
I am amazed at how far even the Japanese students will go to get something "perfect." When I tell students that there is one tiny letter missing in a word, they often will erase the ENTIRE SENTENCE and rewrite it just to get that letter in perfectly. If something isn't drawn perfectly, instead of erasing the small part that is wrong, they will often erase the entire drawing (or portion of whatever they are drawing) and start over. Can't they just fit the little letter in? Can't they just erase the one small part of the drawing that is wrong and start over? Even if it is something trivial like drawing a bird in a square for a game of animal bingo, the drawings have to be perfect. You will often see multiple erase marks on things like these, even though it's not the drawing itself that matters, and they might not even hand the drawing in. Despite how far Japanese students are willing to go on things like these, I don't think I've ever seen a student get 100 on a test before. So much for that part of their OCD not transferring into studying.
合格【ごうかく】 (gou/kaku) success; passing (e.g. exam)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Entrance and Graduation Ceremonies, Teacher Transfers
Entering and exiting middle school is, I guess, a big deal. I remember when I entered middle school there was nothing to welcome us and we got some lame recognition thing at the end where a lot of students didn't even bother to dress up. In Japan, the graduation ceremony is like that of a high school graduation ceremony in the states (a rather big deal), and there is a formal entrance ceremony that is almost as big.
It seems a little silly because the whole thing is SO structured it's ridiculous. After going to the stage and doing whatever, students have to walk to a certain spot before making a 90 degree turn to walk back to where they came from. Also what's really funny is that there is a person who announces that something will be announced, for example:
School coordinator（教務主任）: And now the announcement of the beginning of the ceremony.
Vice principal（教頭）: The ceremony will now begin.
Each segment has to be completely separate as well. For example, the principal will walk up to the stage, give his opening remarks, walk off the stage, sit down, stand back up and walk right back on the stage (after the announcements of course) to hand out awards. He couldn't just stay up on the stage between segments even though he's going to be doing the next one too.
Also, the teachers have a random chance of being shipped to different schools at the end of each school year, which begins in April (as opposed to North America's September. Not sure about other countries). Each year some teachers leave and new ones from who knows where come in. Most seem to get transferred after 4 or 5ish years, and some can stay as long as 10. They think it's funny that teachers in North America stay at the same school their whole life usually. There are good and bad things about both systems, but for whatever reason, the teachers who are leaving and staying has to be kept a secret until the official meeting, even though it doesn't really affect anything if people know beforehand. When I say teachers have a random chance of being shipped off, I guess I should say that anyone who works at the school. Accountants and even janitors could be shipped off to some other school. One teacher I have came from a city 2 hours away, and other teachers could be moved even further. The only exception is the ALT (except for special circumstances), most likely because the max period of employment for JETs is 5 years anyway. So glad I'm not a teacher in this country.
Taking the driving test for a THIRD time tomorrow. I am going to shoot a damn monkey if they fail me again I swear.
三度目の正直【さんどめのしょうじき】(san/do/me/no/shou/jiki) Third time's a charm
It seems a little silly because the whole thing is SO structured it's ridiculous. After going to the stage and doing whatever, students have to walk to a certain spot before making a 90 degree turn to walk back to where they came from. Also what's really funny is that there is a person who announces that something will be announced, for example:
School coordinator（教務主任）: And now the announcement of the beginning of the ceremony.
Vice principal（教頭）: The ceremony will now begin.
Each segment has to be completely separate as well. For example, the principal will walk up to the stage, give his opening remarks, walk off the stage, sit down, stand back up and walk right back on the stage (after the announcements of course) to hand out awards. He couldn't just stay up on the stage between segments even though he's going to be doing the next one too.
Also, the teachers have a random chance of being shipped to different schools at the end of each school year, which begins in April (as opposed to North America's September. Not sure about other countries). Each year some teachers leave and new ones from who knows where come in. Most seem to get transferred after 4 or 5ish years, and some can stay as long as 10. They think it's funny that teachers in North America stay at the same school their whole life usually. There are good and bad things about both systems, but for whatever reason, the teachers who are leaving and staying has to be kept a secret until the official meeting, even though it doesn't really affect anything if people know beforehand. When I say teachers have a random chance of being shipped off, I guess I should say that anyone who works at the school. Accountants and even janitors could be shipped off to some other school. One teacher I have came from a city 2 hours away, and other teachers could be moved even further. The only exception is the ALT (except for special circumstances), most likely because the max period of employment for JETs is 5 years anyway. So glad I'm not a teacher in this country.
Taking the driving test for a THIRD time tomorrow. I am going to shoot a damn monkey if they fail me again I swear.
三度目の正直【さんどめのしょうじき】(san/do/me/no/shou/jiki) Third time's a charm
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