Archive for February 2008
A Journey to afar
Posted on: February 28, 2008
- In: fukuoka | humor | Japan | japanese | jokes | kids | nihongo | school | Uncategorized
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So I’m out in the wilderness known to some as Japan. It’s a cold an arid place this time of year. My day was an absolute adventure today. I awoke to hear the sound of the native cocka-doodle-do bird. The natives say they are quite tastey with a bit of salt or a local sauce called terry-yakke. But I digress, I quickly shaved and gave my teeth a good polishing. Then I prepared for my journey. I hopped upon my two-wheeled foot powered vehicle and made way for the train station. Upon arrive I secured my transportation at a nearby securing station. You can never be too careful. Theft is one of the most frequent crimes in this land.
Once I secured my two-wheeled foot powered vehicle I made my way through the masses to get to my train. The train came roaring in right on schedule. Occassionally it is late because some lost soul found their way onto the tracks whilst a train was on its way and… you can fill in the gore-ish details. I deftly manuevered and aquired a seat near the front of the train. I had a long journey ahead of me. The train sped on and made a few stops along the way. There was the usual trouble making rabble on the train – the native women of this land have a perpencity to speak for extend periods at a unusually high volume when they reach the age of about 14; and then there are The Infectious. The natives of this land consider it a great sin to rest when one is ill. So they drudge on all the while spreading their illnesses to others. There are tell-tale signs of The Infections: they usually are dressed a in uniform of sorts that might consists of a jacket, a tie, slacks, a leather bag of some kind, and a white mask. Be warey of them for prolonged exposure to them can cause bad humors to rise in the blood.
After I reached my station I made way to a local eatery. I dinned upon a food called a dough-nut. It was positively delicatable. I forged on ahead toward my desitination. On the way I met one of my pupils. I tried to make intelligent conversation with the lad, but alas he like many locals are not very familiar with the American speak. So I challenged the young fellow to a race to raise his spirits over his inablility to communicate with me. It was a mad-dash to the gate. I could have won, but I could tell that the lad was giving a half-hearted effort, so I gave him some encouragement and he moved ahead speedily.
I was greeted by the headmaster and his subordinates. They were pleased with my display of athletic prowis. I made my way through the halls of the learning establishment to find my seat amongst the educators. It was to be a long and grueling day for them. I however was given the assignment of school mascot. As mascot I sit at my desk and try to look interesting. I sat for most of the day studying the pictorial writings of several manuscripts. In the local language they call it “Man-ga”. At about mid-day I parted company with my fellow educators and made the long trek home.
The sun is setting again on this mysterious land of boisterous young ladies, The Infectious, and cocka-doodle-do birds yet again. So I must make haste to find provisions for the night. Fair thee well. I shall write again when I have good news to report.
I had a 50/50 chance
Posted on: February 9, 2008
I came home from work after a miserable day. The classes were fine. Nobody at work was irritating me. I just felt really bad. My joints were all achy. I had a sore throat, a runny nose, a headache and chills to top it off. I took my mother’s advice and took some Bufferin and vitamin C rested. When I got home I saw a single letter waiting for me in my mailbox. The lettering was handwritten with no return address. I wondered for a moment who it was from. Then I read at the bottom examinee number. It was the results of my JLPT.
I had been waiting since December 2nd to find out my results. I got inside my house as soon as possible. I dropped my key as I fumbled through the entrance with excite me. I didn’t want to look. I thought I had a 50/50 chance right after I took the test, but as time passed I wasn’t so optimistic. I gently opened the letter. Inside was a postcard. I opened the postcard. I hadn’t even taken the time to turn on the lights. In the dim light I read GOKAKU. I passed Level 2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. http://momo.jpf.go.jp/jlpt/e/about_e.html The average score for the test based previous tests results is about 217 points. To pass the test you must get at least 240 points. I managed to get 246 points.
Let me sum up what this means. It means that God has been good to me. I was almost certain of failure as I opened the letter, but despite all my doubts I passed. With the certificate I can get a better job. I’m not sure what kind of job, but most definitely a better paying job. I could increase my salary by at least 1 – 2 million more yen per year (about $9,315.75 – $18,631.51). I need to start searching for a job soon. The new fiscal year starts April 1st in Japan and many companies hire new people just before then.
Nihongo A.K.A. Japanese
Posted on: February 6, 2008
Come January 10th of 2009 I will have stayed in Japan for roughly 2 years. I’ve been studying Japanese pretty hard as of late for many reasons. I’ll name a few:
1. It’s hard enough to get by without knowing the language.
2. I don’t want to be like some people and live in a country without learning the language.
3. I think Japanese is interesting.
4. I want to disprove all the Japanese people who have told me with a smug grin, “Japanese is hard.” (Translation to hard for a foreigner to learn)
5. I like the look of disbelief on people’s faces when I rattle off my Japanese in public.
6. I don’t want to disappoint my parents or myself. I came here to learn the language and further my career.
7. Japanese girls mostly speak Japanese.
8. I like to know what I’m eating when I go to a restaurant. Some menues don’t have purdy pictures.
9. I like a challenge.
10. It will help me learn Chinese by giving me a better knowledge of kanji (Chinese characters).
Here’s what I’ve been doing to study lately.
I’ve been going over my grammar book for level 2 of the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test), for a second time. I try to finish at least 1 section every 2 days or so. Also I’ve been studying kanji like crazy. I bought a box of 512 flash cards. It’s the 3rd box in a series of 4. I study 100 new kanji every week. I try to memorize as many as I can. I get one of the teachers at my school to test me. I try to remember everything about the character that I can. The chinese reading (on yomi), the japanese reading (kun yomi), the meaning, and how to write it (kakijun) if I can.
Also to improve my writing skills I’ve been keeping a journal in Japanese. I have my girlfriend correct it and then I rewrite it. The first time around I don’t use any kind of dictionary. I only allow myself to look up one word per journal entry. That way I rely on my ability and not whether I have a good dictionary or not. When I correct it I use a dictionary. In my journal I’ve been writing a science fiction story. It keeps me interesting in writing. It’s better than saying, “I woke up, ate this, did this, and went to sleep, the end.” That gets to be a chore.
I speak pretty good Japanese, if I do say so myself. I watch a lot of Japanese tv. I speak with the staff at my schools in Japanese. My girlfriend pretty much only speaks to me in Japanese. She giggles like crazy when she tries to speak English because she gets so embarrassed. Plus I eavesdrop on Japanese people in their natural environment to see what they say to each other. They talk about the same boring stuff we talk about in America, just in Japanese. No Godzilla this and no world domination that. Just normal hum-drum stuff. For example: “Rinako bought some new boots. Their so cute!” and “I hate my boss. Work sucks.”
- In: ex's | fukuoka | Japan | meetings | Uncategorized
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It’s about 3am on a Sunday morning. I got home around midnight. I was at a friend’s apartment where we played cards. It was kind of boring at first and I couldn’t keep my head in the game, but after awhile the conversation picked up and I started to get more into the game. We talked about books, movies, and video games. We ended up talking about the movie “Superbad”, so we ended up watching the first 20 minutes or so of the movie before it was time to go home and catch the train.
When I was at the train station I thought I saw my ex-girlfriend. Which could have been very possible since she often commutes to that stop to go to her university. I had to wait about 20 minutes for the train in the freezing cold and the whole time I kept glancing back and forth to see if that was my ex sitting on a nearby bench. If it was her I probably would have gotten on the other end of the train. I really don’t want to get back together with her, but there is a side of me that always wonders what happend to my ex’s. And there is that other-side that wishes all my ex’s dead, so that I would never have to run into them on the street and have that excruciating chit-chat about what’s new. But wishing people dead, is not good and I regret thinking that every time. I mean… once I loved my ex’s. Wishing them dead seems morbid and cruel. I wish I had a mole that could feed me information about my ex’s -Telling me that they all moved Antarctica to join a convent.
The reality is, their lives don’t end when we break up. They just get back to whatever they were doing and go on with life. I thought about what I would say if I did actually come across one of my ex’s. I didn’t come up with anything mind-blowing or inspirational. Just- “How are you? It’s been a long time.” After that I don’t know what to expect.
But enough rehashing old memories. I got to get back to my life. I got to complete my goals so that I can tell all those girls in Antarctica something interesting if they ever leave the cold and decide to visit. I wonder if they eat snow cones in Antarctica.
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