Japan: Another Day, Another Week
06/05/2006
Not altogether too much today. Classes as normal. After class, Sara, Andy, Nori-ko, her friend, and I went to Karaoke! They say many Anime songs such as the theme from となりのトトロ (My Neighbor Totoro) and 天使のテーゼ (the theme to Neon Genesis Evangelion). Sara and I actually knew that song, so we took it upon ourselves to try and learn it. After about an hour, Nori-ko and her friend had to go to class/work, but Mana-san came to join in the fun! She had a specific request to hear the American song Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand. We also started the fun game of translating American songs to Japanese on the fun. Karaoke really is a good way to practice Japanese...
Japan fact of the day: Karaoke prices vary widely based on the day, time, and location. In Fukuoka, we always went to a place with a special deal of 2 hours and a drink for 400円 (about $3.75). Later we would experience such prices as 1000円 for 1 hour with a required drink purchase.
After Karaoke, Mana-san joined us for some good times at our favorite お好み焼き (Okonomiyaki) restaurant. Yum! Random picture-taking ensues. At the restaurant, we spend some time trying to translate American jokes ("Who's on first?") and pick-up lines ("Your legs must be tired because you've been running through my mind all day") for Mana-san. After dinner, we grab some ice cream at the local コンビニ (convenience store) and sit and chat for a while in the lobby of the Seminar House. We had fun talking of pirates and ninjas.
06/06/2006
Classes as usual. After class, I assisted Sara in interviewing some Fukuoka University students for our class assignment (she was surveying Japanese movie-watching patterns). I find it fun to randomly approach strangers and try to talk to them in Japanese. Sara... not so much so. She needed moral support. I saw a guy wearing an "East Side Story" shirt that I thought was amusing, but he was too far away so the picture I took is kinda shaky...
06/09/2006
Today we got to end classes a little early for some more field trips. The first was to a 着物 (Kimono) factory. We got to see the room where they make the Kimonos (very noisy process). It reminded me of my dad's taylor shop. After the small tour, they led us up to the "gift shop" where we could buy discounted merchandise. I got a really nice tie for pretty cheap there. We also got as souvenirs some nice business card holders.
Japan fact of the day: Business cards are very important to the Japanese. There is a whole procedure and protocol to follow when giving/receiving business cards. We went through it in class, but there's something to be said about having to do it on your own in an actual business setting.
After the Kimono factory, we went to the Nissan factory. The first room we were in had a a bunch of nice cars on display. They also had some nice PR-type stuff that was interesting. The actual tour was interesting. We got to see the different steps on the assembly line. I think the work would be pretty tedious for the workers (they do the exact same thing everytime for every single car). In addition, we saw the testers of the cars after they were complete. It was interesting to see cars with the steering wheel on the left side after being in Japan for a month. I wonder if they find it weird to drive like that (to test them).
After the tours, we came back and while working on homework, Andy came in and said there was a nice picture moment with the sunset outside. So I got some pictures of the sunset.
Not altogether too much today. Classes as normal. After class, Sara, Andy, Nori-ko, her friend, and I went to Karaoke! They say many Anime songs such as the theme from となりのトトロ (My Neighbor Totoro) and 天使のテーゼ (the theme to Neon Genesis Evangelion). Sara and I actually knew that song, so we took it upon ourselves to try and learn it. After about an hour, Nori-ko and her friend had to go to class/work, but Mana-san came to join in the fun! She had a specific request to hear the American song Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand. We also started the fun game of translating American songs to Japanese on the fun. Karaoke really is a good way to practice Japanese...
Japan fact of the day: Karaoke prices vary widely based on the day, time, and location. In Fukuoka, we always went to a place with a special deal of 2 hours and a drink for 400円 (about $3.75). Later we would experience such prices as 1000円 for 1 hour with a required drink purchase.
After Karaoke, Mana-san joined us for some good times at our favorite お好み焼き (Okonomiyaki) restaurant. Yum! Random picture-taking ensues. At the restaurant, we spend some time trying to translate American jokes ("Who's on first?") and pick-up lines ("Your legs must be tired because you've been running through my mind all day") for Mana-san. After dinner, we grab some ice cream at the local コンビニ (convenience store) and sit and chat for a while in the lobby of the Seminar House. We had fun talking of pirates and ninjas.
06/06/2006
Classes as usual. After class, I assisted Sara in interviewing some Fukuoka University students for our class assignment (she was surveying Japanese movie-watching patterns). I find it fun to randomly approach strangers and try to talk to them in Japanese. Sara... not so much so. She needed moral support. I saw a guy wearing an "East Side Story" shirt that I thought was amusing, but he was too far away so the picture I took is kinda shaky...
06/09/2006
Today we got to end classes a little early for some more field trips. The first was to a 着物 (Kimono) factory. We got to see the room where they make the Kimonos (very noisy process). It reminded me of my dad's taylor shop. After the small tour, they led us up to the "gift shop" where we could buy discounted merchandise. I got a really nice tie for pretty cheap there. We also got as souvenirs some nice business card holders.
Japan fact of the day: Business cards are very important to the Japanese. There is a whole procedure and protocol to follow when giving/receiving business cards. We went through it in class, but there's something to be said about having to do it on your own in an actual business setting.
After the Kimono factory, we went to the Nissan factory. The first room we were in had a a bunch of nice cars on display. They also had some nice PR-type stuff that was interesting. The actual tour was interesting. We got to see the different steps on the assembly line. I think the work would be pretty tedious for the workers (they do the exact same thing everytime for every single car). In addition, we saw the testers of the cars after they were complete. It was interesting to see cars with the steering wheel on the left side after being in Japan for a month. I wonder if they find it weird to drive like that (to test them).
After the tours, we came back and while working on homework, Andy came in and said there was a nice picture moment with the sunset outside. So I got some pictures of the sunset.
posted by Christopher Luu at 1:58 AM
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