Yokohama, it rhymes with Oklahoma
Ok only the "ma" part does, but if you know the musical "Oklahoma" then you should know what song I tend to think about when I think of the word Yokohama. (Kinda of goes likes Yooookoooohaaamaaaaa where the hm hm hm?<---I don't know the rest.)
So I spent the day with my conversation partner and great friend, Suyu. We went to Minatomirai, to this old building...whose name I forgot, but it was the first warehouse used to hold foreign goods when Japan opened its ports during the Edo period. We ate lunch inside it at this really cool restaurant - I think it was called Cha-mon? I am not sure. But its unique traits were: you could eat on beds, sofas, or at tables. And they had bread all-you-can-eat with all of their meals. So we splitted a great lunch, great dessert, and ate a lot of different types of bread. It was really relaxing and I think it would probably do well in Seattle. XD
After that we shopped around inside the old building, where I bought some flower hair clips. Maybe this will encourage me to dress more stylishly, or at least keep my hair out of my eyes? XD We then went to World Porter's, which is a shopping complex with all kinds of stores. We looked at funny merchandise stores, noticed there is more Stitch during the summer, watched some hula dancing, hugged the softest cutest stuffed animals, and took purikura. XD I loved the stuffed animal - not only was it soft and fluffy, but it was a baby seal too. It's just too cute but too big to take home with me so I didn't buy it.
Then we went back to the Minatomirai station where I bought a Hard Rock Cafe shirt. The cashier told me the price in English and I blanked out on what she was saying so I asked for it again in Japanese. So she told me, again, but in Japanese.
It was kind of like this:
Cashier: Two thousand, four hundred, fifteen yen please.
Jess:......??mou ichido onegaishimasu(once again please?)
Cashier:....o__o; nisenyonhyakujyugoendesu.(the same price as above.)
Jess: ok. XD;
Suyu: Nihongo hou ga ii na.XD(Japanese is best.XD)
Jess: hai. XD(yes. XD)
Cashier: ee, demo, dochira kara...(b-but, you come from...)
Jess: America kara kimashita.(I come from America.)
Cashier: dakara, eigo wo hanashiteru...(So you speak English...)
Jess: un, demo ichinen ryugakushita kara, eigo ha kikitorinikui ni narimashita.(Yes, but since I have been on exchange for a year, I have trouble understanding spoken english.)
Cashier: sugoi. nihongo ha jyozu desune. (Wow, your Japanese is good.)
Jess: iie, mada mada heta da to omoimasu.(No, I am still very bad I think.)
It went something like that, seeing as how I suck at writing Japanese. But it's kind of true. If I don't talk in English with you - like with my friends or with other foreigners - I tend to not understand your English. Like, of course I can understand a question. But telling me the price? That has to be in Japanese for me at this point. Because I think of yen as yen, in Japanese numbers.
Which reminds me that a cool bicycler had a short conversation with Suyu and I on one of the walkways over the street. He had lived in Germany, the Czech Republic, and his English was perfect. His sister lives in West Virginia. XD But it was funny because he spoke Japanese with Suyu - which I understood - and then English with me(and I answered in English). But I also had these moments of Japanglish, where I replace English words or phrases with Japanese ones. I'm weird, I know.
So back to the Hard Rock Cafe thing. There was a cute white baby. X3 She was so cute but she looked kind of tired and just fed up with being bitten by mosquitoes. She had those sad "Mom, Dad, can we go home now? I just want to sleep and be held." kind of expression.
We went to Yokohama next, where I went to the Animate to get the last round of presents for friends and family(and a phone strap I wanted. XD).
Then it was home. I bought some sweets as a present for my host family. I also watched some of the Sumidagawa fireworks show on TV. It definately was pretty, especially the end.
My Boss My Hero is getting interesting. Will Maki, our stupid but loveable hero, lose the position of future yakuza boss to his younger brother - who has graduated from college and is hella smart? Will Maki ever tell his best girl friend that he likes her?! Will Maki's best friend ever tell us who he likes?!(He has these moments where it seems he hates the best girl friend, so I am wondering if he likes her or is crushing on Maki. XD;) Will Maki's best yakuza minion leave him or try to support him by going to school too?!
I really love my Japanese dramas.
So I spent the day with my conversation partner and great friend, Suyu. We went to Minatomirai, to this old building...whose name I forgot, but it was the first warehouse used to hold foreign goods when Japan opened its ports during the Edo period. We ate lunch inside it at this really cool restaurant - I think it was called Cha-mon? I am not sure. But its unique traits were: you could eat on beds, sofas, or at tables. And they had bread all-you-can-eat with all of their meals. So we splitted a great lunch, great dessert, and ate a lot of different types of bread. It was really relaxing and I think it would probably do well in Seattle. XD
After that we shopped around inside the old building, where I bought some flower hair clips. Maybe this will encourage me to dress more stylishly, or at least keep my hair out of my eyes? XD We then went to World Porter's, which is a shopping complex with all kinds of stores. We looked at funny merchandise stores, noticed there is more Stitch during the summer, watched some hula dancing, hugged the softest cutest stuffed animals, and took purikura. XD I loved the stuffed animal - not only was it soft and fluffy, but it was a baby seal too. It's just too cute but too big to take home with me so I didn't buy it.
Then we went back to the Minatomirai station where I bought a Hard Rock Cafe shirt. The cashier told me the price in English and I blanked out on what she was saying so I asked for it again in Japanese. So she told me, again, but in Japanese.
It was kind of like this:
Cashier: Two thousand, four hundred, fifteen yen please.
Jess:......??mou ichido onegaishimasu(once again please?)
Cashier:....o__o; nisenyonhyakujyugoendesu.(the same price as above.)
Jess: ok. XD;
Suyu: Nihongo hou ga ii na.XD(Japanese is best.XD)
Jess: hai. XD(yes. XD)
Cashier: ee, demo, dochira kara...(b-but, you come from...)
Jess: America kara kimashita.(I come from America.)
Cashier: dakara, eigo wo hanashiteru...(So you speak English...)
Jess: un, demo ichinen ryugakushita kara, eigo ha kikitorinikui ni narimashita.(Yes, but since I have been on exchange for a year, I have trouble understanding spoken english.)
Cashier: sugoi. nihongo ha jyozu desune. (Wow, your Japanese is good.)
Jess: iie, mada mada heta da to omoimasu.(No, I am still very bad I think.)
It went something like that, seeing as how I suck at writing Japanese. But it's kind of true. If I don't talk in English with you - like with my friends or with other foreigners - I tend to not understand your English. Like, of course I can understand a question. But telling me the price? That has to be in Japanese for me at this point. Because I think of yen as yen, in Japanese numbers.
Which reminds me that a cool bicycler had a short conversation with Suyu and I on one of the walkways over the street. He had lived in Germany, the Czech Republic, and his English was perfect. His sister lives in West Virginia. XD But it was funny because he spoke Japanese with Suyu - which I understood - and then English with me(and I answered in English). But I also had these moments of Japanglish, where I replace English words or phrases with Japanese ones. I'm weird, I know.
So back to the Hard Rock Cafe thing. There was a cute white baby. X3 She was so cute but she looked kind of tired and just fed up with being bitten by mosquitoes. She had those sad "Mom, Dad, can we go home now? I just want to sleep and be held." kind of expression.
We went to Yokohama next, where I went to the Animate to get the last round of presents for friends and family(and a phone strap I wanted. XD).
Then it was home. I bought some sweets as a present for my host family. I also watched some of the Sumidagawa fireworks show on TV. It definately was pretty, especially the end.
My Boss My Hero is getting interesting. Will Maki, our stupid but loveable hero, lose the position of future yakuza boss to his younger brother - who has graduated from college and is hella smart? Will Maki ever tell his best girl friend that he likes her?! Will Maki's best friend ever tell us who he likes?!(He has these moments where it seems he hates the best girl friend, so I am wondering if he likes her or is crushing on Maki. XD;) Will Maki's best yakuza minion leave him or try to support him by going to school too?!
I really love my Japanese dramas.