name change

[majesticzaichik]

I've decided to change my lj name after 18 years. I had to pay 15 dollars for it so I hope I don't regret it because the last time I paid for anything on lj was a paid account at least 10 years ago (Justin gifted that to me for that about 5 years in a row for Valentine's Day until I told him I didn't want a paid account anymore

Comments

[kurikuribebi]

Mine doesn't have any special meaning to me. I tossed it together because everyone would call me "Kuri-chan" since I have naturally honey colored hair and it reminded everyone of that. I didn't realize I had input Kuri twice until I created the journal, so I just stuck to it.

[majesticzaichik]

Interesting. Would you mind explaining that further? The only word for "honey" I know in Japanese is "hachimitsu" so does "kuri" mean something like "honey-colored"??

[kurikuribebi]

Kuri means chestnut. The shade of the bottom half of a chest nut is similar to my real hair color. That pale shade.

[majesticzaichik]

I see, thanks! The word for chestnut I know is "marron". It seems to be what they use often these days for chestnut-flavored foods.

[kurikuribebi]

Marron isn't Japanese though. It's French, lol.

[majesticzaichik]

yeah lol it's one of those ubiquitous "loan words" in some ways I would say is fouling up the language XD. Like I'd argue that "miruku" is used way more often than "gyunyu" these days. Although perhaps less in this case because after our conversation, I looked some things up and it seems like they use "marron" for more western-inspired chestnut-flavored treats and baked goods? And "kuri" for more traditional Japanese ones.

[kurikuribebi]

The miruku/gyunyu still gets me at times. Like the cafe I often go to uses miruku for milk used in coffee and tea, and use gyunyu for milk you drink. Meanwhile, Ryu often uses miruku for regular drinking milk AND coffee milk. His parents use gyunyu and only gyunyu.

Oh, is that the case? I never really thought about it. I just use it in covnersation. But yeah, I cant recall ever using it outside of treats and such, now that you mention it.

[majesticzaichik]

hah, yeah that's funny about "gyunyu" as the milk you drink. I think it won't be much longer before it is "miruku" for everything. It's probably something that will die off with Ryu's parents' generation.

this is the article I read about Kuri - https://gurunavi.com/en/japanfoodie/2016/11/chestnut-foods.html?__ngt__=TT0f705417e001ac1e4ae071XoDJA4cDXYStWZF0K8e8ve . I have not tried any of those treats that have "kuri" in the name, but have definitely tried the Mont Blanc and other treats that would most likely be called "marron". I hope next time I come to Japan, it will be in October, my favorite season because of the momiji(I find them prettier than sakura) and maybe I will be able to find some of those kuri treats because they look very tasty : ).

[kurikuribebi]

Except that old people don't really die. So it's possible that the word will sit around for another four or five decades, lol. I mean, even Ryu's great-grandmother is still alive and kicking and moving here and there like she's in her 60s, lol.

Interesting. I honestly put no thought it to it and just read the names as I see them. Despite my name, I'm not a fan of the flavor, be it in Japanese or in English. I only ever eat the actual chestnut. No deserts based with it.

[majesticzaichik]

Awww nooo you are sooo missing out :p. I believe i actually did once have roasted chestnuts in Japan once from a street vendor. I really love chestnut and hazelnut and was so eager for autumn to hit Japan when I was there so i could eat the marron baked goods. It's one of my pet peeves about the country that the Japanese are so into seasonal foods that it is basically impossible to do something like eat mont-blanc in the summer or most strawberry-flavored things in the winter.

[kurikuribebi]

The cafe I frequent in Shinjuku has a decent Mont-blanc cake year round. It's one of the few I actually like, but I think its more because I just love everything from the cafe. I rarely ever order it, but I know I liked it when I did.

They have a strawberry one year round too.