Ahh EXCITING AGHRAHG! I will be monitoring your progress closely. Because I kinda wanna apply for JET...kinda don't think they'll let me in...but yeah...um...
I prefer to get to know a place by walking around aimlessly. I mean, if I have a map. Cos if I don't have a map, I freak out. As long as I can find my way home, I'm oookay. But then people have told me that asking locals for directions is a good way to ...uh, interact with people. Something that I avoided. (cough)
Maybe I would freak out where you are if a map wouldn't even help me...
But I hope that you stumble upon delicious food or something equally awesome.
YOU SHOULD APPLY!! I don't really understand how they select people, but I think you'd be ripe for picking, definitely!
Also it seems like if you don't have a drivers' license--or say you don't have a license--they're more likely to stick you in a major city than in the boonies (hence, Osaka).
I've talked to some old ladies, but pretty much everyone else looks like they could beat me up. Even middle schoolers with Pooh bear keychains. But I'm trying to push my weenie-boundaries, making a little progress. And I just ate an entire case of warabimochi. Daaaaaayyuummm
Ah, I shall remember the license thing...do they think that if you have a license that means you'll get a car? meeeuh..I don't like driving!
I'm not good at pushing boundaries. Unless ramen extends beyond the boundaries. I WILL GO FAR FOR FOOD. I still remember times when I was too nervous to go into bakeries in paris cos I didn't know french...but then I would just stare and wonder "SHOULD I GET A BAGUETTE?!" .__.
I haven't even whipped out Kansai dialect yet. when I do speak, it's more hasty knee-jerk one-word responses, followed by すいません、日本語が下手ですが... and a lot of blushing and sweating. But I got a book on it, and when I visit my aunt & uncle in Kobe it'll be all dekihen, wakarahen, ikahen 'n shit, and I really want to learn more!
My only Denny's experiences were several different locations all in Virginia, so I should probably take your lead. Did you eat at one? and get a GURANDO SURAM??
i know, the "hen" stuff is weirddddd. they also do this thing where they say "ya" instead of da," as in the informal version of "desu." but they don't say "yesu" for some reason.
and they say "meccha" [instead of like, sugoku or totemo] which is supposed to be slang for "very." AND! if you say "nan de ya ne!" while you're there, they will all laugh with you [or is it at you?] and be your friend. i guess it's supposed to be a thing a lot of oosakan comedians say, like their equivalent of "what the hell?!"
truly, suimasen nihongo ga heta desu ga is probably the most useful phrase any gaijin can know.
dude i had GYOZA and a PEACH SMOOTHIE THING at denizu and it was KICK THE ASS. i don't remember if they had a grand slam. you must report results. :D
omgyoza!!! I should go to Denny's RIGHT NOW (3am JST).
Thanks for the pointers. I really like the sound of Kansai-ben! Until I went to college I didn't realize that's what my mom spoke. I heard her yell/slur the phrase "ahoyanaomaewa" countless times over the years, and only a month ago I finally asked her and got a complete, piece-by-piece breakdown of what it meant--she was calling our dog 'stupid,' but all Kansai-affected and with switched-up syntax (it took me a while).
Maybe if I call people 'stupid,' they will be my friend. ;\
Japan has Yoshinoya Beef Bowls. Japan has Beard Papa's cream puffs. Japan has the best fast food entree and pastry IN THE WORLD.
Your house is awesome, except the handle to the front door fell off. My life is boring except for my new tape label. Do you have a cassette player there? Cuz I'll gladly forward some sweet stuff on, if so.
I saw a Yoshinoya Beef Building today! Speak of the devil.
I would LOVE a tape, and I can most definitely find a player somewhere around here. Is it a cassingles-of-the-month club??
Sorry about the door, although I do quite enjoy handles falling off of the things they supposedly control. I stayed at a Hampton Inn this summer and while washing my hands in the bathroom, I flipped the faucet handle with only minimal force and it flew off and hit the mirror. Also the room door wouldn't shut, but that's not as slapsticky-good.
My only regret is not being the one that did the dirty door deed.
Cassingle of the month club! Genius! There will be! I'm so stoked on that idea! I've got one cassingle promised so far, from Pathetic Fallacy (Chris Robinson and Se Won) and IT RULES! I'll get copies out within the coming weeks, hopefully.
Man Mika I be missin' you too! I have been really lazy with my LJ, but if youre readin, then maybe I can find some time in my otherwise boring life to update. Your pics are cool and I cant wait to hear more about your excellent Japanese adventure! I have to think of something really cool to send you!
It sounds like your standards are too high! You don't have to send anything cool, just a note saying 'hey' is wonderful. And even if you just summarize TV shows you recently watched, I (for one) will be extremely, extremely entertained.
I am basically skimmin' thru the racks at the local card shoppe to find cool things to send over, is the school address in the last entry still relevant or do you have a new one now that you're in an apartment?
Also your new washing machine is so goddamn complicated and amazing that I want to hear updates on laundry and experimental button-pressing combinations. I tried googling "laundry kanji" and got a few websites advertising some place called "Kanji Laundry" in Montreal and this one character that don't look like anything on your machine. The braille is really impressive though. There will be no discrimination against the literate-blind!
I am just not good at laundry in general. it's something that can't be learned, you just gotta have...it, and maybe "it" in this case is blindness. but at the very least that character is recognizable, since it's the second part of the word "laundry." is it the same in Mandarin?
also thanks for reminding me about the address! a "friends-only post" is a-comin'.
And now a postcard in the mail is a-comin'! (Well, after I find stamps.)
I have no idea if Mandarin has a word for laundry since what I've learned so far is all about the verbs (so instead of something for "do laundry" it's specifically "wash clothing"). The "Air Spin" thing on the left hand side makes me wonder, does this washing machine have a drying capability? Because there's an "air" character on that light green button (2nd from the left)... or maybe that just means they spray your laundry with air-propelled water. The farthest left button (水量) looks like it adjusts your water level (like the small, medium, large load size for U.S. washers). My supervisor guesses that if you can figure out which button makes the water cold, then you can adjust the temperature settings and that's the most important. Whooo!
I think I can only hang-dry, but that could be just a hasty assumption. I've been pressing the red-outlined button, then one of the furthest left buttons, then the blue one in the middle, then sitting. sitting is crucial. but I'll experiment with the size/suiryou button today--large & in charge!--
make sure you put your most current address as the return, and then I can send stuff to your fancy new place! like a pickle for your pickle jar.
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I prefer to get to know a place by walking around aimlessly. I mean, if I have a map. Cos if I don't have a map, I freak out. As long as I can find my way home, I'm oookay. But then people have told me that asking locals for directions is a good way to ...uh, interact with people. Something that I avoided. (cough)
Maybe I would freak out where you are if a map wouldn't even help me...
But I hope that you stumble upon delicious food or something equally awesome.
Reply
Also it seems like if you don't have a drivers' license--or say you don't have a license--they're more likely to stick you in a major city than in the boonies (hence, Osaka).
I've talked to some old ladies, but pretty much everyone else looks like they could beat me up. Even middle schoolers with Pooh bear keychains. But I'm trying to push my weenie-boundaries, making a little progress. And I just ate an entire case of warabimochi. Daaaaaayyuummm
Reply
I'm not good at pushing boundaries. Unless ramen extends beyond the boundaries. I WILL GO FAR FOR FOOD. I still remember times when I was too nervous to go into bakeries in paris cos I didn't know french...but then I would just stare and wonder "SHOULD I GET A BAGUETTE?!" .__.
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OUI!!
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man is your kansai dialect good?
also, i never got the hang of where everything was when i was in osaka. good luck!
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My only Denny's experiences were several different locations all in Virginia, so I should probably take your lead. Did you eat at one? and get a GURANDO SURAM??
Reply
and they say "meccha" [instead of like, sugoku or totemo] which is supposed to be slang for "very." AND! if you say "nan de ya ne!" while you're there, they will all laugh with you [or is it at you?] and be your friend. i guess it's supposed to be a thing a lot of oosakan comedians say, like their equivalent of "what the hell?!"
truly, suimasen nihongo ga heta desu ga is probably the most useful phrase any gaijin can know.
dude i had GYOZA and a PEACH SMOOTHIE THING at denizu and it was KICK THE ASS. i don't remember if they had a grand slam. you must report results. :D
Reply
Thanks for the pointers. I really like the sound of Kansai-ben! Until I went to college I didn't realize that's what my mom spoke. I heard her yell/slur the phrase "ahoyanaomaewa" countless times over the years, and only a month ago I finally asked her and got a complete, piece-by-piece breakdown of what it meant--she was calling our dog 'stupid,' but all Kansai-affected and with switched-up syntax (it took me a while).
Maybe if I call people 'stupid,' they will be my friend. ;\
Reply
Your house is awesome, except the handle to the front door fell off. My life is boring except for my new tape label. Do you have a cassette player there? Cuz I'll gladly forward some sweet stuff on, if so.
Reply
I would LOVE a tape, and I can most definitely find a player somewhere around here. Is it a cassingles-of-the-month club??
Sorry about the door, although I do quite enjoy handles falling off of the things they supposedly control. I stayed at a Hampton Inn this summer and while washing my hands in the bathroom, I flipped the faucet handle with only minimal force and it flew off and hit the mirror. Also the room door wouldn't shut, but that's not as slapsticky-good.
Reply
Cassingle of the month club! Genius! There will be! I'm so stoked on that idea! I've got one cassingle promised so far, from Pathetic Fallacy (Chris Robinson and Se Won) and IT RULES! I'll get copies out within the coming weeks, hopefully.
Reply
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Also your new washing machine is so goddamn complicated and amazing that I want to hear updates on laundry and experimental button-pressing combinations. I tried googling "laundry kanji" and got a few websites advertising some place called "Kanji Laundry" in Montreal and this one character that don't look like anything on your machine. The braille is really impressive though. There will be no discrimination against the literate-blind!
Reply
also thanks for reminding me about the address! a "friends-only post" is a-comin'.
Reply
I have no idea if Mandarin has a word for laundry since what I've learned so far is all about the verbs (so instead of something for "do laundry" it's specifically "wash clothing"). The "Air Spin" thing on the left hand side makes me wonder, does this washing machine have a drying capability? Because there's an "air" character on that light green button (2nd from the left)... or maybe that just means they spray your laundry with air-propelled water. The farthest left button (水量) looks like it adjusts your water level (like the small, medium, large load size for U.S. washers). My supervisor guesses that if you can figure out which button makes the water cold, then you can adjust the temperature settings and that's the most important. Whooo!
Reply
make sure you put your most current address as the return, and then I can send stuff to your fancy new place! like a pickle for your pickle jar.
Reply
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