Japanese Me

They’re everywhere. Yes, those are power lines running between two buildings of an apartment complex.  No, I don’t want that for a view, either.

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You would never know it by looking at this blog but I’m a knitter.  Other things have been hoarding my attention since I moved to Japan but I recently got back into the handicraft groove.  Here are some recent finished objects: Pacific Stripes [ravelry]. With these socks I realized I can never knit regular fingering [...]

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Today a couple of friends and I went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu and saw a great exhibit called My Grandmothers by Miwa Yanagi.  From their website: This series features young women depicted as they believe they will be in fifty years time, the backgrounds, clothing and even facial expressions all [...]

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I was trying to explain to my mom how the lunch I make every day is quite different from the lunch she made me every day.  I figured a picture was the way to go.  Today’s lunch: Rice, grilled salmon, apples with a rabbit slice (with a boo boo), kinpira.

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Today someone from my company came to observe one of my classes.  I wasn’t told he was coming but he picked a really good school and a really good day so it was awesome.  He seemed to like the lesson so I was glad.  The teachers kept on telling him how much they like me [...]

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When I introduce myself to students I open the floor to questions.  Here are the toughest ones I’ve gotten so far. What is your favorite anime? “Escaflowne!  Oh right, that came out before you were born.  Fruits Basket!  Oh geez, that’s too old, too.” “Dragonball?  Doraemon?  Sazae-san?” “Not really.  Uhhhh…. Inuyasha?” What’s your favorite book? [...]

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Okay, so it turns out I’m a really good blogger when I’m home all day.  Working, especially just starting with a new job… it’s a whole ‘nother animal.  I’ve already planned my lessons for tomorrow so I’ll give you a taste of what I’ve been doing. Before I get going I want to say that [...]

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Part two of an ongoing series. The same Translator Cafe thread that inspired part one of this series has a bunch of good tidbits in it.  Here’s one from a Terry Waltz: Understanding everything is great — but you do realize that working in Asian languages you will have to go both ways, and that [...]

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It was a great night and I was lucky enough to have a great photographer attend.  Michael T. Halligan took all of these shots (follow the link to his flickr page). The party itself was at Frjtz in Hayes Valley, San Francisco.  You get a whole bunch of fries with all sorts of crazy, wonderful [...]

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I have my alien registration card.  I have a bank account.  And most importantly, I have a cell phone. I ended up going with black… as Ken pointed out, the maroon/gold combo looked too much like something a お金持ちおばさん (okanemochi obasan, rich/snooty lady) would have.  I ended up catching a great sale–by paying roughly $55 [...]

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