Japanese Me

When I first started studying Japanese I watched a lot of anime. I got hooked on the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Inuyasha, Fruits Basket, and Escaflowne, all with English subs. Some fansub groups write transliterations of song lyrics so you can sing along even if you can’t read Japanese.  It can be hard to follow, [...]

Tomorrow I have surgery to get that scary mole removed.  I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the procedure but I am looking forward to having it over with.  This six week summer vacation I have is betting split up five different ways and I want some solid me time. Even if I won’t [...]

I am now at day 457 of my 101 in 1001 – nearly halfway done!  Looking at my list I found some things that need to be updated so this morning I armed myself with a favorite pen and went to work. Removed 14. Review 10 pieces on PRX (0/10) Great website but I don’t [...]

Today is exciting – it’s Ken’s first day of work.  He found a job at a smaller game development company.  He likes the size because he’ll be able to do all sorts of things (3D, background, character design and what have you) without being pigeonholed into one category. This marks a big change for us.  [...]

Last weekend Ken and I spent a great day in Yokohama going to Minato Mirai 21.  While the name literally means “Harbor Future 21″ I think it’s meant to convey something like “Harbor for the 21st Century”.  They have whole bunches of stuff there. (Find bigger, prettier versions of all these pictures on my flickr [...]

I think it’s funny and interesting that my students (largely fifth and sixth graders) think that I can understand and listen to Japanese but can’t speak a lick of it.  The two skills have no connection in their mind.  I wonder if grasping the relation is a developmental milestone, something they realize when they hit [...]

I managed to cast off another pair of socks today.  Really small needles and really thin yarn equaled a really long, tedious knit.  Worth it, though. Prima Julia [ravelry]. In other news it’s Golden Week, an extremely well-placed series of national holidays.  This year they land so we get five days off in a row–sweet.  [...]

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 [...]

One of the many great things about being in Japan is that there is a ton of authentic reading material in front of me every day–advertisements flashing by on the tv, signs in the supermarket, fliers in my mailbox.  I’ve been flipping through magazines at the bookstore, trying to find something at my level that [...]

The other day Ken and I made a trip to Kawasaki Station in Kawasaki ward, Kawasaki city (I wish I were making that up).  It’s about a 40 minute walk from here though we used the train (10 minutes) to get back.  We weren’t sure what were going to find.  The station turns out to [...]