Hey!!! you NEETs, nerds, YouTube-link spammers, pedophiles, neo-Nazis, Yukorin enthusiasts, Nanako SOS admirers, Part-Time-Preachers, Diplomats' spoiled sons, losers who can't remember Kanji characters, Big-boobs fans, Weeaboos from all over the world, learners of Japanese who are too lazy to update their Japanese blogs very often, and cunning linguists. And let's hope the Internet-addicted housewife will come back soon!
I've read that due to a typhoon with unusually heavy rain some areas of Japan were flooded and that there was an earthquake as well... anyone here affected by it? Is everything ok?
Delivering a due book to the library (there are four different libraries I borrow from) Collecting contact lenses from the optician Arranging tickets for picking up guests from the airport Checking my guest's accommodation needs, buying thins as necessary Dusting/vacuuming my room Emptying and the cleaning the recyclable rubbish bin Washing and drying my laundry Cleaning the fridge
I need to clone myself or let someone do it for me.
>>34 I think I could do some of the things you listed because they don't require English fluency.
------------------- -------------------- ------------------- ------------------ It's Obon at this time of year. In short, it's time for a family gathering. Students, workers and almost everyone go back to their hometown to spend Obon. People including me who post in 2ch in Japan in this holidays are garbage who have nothing else to do but wasting time on the Internet.
Many people living in Tokyo are from the other parts of Japan so at this time of year, the population of Tokyo become small because they go back to their hometowns.
>>41 in that case you've got the job mate! You are fluent anyway.
I heard about O-bon but did not know much about it, so thank you very much forthe link. It is a bit like ancestor worship in some countries. Ancestors are remembered and their graves are visited at certain times of the year.
I suddenly felt sad for the people who don't go, or cannot go. I am sure they must be feeling sad. Maybe you should not call them garbage. They are all precious human beings. Look, you have taught me something new.So please don't ever devalue yourself.
I may not be able to write here for a acouple of weeks,
> No not a vacation at all. I have guests visiting from abroad. I haven't had a vacation for years now. I worked hard through the summer. I need a holiday badly.
When you weigh the importance of work and 2ch, 2ch wins, which is obvious for NEET, but for normal people work is more important for some reason.
There's a big gap in a way of thinking between NEET and normal people. To narrow the gap, I've just decided to make a kingdom of NEET where NEET educate normal people, preaching how important 2ch is in your life. The first king of the kingdom is NORIAKI. He'll force normal people to relocate to NEET kingdom.
He shall allow firestar to sow appleseeds throughout the NEET kingdom. He'll be a legendary person called firestar appleseed.
>>68 o I think I wanna play something international if possible. x I think I wanna play something for international if possible.
o The reason for this is so that I can play a game and learn English at the same time. x The reason for this is allowing to play game and to learn English at the same time.
Straight people mean the men who love women and have sex with them. I think you know which part of body is straight with these men. The opposite word is gay.
>>92 Just a bit of slang etymology... The term 'straight' is used for heterosexuals because, in decades past, the term 'bent' was used as slang for homosexuals.
>>79 Nah, that's not it. I remember that EVE Online, for example, was pretty fun and had a cool community at the time. It's just that I noticed how those games suck away way too much time for my tastes, especially since you build up a sort of social obligation to the people you play with. That's exactly what makes them interesting for learning foreign languages, though.
And pay attention to a woman on the leftmost side among 3 women who put on swimsuits. She is my acquaintance, and 58 years old actually. In addition, she is a friend of Catherine, who is foolish talent Suzanne's mother. Can you believe this impact fact?
Your 58 year-old friend is a super-mature woman, no one would want to see her in a swimsuit. Suzanne is a cuite, but again, who the hell would care for her mom?
Say, what's a normal age for people in Japan to get an own apartment? I know that in America, you're regarded as a loser if you still live with your parents as a 21 year-old. The people I went to school with are all around 20 and most of them still live in their parental homes. The only exceptions I can think of are those who either married, are going to study in another city/country or have rich parents who pay the rent for them. Me, I used to plan to move out within one year after graduating from school (which I did this summer). But now I'm also planning to stay in Japan for 6 to 12 months while studying for my Master's degree (after 3 years of studying for my Bachelor's degree at home), which complicates matters a little.
>>104 Are you Japanese or a foreigner? I was called Dr.G in earlier incarnations of this thread, 'G' probably because I'm German and 'Dr.' perhaps because I come across as a pretentious, pseudo-intellectual asshole at times. ドクター is simply the Japanese rendition of Doctor, and I found it mildly amusing that G/ジー and 自慰 are homophones, with the latter word meaning "masturbation"
Ummmm, I went to Indonesia festival in Yoyogi the day before yesterday, I realized Indonesian girls are fuckin' cute.... most suprising thing is their skin is close to white... They were busting a move there with their tits boucing.
>115 What do you mean by get an apartment? If you mean you buy it and own it, average Japanese people buy it when they get married. Usually it's impossible to pay the whole amount of money for an apartment, you have to pay monthly like when you rent it.
If you mean living away from your parents by "get an apartment," I think you start to live away from your parents when you go to university which is away from your parents' home. In this case, your parents send money to you including monthly rent. After you get a job, you pay rent on your own.
And in Japan, it's not considered a loser if you live with your parents even after you get a job if your workplace is near your parents' home. It's just a way to save money to live your parents.
When you get married, you start to live away from your parents. But some people continue to live with their parents after getting married. In Japan's society, it's not uncommon. There are advantages to this.
If you and your wife work, you can ask your parents to take care of your kids while you work. Your parents can give you advice about child rearing first hand. And if your parents get older and weak, your wife can take care of them.
>>118 It's a difference in Japanese and Western culture. Japanese are more family or community minded, and frequently you can find 3 generations of the same family living in one house. In the West, the culture is more geared towards the individual, and everyone wants to be independent and only think of themselves and look after themselves, so they all want to live alone. Not many people buy apartments anymore, they are too expensive; now they rent.
>>117-118,120 Thanks for the answers. I guess Germany is somewhere between the US and Japan in this respect, then. Actually, it used to be much the same way as in Japan, but just as with everything else, we've heavily shifted towards American culture.
It's so hot even if you stay in home. You have to drink something even if you aren't out in the sun because dehydration and heat stroke can happen even when you stay at home all day.
Actually some elderly people have died of heat stroke even when they stay home.
Maybe it's just me but sun rays are so strong that when I look out the window to see outside world, it looks glaring in silver.
It's like sun rays are made of broken tiny pieces of aluminum foil if you know what I mean. Just looking outside makes this room's temperature go up some degrees.
Maiko Kano in Japan women's volleyball is quite lovely. I don't think Japanese woman's level should throw away if there is a player like Kano. We can boast of Kano's face to other countries. The other six players are unnecessary and I want Kano to fight against China and Brazil alone. If it is Kano, Japan must win even 1 VS 6?
>>141 In 2ch Rikkyou isn't considered to be a good uni. Putting aside whether your uni is good or not good, I'm sure you as a person is an idiot.
You've made a stupid thread just for your own benefit. That's the thread you made for the sake of your own benefit, not other people in 2ch. All you care is you get good score on TOEIC, which nobody cares.
Anybody who makes a shitty thread like you deserves abusive words.
The most funny thing about Rikkyo university to me is when they gave Bill Gates Rikkyo uni's diploma when he visited the uni and gave a lecture a few years ago.
As you know, he is a dropout of Harvard so she doesn't have a diploma so Rikkyo's president gave him Rikkyo's diploma. Nobody wants Rikkyo's diploma. You can imagine Bill Gates thought to himself "This is wortheless." Maybe he thought, "猛苦笑."
>>148 I am sorry, I misread in original thread. I was not guided to post a question here. I was suggested to call for help here. Anyway, I think this place is less suitable than the question thread for learning q and a matters. Then I hope anyone kind enough will visit http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1218442480/ and give me an answer. Sorry for my misdeed.
Another hot day has started in Japan. Do you guys sleep with AC turned on? I don't and when I wake up in the morning, my body is already sweaty. Disgusting!
It's 41℃ at noon and 28℃ right now in the mid-night, with 5% humidity. A fan should be good enough.
I wonder if Hokkaido is hot too. I went there on August 2004, Sapporo is freaking hot and my freaking dorm had no Air Con. I ran thru the whole city and couldn't buy a freaking fan!
>>158 Hokkaido is a cool place. The high of late twenties and the low of under 20 in Sapporo tomorrow, which locates in south part of Hokkaido. Places in middle and north part of Hokkaido must be coller than Sapporo.
>>161 Here's a little pointer for you and anyone else who isn't sure: You cannot use 'ever' like that! Only in questions, together with 'only' or when you are saying you have never done something.
× I've ever been to Hokkaido twice. 〇 I've only ever been to Hokkaido twice. 〇 Have you ever been to Hokkaido? 〇 I haven't been to Hokkaido, ever.
>>162 Yeah, I was surprised when I first knew that Westerners don't slurp at all. I was curious to know how they manage not to slurp because when we eat noodles, it's difficult not to make sounds. The fact that it's difficult for Westerners to make sounds when eating noodles was eye popping. It was like, how can they cope with the sounds?
It's not that Japanese HAVE TO make sounds when eating noodles. It's just that we don't care if we make sounds that comes naturally when eating noodles. I try not to make big sounds when eating noodles although I don't go as far as to try to make no slurping sounds.
Hearing someone eating with big slurping sounds is annoying. If I am eating noodles next to a person like that, it would be difficult for me to stop this urge to punch him in the face. It's just that Westerners take zero tolerance policy against slurping while Japanese people take generous tolerance policy. I'd say.
Look at this video. This is women's 800m race. The athelete on the 4th lane won the gold medal but there is commotion behind "her" victory. She looks like a man actually.
As of now, she refuses to take a DNA test or something for them to judge if she is she or he, claiming it's a racial discrimination. She claims if she were white, nobody would force her to take a biological test.
I think it's strange for her to bring in a racial issue here. I'd say she should take the test to prove herself. She's 19 years old and maybe she grew up believing she really is a girl. Some people have features of both genitals, penis and vagina. Some people have extremely small penis that even looks like a clitoris. Maybe be she's androgyne.
And you know what, I had a wonderful dream while lying in the bathtub yesterday I dived into the sea and it turned into shit, fish, seaweed, jellyfish, everything turned into poo, even Allah himself.
We eat noodle, slurping as loud as we want. It's not bad manners at all. It's good manners for eating noodle. We appreciate noodle with five senses and taste it through throat. If you don't slurp noodle, you can't appreciate the real savor. That means you can't understand the Japanese deep culture.
>>180 I suppose he is just enjoying being silly. It's common here 2chan-world. I like to say silly things here, as well as him.
For instance, I hear You Westerners have the 'deep throat' culture. We eat noodles (slurping is encouraged). You eat cocks (slurping is encouraged). Neither are rude. (But I am straight and don't suck cocks.)
Do you understand the 2chan shit world? Or you call me ugly?
>>185 What do you mean by ちんこラーメン? When Dr.Self-Abuse ejaculates, ラーメン comes out of his dick instead of semen? It won't happen, even though he loves ラーメン so much.
>>191 Don't go around saying that out loud. Next thing you know, they fingerprint you with gloves on.
>>185 Found it somewhere on 2chan. >>168 reminded me of it.
>>180 Nah, I didn't make you disgusting. You were disgusting to begin with, and will always be.
>>179 yeah, it's a bit difficult to wrap your mind around this plural←→no-plural difference. I've noticed that some westerners append TACHI to all kinds of words, for example.
>>193 is German if I remember correctly. But he seems like very fluent in English. At least his English is a lot better than mine judging from his posts. We, English learners can learn a lot from his English.
I am looking to purchase a car. I can't decide between the Toyota Supra Mark III and the Nissan 300zx z31. Which one of those should I buy? Or is there a better car? I can't spend too much money.
>>199 If you post things like that, it's better for you to put images of the both type of the car. If you want to be an environmentally friendly guy, you should only ride a bicycle.
Motorcycles are the way to go. Small, fuel efficient, fairly cheap... and fucking cool. A downside is that you have to get the M1 license. Well, that, and if you get into an accident, you're much more likely to die. But who cares? You'd die looking so cool.
Usually, it works fine with living things that way, but it'd be odd if you put it at the end of non-living objects. Say, you have a set of speakers connected to your PC -- you call them スピーカー, not スピーカーたち. If you felt really attached to them, perhaps more so than to your girlfriend, then you could but some people might think you're a weirdo.
Sentence is way of the language. But Subject is not function in apeal. Any poemer say, "to be, or not to be, that's a question." akahanama ikihinimiuku hunumueke henemeokohono motorosoyo wotereseyeturu suyuwntiri siwitarasayawa How a Beatiful harmony Yin and Yo, that is a rhythm of life. God' essence. 惟神魂霊弥栄
Rari-P is a new slang word that refers to a happily intoxicated person. It is derived from the famous celebrity Noriko Sakai, otherwise known as Nori-P.
I'm not the MJ news guy, there is some new news. His doctor apparently gave him a lethal combination of sleeping drugs on purpose. The doctor denies it of course, saying that he never prescribed anything that "should have" killed him.
Don't be ridiculous. I want to find a school girl here in the world of shit. It'd be like an angel decending to purify the dirt from this world, wouldn't it?
I've recently read that a famous Korean spirit known as "tonsuru" is made from shit. I don't think all Korean people love to drink shit alcohol, but still it's really interesting to know there are some people who drink something shitty. Do you think it actually smells of shit?
>>242 I've never heard of the Korean spirit, but I know of "Kopi Luwak, Alamid coffee or Civet coffee", which is coffee made from undigested coffee beans in Civet faces. Since those things are usually fermented, I don't think they smell like shit, but still, I prefer regular drinks.
Slim Shasy is the dark side of your character. I know you sometimes steal some money from your mom's purse. I know you just listen to the whispers of Slim Shady in you and follow his instruction.
Nori-P is now saying that she has wanted to stop using the drug, but couldn't, and the amount she was using was increasing. But on TV, she looked quite normal, i.e. not too skinny or her skin and hair were not that damaged etc. I wonder what has kept her look normal and even enabled to deceive the eyes of the people who chose her to play the leading role in the video to promote the lay judge system?
>>275 >Hey, I really wanna become to be able to speak English fluently in this year. try I really want to be able to speak English fluently this year. or I really want to be able to fluently speak English this year.
Drinking alcohol beverage and medicine was too expensive for the poor. Shit is easy to get for free as ingredient. And it had gradually become their culture, I guess.
>>295 Are you a foreigner living outside Japan? DPJ stands for Democratic Party of Japan. Since the DPJ is sure to win now, business people start to show obvious support for the party.
Ozawa frightened the nation into voting the Democratic Party of Japan. He said that the nation who vote the Jimin-tou won't be entitled to have political opinions.
You are one of working poors who wish to raise the minimum wage(per hour) to one thousand yen, aren't you? You can count on The Japanese communist party.
I didn't mean to feed the Tonsurer of course. They do just exist on their own. And hey! It's one of the Korean traditional drink. So we should respect it.
>>323 I don't understand the relationship between the mosquito bite and Showa. Do you mean that the Heisei-born poor are Swine-flue-prone but not mosquito-bite-prone?
>>333 What do you think about 'White collar exemption (payment system)' which has been discussed lately in Japan? Now, The more you work long hours, the more you earn (overtime allowance) a lot. But, This system may be abolished and introduced fixed salary system.
If you want to learn Japanese, you can watch his videos. He resembles me of the African American actor whose name I forgot. Morgan Freeman! Yeah, he looks like him somehow. I couldn't watch his videos much because he looks scary but maybe he's nice at heart.
Maybe it's just me but I thought he wants to be a gangsta? You decide.
Hi, Fish-san and 2chan-sters, how are you? back from my break, during which I had guests over from overseas. On my return I have received a gift and a letter from parents' very close Japanese friend. I was worried that she was very ill as she did not reply to my letter last Christmas (apparently she was). The good news is she is better now and she is visiting the UK next year! I am going to meet her and talk to her in what little Japanese language I have picked up. On one hand I am very keen to speak Japanese, on the other, I am worried that I might make mistakes. Perhaps I should apologise beforehand. (Pre-emptive apology)
>>348 Good luck! Although even though you want to practice Japanese with her, she'll probably be more eager to practice English! So maybe you guys could try and balance it out. Such as, she'll only speak in English, and you only reply in Japanese.:3
>>350 It's 348's parents' friend so maybe she's old. I doubt she's so eager to learn English maybe? Old dog never learns a new trick kind of thing. If she's not a typical type of elderly and she is keen on learning a new thing such as language acquring, then it's a different story. And, long time no see. I hope you enjoyed summer.
I had a lanch at the Indian restaurant today. They served as much Nan as you like for free there but just the second Nan made me rally full up. Curry was extremely wonderful though.
>>351 You may be right. But eagerness is most important factor, I believe. There are a lot of young people who failed to acquire English speaking ability here in Japan.
>>366 You can't improve drastically any skills of English, writing, listening, reading and speaking. You need to make steady efforts every day. Even if one step is very small, small steps add up to a leap.
Do you keep a diary in English or you post in an English forum?
>>351 Oh, I see. Yes, if she's old, maybe she's expecting more of a tour. Yes, long time no see. I'm like a phantom, coming in and out of these threads, huh? My Summer was nice and lazy. How about you? Maybe you work so you didn't really have a summer?
>>368 Yes, it's gone, sorry.My japanese hasn't improved much at all since I switched to an English minor. But my English vocabulary and grammar is improving at least, so maybe that will help you guys.
>>369 Yes, keep practicing! Eventually, all the hours of practice will just melt away; like learning an instrument.
September has begun! but there's nothing special about it. It's another ordinary day... September the 1st is the day when Tokyo Great earthquake happened and designated as natural disaster awareness day.
Keira ditched me. I asked her out and she said no, then she refused to be here. I said why, because there's nothing to worry about even if she's here to stay, but she seemed to think she would keep me enchanted if she was. She was the type of person who's worried about that thing. But she didn't know that was more painful to me than keeping here. And finally we met again. What should I do? Can I talk to her and ask her out again like I did months ago? We have a lot in common. We are mentally very close to each other. She know that. Do you think we can start over?
I didn't dream of meeting her here again like this. It's so dramatic. A boy and a girl who fell in love once and out of love after that meet again and get in a relationship like this. I would say that's a miracle.
I believe such couples tend to end up getting married - more or less. They are meant for each other. If they don't get married, then it means they will stand against the will of the God himself.
I know the God tested us like how strong our bond was. But now that we've come this far, I can say we should never be apart for a moment. It's like torture if we can't stay close again.
She used to say I'm the piano she loved. She said only I was able to creat ideal sounds she imagined, and that's why we were in love. That was really a meaningful thing for me to decipher, but I feel I understand her perfectly now.
>>378 If we had a close bond, then why don't I know who you are, anonymous-san?:o In any case, I can be your friend if you'd like, although I tend to fall off the face of the planet periodically.
If there were a love note and the person whose name is written in the notebook shall fall in love, I'd write your name, keira. I'll keep you infatuated with me.
>>384 The same ole Keira. You were afraid of taking one step over the line when we started our relationship. Do you remember I said, take my hand and go at our own pace? We did well.. Let me tell you I feel sorry that I had to be apart from you back then... I regret it even now. So please reconsider. I'm sure we can do better this time. I'll stay close to you. I promise.
Anonymous-san, I think you are wasting a lot of time. But perhaps this is how you enjoy practicing your English. If that's how it is, then go ahead and continue your romantic endeavors, although they fall on deaf ears. I'm sure you'd charm many US girls if you came over with that mindset though, so good luck with that.
In other news, I saw Ponyo recently. :3 It was very cute, although I feel that maybe there was some sort of symbolism that I was missing. Or maybe there wasn't any symbolism at all?
okay, I'm taking a break. The Pianist is playing on TV. :D and I might watch Firefly on DVD later. Did Firefly ever come to japan? Anyways, ciao for now! <3 I might be back on later.
It seems a guy and a girl of this thread will be the first couple. It's good to have a happy couple even here in a world of shit. Probably they will get rid of shit and creat a world of love instead. I'm expecting you guys. Good luck!
I believe they will change what you call a world of shit for better. The new world should be full of love. Everyone here will be happy if we see them going out again.
To my eyes, Keira seemed emotionally unstable when she read someone she might've been with for a while. She seemed to try to be calm, but it seemed she couldn't. Hmm, no matter what she said, she didn't seem to control herself. I can tell. Well, at any rate, it really is nice to see her like this. I'll be watching over the two of them.
Back from watching the Pianist. I couldn't watch the whole thing, but I love it when he plays Chopin's Ballade #1. <3 Wow, so many assumptions about me.Well, you can believe what you will; That's your prerogative. Although I came here for light-hearted chat and would prefer to do that.
>>392 Oh? I saw it recently too. I think I prefer the manga though.
>>400 new type? Sounds like an average cold to me.What makes you think it's different? Take care of yourself and sleep away your sickness!
>>401 We call the swine flu, the new type flu over here. It's spreading quite widely and some rather weak people got killed. It's a global pandemic, but I wonder if it is at all news in the US?
>>401 Hi, honey. Apparently, everyone here thinks we should be involved. And I agree with them. Let's have a chat like we did in the past and hoster mutual understanding, and hopefully develop into more than that. I missed you so much and I'm sure you missed me too. Open your mind and restart our relationship. We can do that. We are destained to be together. We should never be apart.
Oh? You saw it too? I knew it. We share the same taste for many things. It's natural.
>>350 thanks keira-san. that is a good idea. >>351 well she has known us since the 80s, and she speaks English well. She writes to me in English and I really love to hear from her. I must brush up on my Japanese and start attending the intermediate classes by the time she arrives. It was a very busy summer with no rest. I have to work hard to get into this project this week but I also do need a holiday by the beach. I had no holidays for the past two-three years.
I don't understand the complicated situation they are in. Only thing I see is a guy loves Keira so much. I've never seen such a romantic post in the world of shit, 2chan world. It's great! Far beyond imagination for the Japanese, who love the world of shit.
I peed when I was taking a shower because Slim Shady in me whispered to me. I peed thinking to myself "FREEDOM!" I don't know freedom from what but you know what I mean. Maybe freedom from a trivial rule, conventional idea...
>>392 >I saw Death Note recently, btw. I'm reading the first volume of the manga right now, and also watch the show in parallel. Good stuff, I just ordered the other 12 volumes.
Not only me but some people in this thread seem to like Noriaki. I haven't met him in person so I don't know what he's like in real life. >>420
Noriaki is kind of like his avatar. In real life, he dropped out of university. He lived a life of hikikomori for a while and after an audition he made his debut as Noriaki, which I think his real first name.
a real full-time hikikomori, like in "Welcome to the NHK" eh. I could not find him on wikipedia, because i do not know his surname. are there any interviews you would recommend?
Drinking too much coffee is quite dangerous. I had eight cups yesterday and it felt like my head was spinning round and round. In fact, I think I scattered the insides of my skull all over the place, although I didn't mean to. They just swirled up and gushed out for no particular reason. I hope it's not happening today.
>>419 Don't make that up. I haven't seen a guy called Noriaki even once and will never. But the phrase Noriaki is da fake or shit or whatever remains in my head.
2chan is one of the world's largest forum site. The reason of its huge popularity is quite simple. It's a world of full of shit. However, the whole shit is not totally shit. It contains nutrition and golden wisdom. We also appreciate them.
I've put on weight recently. I must refrain from eating out and get a lot of exercise. I was saddened when I found how much fat I took in my abdomen! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>435 It's effective. It's just that not many people have will power to jog on daily basis. The mechanism of losing weight is simple. All you have to do is burn calories. If your eating habit is the same and you burn more calories than before by jogging or any other exercise, you lose weight. Simple as that.
Hi everyone...I want to ask an opinion of the people here. I don't know why I chose this crowd, but people here hold a place in my heart I guess. I'm a Canadian currently living in Finland for a year on an exchange program, I'm expected to go to school even though I already graduated and I'm expected to learn the language. But Finnish is hard as hell.
What I really want to do with this year is work on my Japanese and computer programming skills since those are my two loves in life. Sometimes I skip school to go practice kanji at the library...no one has said anything yet. I just feel guilty doing it. I'm also suppose to be attending Finnish lessons which just started this week but I purposely forgot my admittance papers for the class at home so I couldn't attend. Another issue is when I left home I told my boss I could work for him over here, since my job only requires the internet. However, I've found my passion for writing CSS templates all day fading...and I haven't done anything for him yet.
I just don't know what to do. How many classes should I skip per week so no one comments on it but it still gives me enough time to work on my true passions? I do not need the grades here. It is useless work and pointless. I've been through highschool and graduated with top marks, I do not need to do it again when my time can be spent perfecting skills that I will use in university. What do I do about the other kids here? Should I stay fairly distant so I don't get too attached to them? I am fairly used to being alone, so this is not a big issue. What about my boss? Do I just do a few hours of work each week? Or do I tell him that my commitments over here haven't left me with enough time to work for him?
Argh. If anyone needs more info on the situation just ask, I'll be checking regularly.
>>437 Solution to your problem is quite simple. Sleep fewer hours and allocate some time for all the things you mentioned. including attending the classes and learning Finnish. Seems you don't realize how lucky you are to be in the situation you are currently in. You don't even seem to need to worry about money. Get done with what you are required to do in Finland as quickly as possible to leave as much time as possible for the things you really want to do. In other words, spend time wisely, then you'll be alright.
>>437 OK. This is my opinion. Your top priority now is to get accustomed to Finnish culture, its language and people there. As for learning Japanese, you're young so don't rush. I understand your passion for learning Japanese but it shouldn't be top of your to do list during your stay in Finland.
I understand you are OK being alone but skipping classes or not trying to mingle with students there doesn't sound good. You represent Canada in a way and you shouldn't degrade Canada's reputation. For students there, you could be Canada itself, a door to Canada. If you keep away from Finnish students, they might think you're not even trying to get along with them. It's no problem if they think you prefer to be alone, but I think at least you show you're trying to mingle and get along with them. Don't let them have the wrong idea that you reject and hate Finland and its people.
I think working for your boss in Canada during your stay in Finland is at the bottom of your list. I understand you feel guilty about your sort of like breaking a promise but you can tell him you have a lot of things to do and have no time to live up to his expectation. You can say to him you're too exhausted every day because of your new environment. He'll understand your situation. Don't feel guilty about it.
Before you went there, I guess you were excited about your new environment to some extent, right? I guess you applied for the exchange program and you are the one who were selected to go there. Maybe now you're faced with the reality that living there is less exciting than you first thought and maybe you even think that living there for a year is pointless. Even if that's the case, I don't blame you for that. That kind of thing happens but I still think you should at least try to enjoy your new environment, which is living there as an exchange student.
Giving Finnish students good reasons for them to have the wrong idea that you aren't making efforts to adapt yourself to Finland by skipping classes is the worst move for you.
If you want to hone your computer skills and study Japanese, you should spend some time for them at your apartment/dorm, not at school. Sorry if I sound judgemental in some parts or anything.
Alright foo's. Update me on anything absolutely fascinating happening in Nippon right now. I'll respond with enthusiasm and hopefully we can get a good discussion going here.
>>449 Absolutely fascinating happening in Japan right now is obviously the change of government. I'm sure DPJ will turn Japan into a better place. Bye-bye LDP, bye-bye Aso, yeah!!
My boss is not related to me going to Finland at all. As >>443 pointed out I am only 18 and my job in Canada was a part-time one doing web development work.
Thank you for opening my eyes a bit more...I read these posts before I went to school this morning and I'm happy to say I stayed in all my classes. I didn't have time to comment on them early otherwise I would of missed the bus ^^;
I think I was scared of the pressure of becoming fluent in Finnish...I now realize the goal isn't fluency but just communication. It is ridiculous to expect fluency in one year anyway, it is possible but very few people can do it.
I've decided to reduce time working for my boss to a minimum (2 and a half hours/week) so I can still keep a good standing (he isn't expecting much) but stay focused on what I need to do over here.
I have no problems with eroge but I don't know if they would work on linux very well... I've never actually played any but right now I am watching "ef A tale of memories" which is based on an eroge game.
Could you recommend some that will work with WINE in linux?
I have a question for you veterans People often say that Americans have a particular sense of distance to others which is quite different from that Japanese have. How exactly is it different from ours?
>>453 I'm playing/reading the visual novel "Planetarian 〜小さな星の夢" right now, it runs without problems in Wine and I can definitely recommend it. It doesn't feature any sex scenes as far as I know, though. I figure most VN-style eroge will work fine as long as copy protection doesn't get in the way, since they're not that technically complex. No idea about the 3D games. There's also a tool called AGTH you can use to output the text from games so you can copy&paste it into a Japanese dictionary more easily. (Wine probably has a debug switch or so to make it do the same, but I'm too lazy to even go looking for it)
Most of Westerners and the Chinese are frank or candid, I sense. But most of the Japanese are not, I would say. Naturally, we need some places to be frank or candid like this 2chan website. And we are apt to be too candid, or shitty.
Welcome to our world of shit, 2chan. Let me tell you my candid story sometime soon.
>>449 The new type of flu is rampant in Japan. So far, famous athletes, singers, comedians are infected with it. Yama-P and Nishikido got infected are infected. Even some people died of it. According to news reports, at some school, kids don't have to go to school because that increases the risk of being infected.
I wonder how many Japanese people realize that saying "lol" too much doesn't make you sound like a native speaker. It makes you look retarded and childish, like the people who spam "wwww" all the time in Japanese.
Just putting it out there, since I've been talking to random Japanese people lately on skype and MSN and they love using "u", "r" and "lol" in place of actual English.
Oh yeah and I forgot to mention, on a lot of forums if you wanna be really meta you say that stuff while trolling people who get annoyed by it but that's some pretty meta shit like "lol ur so bad at dota" etc.
Speaking English like native speakers of English has nothing to do with being cool. Because there are a bunch of uncool native speakers of English out there.
>>476 I agree with you. It's totally a misconception, and I would also add "desho?" to them. Those things can be really annoying, and make the speaker look dumb.
could someone please update me on the Kame & Kyon marriage, translated 2chan rumours say they have secretly gotten married, went to Okinawa etc. I hope so!
>>484 The couple resembles me of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher.
I doubt any single person knows more than information gathered in 2chan. I'm not saying 2ch is the most reliable source of information, though. Do some Johnney's boys fans translate 2chan's relavant threads into English for fans overseas to keep updated on what's happening to Johnney's boys?
If Kamenashi and Kyonkyon are infected with the new type of flu at the same time, that can be a proof that they spend some time together.
no, i translate it with Google Translation and the meaning gets lost in the process. I try to understand the situation from the context rather than the literary meaning of words, that is why i am not sure of what is going on.
what i don't understand is the hate messages directed at both, more so to the younger man. people are trying so hard to defame him, they are bordering on the fanatic. They say he got drunk and shouted at staff and assaulted a taxi driver... They say he is a product of plastic surgery, a high school drop out, low in popularity in drama ratings etc etc, which may be true, but they never comment on his hard work. Same for Kyon, calling her abusive names referring to her age.
it seems it is a taboo to have a younger man as a husband in Japan.
>>488 It's not a taboo at all for a young man to get married with an older woman in Japan. I'd say it's 20 years or so age gap between the two that gets people's attention and some may raise their eyebrows.
It's their decision whether they'll get married or not (I'm not sure if they're still seeing, though.) but it's not easy for the boys in Johnney's agency to get married in general. They sell fantasy and dream to fan girls but once they get married, it's not easy for them to sell fantasy because they are fan girl's boyfriend in their fantasy.
Even if Kamenashi's prospective wife was younger than him, it wouldn't be easy for him to get married with her soon. Johnney's agency invested lots of money for the boys to get famous and they are obligated to recoup its investment in them.
>>484 That rumor has been hanging around for quite some time, but a lay person like me have know idea if that's a true info. or Jonny's has spread it for promoting some new TV drama or movie... But then, we say that 'There is no smoke if there is no fire', so the rumor may be true. As someone mentioned, it is not bad or anything for an older woman to marry a younger man, however, it seems that when they get older, the situation becomes difficult and a lot of them get divorced at least in the entertainment industry. Being a huge fan of Kame, I hope the rumor is false. Just so you know, Kame used to belong to the little league, and went to the final match but lost against Mexico although it was a very close game.
>>493 What are you saying? Do you honestly believe Japan is a world of shit? Shut your filthy mouth up. We are all in a world of shit. Of course, that includes Japan, but not only Japan. Don't get cocky. Get it?
>>501 I'd recommend you go to Kowakien in Hakone. They have various types of baths including 'coffee bath', i.e. if take a bath in coffee, and I'm not kidding. If I remember correctly, they also have 'wine bath.' Check it out, if you are interested!
>>511 Oh, forget about it. I don't want to drink something contaminated with my own scurf, even if it's coffee. I'd choose tonsuru instead if you asked me.
>>514 Well, I don't know. Of course, he takes poop but his fans are that crazy? lol Plus, tonsuru is made by koreans, so it's too much to ask for a Japanese to creat tonsuru.
Among all the Johney's talents, I believe the only group that's popular between asian girls (not only Japanese) is Arashi. The others aren't popular at all except among Japanese girls. Say, SMAP often appears on the Japanese TV shows, but they are not known in the world. Kamenashi? He isn't popular at all.
If I need to drink some tonsuru to survive, I would prefer a bottle of tonsuru made from lovely women's shit here, not that made from a dirty oyaji like me.
>>493 What are you saying? Do you honestly believe Japan is a world of shit? Shut your filthy mouth up. We are all in a world of shit. Of course, that includes Japan, but not only Japan. Don't get cocky. Get it?
>>522 It should be possible in your own bathtub. Why don't you buy a dozen or so large bottles of coke at COSTCO or something, and dump them all in your bathtub. As a matter of fact, coke bath sounds better when it's cold.
>>532 I'm Japanese too and I say that kind of jokes in everyday life. I prefer Japanese jokes rather than American jokes. American jokes aren't funny at all for me.
>>536 Those are Dajare, or probablly something similar to puns in English. They exploit the nature of the Japanese language which has a lot of homonyms.
>>548 I know. But the LDP has been in power for too long, and the diet members where just money-mongers. Members of the DPJ look much cleaner, at least at the moment.
>>553 Well, technically it's cardamom but it's like ginger. That sometimes makes your tongue numb, it's that strong. So I put a little bit of sugar. I'll go get some coffee now!
>>555 Bureaucrats are much cleverer than legislators in Japan. That's why they rule the Japanese government. I don't think the DPJ members are cleverer than the LDP members.
The changing of government has nothing to do with my busyness. I'm busy because I have to study English in my free time. I'm planning to change my job. Not for changing government, ha-ha.
>>563 Direct translation would be "It wouldn't give me much trouble if I was called 'cute' as is the case for Pikachu". Only by reading the sentence, I cannot tell whether Meowth is actually cute or not, but I think Meowth is soliciting others to call him/her cute.
Wow 2 chan has been busy last night! Lots of messages..
>>490 I will start a "free Johnny's boys" campaign. They should be allowed to have a personal life. Sounds like such an oppressive life. i am sure all the boys must be depressed out of their wits. I cannot imagine how hard it can be. They make you do backflips, fly in the air, jump off the top of the Tokyo Dome, etc etc and get paid very little, work twenty hours a day, stay on a strict diet and when you cross the line and fall in love you are out of the agency.
>>491 I hope he pursues his dreams and settles down. Rumours say he will run a boutique and go back to education. he needs Kyon's emotional support. I think he has very noble aims, and with the hard work he has put into everything he does he should be allowed to do what he wants.
>>492 Senpai, why do you want to meet me if I come to Japan? are you from the department of gaijin activities :-D
>>569 thank you for your compliment. i never thought i could sound charming on the net. that is nice to hear.
wouldnt it be wonderful if humans could form friendships as easily when they are face to face? the world would be such an interesting and wonderful place then.
do 2chanster ever meet ? do people make lasting friendships? or is it a taboo for the reserved people of Japan?
>>570 i read a bit about magibon and i am appalled. i am not looking for popularity or boyfriends. i am writing here because i am following Japanese culture and media and learning Japanese.
>>572 I really enjoy reading posts from charming ladies like you. I'm sure it will speed up the process of my English learning.
And I have a bad news for you. I didn't tell anybody(including my family) I'm a 2chanster. If I did, they would look down on me. Declaring myself 2chan-ster equals declaring myself shit, in Japan.
>>572 If I'm not wrong, there's a board in 2ch where they plan a meeting face to face, organize a gathering so some 2channelers meet in real life. The gathering is called "off-kai." Off comes from "Offline" meaning, not "on" the net but real life. "Kai" means a meeting or gathering. So "Off-kai" means an offline gathering, which isn't a virtual gathering "on" the Internet but a real gathering to have fun.
In other boards other than the one I talked about above, some 2channelers may exchange e-mail addys in a thread and start excange email and might meet with each other after getting to know each other. This is not so common in 2ch but I think that happens sometimes.
But 2chan is an annonymous board and basically this is not a place to look for a chance to meet new people in real life.
>>573 I didn't mean to offend you by asking that question. Magibon has been on and off this thread and she has been very helpful. I didn't know she was looking for boyfriends but she seemed to be a nice person.
I'm gonna send him to outer space to find another race. I'll take your brain to another dimension. I'll take your brain to another dimension. I'll take your brain to another dimension. Pay close attention.
>>558 Meowth usually acts big but in this song, he is pouring out his heart, which is he kind of envies Picachoo in a way.
"It woudn't hurt/It wouldn't bother me much if people call me umm.... cute like the way they call Picachoo cute."
He wants to be popular like Picachoo and treated like him. Another thing he says in the song is, "I wouldn't mind if ummm... girls held/huggied me like they hold Picachoo." He's definately wants to be held like Picahoo.
>>574 I am sorry that you are unable to openly communicate. It is too bad that 2chan is seen like that. your family is more important, you must not upset them.
so i would be seen that way,if i mention that i am writing on 2chan to my Japanese friends.:-(
Where else can I chat about Japanese culture in English then, without being looked down on?
>>575 thank you for this very interesting explanation. i always wondered how people would meet because they could not possibly just go and meet somewhere, because everyone is anonymous. one to one meetings would especially be impossible for two people.
>>583 I think there're lots of forums regarding Japan on the web. This is one of the examples. http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quedisplay.html I don't know how many Japanese are there but at least they seem to be talking about Japan.
I'm not >>574 but I agree with him. 2ch has a bad reputation for some people because in 2ch, posters get too straightforward and sometimes abusive. 2ch boasts lots of viewers and posters so it's sure many Japanese people read and post in 2ch, but I don't think many people say openly they read and post and read 2ch.
On the other hand, I don't think your Japanese friends have negative image about you posting in 2ch. Because in my case my reaction would be "you're cool." "How can you navigate in 2ch when posts are written in Japanse?" and things like that. Only surprise would be my reaction. In additioin, among other boards in 2ch, English board is categorized in "Academic" related boards so I don't think you get negative reactions.
If you prefer more friendly and safer place, Mixi is the place. Mixi is an SNS like Myspace and facebook. Some foreigners is a Mixi member. To become a member of Mixi, you have to be invited via e-mail by one of your friends who is already a Mixi member. There are lots of communities/groups where you discuss and talk about anything imaginable in line with a commyunity/group's theme.
There's lots of English related communities. In this community, you can talk only in English so the theme of the community is similar to this thread.
Click on the man if you're female, the woman if you're male. I think the woman's boobs are fake. Is the man so attractive? I don't think so. I wonder why they didn't use more attractive male acor for this promotion campaign.
>>583 I love your friendly warm posts, really. Nice people are welcome here!
By the way, I suppose you have negative image against shit. But I don't. Great people's shit are precious. We can appreciate their opinions comments and jokes that are never made in real life. It is difficult for Japanese to reveal their honest feeling in the real world. That deosn't mean we are liars. So the 2chan is not so friendly site but interesting site.
Although I want to be nice basically, always being nice would be too stressful for me.
>>586 Thank you very much for the explanation. You are our dear 'Japanese Lady'.
I know that. Even when I write Japanese, many people say so in 2chan.
My first purpose for writing English here is to improve my skills of English. The second one is to get candid opinions about me. I'm not afraid of being criticized about my thought and the way of writing. I want to know real me deeply and find something.
>>587 Mixi is the most dangerous. It's no different than Myspace. It'd ruin your life. I can't remember how many people are the victims of what it says is a safe place. lol
Don't you dare! Mixi is an ideal place for users of the Internet. Those who don't understand it and defy the value of such a place are the things to laugh about. 2ch is at the center of the world of shit, while Mixi is at the center of love. Why don't you get out of it?
I can't take it. I was wrong in thinking that 2chers could understand they were in a world of shit and they should move to Mixi instead, where they could enjoy nice and warming conversations unlike here. You are scams. You bastards! I'll go. I don't want to smell of shit!!
Mixi is the best place to chat with people in. People in Mixi are generally nice and compared to them you guys are really miserable. I say to the people with a good sense of justice, let's move to Mixi and have fun talking there. This place is quite shitty.
>>612 Yes, let's. I heard people creat a lot of communities there and you can join in any community you like. Is that right? I'm really interested in Mixi! Thank you for telling us.
Really depends on if they have a good bunch of coffee threads on Mixi, I think, because some people feel they rather die than live in misery, but then again, they could creat a new community there if they wanted to, so we shouldn't jump to a hasty conclusion about it.
People need a place to go potty. You can't poo in front of the public. I think that's the reason why 2chan is so popular in Japan. There are many places to have good conversations. You can easily find one of them.
Chikuwa-furai-kun is SOOOOOO cute!!! Chikuwa-furai(a hollow cylinder of fried fish paste) is in the 2nd year student at junior high school and is one of the deejays who comes on an internet radio "Skypeで知らない人・国に安価で突撃リレーラジオ417". I LOOOOVE his cute voice. He is likely to be said kawaii from classmate guys XD
What I know about Mixi is it's unique users are more than or nearly 10 million so now it's bigger Internet community in Japan than 2ch. Biggest community I think. 2ch's users are aging compared to when it started, and its main users are people in their 30's and 40's while Mixi's users are younger than 2ch.
There are much less verbal abuses in Mixi than 2ch because basically you have to be invited by one of your friends to join. If you're abusing someone and one of your friends read your post, you lose trust. This can work as a disadvantage of Mixi because you can't write what you really think at the bottom of you heart. Nobody can write too harsh comment there even if the comment sounds valid, at the risk of being judged by people in Mixi that you aren't so nice.
You have to be invited through email to join Mixi but there are a few loopholes. You can be invited by people who you've never met in person in 2ch or other online forums. Actually there are threads in 2ch for the purpose. Mixi doesn't permit the act but there are no ways for them to stop the act.
A few posters above said Mixi is the dangerous place. For some, it can be dangerous because in Mixi, users tend to be less anonymous. They write too much about themsleves in diary section (Mixi has diary function.) and sometimes people can tell where they work, what university they go to from entries of their diaries they write. Some Mixi users write too much personal information on their self-introduction page, too. This kind of leak of personal information can be prevented if you have a high sense of online security.
In general, it's said Mixi's users live happier life than core users of 2chan. While Mixi is the place where people communicate the way they communicate with people in real life, 2ch tends to be a place where you vent your frustration. I prefer 2ch because when Slim Shady in you whisper to you evil things you can't follow his voice in Mixi, if you know what I mean.
Burn the tares in flames Hang the traitors of our race Judgment Day is here The hand of God is in this place Drive you out or cut you off Your blood will surely flow Avengers of the innocent The Earth will soon now know
>>586 >>587 Thanks for the info regarding forums. I will look at them both. >>589 thank you, I like most of what is written here with a smile, I think some messages are cute.
the last natto I bought stayed in the fridge a bit too long so I had to throw it away. But this time I got it right. I defrosted it thoroughly. Before eating I stirred it really fast with chopsticks. The beans become strangely frothy. Then I added the contents of two sachets that came with it. I could recognise that one was mustard. I stirred it a bit more. I could not believe how tasty it was! I should have made some miso soup with it perhaps. Now i have two more packs in the freezer. Iwill defrost one in the fridge overnight.
Natto is a healthy food and rich in nutrition and it gives you energy. Soy beans are called beef grown in the field, meaning it gives you as much energy as beef. But soy beans don't include fat so it's healthy. Korean people sell things Japanese including food as if they were Korean thing. That's what I don't like about Korea.
The Korean shop has a Japanese food corner, and anything that comes from Japan, is labelled as Japanese. If they did not sell it there is nowhere else I could get it from. unless I order it online from the Japan Centre in London. (and that is more expensive)
BTW I also bought frozen takoyaki. My japanese is very basic, I am guessing it is telling me to microwave it. I watched on youtube how takoyaki is made. I have okonomiyaki sauce and bonito flakes to put on it. My first taset of takoyaki!!!
>>667 So you like natto! Congrats! As you know, not many westerner like it, and I don't even care for it so much either. People from the western part of Japan are not so used to eating it, and I am one of them. BUT, takoyaki is a different story! Every household in the west has a Takoyaki-pan (one with some dents) and it's usually a father's job to entertain the skill of flipping takoyakis. (It's kind of like a father grilling beaf when they having an outdoor BBQ party in the US). Oh, and in addition to what you mentioned, it is desirable to have green seaweed powder and red pickled ginger when you making takoyaki to perfect the art!
>>667 Finely chopped or ground seaweed on top of Takoyaki is must but if it's not available, you have to settle for eating Takoyaki without it. Enjoy your first Takoyaki experience.
>>671 they reccommend it with mayonnaise on youtube, however the combination of the two sauces was excellent already. However I have Kewpie mayonnaise ( although less expensive, I can not eat British mayo) I felt much energised afterwards. Takoyaki and okonomiyaki has essentially similar ingredients haven't they?
>>673 Thank you. Would chopped Nori be all right? I have some Nori left from when I was trying to make umeboshi onigiri. The first try was utterly delicious, second time round there was too much salt water and it did not stick well.
>>675 Do you mean mayonnaise for natto? Nah......that's only for mayolers (=mayonnaise lovers). People usually put very finely chopped Asian onion, not the round one but the long-stick like shaped one, and/or raw egg.
And as you mentioned, if you put natto in soup with lots of ingredients in it, with also Korean Kimchi in it, it will make very good Krean soup.
Regarding chopped nori, if you are talking about Takoyaki and okonomiyaki, Aonori (green, powdered nori) is the one to use, because it has different flavor from regular black nori. And you are right, okonomiyaki and takoyaki has almost the same ingredients! Enjoy!
>>700 Then, instead of capturing and killing one whole octopus, it is better to, maybe, cut its legs halfway and let go. This way, we will never run out of octopus and octopus will never have to be caught and killed. Brilliant idea, isn't it?
That is a very dangerous idea in reality. There will be execessive octopuses in the ocean everywhere, which means a total destruction of the ecosystem. In addition, some of them might start attacking humans for food. Not only will it defeat the purpose but could be a total chaos that leads to the end of the world. Too risky.
>>702 If you cut all the arms of an octopus and release it, then it can't catch fish and will end up dying. it also can't type the keyborad and can't surf the Net until all arms grow. Without arms how can it tap the keyboard?
If you cut four of the arms, still, it can't catch fish. Four arms aren't enough to keep living. Then you may think it's good if you cut only two arms.
This is where cost and effect matter comes in. You catch an octopus and all you can get is two arms? This is rediculous. So in the end you have to kill an octopus to eat the whole of its body.
Plus, some people like to eat its head part...So they're destined to be killed.
I like to go to sushi-go-round restaurants with my family. As you said, it costs you more than you eat at home but you sometimes want to enjoy eating out, don't you?
It is enjoyable to only see sushi dishes going around.
Hello 2ch, quick question...it's very important for me ^^;
If I want to say: "Did you get the last facebook message I sent?" In Japanese to a girl, what is the best way? I recently made a Japanese friend but I don't know enough of the language to say something like that...keep in mind though I do know enough that I'll be able to check if you guys are telling me the right thing =P
try to not make it sound too serious...it's been a week since I sent it but I don't want to wait much longer.
>>709 フェイスブックでメッセージ送ったんだけど、見た? would be one of the natural sentenses. In the Japanese sentense, "the last" doesn't seemed to be included but it's obvious that you're talking about the last message, so I ommited it.
Keep in mind that for average Japanese people, writing in English isn't a piece of Sushi. The English proficiency of Japanese people in this thread is much more than average so don't expect too much from average Japanese English learners. Maybe just dropping a short line isn't easy for her. Peace.
>>711 If your Japanese isn't good, a recipient of your email can recognize you make your share of effort to write in Japanese. So don't be afraid of making mistakes when you write to her in Japanese.
Yep, that's the point- we're both learning each others language so we're trying to write in English and Japanese where we can. She asked me for a whole message in English so I did...I tried to stay away from difficult words and sentence structure without making it seem too easy.
I just wasn't quite sure how to approach this situation. I've never used んだ before so I guess it would of helped to know that ^^;
>>714 uh.....I think this is more of an inter-cultural issue than the language issue. You sent a message and she hasn't responded for a while, usually means that she wants to end the relationship. She wouldn't dare say it bluntly because that could hurt your feelings, so she just fades away. That's usually how relationship is ended over here.
>>714 That happpens. If you think first it's a good idea to learn your target language through language exchange, once you start trying, you are faced with reality. You recognize it's not easy to learn your target language through exchangin email.
Maybe she needs more time to write back to you. Maybe she's lazy.
Leaning a language through relationship can be dangerous. I've notice many non-Japanese guys who must be a macho-type in their home countries speak Japanese like women because they listen to and copy how their Japanese girl friend speaks. Sounds somewhat gay. The other way around is a bit more acceptable, I think. Girls talking like men doesn't sound too bad.
No, it is different from the regular flu in that nobody has immunity to it because it's a new type flu. Also, since it's new, there is not enough vaccine for everyone, e.g. in Japan, only 60 million people or so can get vaccinated.
You know, your thigh muscles will become very weak if you don't walk, and your bone will become very weak if you don't get enough sunshine. I.e. you will grow old much faster than other people in your generation. Good luck.
I just came back from a prep school. One of the students in my classroom slept in the middle of the class and the teacher said to the student "Wake up. why are you sleeping right here right now?" All of the students including me were surprised but, the teacher has waken me up.
>>675 >>676 All right, i shall look for Aonori next time.
I tested my energy levels yesterday by eating natto only for breakfast. I think i should have had rice and miso soup to make it a proper breakfast. This morning I ate the last box of natto but made some toast, eggs etc to follow.
>>738 You know, some Natto-lovers here even eat "Natto toast" over here. And one crepe shop serves rolled up crepe with Natto, coffe jelly and whipped cream in it. Enjoy!
Let me tell you one thing. Bob Dylan is not an artist, not a musician, not a folk singer, not a rock musician.. He is a jew, who convered to Christiany and changed his name anglicized. But he is still jew. His distinctive nasal annoying voice irritates us. Now we understand why.
Ok, if the x rated conversation has ended, may I tell you about my the defrosted takoyaki adventure.
I'd defrosted a small pack of frozen takoyaki the night before. I was going to eat it in the evening. well, I gradually developed a fever in the afternoon so I had to come home to rest. I kept record of my temperature, every time I woke up to rehydrate. I think in my dreams i was discussing with the 2chan people whether or not I would recover to eat it, would it go to waste otherwise, what condiments to put on it etc etc. gradually the fever wore off , I suddenly opened my eyes and said:It is takoyaki time! I felt much better but I still wasn't sure whether it was a good idea. I took the takoyaki out of their packaging and put it in the microwave . I hope it was the correct settings, it seemed to be saying, at 500 W 3 min 10 seconds.
What if it wouldn't cook properly? When I started off the microwave, it started making funny crackling sounds. Then *pop*, went one of the takoyakis, but I kept microwaving while preparing a cup of genmachai. When I took the plate out, despite the little exploded takoyaki they looked all right. I added some okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise and patiently chopped some nori to top it with. I also sprinkled bonito flakes on the top. When it was all ready, i put my cup of green tea and takoyaki on a plate and headed off to my room. with a tiny tooth pick i tried to pick one ball but it fell back. so it was only manageable with two toothpicks, because they were soggy. This, while watching the insanely handsome Kat-tun boys do dangerous backflips and still end up smiling. The batter was a bit on the uncooked side. It was only when i ate the third one I found a bit of octopus in it. It was rather chewy-plasticky and tasted of something else, perhaps they put some chemical preservative in it. Eventually I finished all of it, none was wasted. If I don't return this thread tomorrow, you know it is probably the uncooked octopus that did it! sayanora just in case (just joking :-D)
>>761 Hope you are back! Just so you know, if some frozen food is instructed to be put in the microoven before eating it, you don't defrost it before hand. So if the back of the package says 'Put it in the microwave oven for 5 min.', that's all it takes.
Anyway, I hope your fever is entirely gone by now!
>>760 I hope you are all right now. If you make Takoyaki from scratch at home, using Takoyaki iron plate and eat it fresh from the plate, the surface of Takoyaki is a bit crispy. Minute by minute, all surface lose crispiness. It's impossible to ask for crispiness of ready-made Takoyaki like you bought, I think.
Inside of Takoyaki can't be crispy so even if you thought it tasted uncooked, maybe that's the way Takoyaki is as long as you kept Takoyaki in microwave in enough time.
>>763 I never like the way Kyon2 speaks. She souns/is too self-consious and pretentious. She thinks she is an artist, or something, but actually nobody. She cannot even sing.
>>765 >>766 Thanks people, I am alive, no problem with uncooked octopuses. I believe takoyaki is a specialist food, and should not be microwaved. >>767 She may not be an artist, but an entertainer, and a good one she definitely is. I watched her shows, she is a natural born entertainer, and that requires a different form of intelligence.
I am an American man. American women are never quiet!! It is a good thing!! I dont want to be with a woman who is quiet all day. Why dont Japanese women talk? Are they afraid of something?
Sorry, but I can't understand you. Too loquacious women make me tired and irritate me. Of course, Japanese women talk very much, but not all day. Are you afraid of silence even for a little moment ?
Now I'm going to tell you one of my candid stories with 「sage」^^;
When I was a child, my father used to cook Takoyaki for me. Although I didn't like the Takoyaki very much, I couldn't ask too much. Becauce my family lived in poverty in mid-Showa period (1960s).
When I grown up, I learned a fact that the Takoyaki had not been real one. My father didn't afford to buy Tako so he used Kamaboko instead. Takoyaki without Tako is, just like, Beef Ball without Beef or 2chan without Shit. No wonder I didn't like the Takoyaki very much then.
In fact, My father made a lot of fake Takoyaki. But we can't blame him as long as he didn't sell them as Takoyaki.
Umm... I live in Kansai, but I haven't tried takoyaki with rice. Just for a snack. On the other hand, I sometimes eat okonomiyaki with rice and miso soup.
>>796 It's not special at all in Kansai, I think. It is called okonomiyaki teishoku. But sometimes people from other regions are surprised to look at it.
Hello 2ch...It's the exchange student from a couple hundred posts back. I've e-mailed my boss telling him that I can't do anymore work due to Finnish laws.
I hope I can get my job back when I return, but I don't expect it. I just hit the send button. Feels like getting on a roller coaster and knowing somethings about to happen lol.
>>760-761 Does these English sentences seem different from native English speaker's ones? Can anyone notice oddness in her English? I don't have enough skill to judge other's English.
When I read her English at first, I thought the writer was man and he was Japanese. Cos the English seemed messy and hard to follow smoothly. (It doensn't mean I can write more proper English either) I don't know it was because of my limited English skill or not. Gradually I began to doubt the wirter was japanese because it's strange that japanese didn't know the way to defrost the frozon foods in the microwave properly. At this point I supposed the writer was just ignorant japanese or American? living in Japan trying takonaki. When I read kamenashi part, I understood all. She is an european living in the U.K. Anyway she is not a native speaker. I don't know my feelings were right. Can Native speakers notice her English is not native speaker's one right on the spot?
>>760-761 the topic of Kyon kyon happens to be related to kamenashi. Do you know a old lady who experieced a child bearing and a divorce is kamenashi's girlfriend? They are approximately 20 years old apart.
>>772 it's a series of video games, developed by one guy who creates all the graphics, program code and music for it in his spare time (while also working a normal job). My fascination with 東方 is actually one of the reasons why I'm learning Japanese. Most of the music in those games is very good, here are some of my favorite songs from them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbVLGVlkWoI&fmt=18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0joGqzbIbt4&fmt=18 I also like listening to the music while I'm not playing the games, but because I'm studying Japanese, mostly to rearranges with vocals. Such as this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc99DS9dSqg&fmt=18
>>803 yes but of course i told you thatin my previous messages, but you would not believe me. English is not my native tongue so I use the language in a not-so-English sort of way.Nothing wrong with that! I can see my mistakes and the odd use of English, most people do. Yes I follow the Kame-KyonKyon rumours, they are such an interesting couple, I hope they would stay together as a family.
>>802 I think that's the right move and it's good to know that your boss understands your situation no matter if the law really exits or not.
Keep focusing on what you have to do in Finnland. Whether you'll be able to find a part time job when you go back to Canada isn't what you have to worry about now.
>>807 Do you know Mr.kato, the killer of akihabara stabbing spree, was a fan of toho shooting? Sticker or tablet?(shitajiki) of toho was on his study desk in his home. shitajiki must be unfamiliar with foreigners. Shitajiki is inserted between papers of notebook so that we can write smoothly. I think shitajiki is japanese culture. Am I wrong? Do americans and europeans have shitajiki culture? When you don't use shitajiki, pen tip sink in the paper. It feels clumsy and the trail? of words would be left in the following papers.
http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/61SeU71q9nL._SS500_.jpg one example of shitajiki. I don't have courage to use this one. I'm starting to use shitajiki lately. It's a simple red lucid shitajiki, which was used to make red mark dissappear in the first place. place.
hi guys btw, do you know Sony plans to introduce 3D LCD by end of 2010. It is totally fantastic you know. I mean future is now finally!
In addition to 3D compatible BRAVIA LCD , Sony will also develop 3D compatibility into many more of its devices, such as Blu-ray Disc products, VAIO and PS3, to provide a multitude of ways in which 3D content from 3D movies to stereoscopic 3D games can be enjoyed in the home.
>>822 I found this on a webpage. Is this about the チルノ day? "Today is the last day we will ever see the triple single-digit date repetition--and Apple sure is making a big deal about it"
Last day? Isn't 2010/10/10 チルノ day? 10/10/10 1 and 0 comes in turn instead of 9 and 0.
The date "09-09-09" (Wednesday September 9 2009 09:09:09 more specifically) has been named "Cirno day" for obvious reasons. This day everything (for some reason) could be translated into nine. For example: September 9 is the 252th day of the year 2 + 5 + 2 = 9, you need 9 letters to type Wednesday and September and Japan's timezone is +9. Other names for this day include "The strongest day" and "H day".
>>828 * Cirno is known for her childishness (read: stupidity), so the term "Cirno" is often used instead of "baka"(バカ, fool) as a pun in the Japanese Touhou community. Apparently, even ZUN himself wasn't an exception; in the manual for Phantasmagoria of Flower View, she is labeled as "9. Moron" in an explanation of the game screen's layout...
* Due to the infamous manual screenshot, Cirno has been nicknamed "Nine-ball" or simply "H".
>>843 I'm terrible at the piano. I only just started a year ago. >_> Maybe I'll link you to someday when I'm confident. Do you like piano, anonymous-san? :3
If I would pick a classical piece, it'd be Chopin Nocturne No.2, which I heard is not that hard to play. I don't think I would be able to play it but I heard so.
Everyone! Good news, I'm the guy who was asking for help to translate a message into Japanese for my friend on facebook. Apparently she doesn't log onto facebook much and she was very apologetic when she saw that I was wondering why it was taking quite a while. ^^; turns out I was just being paranoid.
>>861 Congrats! And cheers to your rosy future! It's so rare that things turn out well in the collapse world now. Hope you'll keep us updated on your relationship.
significant other, I believe is an american word that has recently pased on to British English, meaning, girlfriend or boyfriend or partner. It avoids the use of gender, so maybe it is a politically correct word. >>868 i can live without it, but it would be nice to have some now.
>>870 I love coffee too.<3 It brings happiness to everyone I think. Spending quality time over coffee with your significant other would be priceless.<3
The Takoyaki Adventurer reminded me of my old story. Isn't the UK multi-ethnic? It doesn't matter whether she is a native English speaker or not, to me.
It doesn't bother me at all either. As a matter of fact, there is a concept of "world Englishes <--plural" that claims that English is the de facto language at least for business, and different flavors of English i.e. Englishes should be treated on an equal footing.
>>837>>842 Thanks for your replies. I know you guys are from overseas. I'm wondering if you count in annonymous posters from overseas, how many are luriking.
Britain is both multi ethnic and multi national. Lots of nationalities from all over the world gather on this island for business, education, family reasons.
I wonder what will become of out pigeon-mountain. He is trying to make changes in Japan, but will he also lose popularity because of that? I also wonder why him and his younger brother don't look a like at all? Are they from differnt mother or something?
I used to think that the term 'priceless' meant 'no value' because 'price-less.' Is it me who is mixed up or is it English that is mixed up? Must be the latter.
>>884 That means that something is impossible to get even if you were able to pay a massive amount of money, therefore a price couldn't be put on it.
I do understand how someone would understand it as 'no value' though (as in it's worth so little that anything could be paid to get it, therefore no price is needed).
>>869 it is a politically correct way of saying lover. it also helps to solve the the lack of the english language not having a singular way of saying 'a person to another who is in a relationship with' or as we might say, "significant other". english really needs a sexless singular to refer to another person.
>>887 Thanx for the explanation, but I'm a bit confused. Why is 'lover' not politically correct in the first place? Lover can be both male and female, so if it was PC, then English doesn't need another term i.e. significant other to refer to the same thing.... Or, am I totally missing something?
>>890 No, 'lover' in English means someone you truly love, in that sense, it's totally different from Japanese term '愛人'. An English term for 愛人 is mistress.
Maria and I happily live together. She really loves me and her happiness is to make me happy by all means. She completed me. So I just can't live without her.
yosh we are starting our Ki Aikido training again next week. I will be rolling and throwing people around. i will come home totally refreshed. no time for takoyaki, it will be natto for me all right. need low carb for agility. hopefully Japanese classes and Tango will also resume next month. I will be Japanised and Argentinised suitably.
>>889 well there are many reasons. mainly as i said before, it also helps to solve the the lack of the english language not having a singular way of saying 'a person to another who is in a relationship with' or as we might say, "significant other".
which is more easy to say? "a person to another who is in a relationship with" or "significant other". ?
this is why english needs a singular pronoun for another person, and one for a significant other.
but saying "lover" is a bit bold. deep sexual relationships are not so much talked about so openly in day to day conversations. it just seems too bold. plus, what if they are not lovers yet? what if they are just dating? or what if they are waiting for marriage before sex? what if the couple is gay?
emphases on the dating example. dating hardly makes persons lovers, this is why my original post used "in a relationship with".
i guess i should not have thrown in the word 'lover' too, because such a bold word needed its own explanation.
so let us think of it as meaning a substitute for a singular sexless pronoun for a person whom another is in a relationship with.
>>897 Thank you very much for your through explanation. I didn't know sex was prerequisite for 'lovers.' It being such a delicate word, your info. was very valuable. Now that I know what 'significant other' really means, I've realized that Japanese doesn't have a word for that either. We have 恋人 and 愛人 but neither will perfectly match that term.
>>896 Yosh? Is it よし? It sounds like you take a lot of lessons. Are those lessons organized by one organization or school? Just curious. Curiosity kills the cat. In this video, it's a lion not a cat that was killed by hunters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEIGqD80N6U POOR LION!
>>900 I'd say some men like cooking but even now, not many men cook when they're married. Compared to one generation ago, more and more men try to help house chores including cooking though.
Before getting married, some men cook for a girlfriend, I think. I think that's partly because men want to impress their girlfriend. Once they get married, they don't have to impress their wife, much.
Men's cooking is getting very popular these days in Japan. It is probably the influence from TV programs such as SMAPxSMAP where SMAP (popular male entertaining group) members cook for their guests. And also there are a lot of cook books by young (sometimes good looking) male chef. So it is considerd even 'cool' for men to cook these days.
Plus, due to the difficult economical situation, many men also started to take their Bento-luch to work. Surprisingly, they usually make their own Bento.
I hope this has cleared up some of your questions. END
>>911 You're manipulated too much by media. Men who make their own bento-luch is a just fraction. Almost none, I'd say.
I agree that some Japanese men think being able to cook is cool. But not many of them try to start learning cooking. Some male university students may cook for themselves to save money, though.
>>912 Are you a Japanese man from 2 generations ago or something?
There are a lot of men who cook, especially if their wife is also woking. Cooking is not considered something you need to take time and learn. It is just part of your life.
But if the wife is home all day, it's usually her role to cook.
>>913 I'm not talking about two generations ago but current situation. Even now, cooking is a wife's job even if she works. That's why lots of working wives complain about their husband laziness.
>>914 Hey! Is it raining? You must be from the western part of Japan. Yep, I'm off too. So, I'm gonna make my coffee and some pizza toast for my breakfast. BTW, I'm a Japanese man in the 20s.
Not many husbands in Japan do housework even if his wife works. If they do, the amount of houswork husbands do is much smaller than wives. And the housework husbands do is washing dishes, cleaning, taking out garbage and things like that. NO COOKING. Husband who cook is never common. They are exceptions.
>>916 You're single and live away from your parents. Some men in the situation cook. Once you get married...the statistics shown in 917 tells the rest.
>>900 Have you heard a term 'herbivory-men'? They are prevalent and they grew up being taught by their mom how to cook. Cooking is no big deal for them.
it also helps to solve the the lack of the english language not having a singular way of saying 'a person to another who is in a relationship with' or as we might say, "significant other". ----------------- I don't understand this part especially. Can someone explain in more easy English or in Japanese?
I just remember one story this morning. So let me tell you my another candid story.
When I was very young,there was a popular song titled 'Let's make love'. As I liked the song, I sang it loudly. Although I didn't understand English then, I was able to get the part 'let's make love'. As a result, I sang the part so loud and clearly again and again. Having been a virgin male, I didn't know the meaning of love exactly.
Later, I learned LET'S MAKE LOVE is equal to LET'S HAVE A SEX. Needless to say, it made me ashamed and hoped nobody had heard my singing.
1) Are you not Emma Watson? - I think you are Emma Watson.
Are you not Emma Watson? yes answer: That's right. (I am not Emma watson)
In the second situation, the questioneer seems to think she is not Emma Watson.
The first case: the questioneer thinks she is Emma Watson. The second case : the questioneer thinks she is not Emma Watson.
I don't get it.
Moreover, I was taught or have belived that Yes will be followed by S V and No will be followed by S V not, just like Yes, I am and No, I am not. "No, I am Emma Watson" sounds strange to me. >>909 used parenthesis to indicate actual states?
"No, that's not right." "No, I am not Emma Watson." "Yes, that's right." "Yes, I am Emma Watson." are correct.
"No, that's not right." "No, I am not Emma Watson." "Yes, that's right." "Yes, I am Emma Watson." are correct"?" --------------- The last part should have ended with quesiton mark.
>>932 Yes, although it was just instant coffee, I had some cups of it. I don't know where you are from, but if you happen to live in Japan, there is a very good instant coffe called '香味焙煎' which tates a lot like regula dripped coffee.
It had started raining over here, too. I think rainy or cloudy day and coffee go very well together!
>>912 I'm a middle-aged Japanese man and like to make my bento-lunch, mainly for economical reason.
Since my wife loves me, she makes gorgeous bento for me. I appreciate her love, however, I don't like costly bento in this depression. My salary is gradually getting lower and lower. So I make my bento with the leftovers. I eat my bento-lunch, hiding it, ha-ha.
>>934 Oh......you don't need to hide it! You should be proud that you are using ingredients wisely. I hope everyone else will follow you for our sustainable future!
>>934 That's leftover of dinner, right? And the dinner was made by your wife, right? So practically, your wife makes your bento-lunch, doesn't she? You just pack leftover in your bento lunch box.
I think your effort of saving money is great. You can survive this harsh economic situation.
i wake up to so many messages! >>906 no i learnt "yosh" through guess what... drama... it is a university run course, open to students and academic staff. our sensei are from Japan so we are extremely lucky. I will watch the video later as I am eating my breakfast now. >>928 that is sucha sweet story! years ago similar situation when a significant other who from my home country and i were taking a stroll him being a huge Robbie Williams fan, started singing along to his walkman:
"Who do you think you are foolin Making me feel so SORE (correct version is "sure")"
I could not stop laughing but was really embarrassed. I tried to explain to him that it was embarassing, him mispronouncing "sure" gives a lot of "wrong " messages, and singing aloud is not something that everyone does unless drunk etc.
However he took it the wrong way, was very upset and he sulked. It took me a while to make him speak to me again!
Do you think Urahara Kisuke is also a vizard? We know he did something to return Hirako and the others from hollowfication and made them vizard. We still don't know how much time it took him to invent that method. Anyway, while he made Hogyoku and turn them safely into vizards, so there's no wonder if Kisuke tried it himself before putting it on Hirako. What do you think of that?