眺めてるだけなら出会い系は世界レベルが面白い 五ヶ国語しゃべれる女とか 生物学の博士号持ってますとか、結構すごいやつがいる 一方で規格からはみ出てる馬鹿女もいて、それも面白い ちなみに>>227のおばちゃんの現在の住まいは、 Las palmas de gran canaria スペイン領カナリア諸島のラス・パルマル市 この島にはスペイン語で書かれた日本国憲法の碑文がある。 それで日本に興味をいだいたのではないか、と推測する
世界レベルの婚かつサイトは国内と違ってみんな顔さらしてる 20後半ぐらいの超絶美人が、 my english language ability: good male age: I hope 35to70 purpose: marriage comment: I wanna a man to love me and care for me ・・だよ
"information" since 03/05/2010, When you apply for the chat me, compulsory logout is done in my computer. I do not refuse the chat, It is a disorder of the communication environment. The correspondence has already been requested toward the management company. As soon as my communication environment is in order,I will show it here. therefore refrain from the application for the chat till then, please. Thank you for reading. written by "acuvi"
(copy:self-introduction of a some girl) I'm the kind of person who is passionate, patient, generous, optimistic, independent, loyal, God-fearing, and a survivor. I love to teach and inspire others. I'm a single-mother of an adorable 8-year old boy. I had only one boyfriend in the past and no boyfriend for more than 8 years now. I've been independently raising my son for 8 years.
Hobbies and Interests: reading, watching movies, tv series both local and foreign, sleeping, going out with family and friends Favorite Books: Harry Potter books, Da Vinci Code, Twilight Saga, Jurassic Park, John Grisham books, SVH, bestsellers, almanac for kids, informative books and mags Favorite Movies: Harry Potter1-6, LOTR 123, Spiderman123, Ocean's 11-12-13, Pirates of the Carribean123, Mission Impossible 123, Matrix trilogy, Crash, My Sassy Girl, Naked weapon, So Close, Titanic, Edward Scissorhands, Jumanji, OMG so many to mention, plus too many Filipino Movies.. Favorite Music: right now I like the Korean Girl Groups Wonder Girls and 2NE1. love Miley Cyrus and Sarah Geronimo!!! gosh I'm such a kid... Favorite TV Shows: Gossip Girl, Prison Break, Hannah Montana, Sex and the City, Heroes, Ugly Betty, HBO, Oprah, Kris Aquino shows, ABS' soaps and shows
Your profile was very interested for me. From contents of your self-introduction, I feel your honesty and wisdom. I like movie too. Movies that I also have seen in your favorite movies are Ocean 's 11-12-13, Pirates of the Carribean1&3, Mission Impossible, Matrix trilogy, Jumanji, and Da Vinci Code, etc. I did not know The writer named John Grisham, but I retrieved and knew that he is the original writer of "The Pelican Brief". It taught to you ( ^∀^). The Pelican Brief is seen in the movie. That is the one of my favorite movies.
A little addition as my profile. I was a civil servant for about xx years after college. I am retired now. My foreign language ability is not good. I have not used English for xx years or more. Therefore writing sentences has a hard time considerably. The country, the culture, and your and my zzz are different. However, at least we have a common hobby.
Movie. shall we start as pen pal with it ? Of course, it is not necessary all stories are the movie. For example, if you tell me the story of having shopped with your kid today, I can enjoy that tale, too. You and I can learn each other's sense of values, humour and the character etc by casual tales. So. At first,tale of movie. Some movies that there are not your favorite movies list. but I favorite them. such some movies.
ex. the ninth gate(johnny depp), collateral(tom cruise), constantine(Keanu Reeves), men in black1&2, The Bourne trilogy(Matt Damon), the silence of the lambs trilogy, the matchstick men(Nicolas Cage), alien series .... etc If you send me e-mail, it is my pleasure. Of course, it is your judgement. thanks for reading. God will protect you and your kid.
I registered gold member. But, I can not chat. The chat to me from other members and the chat to other members from me. Both is impossible. (only the chat to me from other members were possible at one time. but, it was rare and instable.) When I apply the chat to other members, my personal computer always logs out automatically. I took all methods written in your "help". But, I cannot chat yet. I'm very dissatisfied. Tell me if there are other methods except methods written in your "help".
"Information. Update March/10/2010" About trouble of the chat. The fundamental solution is not done yet. The application from me to you is not connected. However, the application from you to me might sometimes be connected. Therefore, I withdraw my wish that have asked you to refrain from the application for the chat since March 5. Chat is OK. However, I hope that you recognize the connection is not done or stable. I will wait for the access from the woman who has "Lady's heart". Thanks for reading.
Dear Macy. This is my second message to you. Do you angry for me? Sorry. But I do not understand this device yet. Japanese yahoo massenger and Philiphine's one are different. maybe. so, I could not sent the mail you in Japanese ym. This message is sent from my yahoo philiphine login site. I pray you accept this message. sincerely yours.
Dear robert. Did u get good friends in Asia or in Japan? If u have already gotten, I am not neccessay for u. Because, my English language ability is no good. I can read and write English some degree. But, I can not speak well and can not follow what u say. these are the brilliant result of Japanese foreign language education. I am Japanese. and I like reading books about my own country's history. so, I think that I have some more knowledge than average Japaneses. that's all. just that. If u demmand me something more than that, u will be disappointed. you should seek someone except me.
u return me the mail, or not. It is up to you. sincerely yours. JJ from tokyo Japan (21Mar2010)
Hello xxx. I read your profile. and I am interested in you are Buddist, and teacing now in Japan. As u know, Japanese Buddism is different from the original one. Japanese Buddism has been transformed for long times from when that religion was imported in this island at the ancient time. What in Buddism did u feel attractive, and Why did u become a Buddist? I wanna to know. Next, now u r teaching in Japan. Before my retirement, I was a civil official for about 20years. and I have worked in Japanese educational institusion for 6years. at that time, I felt that present Japanese educatin is no good. those are, for example, educational system or teachers' neutrality of ideology etc. If you have some questions as a teacher about present Japanese education, I hope that u tell me.
Hello Miyu You r sexy & funny woman for me. I will be disqualified as ur boyfriend, but may be able to make progress ur Japanese language ability. as ur private teacher. if u want. I have gotten yahoo account in United States & in Japan, and I want to see more many ur pictures.
my address is... (1) [email protected] This is when we chat. (2) [email protected] This is my main address. I check here every day. If u send me the mail & pictures, this address is better than (1).
The other information. Rapid City & Tokyo have about 15hours time lag. That means when u r in some day's night, I am in the next day's afternoon.
That's all. Now, it is up to you. take care. JJ from Tokyo Japan at 01:00 23 Mar 2010
(copy-498403) I am a ladyboy is also known that shemale or newhalf I have a cheerful temperament. Fun. Diligent. Intended learning and working. I do not like the lying fraud. Not like men flirt. I love nature. Sky. Sea. Mt. Tree. At home, my garden has many trees, flowers and various federations. I believe in the love of many. Because love makes the world beautiful. Now I'm learning to Phetchabun Rajabhat University. Revolutionary. English branch. I hope to find a few good men who. Seeking Cute. Good habits. Feel good. Diligent. Accidentally running. Not flirt. Not overbearing. Pleasure. Fun. Humorous. As themselves. Do not flirt. To focus on a pair and love. Your family has accepted me. And is as strong and well-being. Function works well, and some remain. A charity. Handedness. If I have troubles or problems in life. You can help me at all. And I love most in the world. Others.
Hello 497412 I know i am out of your seeking range. But, let me tell only one matter. Your Japanese language ability is very good or more. Japanese sentences of your "member's overview". Did you really write those by yourself? If you wrote, you are already Japanese language specialist. There is only one mistake. But, it is a bit and is not a problem at all. It will be difficult to write those sentences even the Japanese. I guess so. Especially, the last one sentence is excellent. you understand how to use Japanese rhetoric. The mail to me is not necessary. I wish your success in Japan. take care. (not used)
Dear Margie. I'm sorry. I can not send "ikura" to you. At first, I ordered salmon roe (it is called "ikura" as Japanese) and cod roe in Japan. Because, cod roe spaghetti is also very popular food in Japan. Then I examined how to send those to you. At that time, I knew that they are import prohibition commodities in UK. Perishable foods. Meat. Eggs. Fishes. etc. UK does not permit individual's import about these foods. Only fish meat seems be able to send to UK from other countries. But, it is necessary to pass some severe conditions. And all roe is not permitted to import. I'm sorry for being not able to send "ikura" to you.
Hello Carina. You are right. You are not necessary getting gold membership. It will spoil ur money&time. I have been gold membership for a month. but it will expire in this week. I won't renew it. So, I'll be back standard membership. (not finished)
One of reasons I am interested in you is your opinion about religion. You say, "do not worry. I do not mind ur religion". You may not know that many Japaneses feel strange a litlle this ur remark. Because many Japaneses have no religion in themselves and they do not mind other people's religion. Except cult religion. Majority of Japaneses are not interested in religion. for themselves and the others. This fact shows that many Japaneses are domestic existences. Because if they stay in Japan, they are not necessary to mind religion.
If you do not understand my writing, I am sorry. My foreign language ability is no good.
If you are interested in me, we can send the mail each other. By exchanging each other's e-mail address in this week. Even if I will be back standard membership. But, it is up to you.
Thx for reading my unskilful sentences. take care. JJ from Tokyo Japan
Subject: RE: Did u get ? Date: 21-Mar-2010 ( 8 days ago ) Hello JJ I don't know anyone in Japan, which is why I joined this site. I do know quite a lot of people in China - I wouldn't necessarily call them friends, but they were all students of mine for five months. And your English is fine. A million times better than my Japanese, which is nill, despite the fact that I live in a neighborhood with the Japanese school of Brussels. I see those kids go to school every day. My interest in your country - and especially the people, is recent. But it is up to you.. I could certainly understand if you said "no, correspondence with a westerner doesn't interest me". Thanks for writing anyway. Take care Robert
Dear Margie. I'm sorry. I can not send u "ikura". At first, I ordered salmon roe (it is called "ikura" as Japanese) and cod roe in Japan. And I examined how to send those. Until that time, I did not know that they are import prohibition commodities in UK. Perishable foods. Meat. Eggs. Fishes. etc. UK does not permit individual's import about these foods. Only fish meat seems be able to send to UK from the other countries. But, it is necessary to pass some severe conditions. And UK does not permit individual's import about all roe. I'm sorry for being not able to send "ikura" to you.
(345's paust) Dear robert. Did u get good friends in Asia or in Japan? If u have already gotten, I am not neccessay for u. Because, my English language ability is no good. I can read and write English some degree. But, I can not speak well and can not follow what u say. these are the brilliant result of Japanese foreign language education. I am Japanese. and I like reading books about my own country's history. so, I think that I have some more knowledge than average Japaneses. that's all. just that. If u demmand me something more than that, u will be disappointed. you should seek someone except me. u return me the mail, or not. It is up to you. sincerely yours. JJ from tokyo Japan (21Mar2010)
(395's paste) Subject: RE: Did u get ? Date: 21-Mar-2010 ( 8 days ago ) Hello JJ I don't know anyone in Japan, which is why I joined this site. I do know quite a lot of people in China - I wouldn't necessarily call them friends, but they were all students of mine for five months. And your English is fine. A million times better than my Japanese, which is nill, despite the fact that I live in a neighborhood with the Japanese school of Brussels. I see those kids go to school every day. My interest in your country - and especially the people, is recent. But it is up to you.. I could certainly understand if you said "no, correspondence with a westerner doesn't interest me". Thanks for writing anyway. Take care Robert
Hello robert At first, thank u for replying to my mail. I have sent eight mails to other members for now. Half of them are no answer. And half of answers are not honesty.
As you pointed, I am not too positive in the exchange with the foreigner. However, your understanding is a little wrong. I am interested in it.
I will rewrite my intention. I found onr foreigner. He is interested in Asia. What aspect of Asia is he intersted? Can I help him? well...I will send him the mail. BUt, I should tell him that my knowledge and English ability are not so good. If he have already obtained some persons who have good ability, I will withdraw. Because I am not good.
so, i wrote "it is up to you". and, you returned me the same sentence. If both are not too positive, it is over. I thought so and stopped. but now I seem like wasteful to let leave this chance. so, I send the mail again as this. but i cannot find the first step to communication with you. so, i write topics which are interested, favorite or somehow feeling for me i will write selfishly at my easy time. and I send u. when you read them, you return or not, it is up to u. when on side is tired or both sides are tired, it will be over.
Then one tale which i am interested in ur reply. u said, "many Chinese were my students. and many Japanese children are passing in front of me". I somehow feel the difference of Japan and China. China studies and Japan passes. I think China is the threat for Japan. China is aiming the supremacy in Asia now, and when it is done, China will aim forward the world supremacy. In the process, Japan will be backward. maybe.
you may read only. return or not. "It is up to you" (^-^)
Hello robert At first, thank you for replying to my mail. I have been sending eight mails to other members in this site for 3weeks. Half of them did not reply. And half of answers were not honest.
As you said, I am not too positive in the communication with the foreigner. However, your understanding is a little wrong. I am not too positive. But I am interested in it. I try to rewrite my intention.
Some day, I find one foreigner in some site which I have the membership. He says "I am interested in Asia". What aspect of Asia is he interested in? or can I help him? well...I will try to send him the mail. However, at first I should tell him that my knowledge of Asia and my English ability are not so good. And if he have already obtained some persons who have good ability, I will withdraw.
That is why I wrote "it is up to you" in my mail. Then you returned me the same sentence in your mail. If both are not too positive, it is over. Then I thought so. But now I seem like wasteful to let leave this chance. That's why I send you the mail like this.
I write something for the time being in English at my easy time. And I send you those. Well, at first, about the part which I am interested in your reply. you said in your mail, "many Chinese were my students. and many Japanese children are passing in front of me". Somehow I feel the difference of Japan and China in your words. Chinese studies and Japanese passes. I think China is the threat for Japan, even if the present prime minister Hatoyama says "no, Cina is never the threat for Japan". China is aiming the supremacy in Asia now, and when it is done, China will aim forward the world supremacy. In that process, Japan will be backward. maybe.
Hello JJ That is an interesting note you sent. I don't see China a threat. I've read quite a lot of history - by training I am a historian - and the people of the Middle Kingdom have never shown much interest in other nations except maybe Tibet. And you could argue that that was always Chinese in the first place. But politics aside, I have a lot of contact with the people of that country and find them friendly and not very warlike. Economically Chin is rapidly becoming a superpower, but that is problem Japan, Europe and the US will all have to deal with. Their economy is simply growing too fast.
In the west we get quite a lot of TV programs about Japan, also Japanese movies and there is a big Japanese population in Brussels. I like watching the children going to school. They wear uniforms until the age of 12, I guess, and the boys are probably stronger than Belgian kids, because they wear shorts throghout the year.
But please tell me what you find threatening about China that is so different from the way Europe is turning into a 'fortress', keeping foreigners out (mostly from north Africa, places like Morocco and Algeria). My problem with the world at the moment is Islam and its extremism, not China's rapid growth. But you live closer to them and have a longer shared history, so maybe you can tell me things I don't know. If so, I hope to hear from you Take care With love Robert
Dear Robert. Thank you for sending me the mail. Most of Chineses are friendly and not warlike. The problem with the world at the moment is Islam and its extremism. I agree with you about them. However, I doubt that the growth of China is only an economical problem and it is no political threat. I think that the economic growth of China is gospel for the capitalism world, and it is the temptation of "Lucifer" too.
I want to talk a little about my daily life. I live in Tokyo. As you know, it is capital of Japan. A lot of foreigners also live there. I often buy my lunch in South Korean's shop recently. They and I are in friendly and good relation. I often shop in the supermarket. Persons in charge of the cash register are Japanese, Chinese, and uncommonly Turk. I often see Caucasians are walking. The woman of Islam that holds a baby in her arms might be seen. They are familiar with life in Japan. Even if I have no talking with them, we are in good relationship.
I want to talk a little about my daily life. I live in Tokyo. As you know, it is capital of Japan. A lot of foreigners also live there. I often buy my lunch in South Korean's shop recently. They and I are in friendly and good relation. I often shop in the supermarket. Persons in charge of the cash register are Japanese, Chinese, and uncommonly Turk. I often see Caucasians are walking. I have also seen a woman of Islam that holds a baby in her arms. All of them become familiar with life in Japan. Even if we have not talked, we are in good relationship.
However, I think that the relation of persons and the relation of nations are different problems. I will be able to become intimate with the Chinese or the Korean as long as they are friendly. Of course, with the Belgian too. (^^) But China as the nation is not my favorite nation. Why? I want to describe some the reasons.
(1)China is a nuclear power. It has nuclear missiles besides conventional weapons. Moreover, it also has the aircraft carrier. Nuclear missiles and the aircraft carrier. They are weapons to attack other countries. They are not for the defense. And, Chinese nuclear missiles' aims are "Japan". In this situation, why can the Prime Minister in present Japan say, "China is not a threat for Japan"? I do not understand.
(2)The human-right violation problem to the Tibet people in China is famous in the world. But it is not an exception. China has been doing similar violation to domestic Uighur people and Mongolia people. For example, after the second world war, the Chinese government has been executed the nuclear test in the Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region. 40 times or more. A lot of Uighur people died. The mass media had not positively reported it. So, this fact is not so known. I guess that many Chinese also do not know this fact. Because the Chinese government has not told national people about this fact.
You said, "the people of the Middle Kingdom have never shown much interest in other nations except maybe Tibet". Perhaps I shouldn't say so, but I think this understanding is wrong. If you recognize Tibet as "other nation", you should recognize Uighur and Inner Mongolia as "other nations" too. I think so.
(3)Two years ago, one puppet government was made in the south of Tibet. It is Nepal. The pro-chinese political power abolished Nepal Royal Family. This way is the same as the United States. US has been making a pro-american puppet government in Latin America. I think that China is studying the world strategy from the United States or the Soviet Union. If "Pax Americana" will end in the near future, China may try to aim "Pax China". I think so. At least I may be able to say as follows. The Chinese government knows enough that potentially occupying other countries by non-military method is more effective than using military method.
I think that present China is similar to the Soviet Union. China is the multiethnic nation and the socialist state. It is the same as the Soviet Union. That big body is kept by strong political power. Establishment that corresponds to "Red aristocrat" of the Soviet Union exists in China too. So to speak, China is the Soviet Union which exists in Asia. Will China become "Russia" in the future? Or will it become the world state like the Soviet Union under the cold war? I do not understand. But, it is still "threat". Because I live near such a nation. I pray that Tokyo not become like Praha under the cold war at 1968. But...oh dear, I think that such a possibility is considerably low.(^^)
Thank you for reading until the last. Sincerely yours. JJ
Hello JJ I have read your long reply about China. I agree with some of it. But look at what happened to the Soviet Union - a country I know well. I have lived there and my father was born there, My membership in this site expires soon. Will you send me your e-mail address so we can continue to communicate? You have mine, I think. but here there are two [email protected] or [email protected] Hope to hear from you soon. I am interested in your comment about being intimate with white people. Love Robert
Dear Robert My gold membership will expire soon, too. Maybe....next Monday. I will not renew it as well as you. Your and my gold membership. They are only one month. Then, we met. Providence? Synchronicity? I do not understand. But, I think it was lucky anyway.
Dear Robert I do not think that that site is so good. The management company misappropriates members' individual information. Many ghost members who do not exist actually. Fake pics. Fake ages. Trying to steal the other member's information...etc. However, it was helpful to spread my vision. Because I could recognize agin about the difference of the culture of the West and the Orient(especially Japan). For example, Japaneses say, "I am honest" or "I am kind". But, they do not say, "I am intellectual" or "I am very attractive". The method of the appeal is different. "Another half" "god fearing" "the right one" ・・・ The Japanese does not use such a mode of expression. To begin with, there is not item "Religion" in the profile in Japan. Because the Japanese majority is "no religion".
(adjustment>>455-456) Dear robert. My gold membership will expire soon, too. And I will not renew it as well as you. I think it was lucky to be able to meet you for only one month.
I do not think that that site is so good. The management company has been misappropriating the members' individual information. Anh many ghost members exist in that site. Fake pics. Fake ages. Trying to steal the other member's information...etc. However, it was helpful to spread my vision. Because I could recognize agin about the difference of the culture of the West and the Orient(especially Japan).
For example, Japaneses say, "I am very honest" or "I am very calm". But, they do not say, "I am very intellectual" or "I am very attractive". The method of the appeal is different. The other examples.... (1)"I lookinfg for life partner. He must be such and such..." Many Japaneses avoid such a expression. Because they feel the expression of "must" is too hard. It is not suitable for Japanese emotion. Maybe, many Japaneses will choice the expression like "I hope someone who is such and such...". (2)"I am looking for another half" I knew this Paton's comparison at my high school time. It was xx years ago or more. But, it is not "common sense" in Japan. It is rare to use this comparison.
(3)"I am a god fearing woman (or man)" This is Christian original expression. So, this is often used in Philipines where is a Christian country in Asia. In Japan, there is the expression like "that behavior is not fear God". Of course, this expression includes criticism to that person. And "God" in this expression is not Jesus Christ. Japan is a Polytheism country. To begin with, there is not item "Religion" in the profile in Japan. The Japanese majority is not interested in religion so much.
Hello JJ Now that I know which address you want to use I would like to start again. And leave politics aside for the moment. First I should clear up a point. I am not Belgian. I live there but I am Canadian, from a city in the prairies. My principal job is simultaneous interpreting for the EU but I also teach TEFL (English as a foreign language. I came to Belgium in 1982, with my mother who was then living in Scotland. My wife died when I was still quite young and my son and his family live in Canada.
Here, I share a house with a Greek colleague, also a linguist, who works as a staff translator for the European Union. We recently moved to a very large house in a nice part of the city and are still trying to find our way around. Since there is no public transport here, I have to get used to driving to work again. In the previous house I lived 200 steps away from the metro, but there is only a bus in this neighborhood, that doesn't go very often and takes a long time.
I did send you some pictures of myself in a previous message. Did you get them? And if so, could you send me one of yourself, so that I know what you look like and whom I am corresponding with? You told me about the multi-racial side of Tokyo. I have only been there once, for work, and only for a few days, so I don't remember much except that the staff in the hotel were very friendly and handsome. In my spare time I read a lot, play the cello, go for walks and also like to watch movies. And recently the TV here has been broadcasting Japanese films. I can't remember the title in Japanese, but the last one I saw - and you probably know it; the director was apparently quite famous in Japan - was about Samurai warriors around 1854. A kind of love story, with beautiful cinematography.
Today is the beginning of the Easter holiday. We have house guests coming from Holland and France, so I better stop here and hope that this notes finds you in good health and a good mood. I hope to hear from you when you have the time and feel like writing. With love Robert
Dear robert. Sorry, I did not read your nationality in your profile at first time. When you told me your e-mail address, I noticed my misunderstanding. Because the end of your e-mail address is "ca". Then, I look your profile again more carefully and knew it. Even so....well....you are a true international person, aren't you? I don't know so much. But, your family name, karthaus. I seem like this name is German. Your father were born in Russia. You also have lived in that nation. Your mother has lived in Scotland. Your nationality is Canada. And you have been living in Belgiam for a quarter century or more. Language teacher who can use five languages, simultaneous interpreter, the staff of EU, and...a historican. I am shameful that myself is too domestic. I am an ordinary Japanese. I like reading books of history, but it is just one of my hobbies.
However...well...even if you are an intellectual westerner and have been experiencing so many matters, you have not connected with Asians (especially Japaneses) so much, have you? So, if the communication with me can helpful for your vision of Asia, it is my pleasure.
Some questions. At first, I did not accept any pics from you. You say,"I sent you my pics in a previous message". Which address did you send? [email protected]? or [email protected]? The last message which I accepted from you in "[email protected]" is the beginning of "this is a good work". And tha last one which I accepted from you in "[email protected]" is "Now that I know which address you want to use".
Anyway, I will send you my pics with this mail. picture No.1 It is "my wife". picture No.2 It's me. And... picture No.3 is "me & my wife".(^^)v
Tell me. How do you think about this joke? You are the fourth person who I say this joke. I have said three women this joke, but no response at all. (ノД`) Is that reason the cultural difference of humour? Or is this joke itself boring? please teach me.
Dear robert. Sorry, I did not read your nationality in your profile at first time. When you told me your e-mail address, I noticed my misunderstanding. Because the end of your e-mail address is "ca". Then, I look your profile again more carefully and knew it.
Well....you are a true international person. Your father were born in Russia. You also have lived in that nation. Your mother has lived in Scotland. Your nationality is Canada. And you have been living in Belgium for a quarter century or more. I don't know so much about the naming. But, your family name, karthaus. I seem like this name is German. Language teacher who can use five languages, simultaneous interpreter, the staff of EU, and...a historian. I am shameful a little that I am too domestic.
I am an ordinary Japanese. I like reading books of history, but it is just one of my hobbies. You are an intellectual westerner and have been experiencing so much. If the communication with me can be helpful for your thought of Asia, it is my pleasure and honor.
One question. I have not accepted any pics from you for now. You said,"I sent you my pics in a previous message". Which address did you send? [email protected]? or [email protected]? The last message which I accepted from you in "[email protected]" is the beginning of "this is a good work". And the last one which I accepted from you in "[email protected]" is "Now that I know which address you want to use". I have not accepted your pics in either address.
Anyway, I will send you my pics with this mail. picture 1 is "my wife". picture 2 is me. And... picture 3 is "me & my wife".(^^)v Tell me. How do you think about this joke? You are the fourth person who I used this joke. but, no response at all for now. (ノД`) Is that reason the cultural difference of humour? Or is this joke itself too dull? please teach me. I should tell you about my family too, but it may become a long tale. So, I wanna talk about it at the another time. Thank you for reading. Sincerely yours JJ from Tokyo PS. Is the title of that Japanese film "Last Samurai"? If so...oh, I fear that.(^^)
Hello Margie. How are you? I'm sorry I haven't contacted you for such a long time. At our last chat, I told you that I sent you two mails. One is the mail attached my photos and the another mail is a letter of apology which I cannot send you "ikura". But, you said, "I did not accept any mail from you". I guess that my Japanese yahoo address is not comfortable for oversea communication. So, I try to send you the same mails again from the my United States yahoo address. These are copy pastes of original mails. For confirmation, I send these with first sending date. My gold membership in that site will expire soon. Then, we won't be able to communicate in that site. I wanna secure the stable communication method for us. If you accepted this mail, will you reply to me? "I accepted yours". Even only that, I am okay.
Sincerely yours JJ fron Tokyo (12:30 3Apr2010 at Tokyo time)
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:15:01 +0900 (JST) From: "xx xx" <[email protected]> アドレスブックに追加 Subject: sorry To: [email protected] Dear Margie. I'm sorry. I can not send u "ikura". At first, I ordered salmon roe (it is called "ikura" as Japanese) and cod roe in Japan. And I examined how to send those. Until that time, I did not know that they are import prohibition commodities in UK. Perishable foods. Meat. Eggs. Fishes. etc. UK does not permit individual's import about these foods. Only fish meat seems be able to send to UK from the other countries. But, it is necessary to pass some severe conditions. And UK does not permit individual's import about all roe. Sorry for being not able to send "ikura" to you.
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:20:22 +0900 (JST) From: "xx xx" <[email protected]> アドレスブックに追加 Subject: This is JJ. I send u my pictures. To: [email protected] Hello margie. thank u for talking with me at last night. I send u two pics. One pic is me, and the another is "my wife". ....a joke(;^▽^)
Let's chat again, if u want. take care. JJ from TKY JPN
Dear JJ This time I'll start at the end before I forget the name of the director. No, the film was not called 'Last Samurai' - which I have never seen. It is with a popular American Actor Tom Cruise, who is pretty but not very good. No, the movie was called 'Gohatto' by Nagisa Oshima. I admit I had to look it up. I like the pictures of you and your 'wife'. And don't worry; I got the joke, . And I like animals too. When I have more time I plan to get a dog.
There is nothing extraordinary about me. Many interpreters have my kind of background. We have one thing in common: I did my doctorate in history. Military history related to the Soviet involvement in the last war. I am less interested in that period now, but when I was young and spent 4 months in Siberia to improve my Russian, I read a textbook that was used in Russian schools. It was mostly clever propaganda. They did not really tell lies, but by cleverly arranging 'facts' - or leaving them out, it is possible to distort history and give the wrong impression. Now, many years later, I think that writing an objective historical account is not possible.
Today is Easter Saturday and an important day in the western calendar. We have house guests coming for the weekend and our neighbor - an elderly Greek lady, is also joing us for dinner. We moved to the house I now live in a few months ago and are still trying to organize it properly, but it is a nice place, big with lots of room for guests. The only disadvantage is that there is no easy public transport nearby, so I have to use a car to go to work. I don't remember what the traffic was like in Tokyo - I wasn't there long enough to notice - but Brussels was not built for automobiles. It is a city of only one million people and made to walk, not drive. You say that you didn't get any pictures. I'll try to attach a few here.
The first one is me teaching, a month ago. The second me as a young man and the third with a female friend at a dance. The lady in question is a famous Italian harpist. I used to study with her, but we gave up lessons and became good friends instead. As you can see, I am wearing the kilt, Scotland's national costume. I don't play the harp any more but started with the cello about three years ago. It isn't going very well; a very difficult instrument. I gave my last harp concert three years ago and then stopped and donated the instrument to the conservatory here. I didn't have time to play and a harp needs to be played! And that, JJ, is it for now. Have you have a good weekend and I hope this letter is what you were expecting. With love Robert
This time, I will tell you about the traffic of Tokyo (and including the housing situation). As you know, 10 million or more people are living in Tokyo. This city is really the political and economic heart of Japan. Therefore, many traffic methods exists like a cobweb. The train, the subway, the bus, and the car ...etc. So, in commuting time, this city is covered by noise. The main commuting method is train or subway. Automobile commuting is the minority. I do not have even the license of the car. Of course my case is rare. A lot of people are the people who are called "paper driver" in Japanized English. They have the license, but have not experienced driving the car for a long time, or they do not own the car itself for a long time. such a person is called "paper driver".
Dear Robert. Did you have a good Easter? Though I am not a Christian, I have known Easter is a holy day in the Christianity. Because "Easter" is translated as "revival festival (or the Resurrection feast)" in Japanese. So, even if I am not a Christian, I can guess what Easter means in the Christianity. Anyway, I hope you have spent a good time in the holy day.
Let me advise to you. I think that you should seek your right one not in Japan but in the western nations. When we chatted, you were angry at last. And you said, "Today is a holy day. I believe in God. So, I chatted with you. " Most of Japanese will not understand what you say. Because most of Japaneses are not Christian, so they do not know Easter. I have known by chance. because my european friend told me about that holy day. Even if you can speak Japanese, your thought is staying within Christian common sense. That is the reason that you should seek your lover in the western world.
You are not neccessary to reply to me. Even if you reply to me, I cannot read it. Because, when your reply comes to me, my membership already will expire. I pray that you meet a good person. God be with you. Take care.
About the movie which you told me. Of course I know "Nagisa Oshima". He is a very famous movie director. But, I did not know "Gohhato". So, soon after reading your mail, I ordered the DVD of the movie in the internet movie shop. Because I think that that movie is worth to watch. Thank you for teaching.(^^)
(未整理分) A lot of people are the driver in name onlys There is a housing situation of Tokyo besides the car is not necessaries of life because public transportation develops, too. It is likely to pass if it sees actually from the Europe and America people though the Europe and America people in old times has ridiculed in case of "Rabbit hutch" the house in Japan ..that... The house like the matchbox is tightly equal even if it is said my home and it overflows in Tokyo. This means land is very expensive in Tokyo. There is my house, and is space only to put the car on the house. It will be able to be said it is very affluent if it is Tokyo however that much.
(未整理分)part2 For instance, it is assumed that the parking space of the car was done in the rental in the central area of Tokyo of Tokyo. No matter how it is cheap, the rental fee might not have what falls below 400 Euro in the monthly sum. Only one small room in a small apartment is owned besides home in me, the rents are about 400 Euro in the monthly sum as for it though a young man is done the rental. It is a same amount.
(reply to >>493) who cares about your advice?? i marry where ever i want as i am rich not a poor Romanian. i am having alrady a Japanese boy friend so we plan to marry this year, so how that??you are just hiding because you are not seriouse person , a seriouse pesron will have a pic on..so just leave me alone... you talk about god.???!!!!!!!!!come on good bye
Dear robert. Did you have a good Easter Sunday? I hope so. I have known that Easter in Christian world is a famous event. But, I have not known well. I examined a litlle and knew that Easter is a moving holy day and it seems like the oldest event in Christianity. In Japan, the most famous Christian event is absolutely "Christmas". In other words, Chritian events except Christmas have not been known well in Japan. But, I think Easter is ..well..known. Easter is translated as "revival festival" in Japanese. When the people see that trnslated words, even if they do not understand very well about Christianity, They will be able to imagine the religious meaning of Easter. Don't you think that this translation is good?
"Don't talk about politics and religions at dinner". I have heard there is such a saying in western world. It has been a long time ago. I forgot the conclusion of this saying. "Such a talking spoils a dinner" or "Such a talking leads to a quarrel". I guess that the conclusion is maybe such a feeling. When I criticized Chinese political stance, you said "well, put aside the political topics on the moment, ok?". At that time, I thought that your suggestion is nice. But, now, I am trying to talk about religon. Forgive me. Well, but, this is about general and average view of religion in Japan. So, read in relaxing please.
I do not know well, but is Japan recognized as Buddism nation in western world? Well...it is true in one side, but it is not all. For example, if you ask some Japanese "what religion do you believe in?", most of them will response "I have no religion" or "I especially believe in nothing". If they frankly responsed, most responses are so. me too. That does not mean that Japaneses are against religions or God. That means that they accept all religions. God too. Or Gods too. Generaly, when the Japanese built my house, he prays the safety in the mode of sintoism. And, when they marrige, they choice the mode of Christianity or the mode of Sintoism. And, when they die, generally, they are buried in the mode of Buddism.
In the view of pious Christian, their deeds may be seen as insane acts. But, above-mentioned deeds are usual. at least in Japan. (-----) PS. About the movie which you told me. Of course I know "Nagisa Oshima". He is a very famous movie director. But, I did not know "Gohhato". So, soon after reading your mail, I ordered the DVD of the movie in the internet movie shop. Thank you for teaching me.(^^)
(----) About the reason why such acts are done without contradiction : I think that the Japanese including me are accepting Shintoism, the Buddhism and the Christianity as not a religion but as a style. If it is not a religion but a style, we can change in feelings at that time. Therefore, this wedding should be done by Shintoism or should be done by the Christianity, it is possible to talk such a problem at tea time. But, that does not mean that the Japanese doesn't believe in the supreme being. Of course there are complete atheists, too. However, a lot of Japanese are feeling the supreme being unconsciously. But, they avoid to choice as their religion a specific religion. I feel so as one ordinary Japanese.
Sorry for talking the strange thing. I was going to talk about my house or the traffic of Tokyo. At next time, I will talk them. Sincerely yours. JJ
That's it. ....What? Well,well,well...I am surprised by myself. Because my life is too simple. Well, if more saying in detail, there are some interesting topics too. For example, my mother have had two names as first name. And I also have the hidden family name. Such a topic. I will talk about those at some other time. Sincerely yours JJ
↑没。↓のほうがまだマシ。 I am surprised by myself now. Because I was renoticed by writing that my life is too simple. But I am prefer to easy going life rather than hard working life. Therefore, well, I think that my life style is not so bad. That is it for now. See you again. Sincerely yours JJ
Dear JJ I am sorry I haven't been able to write back more quickly. I am going to give a set of lectures in various Chinese cities in ten days and I am not ready... This is a funny story; the whole thing happened though a former student of mine who had talked about her experience with me in Brussels to her professor. The gentleman in question then sent me a letter inviting me to go to Lanzhou and Qinghai, all expenses paid! So of course I am going. I did see a little of the country last year when I went for five weeks. This time I can only go for two weeks. I still have to teach when I get back. They want me to talk to various universities and colleges about simultaneous interpreting. I am not sure that there is much to say, but I'll make it up. I can always talk about my own experiences with people like Gorbachev and Mandela or the English Queen. But that is not what you want to hear.
Thank you for telling me about your life in Tokyo and the company you keep - your cat and your father. Of course I am interested! I often call myself a 'people tourist'. I am not that interested in buildings, but I am fascinated by people. Driving in Brussels is just as crazy as in Tokyo from what you tell me. Until we moved to this new house I never used the car, but went to work by underground, which is quicker and easier on the nerves. But where we live now, there is nothing, so I have to drive. I arranged work in such a way that I avoid the traffic rush in the morning and don't start teaching until 10 AM when most people are at work already.
In an earlier letter you mentioned religion. We have a saying in the west; at dinner you don't discuss politics, money or religion. Of course outside dinner hours you can discuss anything you want. I believe in Being Greater than myself, whatever name you want to use. God is one, but there are others. I also believe that religion should stay at home and kept off the street. Most of the wars in Europe in the past and now in the Middle East are fought because of religion, at least that is what the militants claim. I don't know much about Taoism, Buddhims or other eastern religions but on the whole they seem less 'violent' than the current version of Islam or what Christianity did to the rest of mankind in the past.
As somebody once said as a joke: " religion, like sex, should be practised in private between consenting adults". And not 'judging' is important to me. I prefer to accept people as they are. I don't want to change people's behavior if they are happy with their lives. The only time I am tempted to intervene is when it comes to education, which I find the most important thing in our lives. But education is really only helping others to make judgements about what they want or don't want. You can't make judgements - or choices - unless you know what the options are, so it is important to expose young people to a wide range of subjects. Education is learning how to live, not learning how to make a living. The second is easy. Anyone can do it. But to lead a 'good' life is not that simple.
I know a lot of not very happy people. They hate their jobs, they don't like their wife or husband and sometimes I think they don't like themselves very much. Good heavens, I do go on... Sorry about this. I am sure this is not the kind of letter you had hoped for. If I am a little slow answering your mail you now know why: I have to prepare for this trip. They are paying for it after all, so I should give it the best I have. Keep well, hope to hear from you more with love
Dear robert. Please don't mind about being late for replying to me. I know you are busy at work. The lecture in various Chinese cities. I also think it is a very interesting and worthwhile job. It may be presumptuous of me, but I think that you and me are friends. So, take our communication easy. After your working, if you tell me about your experience in China, it will be my pleasure too.
Impressive sentences "I also believe that religion should stay at home and kept off the street." "Eastern religions seem less 'violent' than the current version of Islam or what Christianity did to the rest of mankind in the past."
Well, at this time I will tell about myself. However, as I already told, I am an ordinary Japanese. So, there is no dramatic event in my life. maybe rather boring. Is that okay? ^-^ My real name is "shuji domoto". I was born in Tokyo, and have been growing there. After college, I have worked as Tokyo government employee for xx years. But, I ruined my health at xx years ago and retired. It was too early retirement. After retirement I have been getting the income by money investment and speculation. But, as the other income, I have been getting rent income as the "room lord(?)". Because the income by money speculation is very unstable.
My mother was dead about xx years ago. After then, I have left for a long time from my parents' home. However, my old father became sick and there were nobody to take care of father excluding me. So, I have returned my parents' house to take care of him with "my wife". Wow...I am surprised by myself now. Because my life is too simple. But, well, I think that my present life style is not so bad.
Dear robert When you are reading this letter, are you in Belgium? Or in China? Anyway I hope that you read this letter for your rest. Some days ago, I watched the film "Gohhato" which you had told me before. I will tell you honestly. When I watched it for the first time, I seemed it is tedious. Who killed who? What is this ending? I did not understand at all. But, while I have been watching many times repeatedly, it became familiar with that world for me. And I have been able to feel something by the skin sensibility. Even now, I cannot understand it. But, I can feel it. I think that is okay.
Dear JJ It is Saturday morning now. I usually get up very early, 6 AM or even earlier. I love to see the sun come up and hear the birds sing in the garden before all the traffic noise drowns them out. It is also a good time answer e-mails, do a little thinking... And a week from now I'll be in Beijing. I don't know if you have ever been to it. It is a very impressive city, and much nicer in my view than Shanghai, which I didn't like at all. Too western, a little hysterical and very expensive, especially for the locals. Wages in most of China are not very high as far as I could tell.
You ask me about simultaneous interpreting and what happens to the brain. You use both 'hemispheres' of the brain instead of only one. That is probably whey interpreters don't easily get Alzheimer's disease. But it sounds more difficult than it really is. After a while working becomes automatic and one only has to concetrate hard with difficult speeches, usually if the speaker reads something out. Doing that is practically impossible. It has nothing to to with speed, but a written text is structurally different from the spoken word. I am not sure that it is a worthwhile job; I haven't heard much in the many years that I've been doing this that was worth repeating. Ha ha.
You mention 'boring'. There is no such thing as a 'boring' life'. People may have different ambitions and interests, but when you get right down to it everybody is interesting. To me anyway Your life may not be full of adventure but there is something in favor of quiet and peace. I am surprised that you studied Chinese. I don't know what kind of future there is in learning that language, but both Japan and China are economic giants and their languages -which I suspect are related in many ways - will become important in the international community. Many people are studying Japanese now and learning Chinese is also becoming quite popular.
I don't know if you have ever come across a Chinese philosopher/writer called Lin Yutang. He wrote in English, not Chinese, and lived before the arrival of communism. I discovered him more or less by accident and have read all his books. (he only wrote three). I mention him because in his philosophy he mentions the importance of things like 'laughing', something most philosophers never talk about. In his view many of the word's problems would be solved if the foreign ministers were all in a room together and laughed more instead of holding boring speeches that nobody listens to. But that is not important.
I admire you for being able to live on investments. I have never really understood money and probably never will. I don't have a pension and will have to continue working until I drop dead. Ha ha. But until that happens - and I am not afraid of death - I plan to go on studying and enjoying myself with books, music, people, teaching (I can do that till I am very old!). If you want to talk about religion that is fine with me. I have no secrets: we can talk about anything you want, even money (although I don't know much about it) And now I must go and do the shopping. I hope you have a nice weekend. Take care and hope to hear from you when you have time and feel like writing Yours Robert
I will tell you honestly. When I watched it for the first time, I seemed it is tedious. But, while I have been watching many times repeatedly,it became familiar with that world for me. And I have been able to feel something by the skin sensibility from that film. I cannot 'understand' that movie. Even now. But, I think that it is not so important to understand the message of that movie. At least, I can feel something from that movie. I think that is okay fully.
ちなみに'English'の左サイドをクリックすれば 中国語で情報が読めます。右サイドをクリックすれば日本語で情報が読めます。 要するにこのサイトの運営者は、中国人日本人、 そして国籍を問わず英語が読めるすべての人にリンゴ堂を再認識してほしい、 という願いをもっているわけですね 細かいことを言うと、このサイトに書かれてある中国語は'Traditional Chinese Characters'です。 現在の大陸中国は'Simplified Chinese Characters'を使っていますので、少しの違いはあります。 私が大学時代に習った中国語も'Simplified Chinese Characters'です。 日本語というのは'Japanized Chinese Characters'and'Japanese syllabany'の組み合わせで表現されます。 それぞれ違いはありますが、すべて起源は古代中国で考案された象形文字です。
Dear JJ It is Monday morning now. I am drowning in e-mails, but I would like to answer yours first before I get on with the business of professional mail That 'Gohatto' movie. I didn't understand it either, but liked the atmosphere. I am not sure that there was a 'message' but that is how I imagined Japan around 1850. It is a pity that travel is so complicated these days with all the anti-terrorist measures and endless line-ups at airports. I still hope to get a chance to visit your country one day. Age is not a problem (yet). For somebody who is nearly 70 I am quite fit and feel more like the time when I was 30.
Thank you for the Lin Yutang link; his home looks very beatiful. I have never been to Taiwan either, but have friends in America who are of Taiwanese descent.
Cherry blossoms. Yes, to us they are THE symbol of your country and our street here has lots of trees. When the flowers finally fall off, the whole area is covered a bed of pink rose petals, which is lovely to look at. Yes, I know a little about the Chinese simplified script, although they still use the traditional characters outside mainland China. I find the language VERY hard to learn, not so much the spoken word, but the written text. And that is the one I am most interested in, seeing how the language is put together. It gives an interesting insight into the way the Chinese (and Japanese) minds work. I knew that Japanese had syllables and people who have learned the language tell me that it is much easier than Chinese? Do you think so too?
And now it is nearly noon. I have to do some shopping, work on my presentation, answer e-mails and hopefully practise the cello a little. I don't know if I told you that I used to play the big pedal harp - nearly 35 years - but at some point I reached a stage when I knew I would not progress any further, so I donated the instrument to the local conservatory and bought a cello. Now, three years later, I am beginning to make interesting sounds, but it is as difficult an instrument as Chinese is a language. So much for now, my friend. I shall try to keep you posted as I travel through China and try to 'educate' people in Gansu. Here are some pictures of me with the harp. I am sorry I can't include sound with them With love Robb
まあ、でもあなたは「言葉のプロ」で、私はあくまでアマチュアだ。 だから上記で私が述べたことはあまり真に受けないようにwww 私が、あなたのことをやっぱりプロなんだなあ、と感じるのは たとえばあなたのこんな言葉を読むときだ。 Seeing how the language is put together. It gives an interesting insight into the way the Chinese (and Japanese) minds work. あるいはこんな言葉。 同時通訳するときの頭の働きについて、私に語ってくれた言葉。 If the speaker reads something out, translating automatically is practically impossible. Because a written text is structurally different from the spoken word.
Dear JJ It is still very early: just past 6 AM. I think I have a little 'reisefieber', a German term we use in English to describe some anxiety before a long journey. There is still so much to do before I leave for China on Friday. And since I don't speak the language, I shall depend completely on the help of friends there. On the other hand I have never been a very good sleeper and wake up early usually, so 6 AM is not unheard of. Thank you for your two letters, the second one with the pictures of you and your bookcase and your father. Where was Mrs J (your cat?) She was not included No, I am not hauling the cello along; these things are so big that if you take it with you on the plane you have to pay for an extra seat. Also, I won't have time there. I am still finalizing the presentation to all those universities.
You mention the 'accents' in Chinese. I think they call them 'tones' and you are right. If you use the wrong tone, the word means something totally different (often something rude, I gather). And the dialects is also a good point. I had that experience last year. I had gone to the wedding of an internet friend/pupil in Hunan province, a small city called Huaihua, and another internet friend had agreed to come along to help with the trip, a young gentleman by the name of Gao Fei. Gao Fei speaks very nice Mandarin and quite good English, but in Huaihua he had trouble understanding the local people. As with Japanese, I guess, the written language is understood or can be read everywhere but when it comes to speaking things are a little more complicated.
During one of the groups I teach I had one student from Hong Kong, whose mothertongue was Cantonese, not Mandarin, and he had difficulty switching between the two. But as I said, I am more interested in learning the written language. Give me another 30 years or so and maybe I will get somewhere, ha ha. I mentioned that wedding in Huaihua. It is a funny story and I think you will find it amusing. In 2004, with the 'deadline' of compulsory retirement approaching, (in many parts of Europe you can not work past the age of 65, which is ridiculous) I had 'recycled myself and enrolled in a program to get a diploma to teach English as a foreigh languge. Then, one day I was talking to my brother who lives in northern England but has quite a lot of business in the Baltic countries, Latvia, Estonia etc.
He mentioned that he had learned Estonian without ever meeting his teacher. When I asked him how he'd done that, he said 'through the internet, with Skype'. Skype is one of those chat engines; with camera and sound you can see the other party on the computer. Why my brother had learned Estonian is another story (It is a small country, with less than 3 million people and many of those are Russian speakers) Anyway, I thought I should try that. I had been approached by the European Commission about teaching the Chinese training program but had not started yet.
So I advertised for a guinea pig to test it on and found Hu Cong, the man who three years later would invite me to his wedding. Hu Cong is from Hunan province. In that part of China people have difficulty with sounds like 'on' which they pronounce like 'ong' and they don't really hear the difference between the 'n' and the 'l', so 'sleep' can come out as 'sneep' (there is no such word). For the next two years I worked with Hu Cong and got to know him quite well via the internet. And his English improved considerably.
All this was done for free: I wanted to see how this could work and he didn't have much money. When he heard in 2007 that I was planning to come to China he invited me to his wedding in September. Of course I said 'yes'. Afterwards, looking it up on the map, I realized that getting to his city might not be that easy. There is no airport, the train would take a long time and other ex-students, who heard about my plan reacted with comments like " Don't go: you are old, stupid, a foreigner who doesn't speak the language and it is dangerous. Don't go". But I had already said 'yes' and didn't want to disappoint Hu Cong.
(blank) We also spent some type on line, I knew what he looked like and he had seen me on camera too. I paid for his ticket to Changsha where we met, spent a few days getting to know each other and then left by taxi (!) for Huaihua. I had planned to rent a car but 1) that wasn't possible for foreigners and 2) having seen the traffic I though 'no thanks'.
So we got to Huaihua the day before the wedding and I finally met Hu Cong in the flesh. He was much taller than I had expected. I am not very tall myself 1.73 and this guy was at least 1.80. That evening, the night before the wedding we all had dinner at his place - very spicy Hunan food, delicious - and I met his mother and future bride and a couple of uncles. Clearly I must have made a good impression because the next morning Gao Fei got an SMS from the groom that I would be asked to be best man at the wedding and would have to give a speech! With my five words of Chinese... I'll make a long story short.
I attach some pictures of the wedding. I danced with the bride (nobody else danced; this must be a western habit). I was also the only white face in the entire city I think. Hu Cong and his wife have become good friends. I don't know why I am telling you all this. I hope you enjoy the story. I enjoyed the experience very much. I am not a very good tourist. I don't really care that much about buildings, but I love contact with people and in Huaihua I certainly got that!
I attach some pictures. And JJ, if you don't hear from me much in the next few days, don't worry. I'll write when I have time, but as I'm sure you can understand I am going to be rather busy for ten days or so. The first picture is the couple and me, the second me giving a speech with Gao Fei translating and the third the dance. Take care, enjoy life and we'll keep in touch With love Robb
↓to (blank) Salvation came from an unexpected corner. Or perhaps not so unexpected. After teaching nearly 80 Chinese civil servants, I often get e-mails that go as follows "Hi, my name is X. I am the son of the neighbor of an aunt of one of your fomer students. Could you have a look at this text in English?" and if it isn't too long or complicated I don't mind. So over time I have built up quite a list of contacts of people I have never met and know little about.
The Chinese are terrible gossips. News about my planned trip to Hunan province travelled quickly and one day I got another e-mail from someone that said " Hi, my name is so and so ( I don't remember now, but it doesn't matter) I have heard about your plan and may be able to help. A cousin of mine is studying opto-electronic engineering in Chengde. He is keen to improve his English with a native speaker, he has time to accompany you if you pay the expenses" That is how I met Gao Fei.
あなたが話し言葉より書き言葉に関心を持っていることは、 前回のメールでも引用したが、 以下のあなたの言葉からも推測できる。 Seeing how the language is put together. It gives an interesting insight into the way the Chinese (and Japanese) minds work. 【りんご堂の英語学習法】というのは、 主に話し言葉としての英語の習得について述べたものだ。 またこれは半世紀以上前に述べられた見解であり、 今ではもう古いか、あるいはもうすでに常識になっているのかもしれない。 ただ、あなたは中国人に英語を教える立場にあり、 その中国人の中で英語の達人と言われたりんご堂が 半世紀以上も前にどういう見識を持っていたか、 ということにあなたが関心を示すかもしれない、と思ってあげたものだ。 既知のことであるならば、この話は流してください。
(未整理分)part1 Maybe, I think that it is such an outline. If you want to hear of an accurate content, you should request it from acquaintance's Chinese. Of course, you may request it from me. In that case, though it becomes to the Japanese translation of acquaintance's Chinese once for me, and my English translation of the content translated into Japanese and telling to you. As for interesting you in the writing word from the spoken language, the last mail is surmisable from the word of you the following though quoted. Seeing how the language is put together. It gives an interesting insight into the way the Chinese (and Japanese) minds work.
(未整理分)part2 It is what chiefly described about the acquisition of English as the spoken language. Moreover, this is an opinion expressed ahead longer than half a century. It is old or already already already common sense now. might However, you are in the standpoint that teaches English to Chinese, and are what the apple temple that had been called an English expert in the Chinese thought for you might interested what discernment in was had ahead more than half a century. Please throw this story if it is already-known.
Dear JJ. I am still in Brussels. All airports were closed on Thursday and are still closed. When I finally got hold of someone in Finnair about the possibility of rescheduling my trip to China, I was told everything is fully booked or on standby till at least early next week. The most optimistic scenario would get me to Beijing next Wednesday, 5 days later than planned. So I decided to cancel the trip. It is of course a huge disappointment. I had worked very hard to prepare for the presentations and spent quite a lot of money on the ticket (which is non-refundable) and presents for people there. I realize that a lot of people are going to be disappointed, me included, but one has to be realistic.
And this is a minor nuisance compared with the horror of the earthquake in Qinghai. That is truly awful and I feel dreadful for the people there. And I am one of the lucky ones. I had not left home yet. At the moment there are some 90.000 people in Europe stuck in various airports. I have been in a situation like this once before, on a much smaller scale. I was on my way to Canada from Brussels via Toronto. I was travelling first class, which means better service and no waiting in line. As were approached Toronto the plane suddenly veered north and landed in Montreal. Nobody knew what the problem was.
Initially we thought 'another terrorist attack' but it finally appeared that there had been a huge blackout in New York, shutting down everything on the eastern seaboard of the US and parts of Canada. The scenes in Montreal - a small airport - were unbelievable. People with children, people who didn't speak French, airline staff without much information. I was alone, had money, spoke the language and had no immediate deadline. Even so, it took me three days to get to my destination. Long distance travel is stressful. I can deal with that under normal circumstances, but this kind of uncertainty is something I don't need and refuse to subject myself to.
Getting to China for some lectures is not a matter of life and death for me. I had spent a lot of time, energy and money getting ready for the trip and of course I am disappointed, but compared with what other people are going through - the survivors or wounded in Qinghai for example - I have no right to complain. It does mean that I have to readjust my priorities and that may take a few days. Events like this give an interesting insight into people's characters. One 'friend' who heard about the cancellation said " Oh good; then you can attend my PhD defense next week". How selfish can you get? Another from Harbin in China said "God, Robb, I am so sorry; is there anything I can do?" The organizers in Lanzhou are annoyed because they had invited dignitaries from the government.
Anyway, I shall put everything behind me for now and move on to something else. I just heard on the news that all airports in Europe will stay closed till at least 8 PM this evening, so at least my guess was not wrong. It is going to take weeks for the mess to sort itself out. I remember a friend of mine who was 'caught' in the US during the 911 events in 2001. It took him two weeks to get home, and that affected only America, not all of Europe as is the case now.
JJ, I am going to stop here. I will answer your point about hemiplegic English later ( I love the term). There are a lot of e-mails I have to answer. Take care and we'll keep in touch With love Robb
新・ベル爺の話。 さて彼からメールが来たので、読んでみたわけだが・・・ もしかしてこの人はミュンヒハウゼン男爵なのでは? という疑問がふと起こった。 というのはこの人、 今日のメールでI am still in Brussels.と言っているのだが、 一週間前のメールでは...And a week from now, I'll be in Beijing.と言っているのだ。 なので、俺はてっきりベルは北京にいるものとばかり思っていたのだが。 どういうことなんだろう? 「a week from now」の前に「after」を入れるのを忘れたのか、それとも 「a week from now」だけで「今から一週間後に」と言う意味になるのか? 俺の英語力が拙いのでよくわからん。 あるいは彼が法螺吹きなのか? なんだかよくわからなくなってきた (not used)
Dear JJ yes, I have noticed that the Japan Cupid site has some strange advertisements on it. Never mind; as you say, it allowed us to meet. I am still struggling with the 'fallout' of that cloud over Europe, which is now beginning to affect Asia as well. I heard a figure of 7 million people being stranded somehow. Awful. I was very lucky NOT to have left. It may be disappointing to my friends in China - and to myself; I put a lot of work into the trip - but I feel much sorrier for the families with children who can't get home.
And like you I am realixing. We all have our own way of coping with stress. I play music and watch movies and read a lot. I also go for long walks. We live right next to a very nice big park with trees, lakes and no cars. It is wonderful to get up early in the morning and get some fresh air there. My main concern right now is trying to get the money back I had paid for the ticket. I am not rich and $3500 is a lot of money for me. I had booked through the internet, but I suspect that everybody is doing the same -asking money back - so it may take a while.
I haven't much to add right now. Thank you for your concern. You are a real friend! I'll be in touch when I have more to say. With love Robb
Dear JJ You are getting ahead of me. I have to e-mails from you and not enough time to answer them. In one you mention the Chinese government (again). You really don't like them do you, he he. I understand. The relationship between you two countries has always been 'complicated' to put it politely. I refuse to be drawn into this argument and will plead 'ignorance' which is partly true. I simply don't know enough about either country or political system to have an informed opinion. And we all tend to be 'tainted' by our past.
In Europe, my generation was 'poisoned' by that of my parents about all things German. When I went to school in Switzerland and my mother would come for a visit, she would refuse to travel through Germany and would take the train through France and Switzerland, doubling the length of the journey. I got over this anti-German feeling with some effort. And I know people under the Soviet heel felt the same way about Russians. It would be best for my generation to die out and forget about what happened in the 20th century. Or not 'forget' - one should never forget- but start to see it in a different perspective. The Germans of today are not the same people who committed all those atrocities in the concentration camps and the Japanese today would not kill themselves as kamikaze pilots for the Emperor's honor. At least I don't think so...
I admire you for being able to live off your investments. I also 'played' the stockmarket a few years ago - and lost an awful lot of money. It is probably one of those areas where you need a lot of patience, nerves of steel and a great deal of knowledge. I don't have any of those. Money doesn't interest me enough to spend all my time reading about it. As long as I have enough to live on and pay my cello teacher... Ha ha
I am not going to China now. The situation in the air is more or less back to normal, but the idea of biting my naisl " will I be able to go or won't I?" when everything was so uncertain is the kind of stress I don't want or need. I'll go later this year and pay for it myself if I have to. I still have enough money aside for a ticket.
On the other hand I may go to Spain on Sunday for work as an interpreter. There is a meeting involving Dutch, German and Greek and the English interpreters who have that combination (and there are only two or three in the whole world!) are all busy. So I said I would go if they look after the travel arrangements. The meeting, a day and a half, is in Barcelona, a city I have never been to. I tend not to travel to countries if I can't speak the language, but this is for work. And now I must get on with other things, like the laundry and cutting the grass. I'll keep in touch but may not be able to answer immediately! Take care of yourself, your father, your cat and enjoy your books! With love Robb
第一、日本の皇帝とヨーロッパの皇帝は、言葉が同じでも概念が違う。 そんなこと、あなたはすでにご存知だと思うが。 概念としての天皇は皇帝というより教皇に近い。 8世紀ごろを最後に、天皇は軍事にタッチしなくなった。 12世紀ごろから将軍が政治の主役になった。 天皇は政治にも軍事にも直接かかわらない。 「君臨すれど統治せず」というのが、天皇の本来のあり方なんだと思うよ。 また私は幼稚な歴史観を述べてしまったね。 歴史学者のあなたに歴史観を述べるとは。 東洋のことわざだとこういうのは「釈迦に説法」と言う。 とにかく、わたしはあなたのスペインでの仕事がうまくいくように祈っているよ。 また何かあれば書きます。でも、あなたは返事を急ぐ必要はないよ。(^o^) With love from Tokyo JJ
Dear JJ May 1, Labor day. Happy Labor Day, my friend You ask about immigration and voting rights for 'foreigners'. Belgium has a big problem at the moment, not so much with immigrants - at least not right this minute - but with the language division between the French and Flemish speaking part of the country. You may have heard tha the government fell as a result of the inability to reach agreement about electoral districts. This is so childish... Most people couldn't care less and have better things to worry about, like the economy, employment or the 'islamification' of Belgium.
It is a problem that affects all of Europe in a way and started after WWII. With the Marshal Plan and the rebuilding of the economy, there wasn't enough manpower, so countries started to 'import' labor from abroad. First the Italians and Greeks, to work in the coal mines and that was fine because they had the same cultural background, more or less. Then the Spanish and Portuguese, who also integrated quickly enough. Then came the Turks, the first Muslims, although Turkey is strictly speaking a secular country and they have a very strict separation between religion and state.
But the problem was that the immigrants from Turkey came from the poorest parts of the country, not well educated. The governments here allowed them to keep their own social structure and didn't encourage integration. But the real problem started in Belgium with the Moroccans. Also from the poorest parts of Morocco, but with very large families. Although their second language is French - as a former French colony - they do not do well. And people with economic problems try to blame someone else instead of going to school and improving their own potential. And Morocco is not a secular state. The problem is especially the young men. They were born here but have dual nationality, so they can vote in Morocco or Belgium.
They don't fit in well into society and tend to get into trouble with the police. If you look at the prison population in this country, more than half of the inmates are Moroccan, which makes one think... I am not against Islam as such - or any other religion - but it should be a private affair, not something to force onto other people, which is what is happening now with the 'burka', this full-length dress that women in Afghanistan were forced to wear under the Taliban rule. All this by way of introduction to an answer to your question. Voting - or suffrage as you call it - is compulsory in Belgium for all elections. As a Canadian I can't vote in local elections, but as a resident of the country I can choose to vote in European elections (the obligation to vote does not apply to foreigners).
There is an Islamic party in this country, which is a dangerous thing to have, because they can theoretically introduce the kind of laws you mention about Holland. But I have heard the same thing about my own country, Canada, where at some point there was a move to allow the 'sharia' law to be applied in parts of Ontario. Which is ridiculous. Under Sharia law you can condemn people to death (by stoning) for adultery. Homosexuals would be condemned to death as well. And so on. The idea did not go through, but the fact alone that people seriously considered it worries me.
We don't live in the dark ages any more, which is what the Sharia is based on: a strict, rather twisted intepretation of the Koran. Mohammed produced the Koran but was himself illiterate. At least the Jews, who also used to have rather strict laws in the Bible, could read. And today many of the laws of the Bible are no longer applied. Your question is more one of the philosophy of law I think, rather than the right to vote.
Things like 'state of law' and 'democracy'. Does democracy mean that the majority can impose its will on the minority? Does everyone have the same rights? Do you, as an educated man, have the same electoral right as somebody who cannot read or write? These are all questions that man has struggled with over the centuries. And no doubt we haven't seen the end of it yet. I wasn't planning to give a lecture on European geopolitics. I apologize for boring you.
I went to Spain for work last week, two days in Barcelona, a city I had never been to. Now I remember why I avoid combining work with air travel. It was a difficult three days, with endless waiting in airports, a very hot and unpleasant hotel room where the air conditioning didn't work. And in Spain people have dinner after 9PM, which may be normal if you are used to it, but I can't eat that late and most restaurants are not even open till 8 or 8.30. The work was stupid: simultaneous interpreting at a meeting of the Committee of the Regions, one of the 'instruments' of the European Union to collect opinions from bodies like this, made up of former prime ministers, mayors of large cities like Madrid, Athens, Paris or London.
Of course they take themselves very seriously (since nobody else does) and translating in meetings like those is hard work, since most of the speeches are read out. There is never any real discussion. I call it 'lots of hot air'. But I got home in one piece, very tired. Maybe I am getting too old for this... I am nearly 70 after all, ha ha And here I have to stop. I go back to teaching next week - my students were in the UK for a month. We'll keep in touch. Take good care of yourself With love Rob
あなたは、私の質問は投票の権利というよりむしろ法哲学、 民主主義のありようを尋ねているように感じる、と言った。 そのとおり。というか、私は自分自身が民主主義というものを十分に理解していないと思う。 たとえばあなたが掲げたいくつかの質問。 Does democracy mean that the majority can impose its will on the minority? Does everyone have the same rights? Do you, as an educated man, have the same electoral right as somebody who cannot read or write? 私はこれらの問題に対してきちんとした解答をもらった覚えが無い。 親からも。教師からも。 彼らが私にちゃんと教えなかったのは、 それらは数学の公理のようなもので証明不要だ、 ということだったのかもしれない。もちろん答えはすべてイエスだ。 なぜイエスなのか?とに対しての説明は無い。なぜならそれらは公理だから。
最後に少しやわらかい話。 あなたがハープやチェロをたしなむという話を聞いて、 私もなんか楽器を習いたくなった。 と言っても私は中学のときに縦笛を習ったのが最後だww楽譜も読めない。 まあでもなにかひとつ手にしてみようかなと思っている。 いま一番気になっている楽器は…クラリネットかな? なんとなく音が優しげな感じがしていいかなと。それだけwww また何か書きたくなったら気ままに書きます。では。 Take care yourself. With love. JJ
(763削除) あなたは、私の質問は投票の権利というよりむしろ法哲学、 民主主義のありようを尋ねているように感じる、と言った。 そのとおり。 というか、私自身が民主主義というものを十分に理解していないと思う。 たとえばあなたが掲げたいくつかの質問。 Does democracy mean that the majority can impose its will on the minority? Does everyone have the same rights? Do you, as an educated man, have the same electoral right as somebody who cannot read or write? 私はこれらの質問に対してきちんと解答できない。 日本ではとりあえずぜんぶ「ハイ」と回答すれば満点をくれる。 しかし、なぜそうなのか?と尋ねられたら、 自信を持ってその根拠を説明できる人はほとんどいないだろう。私を含めて。 学校では「人間は、性別や出身、人種などにかかわらず、平等である」と教える。 しかしその根拠を教わった記憶がない。 それらは数学の公理のようなもので証明不要らしい。