Thanksgiving 2016

よかった　休み　でした。水曜日に　バスで 　サウスベンドから コロンブスまで　ろくじかん　ぐらい　かかります。りょうしんと　あて、うちに　かえりました。　りょうの　へやで　まいにち　あまり　ねません、でも　うちの　へやで　たくさん　ねました。　うちでも　サンクスギビングが　ありました。りょうしんは　うれしく　ありませんでした。そして、そうじを　して　大きました。先週末の　木曜日に　うちで　サンクスギビングが　ありました。くろい　金曜日に　かいものに　いきました。ゲームスットプと　ワルマートに　いきました。ゲームスットプの　なかに　わたしの　３DSと　ポケモンが　ありました。土曜日に　ちゅごくの　ちょちん　まつりを　みました。きれいな　まつり　でした。

Columbus, Ohio has a Chinese Lantern Festival every year at our fairgrounds that runs throughout the holidays. You could say it was lit. Here I am gaining strength from the dragon!


Apparently, I needed more strength to deal with this shark! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! ( No Wills or sharks were injured in the snapping of this photo)



Picking a Pokemon game felt like choosing between these dresses haha. But I eventually went with Moon and a purple 3DS to match my angsty soul. #TeamLitten

Roomate Birthday

先週末の　金曜日に　にじかん ぐらい 　ゴスペル がっしょうだんが　ありまｓｈた。Crowleyほーるで おんがくを　きて、　ともだちに　あいます。そして、わたしの　ルームメイトの　たんじょうかいを　しました。おいしい　ケーキと　ピザを　たべました。たのしかった　ですよ。土曜日に　フットボールゲムを　みて、スタジアムに　いきました。おもしろなかった　です。

Sushi Chat

きょうは　さんじに　Geddesほーるで　すしちゃとが　あります。きれいな　たべもの　です。たくさん　すしを　たべました。とても　おいしい　でした。わたしの　ほんめいは　かにかま　でよ。そして　うるちまいと、コーンと、サーモンと、きゅうりは　のりの　うえに　あります。ごちそさま！！！！

Iwado Toshiyuki Comes to ND!

Consul General of Japan, Mr.Iwado has a wide range of duties in order to promote the welfare of Japanese-American relations. Mr. Iwado is stationed as the consul in Chicago and oversees the district of more or less the American Midwest. He acts as a bridge between the cultures, economies, and ways of life. He opened his lecture in a simple manner. Iwado referenced popular culture and nature, contrasting the differences unique to Japan but also describing how similiar the nations are. He explained how earthquake relief efforts were structured. Iwado explained how Japan donates over a billion and a half USD to support the US military. He described the workforce and economy in Japan, in relation to the aged populace. Iwado elaborated how tourism was increasing by leaps and bounds, and will be further invigorated by the Olympics and other international sporting events. He mentioned Midwestern sister cities with Japanese equivalents. I'm thankful I heard his astute observations and knowledge of policy that introduced me who Japan really is as a nation.

The Wonderful World of Japan

クラスメートのなまえ：たかしさん。


たかしさん：にほんに　なにが　ありますか。

わたし：そうですね。えどウォンデランドが　あります。そして、ポケモンセンターも　ありますよ。

　　　
たかしさん：そですか。えどウォンデランドは　どんな　まち　ですか。

わたし：とても　ふるい　まち　です。ちさく　ありません。　

たかしさん：あのおお、だれが　いますか。

わたし：にんじゃと、しんせんぐみと、おいらんが　います。

たかしさん：いいですなえ。ポケモンセンターで　なにを　しますか。

わたし：えいがを　みます。そして　たべます。でも、しゅくだいを　しません。

たかしさん：そですか。ありがとうございます。

スターバ

The American and Japanese sites for Starbucks had many differences. The layout of the Japanese site is more detailed and looks more like a blog at first glance. The Japanese Starbucks has many regional items, such as various nectarine flavored drinks. These findings show how the same company can shift to fit diffferent cultural demographics.

Columbus, Ohio!!!

オハイオしゅの　コロンブす　からきました。コロンブすは　おおき　まちです。オハイオしゅ　だいがくに　あります。ふせせんせいは　オハイオしゅ　だいがくに　いきましたか。コロンブスは　りっパナ　まちですよ。わるく　ありません。

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting

Ever since I can remember, I've been in love with fighting videogames. King of Fighters, Super Smash Brothers, Samurai Showdown, Mortal Kombat, Powerstone, BlazBlue, Guilty Gear, Tekken, Soulcalibur, and DBZ games are some of my favorites, just to name a few. But above all of these, is my absolute favorite series, Street Fighter. I've wasted countless hours on refining parry mechanics, timing throws, poking hitboxes, and memorizing button sequences on both gamepads and joysticks alike. Now the truth is I'm slightly better than average at these games, as I lack the skill and consistent time commitment needed to refine my game. But I still have a great appreciation for the style, creativity, and fun that goes into the bulk of the fighting game experience: aka the individuality in each character's design. So I'll be finding my favorite characters, listing their names and powers in katakana, and translating some of the info with fun English comments. Here goes!

Vega 

A fun fact: Balrog's name is Vega in English because executives in Capcom's American community saw how the M. Bison name ( Like Mike Tyson) in SF2 for the black boxer character could be construed as offensive so they decided to swap around all the villains nicknames.

Moves

マタドールターン

Matador Routine:

Swift High Damage Slashing Attack

Hwoarang

ファラン

A テコンド fighter known for his incredibly speedy kicks and unshakable resolve. 

Makoto

マコト＝ナナヤ

Half human and half リス, Makoto is a resilient fighter who cannot be stopped at close range.

These characters and others remain a large part of why I love videogames and reminds me of some of the powerful artistry that led to my interest in Japanese culture.

Daily Life of スミスさん

わたしは　はちじ　おきます。ぜんぜｎ　あさごはんを　たべません。O'Shagに　いきます。 じゅうぎょが　あります。まいにち　ひるごはんを　たべます。じゅうにじにごろ　たべます。としょかんで　べんきょします。にっほんごの　しゅくだいを　します。ときどき　アニメを　みます。ほんを　よみます。ショワアを　あびます。いちじ　ねます。

Switching Gears: From Beginner to First Year

Hello Mina-San! Hope everybody is doing well. Ya boy is back, ready to take on a new Japanese course that I can already tell will be filled to the brim with hard work, fun, and super cool language skills. I completed the first Elementary Course last semester, and planned on taking the next class in the sequence. But however the only section offered was late in the afternoon, preventing me from working as athletic trainer. My boss gave a look like:

So long story short, I revised my schedule to take this lovely five credit version of the course. So now I'm pumped after fixing that sticky situation in a way that allows me to continue Japanese. Can't wait for the good time we'll all have together.

Spring Break 2016

わたしは　はるやすみに　コンサートを　うたいました。わたしの　ゴスぺル　クワイアは　たび　しました。イーストコーストで　ありました。フィラデルフィアト　ボルチモアト　DCト　リチモンドニ　たび　しました。まいあさ　はちじはんごろ　おきます　えと　あさごはんを　たべます。まいばん　よく　ねませ。みなさん　なにおしましたか？

Daily Routine

　あさ　わたしは　おきます。NDHで　あさごはんを　たべます。　コーヒーを　のみません。まいぬいち　じゆぎようが　あります。ひるごはを　たべません。　よんじうぷんに　はんを　よみます。どしょかんで　べんきょします。しゅくだいを　します。NDHで　ばんこはんを　たべます。てれびを　みます。シャワーを　あびます。ばん　ねます。

Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Katakana.

This is Pizza Hut's American website.

This is Pizza Hut's Japanese website.

Before talking about Katakana I'll describe some differences between the too that I hypothesize may be culturally based. The use of color on the Japanese site and the use of more extravagent fonts creates a more vibrant and friendly atmosphere as opposed to the austere professionalism of the American site. Another interesting fact about the Japanese site is that the revolving section of the main page actually shows faces of people, whereas the American site is strictly based off product.

But now with that analysis out of the way:

1. The first difference I noted was the use of pasta replaced by セット which means Set as in a combo pizza deal. I would hypothesize that this due to Japan having a much higher standard for their noodles so fewer orders involve pasta as opposed to in America. 
2. I saw the deal button being replaced by トピックス which means Topic. This button leads to a sort of blog entry of the major news items from Pizza Hut, which is absent in English.
3. Another difference is that instead of start your order, the English translation of   注文に進む is closer to advance in your order. Which sounds clunky in English.

These are among the differences I found between English and Japanese websites that illustrate differences in the way things are worded and design choices are made.

Pokemon!

1. はじめ まして.
Smith-です. わたしわ あめりかじん です. いちねんせい ですの せんこお しんけかがく. にっぽんじん そじありません. にっぽんじん そじありません.


2. One Japanese creation I really love is Pokemon. As a child, I spent hours upon hours of my time playing the game and collecting as many as I could. My favorite Pokemon is Mega Scizor and my favorite game was Platinum. The strategy, colorful locations, and sense of adventure all made a very worthwhile use of my time and provided me with a blast of a childhood.

Ready for me, Nippon?

As a child interested in video games, anime, hip hop music, and the confusing but captivating game shows of Japan, I've always been interested in Japanese. Wanting to buy a game but not doing so because of no English translation. No intense RPG drama for me. Wishing to understand more phrases than "Kamehameha!" and "Rasegan!" when the characters flash and blur across a screen in a clutch fight sequence. Hearing a nice Japanese rap song in NBA 2K16 but only being able to hum the beat. Watching Ninja Warrior and laughing hysterically at the mishap and yelling but not really having any idea what an announcer is saying if the subtitles aren't running. These are all familiar situations to me.

           

(Note: These cats may have a better understanding of Japanese language than me, currently. THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE HOWEVER!!!!!!!!).

BUT I SAY NO MORE. I refuse to wallow in my own ignorance. I refuse to stay an average human being and not the excessive anime nerd I am deep inside. I refuse to not understand Japanese culture when it's influenced me so.  There is only one path for me: the path of mastering Japanese. And so I raise my pencil as a novice samurai would raise a blunt sword, brimming with equal parts determination and hope. None shall stand in my way.

(My future face when someone on the web questions my knowledge of Japan.)

So prepare yourself Tokyo and friends.

I know you've had an emperor for quite some time now.
I just hope he's not the jealous type.

Because  you just got  yourself a new fresh prince!

(Note: I don't actually have two heads.)