せかいのなべあつ（Sekai No Nabeatsu）

きょねんのなつやすみに沖縄へいきました。

わたしはhostかぞくとテレビをたくさんみあした。わたしのhostかぞくはお笑いがとてもすきですか。まいばんR−１Grand Prixいっしょにみました。

せかいのなべあつはにほんのとてもゆうめいなひとです。

Watch R-1 Grand Prix2008 in Comedy | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

ことし、わたしはにほんごがぜんぜんわかりませんから、このビデオがわかりません。

いま、わたしはにほんごがすこしわかりますから、このビデオがわかりますね！

とてもおかしいいです。　　みってください！

二十ねんごのわたし

ニュージャーシーはしずかですから、わたしはニュージャーシーのプリンストンにいます。　かぞくはたくさあんありますから、うちはおおきです。おっととこどもがいます。そして、りょうしんがいます。げつようびから、きんようびまででんしゃでニューヨークへいきます。とてもたいへんですね！　ニューヨークのかいしゃではたらきます。わたしはたべものかいしゃではたらきます。まいあさレストランへいきますから、いろいろなたべものをたべます。しゅまつはやすみますから、わたしはひまです。　　しゅまつにおっととこどもといろいろなところへいきます、こえんやデバトやともだちのうちなどへいきます。とてもたのしいですね！

わたしのせんりゅう

ウバメガシ
がわかりません
なんですか

ーーーーーーー

チキチキ
もじゅうにじです
おなかすいた

ーーーーーーー


ライス、ごはん
なにがいちばん
おいしいです

せんしゅうのしゅまつ

せんしゅのしゅまつにVassarのともだちはニューヨークへきました。
ともだちとWest Villageへいきました。
Joseph Leonardへいきました。Joseph Leonardはとてもいいレストランです。とてもおいしかったですが、すこしたかったです。

それから、West Village のIFC Center でえいがをみました。
このえいがのなまえはANTI-CHRIST。Anti-Christはhorrorのえいがです。



Horror えいがのなかで、Anti-Christはいちばんdisturbingですね！

Katakana Analysis

Katakana Word: ウバメガシ

ウバメガシ appears to be a Japanese scientific name - specifically, the scientific name of a plant known as "Quercus phylliraeoides A. Gray." I think that Katakana is used in this instance because it is not a very common word. It seems that technical terms, and scientific terms, are commonly written in Katakana rather than Hiragana. Perhaps this indicates that it is not an "original" Japanese word, and was in fact a word "made up" at a later date for the purpose of science. It could also be because it is a formal name, i.e. a proper noun. We often see this in the English language as well - often we find that scientific and proper names are words that are separate from our every day language/writing. Perhaps Katakana is used to distinguish this.

Katakana Word: ライス

ライス has a particularly interesting Katakana usage, especially since people also use ごはん to describe rice as well. For instance, when "curry rice" is written, it is カレ　ライス　as opposed to カレごはん. On a menu I found at みつわ Japanese Marketplace's 'Santoka Ramen Shop' in Edgewater, NJ , "rice with pork" was contrastingly written as チャーシュごはん. This could perhaps be because things such as curry rice are Japanese adaptations of other cuisines. While Japanese curry is its own distinct type, perhaps the fact that it draws influences/ideas from other food cultures is why it is written in Katakana. Thus, in this case, since of course curry is never served without rice (it is essentially one self-sustaining unit, sort of like a hot dog or hamburger), the whole word is written in Katakana. By comparison, the use of ごはん perhaps indicates something that is inherently/culturally native to Japanese culture/cuisine.

Regarding Katakana in Textbooks:

I think Katakana in textbooks is defined differently based on the target audience of the book. It is not especially relevant for authors to include distinctions such as scientific names, because these usages do not commonly arise in every day speaking - especially for the beginning Japanese language student. Evidently, in all the books mentioned, foreign words are the most important usage of Katakana. This is also the most common usage, it seems, in the Japanese language. The authors clearly want to present to the readers the most useful uses of Katakana, by bringing up topics such as onomatopoeia as one might see in Japanese ads or on TV. For any student ever wishing to travel to Japan and utilize their language skills there, it is clear that these everyday uses of Katakana are the ones that must be learned.

ハロウィン と あきやすみ

このしゅうまつはハロウィンです。ハロウィンがとてもすくです！　わたしはニューヨークのだいがうくのともだちとハロウィンのパーティへいきます。　とてもすてきですね！　金曜日、わたしはVMA のKanye Westです。　わたしのともだちはVMA のTaylor Swiftです。

土曜日にわたしははさみです。


＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

このあきやすみにわたしはプリンストンへきました。　まいにちねました。。。


こんぼんニューヨークへかえります。

日本のMOS BURGER がきですか？

わたしはMOS BURGERがとてもすきです。とてもおいしいですね！

アメリカはMOS BURGERがぜんぜんありまえん。 :(

My Okinawan Experience, Pt. 2

This is a continuation of my last post. Inevitably, there will probably be another. Three months is hard to encapsulate in two blog posts.

I quickly became accustomed to Okinawan life. I had a lot of questions about Okinawa and what the native culture was like. Luckily, my host family had a lot of answers. My host sister spoke very, very good English for a student who had never left the country. Her determination to learn English was really inspiring. She was really quite good at it, despite being entirely self taught. My host mother also was learning English. As an older Japanese woman, I assumed it was much harder, but she tried at every chance she could to try to improve her language skills. Anyways, my host sister was pretty much my means of communication throughout my stay, since most people in Okinawa did not know English whatsoever...

Slowly my host family brought me around Okinawa, showing me the sights and sounds that truly represented the tiny island. You know, apart from the whole military base and Americanism, there was in fact a lot to Okinawa. The beaches were sights to be truly admired. Imagine the clearest, bluest waters you've ever seen. And not disturbed by the bustling tourist industry. Well, I guess you don't really have to:










There were tons of private beaches like this one. They were quiet, serene, with only the occasional group of people relaxing along the water.




This was not the life or surroundings I expected to find in Japan. But this was indeed the life I had become enamored with.

Obviously, other than beaches and wonderful scenery, Okinawan culture was especially unique. Here are some snapshots that I took - so you can get a taste of what it is like....

Some images from a Taiko Drum show that I attended in Nago, a city in Okinawa about two hours from where I lived in Naha. Taiko drums aren't exclusive to Okinawa though.



















Okinawa is somewhat famous for their glass blowing.
I went to a factory that made it:

















Some more scenery for you:


















How could you NOT love this place?

To be continued.... (Again.)

Come again!
Tiffany

P.s.
Just a note: I'm really into photography, so clearly this trip was realllllllly conducive to taking lots of pictures.

My Okinawan Experience, Part 1

Two summers ago, I had the opportunity to live in Japan for roughly two months with a host family, through a scholarship program called Youth For Understanding (via Panasonic).

I expected to be placed in some major city, like most of the kids in the program, such as Tokyo, Osaka or one of the little cities outside of either of them. My previous experiences in Japan had consisted of city living; it was almost what I came to expect from Japanese life. Little did I know I would be placed on a tiny island, two hours off of mainland Japan.

Needless to say, the news of my assignment in Okinawa was somewhat shocking. I had no idea what kind of "life" I was in for. This island is somewhat considered the "Hawaii" of Japan by mainland residents. In addition, the military base on the island led me to believe I wasn't going to have quite the "authentic" Japanese experience. I wasn't sure if this was an entirely good thing - tourism and Americans? Is this what I had signed up for?



I was placed in Naha, Okinawa's capital city. Its on the southern portion of the island. See the picture to the right! It is highlighted in red.

To further clarify: this wasn't really a city in the sense that we see New York, or even other major Japanese cities. It was a lot more... quaint.

Downtown Naha (see my photo at the top of this post) was mostly government buildings, one department store (not like the hundreds you see in Tokyo) which really didn't have much, and a simple rail system that allowed you to get around Naha. Not to say that there were that many places you could go within the city. Well. Especially since I couldn't speak Japanese at all - a small caveat... Of course, learning the bus system became a real challenge, since I had no idea how to identify the stops that the driver was calling out. Anyways, Naha only really had one main street, sort of like New York's Broadway I suppose, called Kokusai street, which essentially only sold touristy goods to visiting Japanese people and military personnel.

At first I really struggled to accustom myself to life in Naha. I sought to see the culture of Japan, rather than that of a city who drew many tourists and much American influence.....


These were just the beginnings of my experience in Okinawa.
I have so much to say about this experience that I'll probably have to split it up into several posts.


Here's some of my photography from the trip in the meantime.







This is the top floor of the Okinawan Prefectural Office. As you can see there's a little cafe...







A little model of Naha city, also on the top floor of the Prefectural office.













My Japanese cell phone. Slick.













I hope to continue this soon!

Tiff

My Reasons

When I was younger, I always had an interest in Japanese culture. My father works for Panasonic Japan, and often - as in every month - goes to Tokyo for a week. He always brought back great trinkets and food; these were my first taste of Japanese culture. Since then, I have traveled to Japan on numerous occasions. I first went on vacation there with my family and was able to travel all over mainland Japan for a week, visiting all the major cities and sights. On my second trip, I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship that allowed me to live in Japan for approximately three months. This time, I lived in Okinawa with a host family. This little island was surprisingly and radically different from the mainland cultural setting that I already associated with Japan. Needless to say, this was an absolutely rewarding experience, other than the fact that I could not speak Japanese. I somehow was able to gesture and point my way through three months of interaction in Japan, which was fortunate, but had me desperately wanting to learn Japanese for real.

So here I am now, taking Japanese at Columbia, and maybe even double majoring in East Asian Languages and Cultures with a concentration in Japanese.

In learning this language, I'm excited for this year, and of course also the years to come. I hope that my fluency will improve rapidly over the course of this year. Its been a slight struggle for the past few weeks due to some rusty Japanese that I hadn't been able to practice over the course of the summer - but my ability from last year is slowly returning. For that, I am glad.

Introduction

みあさん、こんにちわ！はじめまして。

わたしのなまえはティーファニーです。
わたしはニュージャセーのプリンストンからきました。わたしのかそくは台湾からきましたから、ちゅごくごがだいたいわかります。
わたしはニュヨークのコロンビアだいがくのにねんせいです。わたしのせんもんは EconomicsーOperations Research とにほんおべんきょです。とてもむずかしですね！　わたしはひまじゃありません。
わたしはおんがくがとてもすきです。わたしは electronic のおんがくのDJです。そして、guitar, piano, violin をします。
しゃしんがすきです。まいにちしゃしんをとります。
わたしのしゃしん：http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiffany_lee

どおぞよろしくおねがいしぇます！
またいらしやってください。

じゃね。