Classroom vs. immersion

Having recently returned to classroom study of Japanese, I've been thinking about the differences in what/how I'm learning, compared with my time in Tokyo. Over the summer, I had almost no formal instruction in spoken Japanese - there was a professor at Tokyo Uni that gave me very valuable lessons in beginning to really study Kanji, but we didn't really spend any time on speaking or grammar. So, my 'education' was mainly in trying to communicate with Japanese people.

One problem is, of course, that people will not usually correct you when you make a mistake. It's only natural, and I do it to ESL persons all the time, because if the meaning is understood, it's only going to slow the conversation down to stop and explain why it should be said differently.

Another problem, I guess more significant in Japanese than most languages, is learning to distinguish the different levels of polite vs impolite, slang, etc. For example, I went for a few days referring to things as ちょうやばい before someone pointed out that this was roughly equivalent to "fucking awesome", or at least made me sound like a Shibuya teenager. Whoops. In general, I tried to do my best to appropriately use regular and polite verb forms, but it was very easy to fall into the habit of dropping です and particles from simple sentences (i.e., これがすきよ）, which I guess is pretty informal.

Another observation was that people who I felt comfortable enough to practice Japanese with (i.e., that I didn't mind making mistakes in front of) were also people with whom conversation was informal. Consequently, I had much more practice with informal Japanese, except for polite stock phrases (おさきにしつれいします was key!).

So, all-in-all, I'm glad to be back in the classroom. Ideally, I'd be doing both - a little bit of class everyday, and immersion the rest of the time - but that's not an option at the moment.

野球のしゃれですか？

So, I think I made a pun.　Two questions: a) does this make sense? b) is this actually amusing to anyone besides myself?


だいすけ　が　だいすき
大輔　　が　大好き

サマーソニック

とてもたかいです　－　２７５００￥　２日、　１５０００￥　１日。
たぶん。。。

せんしゅうワシントンへいきましたから、orientationのにほんのりょこういきました。あそこでちょっとはなみをしました。たのしかったですよ！　
１９１２にワシントンはさくらをとうきょうにもらいました。



わたしはとうきょうのゲストハウス(guesthouse)をさがします(to search for)。
上野（うえの）と新宿（しんじゅく）の中野（なかの）がほしいです。

山の手線（やまのて）と丸の内線（まるのうち）と千代田線（ちよだ）がほしいです。とうきょうのちかてつはとてもむずかしいですね！

こんなつわたしはこのブログでしゃしんをはります(to post)。　またね！

やまださんへてがみ

やまださんへ

はじめまして。二ールです。どぞうよろしくおねがいします。わたしはアメリカのニューヨークからきました。わたしはコロンビアだいがくのだいがくいんせいです。せんこうは神経生物学ですが、がっこうからちょっとにほんごをならいました。にほんでもにんごをべんきょうします。わたしは６がつ１２にちから８がつ２２にちまでにほんですみます。にほんりょうりがすきです。すきなたべものはすしとラーメンととんかつです。やすみでテニスとギターをします。

おせわになります。どうもありがとうございます。

二ール　グレイ

このコマーシャルがとってもすきです。

a few thoughts on Japanese culture

One of the things that I find most appealing about Japanese culture is the universal sense of community obligation. The word 'obligation' can have a negative connotation in English, but I mean it in a wholly positive way. In Japan, one just doesn't inconvenience other people. People will carry garbage with them for an hour looking for a trash can, without even considering littering. Phone calls aren't made in places where they will bother anyone else (e.g., on the train). Another example would be wearing a surgical mask when sick, to prevent spreading one's illness.
Likewise, there's a similar sense of obligation when it comes to work and customer service. Even if you don't like your job, you still do your best. Maybe it's also about pride, that the job you do reflects upon you personally, whether you are a cab driver, doctor, or waiter. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I found it to be a very tangible difference between the US and Japan.
I also think the same reasons help explain why Japan excels at conservation and efficiency. Wasting something, whether it's water, soy sauce, or electricity, is frowned upon; it seems to me that such waste is viewed as selfish, and almost like a theft from the community as a whole.
There's one particular incident that I remember very vividly, in the Tokyo suburbs. A man driving a small Daihatsu truck was pulling out of a parking lot, and accidentally grazed a woman pushing a baby carriage. She was knocked down, but unhurt (the baby carriage was thankfully empty). I have no idea what they were saying to each other, but it could easily have been a nice chat between friends based on the tone of voice and body language. He seemed to be apologizing very politely, as she took down his license plate number, etc (to file a report, or for insurance, I suppose). Had the same events happened in New York, you can imagine what it would have been like.

Of course, this is all based on two weeks in Japan:) I look forward to returning, and learning a bit more.