The STAGE48 post dump

and it looks awesome

I hope your exam goes/went well Kyobu!

 

I am so happy!

Today right after work I saw a couple of Japanese tourists in the metro station trying to figure out how the damn ticket machine works.

I offered to help and eventually got the tickets for them from the counter, as that machine wouldn't issue the type of tickets that they wanted!

I am really happy because I only speak 100-150 words in Japanese. Actually, I used about 25 of them in our conversation and they worked perfectly!!!!

And I am twice as happy because after visiting Japan and seeing how kind people are to gaijin, I have sworn never to leave a Japanese tourist helpless in this jungle called "Athens". That was my first good deed this summer. I hope more will follow!

JAPAN = LOVE

 

That is totally awesome. Kudos to you and your good deed. I'm sure karma was watching.

I was thinking about vacations this weekend and Tokyo came to mind once again. It would be a horribly expensive trip, so I was thinking about opening up a second savings account just for saving up for that. I am still a little scared, though. The tiny bit of spoken Japanese I know isn't all that helpful, and I really don't know any of the written language. I'm kinda worried that I'd spend more time getting lost and looking for stuff than I would be enjoying it. I guess I need to make some friends there or something.

 

I just woke up at 6:30 pm! I love summer because I can sleep in, but I've never heard my mother get that mad and scream loudly. I could have slept more if she didn't scream loud enough to wake the dead

 

It was my last exam today. Maths.

Now, I don't have a care in the world [until I get my results], but now I can do whatever I want!

 

So this is practically the last week of classes left and I still haven't finished the final projects I have to do for three classes. Sigh...procrastination....

 

I love how my freshman orientation on Friday is only like an hour and a half compared to the 4 hour one in my last school

And no real dress code anymore, win!

 

That is cool that you are thinking of Tokyo. I have been there twice, and i will be going again in three weeks. I am so excited. It can be expensive to go, but at the same time, it is very possible, and if you budget and plan, you can go make it happen. As far as getting lost, yes, especially at the trainstations in Tokyo. Fortunately people are willing to help out even if they do not speak your language. I have a weblog of pictures, i will provide you the link of from my May 2005 trip. I went with my friend, but he didn't speak any Japanese. I spoke about 15 to 20 words, and relied on my phrase book. A second savings account would be good to have for Japan, a Japan trip fund, and keep in mind the airfare costs, hotel accomodations, transportation within Japan(train, bus, taxi), food, and souvenirs, and if you want a seperate category for AKB48 stuff! PM me if you have any questions.

 

Today my mum and I were talking about names for my potential sibling, and I suggested Hana, but she rejected it. D: SHE HAS NO TASTE. She also rejected Minami, Marina, Mari and Aki.

If it's a boy, its name will be Taiyou. Mum says it won't, but it will. I will see to it personally. u u

 

^ Well I can see why some parents wouldn't want Japanese names if their kid wasn't....well, Japanese? Haha.

"Hana" and "Marina" are good names though, because it also sounds and can be Western names.

 

Shh. XD

Marina is apparently really popular in Brazil. I just like it. And Hana is usually spelled Hannah but the extra letters are ugly to me, so I've always liked it just as Hana...

 

Marina

Sumire is my favorite Japanese name for a girl, but it's not so good with the "sounding like Western names" part. XD;

 

that's cool, using Japanese and being courageous in using the language as a foreigner is a good thing. I cannot really say how many words i can use, probably around 20-30 words by memory in Japanese conversation, and trying to build up my vocabulary before my trip to Japan. Reading kanji/hiragana/katakana is an entirely different situation, as i cannot read any of it. I just want to know enough to get by ordering food, asking directions, simple request, and to comprehend some of what they are saying to me. I am not sure if i would have the same treatment as a caucasian looking gaijin versus an asian that is a gaijin such as myself. I just hope that i can order, request things in Japanese, once i am in the AKB48 store as you did when you were there.

what exactly did you say to the Japanese people, in the Japanese language? sumimasen, chotto..nani o-shimasuka? watashi wa........yoroshiku ne

 

I heard that a lot of Japanese places don't allow Americans? Does that extend to all caucasians or will my Englishness help any? x_o Or is that just an exaggeration?

 

very true...there are bars that do not allow gaijin, unless they were fluent in japanese. i am sure there are restarants and clubs like that in Japan.

 

I think not a lot of places don't allow foreigners but some places don't.
In Japan, speaking Japanese is the rule, so even if you can speak English, it will not help you at all.
The reason they don't allow foreigners is that they don't want to cause any problems with non-Japanese speakers.

 

From what I hear, "no foreigners" places are pretty rare most of the time, and a lot of them are rather sleazy places like brothels or some of the doinkier bars or pachinko parlors and things like that. And then there are some people who have had trouble with foreign customers acting like doinks, or just can't handle the language barrier, and so don't allow foreigners. But again, most places don't have a problem with foreign customers. Just don't act like a doink or cause trouble and you'll probably be OK, I think.

 

You're right.

 

i can see that.....very true, they don't want to bother others, distruption of any is avoided...

most places do not cater to English speaking people outside of the bigger hotels, airports, and touristy areas, because in the general public, even in the trainstations, it can be a big challenge not to understand any Japanese.........even a few words will help, and a phrase book.