Well first of all, I had exams, and was studying Japanese like crazy. In the end I got a 66 on my test, though it was only the second highest score. But see, I knew Dimitri would get a better kanji score than me (I'm not salty about it. Not at all). My grammar is still better. I am mostly satisfied with that.
But anyway, I figured I would share another kanji lesson, just because now that I'm learning the written language it's actually...kind of funny. You may not find it as funny as I do, but that's okay. You can just come along for the ride. This lesson will be featuring my tablet, which my parents so kindly sent over.
Okay, so time for....
We're going to start with something simple, just because whenever I think about this it makes me laugh. Kanji is so literal that sometimes it really amuses me, even though it probably shouldn't. I get that kanji is supposed to be literal, but something about it is just...yeah. IDK, you might not agree.
Okay you say, now what am I looking at? I'll tell you what you're looking at. First of all, please, please do yourself a favor and follow the stroke order. It's so important in this culture, and I know that sometimes it's a hassle, but save yourself the time and do it right.
Now that that's out of the way: you're looking at the kanji for 岩, or "iwa", which translates to "rock formation. You're also looking at the kanji for 出、or "de", which translates to "at the". Now, Iwade is actually the name of my city. So what did does my cities name translate to? At the rock.
So, that was pretty easy. Now let's take a look at the next one.
You may have noticed that I very helpfully changed colors with (almost) every stroke. I did this for a reason. Please use stroke order.
Now here you're looking at 小、or 'ko', which sometimes is actually 'chi', depending on what's next to it. It translates to small. The other one, 雨, 'ame', translates to rain. So now, if you guess the meaning to be, 'small rain', you'd be right. Congratulations, you have now learned two kanji combinations.
Of course, not all kanji are so literal. For example, when you put the kanji 来 (konme, rice) together with the kanji 国 (kuni, country) you get America. But I digress. There is something I recently discovered, however, that I thought was pretty hysterical.
So, everyone knows the nickname for Japan, right? Land of the rising sun? Well I'm about to tell you exactly where that name came from.
Japan literally named their country sun origin.
You may not think this is so hysterical. But to me, this is kind of like naming your giant lizard--I dunno--Godzilla. Oh wait, they did.
And last, kanji that doesn't translate to English, because it's cool:
I never actually learned the stroke order for this kanji, so....you know. Ah! I got it. You have a new homework assignment, everyone, and I expect it to be completed quickly!!!!!! Look up the stroke order for 'yuugen'! (and tell me when you have the results, haha). Anyway, this means 'subtle and profound'. Sort of. There was a longwinded explanation that sounded pretty neat, but it boils down to 'subtle and profound'.
Kanji with Gracia is finished!
Anyway, moving on. Now it's time to talk about the stuff I've been doing which, sadly, wasn't much. Something that was pretty cool, though, was that I went to Universal Studios Japan with the other Rotary Exchange girls. It was really fun! Apparently the Christmas tree has more lights than any other Christmas tree on earth. And honestly, I can believe it. I didn't get any pictures, which I'm sorely regretting, but just imagine a giant tree almost as bright as the sun. You're probably pretty close.
We got to ride a lot of cool rides, but I liked the Harry Potter ride the best. I liked it even more because I got to ride it twice, because the first time it stopped in the middle. Hah. Haha. The other girls liked the rides, though I think some of them really hadn't been on roller coasters before. Pretty brave of them.
Also, I got to make mochi, which is basically rice that's been pounded into a paste. It's...very stress relieving. I have a video, but unfortunately my phone is being very uncooperative, so I can't add it right now. We made (and ate--yum!) the mochi after the other exchange students and I did a speech about exchange. I actually ended up in the paper, which was pretty awesome. Here're some pictures!
Finished mochi, with some bean...stuff. I think? On it. Very delish.
Tei and I rockin' the uniforms.
Man, I cannot tell you how good it felt to bet the ever loving stuffing out of that rice.
Alright, lastly....
Today I moved to a new home!
As much as I liked my old home, today I had to move to a new one, in Iwade (previously I was living in Wakayama, and the commute to school was about an hour every day). The new room is a bit smaller than the old one, but just as functional, and it's pretty cute. I'll edit this post tomorrow with some pictures, but it's pretty late now so I want to wrap this up. The host mom is really nice, and for the first time in my life I've got an older brother (twenty eight years old). The host father is also pretty cool, and we all had a nice conversation together during dinner.
I think I'm really going to like it here.
Anyway, hopefully I'll add some pictures tomorrow, so just be patient! Later!
