Life in progress

Category Archives: NanoPoblano


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NanoPoblano Day 4 – Day of Failure

Blogger’s guilt. This should be a thing. A recognized condition to describe how we writers in blogland feel when we want to write something but we just can’t.

Take, for instance, the matter of theme. This can range from the entire basis for which our sites exist, or it can be as small as something we decided in a fit of inspiration that our Nano Poblano challenge would revolve around. Yes, you guessed it. Today I fail. There will be no Japanese lesson today. I simply haven’t the heart, the brain, nor various other body parts for it. It’s been a rough day, full of doctor’s appointments at which I folded in the face of a red-eyed frightened child who didn’t want to get his flu shot, and a car parked in a parking lot miles from home, causing me to have to walk with the aforementioned child.

But tomorrow will be better! Perhaps we’ll talk about the joys of ordering coffee, not only in Japan but worldwide! Or maybe I’ll expound on the treat that is saying “I’m sorry.” Stay tuned! It’ll be fun! As everything should be when your life is in progress. Right?

Right?

Right.

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This strange confession/cheerleading session is brought to you by NanoPoblano. Find all the links here!


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NanoPoblano Day 3 – Where am I?

Getting lost in Japan, as you know if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, is one of my favourite things to do. Knowing this even before I went there last December, I learned what I thought was a helpful phrase:

Koko desu ka? (ko-ko dess ka)

Where am I? Or, directly translated, means “where is here?” Since it is assumed when speaking in Japanese that you’re speaking about yourself, the “I” is not necessary. Makes sense so far, right? HA! I have had more strange looks asking this question than I got that time I told someone “I have woman” in French.* Ask a Japanese person “Koko desu ka?” and you will invariably be blessed with a facial expression that says, “Is this a trick question?” Perhaps it’s because people there don’t walk around carrying maps, though I seriously doubt it considering how difficult it is to find anything. Actually, the Japanese love maps. Probably because they can’t find anything.

Conclusion: Carry a GPS.

*In French, if you’re hungry, you say “J’ai faim” which directly translated means “I have hunger.” If you pronounce the word “faim” as “femme,” which means “woman,” people will look in your backpack.

Nano Poblano is fun! Check out some more posts at Rarasaur’s blog!


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NanoPoblano Day 2 – Gotta go!!

Today’s Japanese lesson involves something that affects all of humankind. Nay, all animated being-kind. It is a need unsurpassed since the dawn of time. No, not coffee. Though coffee is essential! Don’t get me wrong.

No, this requirement outweighs all other requirements.  From mere brewing to utter urgency, it is a force to be reckoned with. It is… the need to go to the toilet. And it is a must to learn in any language native to where you’re traveling. So let us consider the phrase in Japanese, “Where is the washroom?”

Say it with me:

O-tearai wa, doko desu ka?

Directly translated it means, “The toilet, where is it?” As you can see, the word for toilet has a lot of vowels in it. In Japanese, we pronounce each one individually. So, “O” always sounds like an O in the alphabet; “te” has a soft “e” sound, as does “a,” and “i” always sounds like “ee.” I give you: O-te-a-ra-ee. Try it. Try it again. Now imagine you’re bursting at the seams and try it again. It makes the rest; “do-ko dess ka” seem like a leisurely stroll in the park, doesn’t it?

Conclusion – cross your legs and eyes and whine. Someone will point you in the right direction. It’s a human thing, after all.

 

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This post has been part of Nano Poblano, found here: https://rarasaur.wordpress.com/nanopoblano-2015/#comment-53592 You can also type “Nanopoblano” into the search tabs in your reader to read more entries.


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NanoPoblano Day 1 – What was I thinking?

Hello. My name is Linda and I am a Pepper. I have been addicted to blogging for some time now – I do it often when I shouldn’t and I participate in challenges that could easily kill me since I’m unable to back down once I start. This is my confession.

On the demand urging of Sirius Bizinus over at Amusing Nonsense, I’ve decided to participate in the blog hop fondly called NanoPoblano once again. Which wouldn’t be so bad except I’m going to Japan from the 19th to the 30th of this month, so I’ll have to pre-schedule those posts. The good news is, I’ve figured out how to work this to my advantage, and you’re all going to suffer enjoy it with me. 😀 How are we going to do this? We’re all going to learn Japanese together!

I’ll keep it simple for our first day. The word of the day is, “Konnichiwa” (kon-ee-chee-wa). It means hello. It’s a word used when meeting someone for the first time during the day (but not in the evening, that’s a different word). If pronounced properly and with enough authenticity as to make the listener think you actually know the language, it is followed by light and extremely fast conversation that will both confuse you and make you wish you’d mispronounced it.

Conclusion – hello in any other language is preferable.

Tomorrow we will start into commonly used phrases. Bring a notepad and a pencil. Sharpen the latter if you wish to take notes. (Disclaimer: Sharpening the former may lead to paper cuts.)

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This post has been part of Nano Poblano. Should you wish to participate, there’s still time! Go here to sign up:  https://rarasaur.wordpress.com/nanopoblano-2015/#comment-53592 You can also type “Nanopoblano” into the search tabs in your reader to read more entries.