Sherlock: … and so I said to him, “I knew it was you!”
Watson: How ever did you figure it out?
Sherlock: Well, let me tell you. I spied him sneaking into the hallway, and then when I went to put my shoes on later–after completely forgetting about the incident–there it was! A piece of poo, stuck to the bottom of my sock!
Watson: The poo was in your shoe?
Sherlock: It was!
Watson:(shakes head sadly) You really must get rid of that child.
Sherlock: Oh no, I sha’n’t do that. I’ll simply send him to school.
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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