Congragulations ShiroKuro, you're it. It's your turn to take center stage.

1. Does "ShiroKuro" mean anything?

2. I remember your bicyle topic from a few months ago. As an avid bicyclist myself, I was wondering which bike did you get? How do you like it?

3. Are you pursuing a master's or a PhD degree?

4. If I remember correctly, you once said that your major is either a language or linguistics. I took Spanish in college. For an Anglophile, such as myself, it's an easier language to learn. Two years of a foreign language is required in order to graduate at the university that I attended. It must be two years of the same language. About 50% take Spanish, 30% take French, 10% take German, and the remaining 10% take other languages. I'd venture to say that these same percentages apply at pretty much all U.S. colleges and universities.

So which languages do students mostly take at colleges in Japan?

Wow, Qaanaaq-Liaaq, thanks!

And the perfect excuse not to work on my paper!!

1. ShiroKuro is Japanese, shiro= white and kuro= black, as in the piano's keyboard. Also, in Japanese, it's generally said "white and black" (hence ShiroKuro not KuroShiro), opposite from the English standard of saying "black and white."

2. That thread was about a bike for Mr SK, he ended up getting a used Mongoose (I believe that's right). And he likes it a lot. We also found a place to keep it inside, so it's in good shape. BTW Mr SK rode it all through the winter!

3. I am currently considered a Master's candidate, my program does not admit directly into the PhD program, you have to formally complete a master's first, which includes coursework, two huge exams and a master's paper. Then I will continue (no breaks) to the PhD program, where I have to do a third language (either Chinese or Korean) more course work, more exams and finally a dissertation!

4. Most students in Japan have had English in high school, so although many continue that in college, German has also been popular. (especially for people studying medicine). Recently Korean is becoming very popular. And I think Chinese has always been popular for people doing literature or philosophy. French would probably be next, then I don't know how common Spanish, Portugese and Italian are. And I don't know how many people study Latin. But definitely, English is the most common because it's seen as the most useful.

One thing that's nice about being a TA of Japanese in the US is that generally, students are not taking it just to complete a language requirement (as you mention, those students tend to take Spanish). People generally don't take Japanese unless they have some specific interest, so that means students are more engaged and motivated.

Hi SK,

So, how is the acclimatization of hubby going?

And what are you working on these days ... on the piano?

What sparked your initial interest in Japanese?

What languages did you take in K-12?

How did you decide to move to Japan?

Have you made any progress in learning to cook?

Have you gotten to the point of not counting your throws in a three-ball cascade?

How's the passing coming?

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Hi SK,

So, how is the acclimatization of hubby going?

And what are you working on these days ... on the piano?

Hi P*D! Mr SK is doing pretty good getting used to life in America. He does a lot more things now on his own that even a few months ago he would have never done without me. Like going to the DMV to get his driver license!

Piano, I am working on playing faster! I had two pieces that I wanted to play, maybe two or three years ago, that I put aside before really trying because I felt I would never be able to get the tempo up. (both are 4/4 time, one is MM= 138, the other is MM=142, might as well be the speed of light for me!) This summer I have worked on those, and one is about ready to share (not exactly performance-ready, but ready to play for family) and the other will be soon.

Oh, did you want to know the names? One is Asience (by Ryuuichi Sakamoto), the other is Sunburst, a solo piano arrangement of Andrew York's classical guitar piece.

Hi PJ!!

>>What sparked your initial interest in Japanese?
I was practicing Aikido (a Japanese martial art) and the head instructor who came to our dojo 4 times a year could hardly speak English. Through Aikido, I was getting interested in Japan in general, and thought it would be great to be able to speak to the Sensei. At the same time, I needed to complete my foreign language credit in university (and was just short of the necessary credits in 3 languages that were half forgotten). There was an intensive summer class in Japanese (one year's worth of credits in 10 weeks). Sounded like a good idea, little did I know it would change my life forever!

And just a little side note, Aikido was what got me interested in studying Japanese, and after I went to Japan, I met Mr SK through Aikido practice. Coincidence, or fate???

>>What languages did you take in K-12?
I only took French, but I also grew up hearing Italian (grandparents, extended family.) In collge, at different times I took French, Spanish and American Sign Language before starting Japanese.

>>How did you decide to move to Japan?
I was graduating from college with a degree in Japanese language and literature, where else was I going to find a job? Seriously though, I wanted to work in Japan. I also liked the thought of teaching English, but thought it would just be a short time thing (before I moved to Tokyo and became a big time translator, right?) So I got a job teaching English to junior high school students and went to Japan just a few months after graduating. Here again, little did I know that I would end up staying there for 12 years!


>>Have you made any progress in learning to cook?
No, and I haven't been trying. What's your point?


>>Have you gotten to the point of not counting your throws in a three-ball cascade?
Yes, sometimes. Sometimes, I start out counting but I have to stop because I'm still juggling and I've lost count. My three-ball cascade still needs a lot of work though.

>>How's the passing coming?
Ok, especially if I'm passing with someone who's really good Mr SK and I working on a 5 ball passing pattern, but it's all passing to each other (no selfs) I want to learn one that has more variety.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

>>Have you made any progress in learning to cook?
No, and I haven't been trying. What's your point?

Just asking.

quote:

>>How's the passing coming?
Ok, especially if I'm passing with someone who's really good Mr SK and I working on a 5 ball passing pattern, but it's all passing to each other (no selfs) I want to learn one that has more variety.

Do you still have the series of exercises that lead to passing? That whole one around, two around, two in a mirror, etc.?


I'm impressed... after graduating college with a degree in Russian Language and Literature, I decided that the *last* thing I really wanted to do was speak Russian for a living. Although, in the last few years, I have been feeling a renewed interest welling up. I have been hoping for 20 years that the NFFMCo will send me to Russia, elsewhere in Eastern Europe, or maybe China on a semi-permanent assignment. I totally dig speaking to people in their native language -- I mean when it's other than English.



What have been the most challenging aspects of moving back to the U.S.?

Have you been experiencing 'reverse culture shock'?

What foods in Japan did you try once reluctantly and never touch again?

Has that happened to Mr SK? The food thing.

>>Do you still have the series of exercises that lead to passing? That whole one around, two around, two in a mirror, etc.?

Wait, wait! What are those? One around and two around is where the balls go in a circle right? So my right hand throws to my left, LH throws to partner's right, partner's right throws to partner's LH, and that LH throws to my RH? Right?

What's two in a mirror?


>>I'm impressed... after graduating college with a degree in Russian Language and Literature, I decided that the *last* thing I really wanted to do was speak Russian for a living.

Was that because you didn't like Russian language, or Russian culture?

>>AlI totally dig speaking to people in their native language -- I mean when it's other than English.

Yes, that definitely has an appeal! I just for whatever reason fell in love with the japanese language, it's funny how things work out.


>>What have been the most challenging aspects of moving back to the U.S.?

That's so hard to articulate. It's definitely the more subtle things, like standards for behavior/common sense type stuff that people take as a given, that is not at all a given for me, because it's different in Japan. These are the things that are not overt, and so they tend to sneak up on me. And, since I am American and basically have a midwestern accent, people assume I'm just like everyone else, when half the time I feel like a foreigner. After, I basically became an adult in Japan, so my model of "being in the world" is much more Japanese than it is American.

>>Have you been experiencing 'reverse culture shock'?

Yes! But the word "shock" doesn't quite describe it. as I said, it's more subtle, and that makes it hard for me to spot. It's not like I'm headed for a nervous breakdown, but sometimes I feel offended or put off by something, and I realize that's just because there's a different standard or habit here than I'm used to.

>>What foods in Japan did you try once reluctantly and never touch again?

Ummm.... only one item really comes to mind, Natto, fermented bean paste. It's supposed to be incredibly healthy, and lots of people love it. So Mr SK and I thought we would make it part of our diet, but we both hated it! (It smells like smelly, used sweatsocks.) Mr SK's mother made it for me once, served on hot rice and covered with a raw egg. The raw egg masks the scent and made it edible, but I can't bring myself to have raw eggs in my diet either, so we don't eat Natto any more.

>>Has that happened to Mr SK? The food thing.

I just asked him.... Not yet- Oh wait, he remembers. We had some kind of sweet potato, cadied yams thing that one of my aunts made. Sweet potatoes are already sweet, and I think she made this dish with brown sugar AND maple syrup. It was the most disgustingly sweet thing either of us has ever eaten. Japanese sweets are famous for not being very sweet compared to American sweets, so Mr Sk really couldn't handle the candied yams dish!

Hello again, Shiro.

1. So which cell phone did you get? You were once looking for one with a special keyboard or something.

2. A retardo question: I’m sure Mount Fuji gets a lot of snow during the winter but what about the rest of Japan? Does it snow much?

3. “Shiro” means “white”. So that’s what it means! The reason why I asked is because I belong to a z31 owner's forum. A z31 is Nissan’s code name for their 1984-1989 300ZX model line. When I graduated from college, I bought a 1984 300ZX turbo and I’ve had it ever since. Any way, in 1988, there was a 300ZX Shiro special edition model which was all white in color. Well, now I know!

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
At the same time, I needed to complete my foreign language credit in university (and was just short of the necessary credits in 3 languages that were half forgotten). There was an intensive summer class in Japanese (one year's worth of credits in 10 weeks). Sounded like a good idea, little did I know it would change my life forever!

4. Yep, an accelerated foreign language sequence is the way to go. That’s what I would recommend. I took it at the Univ. of Illinois and completed the two year foreign language requirement in one year instead of two. Started in August and was done in May. A fast paced accelerated sequence is probably not for everyone though.

5. How hard is it to learn a language that uses a different alphabet? It seems like it would be twice as hard to learn because you have to learn a new alphabet as well as the language. I would think that people who take other-alphabet languages were probably exposed to it at an early age and have some kind of strong family tie to it. The average U.S. college student just doesn’t have the time to study Russian, Japanese, Arabic, etc.

My sixteen year old is going to Mishima in a couple of weeks (staying with a family there on an exchange program).

Where the heck is Mishima?
Will a 6'3", skinny blonde kid blend in with the natives?
Is it nice and cool and breezy there in August?

On an unrelated note, do you and Mr SK have plans to travel around the US in the near future?

quote:

1. So which cell phone did you get? You were once looking for one with a special keyboard or something.

2. A retardo question: I’m sure Mount Fuji gets a lot of snow during the winter but what about the rest of Japan? Does it snow much?

1. We got iPhones, because they have full Japanese language capability (unlike any other phone I've found in the US. Blackberry is supposed "support" Japanese characters, but doesn't allow input, and the translator group said it was not recommended since the ability to even read Japanese web pages was limited.) The iPhone lets you set it so that all the menus and everything are in Japanese, you can do input and read etc. So it's perfect for us.

2. Some parts of Japan get an amazing amount of snow. Also, the winter olympics of 1998 (I think 98) were held in Nagano Japan, which is famous for places to ski. Anywhere in Japan is always very close to the ocean (compared to the US), so where it's cold, there's a lot of moisture an that makes incredible snow possible. One region of northern Japan is sometimes called "yuki-guni" or Snow Country.

Where we lived, on the other hand, is probably a similar latitude to South Carolina, south and warm. There, it only really snows in the mountains.

quote:

5. How hard is it to learn a language that uses a different alphabet? It seems like it would be twice as hard to learn because you have to learn a new alphabet as well as the language. I would think that people who take other-alphabet languages were probably exposed to it at an early age and have some kind of strong family tie to it. The average U.S. college student just doesn’t have the time to study Russian, Japanese, Arabic, etc.

It's not really accurate to describe Japanese as only having a different alphabet. The Japanese writing system is one of the more complicated. Japanese uses kanji (based on Chinese characters) which are meaning-based elements, one character equals one word or meaning. Japanese (unlike Chinese) also has two phonetic-alphabets (one symbols represents one sound, there are about 100). Writing in Japanese requires a mixture of kanji and the two phonetic alphabets, so you have to learn all three systems in order to write. In that regard I would say it is probably dramatically harder than languages like Russian, Arabic or Korean (which also uses a phonetic alphabet and no longer uses Chinese characters).

You are right, the average college student does not have the time, patience or motivation to study Japanese. Which is why we ponly get students who have some specific interest in Japanese, as opposed to just taking it to fulfill general ed requirements. From the standpoint of the teacher, this is great, because there are no apathetic students in our classes!!

quote:

Originally posted by Doug:
My sixteen year old is going to Mishima in a couple of weeks (staying with a family there on an exchange program).

Wow that's great! How long will he/she be there?

quote:

Where the heck is Mishima?

No idea, need more info. Mishima is kind of like "Springfield," many prefectures in Japan has a city with that name. (There was a Mishima in the prefecture where I lived, but it's a teeny island in the Inland Sea, probably not where your teen is going.) Japan does not have states, but prefectures. If you can find out the prefecture, or postal code, or more of the address, I can tell you more. And I'm curious too.

quote:

Will a 6'3", skinny blonde kid blend in with the natives?

Not a chance!

quote:

Is it nice and cool and breezy there in August?

Doubt it, but it does depend somewhat on where Mishima is.

quote:

On an unrelated note, do you and Mr SK have plans to travel around the US in the near future?

No, unfortunately. No money, so any money we spend traveling has to be going to places where relatives are so we can see family. We are going to upstate NY soon to see my mum, so that will be nice. And probably next summer we'll try to go to Japan.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
If you can find out the prefecture, or postal code, or more of the address, I can tell you more. And I'm curious too.

Well, apparently "Mishima is located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, about 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Tokyo",. At the foot of Mt Fuji??

Middle son is going for a little over two weeks. This is a "sister city" program with the city of Pasadena, here. Then he is back for the start of school (where he figures to be the star of his Japanese class, at least briefly...)

i don't like candied yams either.

i quarter my sweet potatoes.. or cut them in strips and roast them with a little olive oil and salt.

What do you and mr SK eat for dinner usually. I am fascinated by people's food choices.

i find you very interesting ShiroKuro and am glad you are forum member of the month.

Doug,

Well, now you know about as much about Mishima, Shizuoka, as I do.

Actually,did you see that they have a Wiki page for Mishima? (In english even)
Mishima on Wiki

Also, Mishima's official homepage has an English-language counterpart (which is thankful not as visually jarring as the Japanese page, but does have a few spelling mistakes!)
Mishima City Hall

I hope Middle Son has a great time! How long has he been studying Japanese? If you don't mind, would you ask him what textbook(s) he has used in Japanese class?