A little recess...

Hello, it's JPOtaku, and... well, I'll be gone for a month.

BAM! A wave of sadness hit the country. Especially since no one's reading this and I've left for over 3 months plenty of times. But don't despair!

I'm not actually abandoning this blog, I'm just going to be busy for a month. Busy. A month. 2+2=... CAMP! Even while I'm there, I will still がんばります (try hard) to maintain my Japanese schedule. Perhaps I'll even have news when I come back!

Thanks,

JPOtaku

Multilingual...ism

I find it harder and harder to be learning more than one language at once. Prime example? Japanese and French.

As you may have known, the English sentence order is SVO (Subject-verb-object). For instance, "I hid an Easter egg." The subject, in most cases, comes first in the sentence (I), then comes the verb (hid), then the object (an Easter egg). However, in Japanese, the sentence order is SVO. Which means instead of saying "I hid an Easter egg," you'd be saying "I an Easter egg hid".

Sometimes, when speaking in French, I get an irresistible urge to put my verbs at the end of my sentences. God forbid I speak to a French native anytime soon! They'd think I was Yoda!

I found a very helpful person on Youtube who specializes in this exact type of problem: kemushichan. In particular, this video of hers deals with those who are learning several languages at once. (She even happens to mention my own situation in the video!) Watch the video, and look at her channel-- she might help you with some of the problems that YOU are having!

HOLY CRAP #2-- (Fit's Gum)

Now-- I just recently found out about this Youtube craze a week ago, but still--- it was inevitable that this trend would spread all over Youtube Japan.

A Japanese gum company, "Fit's", released these commercials to promote a new, innovative, unbelievably soft, more mouth-accessible pack of gum. In the commercials, the model takes a piece of gum, chews it, and then proceeds to do a very distinctive, lively dance that gets anyone in a 15-foot radius excited to chew and dance as well. All the while, an infectious jingle plays in the background that would make anyone who knew the dance moves want to get up and shake it, too.

But wait!

We can shake it, too!

On the Fit's website was posted the instructions to the dance, in Japanese, along with their official announcement of their Youtube dance contest. That was when bunches of Japanese Youtubers picked up their webcams, shook it, and advertised their imaginary packs of gum.

A Fit's Entry
Another Fit's Entry
A Third Fit's Entry (my personal favorite)
A Fourth Fit's Entry (WHOA, foreigners?! No way. :P)

As far as I know, Fit's company (LOTTE) has promoted 32 entries. Now-- if this seems crazy or pointless to you, just think back a little-- just how many commercials have us Americans obsessed over?

Visa? (There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard.)

Geico? (The gecko AND the cavemen. AND the cash with the googly eyes.)

Freecreditreport.com? ("My legs are stickin' to the vinyl and my posse's gettin' laughed at!")

Remember those? :P

--JPOtaku

My Japanese Progress!

Lately, since it's summer vacation, I have been able to do a LOT more Japanese. Particularly, I have been trying to learn more kanji to correspond with new adjectives and verbs I've been memorizing.

But, it turns out that I have an unexpected problem. Since it's spring break, most would take a break from all of their studies, educational or otherwise. I, however... am way too obsessed to take any sort of break.

Exactly how obsessed? I mean, "Learn 5 kanji every day", "finish 2 chapters of 'Japanese for Dummies'" obsessed. By the way, recently I've been using this extremely useful website called smart.fm, which helps you with learning various things using flashcard-like quizzes. It's extremely addictive, and it even features some exercises from Tofugu.com's Koichi-ben. Check it-- it's in the sidebar.

This blog post from Tofugu.com helped me a lot to budget my time wisely and to not overwork myself. It's also useful for those who find themselves not able to study enough. Perhaps it'd help you, whether or not you are studying Japanese!

Enjoy,

JPOtaku

HOLY CRAP-- #1 (J-Dorama)

Ahh... What can I say about J-Dorama?

Well, for starters... ITSTHEMOSTADDICTIVETHINGTHATIVESEENINMYLIFEGETMEAWAY

FROMTHISCOMPUTERINEEDMORERIGHTNOWASDFGHGFKDFJWEROILJ

...

Okay. Just needed to get that out... Now! :D What exactly IS a J-Dorama?

The phrase "J-Dorama" actually stands for "Japanese Drama". It refers to Japanese soaps which actually air (or have aired) on Japanese television channels. Now, I am definitely NOT a person who enjoys dramatic television shows... In fact, that's the last thing I'd watch if I had a choice. But, allow me to say this, Americans-- Asian dramas are 100% DIFFERENT from American dramas.

Yeah, American dramas-- you know, the dramatic camera angles, the woman standing out in the rain crying, the man who enters a completely calm scene with a gun... etc., etc. This is exactly the stuff I like to stay AWAY from.

My very first experience with a J-Dorama-- I was reading this blog on a website called "Tofugu.com"... It was about "J-doramaholics."

ME: "wth is a j-dorama? durrr"

So... I look up a show called "Hana Yori Dango" (or, Boys over Flowers).

I watch the first episode.

I watch the first season.

I watch the second season.

I watch the movie.

I wa-- wait, there's no more. I NEED MORE.

I look up "Akihabara@DEEP".

I watch the first episode.

I finish the season.

I wa-- NO MORE. MORE. MORE.

I look up "Kimi Wa Petto" (You're My Pet). [MORE.]

I look up "Great Teacher Onizuka" (GTO). [MORE MORE.]

I look up "Gokusen".

I look up "Nobuta wo Produce".

At this point, a month has passed, and I'm lying on the floor near my computer, wondering what happened. My family is circled around me, shouting "We love you" and "Get help now" and "Please, think of your future". And what do I do?

I look up "Hana Kimi".

I look up "Beautiful Life."

Now, what do I actually THINK about these dramas? Well, first of all, they don't FEEL like dramas. They feel like television shows, sprinkled with scandal and romance. When I finished "Hana Yori Dango", I thought, "Well, yeah, this wouldn't actually happen in real life... but still, it didn't FEEL like a show at all!" (I also thought, "I NEED MOOORE"...)

Honestly, I believe that the reason why these shows are so addictive is because some of them feel like stories your mother would tell you before you went to bed at night. They do such a great job with projecting morals, it's unbelievable. Watching Akihabara@DEEP, all I could think of was, "I'LL NEVER MAKE FUN OF A COMPUTER NERD AGAIN!!!" ......Though that doesn't actually apply to me. Since I am one. -.-

Anyways, here are a few shows that I recommend (All of which can be found on a fantastic website called "mysoju.com", which will be linked to in the sidebar.)----->

First, I'll go with "Hana Yori Dango", just because it's the most popular. Almost like crack is the most popular drug. Plus, you gotta love that Inoue Mau. What a great actress. (Not to mention the heart throb, Matsumoto Jun.)

Then, it has to be "Akihabara@DEEP" (although, I'm not actually sure that this is a J-Dorama... it seems more like a comedy.) You'll have fun learning more and more about the world's #1 electronic district, Akihabara.

My third favorite is "Gokusen". The reason is that I just love the comedic air of the main character, Yamaguchi, and her posse of yakuza brothers. On that note, I also have to recommend "GTO" (which I haven't actually really been into, just because I've been getting into "Nobuta wo Produce").

Last is-- yep-- "Nobuta wo Produce". I don't know what it is about this one! Maybe it just resembles "Hana Yori Dango" so much, I just couldn't stay away. I do enjoy the plot, though... it's very original.

You may have noticed that I'm saying AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE about these shows... and it's just because I want you to enjoy them that much more. Now-- be careful how you spend your time on these ones, and who you send them to. You want your friends to enjoy these J-doramas, not replace food and drink with them.

Finally, visit Tofugu.com! I was first launched into this whole experience by that one blog post.

--JPOtaku