サンクスギビングの休み

サンクスギビングの休み

私のサンクスギビングの休みは　おもしろかったです。車で　うちに　きて、かぞくと　あえました。サンクスギビングは　いつも　うれしくて　たのしいです。サンクスギビングの日のごご　さんじ　から　ろくじ　まで　かぞくと　たべました。たべてから　ポードゲームを　しました。

私はまた友達と多くの時間を過ごした。サンクスギビングの休み金曜日に　友達とFANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM を　みました。えいがは　とても　おもしろかったです。

サンクスギビングの休みは　たのしかったです。

じゃまた、

宮崎

私の週末

週末はとてもおもしろかったです。金曜の晩　ともだちと　パーティーに　いきました。パーティーは　とても　たのしかったです。パーティーの後、ともだちと　学生会館に　SMASHBURGERを　たべに　いきました。土曜日のごごに　フットボールゲームを　みて、がくしょくで　晩御飯を　たべました。日曜日　ともだちと　としょかん で　べんきょうしました。

じゃまた、

宮崎

アメリカのうちと日本のうち

Though both Japan and the U.S. are well-developed countries, due to cultural differences, the houses of the two countries have many differences. Generally, 日本のうちは　大きく　ありません。でも、りっぱな　うちです。This is in contrast with American houses. アメリカのうちは　大きい　です。アメリカのうちはも　りっぱです。Japanese houses tend to be very simplistic, with less flashy furnishing than American houses. Another big difference is that Japanese houses rarely have attics or basements, which are two things very common in American houses. The appliances in Japanese houses may also difference very much from American houses. For instance, Japanese houses will almost always have rice cookers, due to the fact that rice is a staple food for the Japanese. In the U.S., however, rice cookers are much less common; however, American houses might be more likely to have appliances such as microwaves. Another thing to note is that Japanese houses rarely have central heating systems, while this is almost constant across the nation in American houses. 

アメリカのうち

日本のうち

じゃまた、

宮崎

ミヤザキのえいが

ミヤザキのえいがは　面白い (interesting)　えいがです。よく　祖父母 のうちで　ミヤザキのえいがを　みました。As a kid, whenever I visited my grandparents, they would always love to show me Hayao Miyazaki's films. I'm glad they entertained me in this way. I'll forever be grateful for them exposing me to Japanese culture here in the U.S. as much as they could. わたしのすきなえいがは　となりのトトロです。

じゃまた、

宮崎

d

いわどさんのトーク

げつようびのごごごじに　マッケナハルで　いわどさんのトークに　いきました。Overall, I enjoyed Mr. Iwado's lecture very much.  Though some of the political nuances he explained were a little bit over my head, he gave a lot of insight on U.S.-Japan relations, as well as Japan in general.  Mr. Iwado talked a lot about the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, especially referencing its impacts and importance not only to the U.S., but also to the whole world. Another interesting aspect of Japan that he talked about was Japan's influence on the United States.  By referencing things such as statistics on the number of Japanese businesses in U.S. states, he opened our eyes to the importance of our country's relationship with Japan.  Originally, I thought that the lecture was strictly going to be about Japan's politics and political issues surrounding the country, but Mr. Iwado incorporated a lot of other interesting details about Japan, such as its culture and geography.  In this way, I learned very much not only about Japan's political standing, but also other defining factors of the country.  Mr. Iwado also threw in some humor, which is always a plus, especially in a lecture.  

じゃまた、

ミヤザキ

Dialogue

A: こんにちわ、みやざきさん。

わたし：こんにちわ。おげんきですか。

A:あい、げんきです。あなたは　ブレークチュー　どこに　いきましたか。

わたし：こくりつこうえんのたけがしまに　いきました。

A:そうですか。こくりつこうえんのたけがしまに　なにが　ありますか。

わたし：おうくのすいせいが　ありますよ。こおえんは　うつくしいです。

A:そうですか。あなたのすきなぶぶんは　なにでしたか。

わたし：けしきは　さいこうでした。

A:おうくのかんこうきやくが　ありましたか。

わたし：はい、ありました。

A:そうですか。わたしは　いつか　そこに　ほうもんしたいです。

わたし：それは　いい　あいでいあです。

A:いってきます。

わたし： じゃまた。

ミヤザキ　

まちのうち

わたしのまちのうちは　デモインです。アイオワに　デモインが　あります。デモインは　りっぱです。でも、ゆめいじゃ　ありません。あいおわは　ちいさいです。でも、デモインは　ちいさく　ありません。わたしわ　ひじょおに　おおくの　デモインが　すき。

宮崎

カタカナ

After browsing the internet and googling Japanese images, events, and the city of Tokyo, I found these images.  In each of these, I was able to find at least one phrase written in カタカナ, each of which I found the translation for. 

This first picture was actually hard to find any katakana in, because it is flipped around.  Though it is hard to see what each character is, I found the column on the left to read, カラオケ, which is translated to karaoke.  This seems to be a big attraction in Japan.


This next image shows a sign that clearly reads チカラめし, which is a mix of カタカナ and ひらがな. I found this phrase to mean "Chikara Rice," although I was unable to find out what this type of rice is specifically. Sounds pretty good though.

This image was the most intriguing. As you can see, it reads "Pretz" in English.  The カタカナ right next to the slice of pizza reads: ピザ. A kanji was also present and I was unable to translate it, however, I think that the カタカナ was enough to follow what the package was saying. Obviously, this translates to 'pizza,' which is also shown on the box as an image.



The last photo was a picture that I found by looking for McDonald's in Japan on Google. In this picture, many カタカナ phrases can be found, including アイコンチキン, which translates to something like 'Icon chicken' and ハンバーグ, which translates to 'hamburger.'

Overall, カタカナ has been fun to learn because of all of the pronunciations and stringing together of Japanese sounds to make english-sounding words.

じゃまた、

ミヤザキ

つうじょうの　しゅうまつ

(Normal weekend)

よく　きにょうびのばん　パーチーに　いきます。にじ　ごろ　りょうに　かえります。いつも　どようびのあさ　わたしわ　しゃわあお　あびます。つぎの　たいてえ　ぢにんぐはるで　あさごはの　たべます。いつも　ふっとぼうるお　みます。たいてえ　としょかんで　べんきょうします。でも　せんしゅうまつ　べんきようしませんでした。たいてえ　どようびに　パーチーに　いきます。でも　いきませんでした。じゅうにじに　ねました。

まいにちせいかつ

わたしは　まいにち　はちじ に おきます。わたしは　まいあさ　こひお　のみます。それから、わたしは　しゃわお　あびます。あさごはんお　たべます。それから、わたしはら、わたしは　くらすに　いきます。つぎの　わたしは　としょかんで　べんきょします。べんきょうします。それから、それから、ばんごはんお　たべます。たべます。さいごに、ねみます。

しつれいします！

はじめまして。わたしわみやざきです。あめりかじんです。にねんせえです。せんこおわかがくです。どおぞよろしく！

Since my grandparents on my father's side of the family lived most of their lives in Tokyo, every time I would visit them my grandma would always cook up delicious Japanese cuisine.  One of my favorite dishes she would make is chicken kotsu. Chicken kotsu is breaded and deep-fried chicken cutlet made usually of chicken thigh, usually served with tonkatsu sauce, a Japanese Worcestershire sauce.  The dish is frequently paired with rice, cabbage, and miso soup.  Though the only times I have had this delicious Japanese dish is at my grandparents house once or twice a year, I can say with complete confidence that it is one of my favorite foods.


















Although I only described this one Japanese dish, I am also a big fan of sushi and other Japanese foods.  In addition for my interest in Japanese cuisine, I also want to explore Japanese literature and music.  I hope to be able to understand Japanese lyrics and read books in Japanese some day.

Japanese has always been an interest of mine.  Though I am of Japanese descent, this Asian side of me is a big question mark in my life.  I've frequently found myself asking questions such as 'what is Japanese culture like?' and 'what would learning this unique language be like?'  Finally, after living 19 years without knowing much about Japan and its language, I made the decision to explore this language so foreign to me.  In fact, I was so eager to dive right into Japanese that I chose to take the intensive course here at Notre Dame.

Both of my parents speak Japanese, although only my father is of Japanese descent (my mother has roots in Lithuania and Ireland) .  This makes me even more excited to learn the language.  As I begin my journey of learning Japanese, everything about the language seems so intriguing--the characters, the alphabet system, and especially the culture that comes along with it.  I remember my father always telling me stories about his visits to Japan, portraying to me the rather chaotic but culturally rich city of Tokyo.  I cannot wait to not only learn the Japanese language, but also indulge in the country's unique culture.