One of the things that I don’t like about going back and forth between Japan and the states is that the computer keyboards are slightly different and really confusing. On a Japanese keyboard, ‘ is shift 7. @ is on the key next to P. Also, there are 4 keys that have – mark. Every key has 4 letters or marks on it. The space key is much smaller and if I hit a key next to a space key, it changes the language from English to Japanese. Typing in Japanese is really annoying too. After typing a couple sentences, I have to go back and check if the computer chose the right kanji (Chinese Characters) for every single word and usually, it doesn&t. There, I just did shift 7 for ‘. Grrrr.
Blog
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military time
All my digital clocks and watches are set to 24 hour time. However, most of the people I interact with (Americans) are only fluent in the 12 hour dialect.
As a result, if someone asks me the time, I will look a clock at clock that says15:30 and without thinking I say “three thirty.”
In Italy, people will say “fifteen thirty” and I just get confused. I do the translation naturally but it only works one way.
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tamanegi
Spicy onion slices make me unhappy more than any other raw vegetables.
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uchuu no shinpi
As a person without a ” real” nose, I sometimes wonder whether a person with a non-japanese nose can directly look at the bump between his/her own eyes..or the eyebrows.
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tako san
I wonder why calling somebody octopus is an insult in Japan. I’d think calling somebody sea cucumber would be worse..
I like eating the tips of octopus legs.
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giron
Today, I learned that a rubber Guiron doll (about 20cm tall) is worth $2,000. I should pay more respect to that giant seemingly ineffective monster.
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nagaiki
There is a Japanese lady whose age is 118 years old. She wakes up only once every other day. I wonder if it makes her feel the slumber world is the reality. I guess I’ll know the answer when/if I get to that age..
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yume
I often have this nightmare where I lose all my teeth at once. It’s a very scary feeling. Sometimes, it happens while I brush my teeth in the dream. As I brush my teeth, my teeth fall out just like when I lost my baby teeth, except for all of them come out within 5 seconds. I can even feel the holes with my tongue in the dream. Then I realize that these are my adult teeth and I have to wear false teeth for the rest of my life. It makes me feel desperate..
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culture shock
I think I finally understand culture shock.
It’s that feeling you have when you stop for a second to ask yourself if people really live like this or if its a joke that someone’s playing on you. It’s when you look around to see if people are watching you and discretely laughing.
I seem to have this feeling every time I order adventerously at a resteraunt.
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buta
I saw gray pigs that are considered to produce meat equivalent to Matsuzaka beef. Though their fat quality is considered to be the best of its kinds, they didn’t look too attractive… They looked very much like the ladies on Yumcax’s bulging beauty cards.
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osechi ryori
View image
From the top left:
1. herring roe, dried japanese anchovies with caramel sauce, yam with chestnut, shrimps, red and white fish cakes, sweet black beans.2. sweet egg rolls, marinated lotus root, lilly roots, marinated octopus with cucumbers, marinated burdock, mayonased burdock.
3. kuwai (a ball with a horn), string bean (green), Kyoto carrot (red), konnyaku (grey), lotus root (a slice with holes).
From the bottom left:
1. baigai (a small conch; we eat the snailie part), yam with chestnut, yellowtail.2. red fish cake, herring roe, marinated octopus with cucumber, burdock with mayonase, white fish cake.
3. dried japanese anchovies with caramel sauce, lilly roots, roast beef, kuwai, sweet black beans.
4. broccoli, duck, cherry tomato.
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akemshite omedeto
I cooked these huge huge shrimps a couple days ago. They were so big that they made me feel guilty for breaking their heads off and ripping their shells.. quite tasty though.
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bonnnou
Peopel here hit giant bells at temples 108 times on New Year’s Eve in order to get rid of 108 evil spirits that exist in every human. I didn’t hit the bell this year and heard only one ring, so I’ve got 107 evil spirits in me to begin the new year..
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satsumaimo
Among all the vegetables, I think yams are the most “verbal” veggie. When I peel their skin, they quickly turn pink and green as if they were screaming from the pain. It makes me feel guilty..
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oyu
I like soaking my feet in hot bath when they are cold. Today, I was wondering why they feel ice cold right after I soak them in hot water.. I’d think that the feet would feel super warm since the temperature difference between my feet and water are bigger than normal. Weird…
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mimitabu
I saw a news reportor with huge ear lobes today. They were so big that he looked as if he was wearing some pink ear rings. People here believe that a person with big ear lobes earn lots of money.. it must be quite strange to get attention from ladies just because of the ear lobes though. They aren’t exactly the sexiest part of a body.
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kaze
I got a cold. I need a pizza scraper for my throat.. something is stuck there and I can’t cough it out.
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eiga
I went to see a movie and spent three hours sitting on a seat that is just like a seat in an airplane. I’m spending ten more hours on a real airplane seat tomorrow.. not very happy.
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ha
Last week, I ate tons of blueberries. I had lots of blueberries skins between my teeth and Yumcax was laughing at me. So, I asked him if he had any “floth”. He laughed, so I said, “fine. do you have any fRoth?” He didn’t tease me any more, so I was like “HA! I win.”
But the fact was that I went one step away from the actual word. I wonder if Yumcax was grinning like a clown in his mind when I said froth..