Miho always comes to class ready to get her sass on. Today she arrived slightly late and extra sassy, her ramped up feistiness announced first by her sideways dimpled smirk and then by her fierce side ponytail. The three other girls were also late to class, so only Miho, Aya and myself were in the […]
The Acquisition of Language
Your 30-Word Mini Japanese Culture Lesson
In the Japanese version of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”, the lyrics for “Under the Sea” include “Subarashii* … unda da shi ….” and Ursula refers to Prince Eric as “Hansamu Man.” *fantastic!
Good Bye
I’m an incurable cosmetics junkie; my love for beauty products began at the age of 6 when I begged my mother to buy me a tube of Coty Nature’s Blush that I’d seen advertised in her Glamour magazine. 22 years later, I can still spend over an hour in one drugstore, rubbing my hands in […]
Your 167-Word Mini Japanese Culture Lesson
Renting an apartment anywhere can be expensive, what with deposits, agency fees and moving costs, but renting an apartment in Japan comes with an added expense: key money. Key money, or reikin, is an extra fee that is paid to the landlord on top of deposits, brokerage fees, maintenance fees, fire insurance, and moving costs. It […]
Your 65-Word Mini Japanese Culture Lesson
In many Western countries, when a person wants to signify themselves they point to their chest. In some cases, they point to their face, with their index finger held several inches away. The Japanese version of this self-signification? Touching their nose with their index finger. This is why every time I quiz my students on […]
Honey
A conversation between myself and a neighborhood man this drizzly afternoon, as we rode our bicycles past the honey store on the corner of my block and he saw me whispering to the blue-eyed cat that sat in the store window, surrounded by colorful jars of golden honey with hand-printed labels: Him: Are you looking […]
Support
It’s JLPT season again and the 500 yen application forms are being sold at bookstores across Japan. Sean kindly brought home two this week – one for him and one for me. He sent his off the other day but mine is still on the table; unopened, untouched. When I passed the Level 4 exam […]
Nice Threads
I realize that, when I blog, I start weaving narrative threads and allow them to simply dangle. It’s not that I lack commitment, interest or creative vision: it’s more that my threads become variegated. Regardless, I could stand to pick up the fallen stitches once in a while. Here, a handful of updates on stories […]
Sticker Theory
Stickers are a joy. I’d long forgotten their simple charm but upon accepting a job working with children, stickers have once again permeated my world. I absolutely love buying stickers. The stationery and gift store near my apartment has racks and racks of them marching along the walls, offering a bewildering variety of shapes and […]
Left Behind
There was an elderly woman standing in the front entrance of our apartment building when I came home from work. We were probably neighbors but she was still a stranger to me so I prepared to nod a stiff “konnichiwa” her way as I passed. As I neared, I noticed that, to my surprise, she […]