Ramblings of a Japanese girl trapped in an American's body…
07 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in TV Commercials Tags: commercials, cultural differences, Doritos, funny, Invisi Studios, Japan, silly, TV
In the English classes tonight at Invisi Studios, we were talking about the Superbowl ads. Some had to be explained since there are so many cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan. Others, like the Doritos ad with the bribing dog, were quite self-explanatory… the Doritos one produced quite a few laughs. =)
There are lots of different types of commercials over here, too.
One silly one for you:
06 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Food Tags: food, pizza, shock, unusual, whole corn, yellow
Those who know me well might be thinking, “Here comes a popcorn post!” after reading that title up above. I LOVE popcorn, but we’ll leave that post for another day, another time.
I’m talking about whole yellow corn.
Let me back up a little bit. Many times, it’s difficult for me to understand the surprise and shock people from other countries feel when they come to Japan for the first time. Honestly, I envy it sometimes and wish I could crawl into their minds to see how THEY see this country.
So… back to whole corn… =)
One thing many people ask me is, “Why is there whole corn on EVERYTHING?” It isn’t on every type of food you see in Japan, but some of the places/foods you find it on can be… odd, according to many.
(Oops… the cat stepped on the keyboard and “published” the post… continuing on…)
Let’s see, you can find whole corn on/in:
I wish I had pictures to share with everyone. (Something to add on later, maybe.)
To answer the question, “Why?”
Well, one point which is very important in the presentation of food in Japan is… color. The yellow of the corn adds that bit of brightness like sunshine. (Am trying to think if there are any other vegetables that are yellow… squash, maybe? Can’t find squash down here where I live though.)
Another point could be the flavor and the “crunch”… the little bit of sweetness that fills your mouth when you bite down on a single piece.
It was completely by chance that the corn topic came up in one of my English classes tonight. I was explaining to my students that finding corn on pizza is NOT a common thing in the States. One student asked, “Why not?”
My thought exactly… =)
05 Feb 2012 2 Comments
in Music Tags: blood sweat and tears, cannes lions, lions international, mobile phone company, www youtube
I am privileged to have the chance to sing for jobs every once in a while and am blessed to work with some very, very, VERY talented people!
One studio I work at is Invisible Designs Lab. AKA Invisi Studios. (The period after “Lab” is part of the company name, by the way.) They are a group of guys who create and design sounds that are simply amazing! (Yes, I am biased… but trust me, you’ll be amazed, too!)
Their motto: “Using all aspects of sound, we turn images of the mind into reality.”
One project they did last year was for a web ad for the Japanese mobile phone company, docomo. The phone company came out with a new cell which was wooden. The Invisi guys and the others (who worked on the online commercial) put their blood, sweat and tears into it. The responses were unbelievable! There were online interviews from The New York Times and other publications Stateside, media coverage here in Japan and the highlight had to be getting three awards from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity!!
Please judge for yourself… and if you like it, feel free to share the magic of Invisi Studios with your loved ones! =)
Here’s “Xylophone in the Woods”…
04 Feb 2012 4 Comments
in Culture Shock Tags: i dream of jeannie, japanese radio, kanto area, missionary parents
Though I was born in the States, my missionary parents brought me back to Japan when I was just four months old. (They had first come over in 1964 and I was what many missionary families referred to as a “furlough baby.”)
Hearing both Japanese and English all day, every day was normal growing up. My parents and brothers spoke both languages in the house. Media-wise, well, there was FEN (the Far East Network) which was for the military families living in the Kanto Area. Other times, my mother listened to Japanese radio shows. And the TV shows I watched were all in Japanese.
There were quite a few American TV shows on, too. Let’s see, to make a short list of a few…
And all these characters on TV, (Gilligan, Jeannie, Samantha, Columbo, etc.) they ALL spoke Japanese, just like us.
Then we had to go to the States for my parent’s furlough. (I was all of four… I remember excitedly telling my friends in the neighborhood, “You know what? We’re going to America!!” After all, it was a foreign country to me.)
I recall sitting in front of the TV one day… my mom being the only other person at home and she was doing something in the kitchen. A rerun of Bewitched came on. Samantha appeared on the TV screen and she started talking to someone… IN ENGLISH!! I turned to my mother.
Me – “It’s wrong. Something’s wrong.”
Mom – “What’s wrong?”
Me – “Her voice is wrong.”
Mom – “Sweetie, this is what her REAL voice sounds like. We’re in America, so they’re all speaking English… this is the original sound.”
Me – “But it’s WRONG!”
Poor Mom… what else could she say, right? =)
Here’s a bit of what my world was like. If you understand Japanese, enjoy! Even if you don’t understand Japanese, it may be a little entertaining… or hope it is anyway! =)
03 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Uncategorized Tags: apologies, bump in the road, monk, mr sandman, southern japan
It’s almost 1am for me here in southern Japan. Would have loved to have gotten home from walking the dog, brushed my teeth and gone straight to bed… instead, I got in the bed, turned on the computer and here I am! =)
I’m not the best at keeping up when starting new things. In Japan, I’m what people would call “mikka bouzu”. Literally translated, it means to be a monk for three days. In other words, one gives up on something as soon as there’s a bump in the road… or after three days. =)
Getting in the bed, I glanced over at my laptop and debated for a moment. It would be SO easy to just crawl under the covers and go straight to sleep, BUT the “mikka bouzu” part of me would win once again. Even writing a few sentences would keep me in the “blogging everyday” game.
Apologies for the lack of content… Mr. Sandman really is calling my name and now the cats are gathering to find a warm spot for the night under the covers.
Last but not least, a big shout-out to all of you “mikka bouzus” out there. Please don’t give up on new things you’ve started! You can accomplish what you’ve started… trust me, if I can do it, you definitely can, too!! =)
01 Feb 2012 Leave a comment
in Mother Nature Tags: fault lines, kanagawa, kanto area, major earthquakes, mt fuji
The whole country seems to be gripped with worry lately. The dreaded first anniversary of the Tohoku tsunami and earthquake is coming up in just over a month… and movements of this country (literal movements!) show no signs of stopping.
Several of the ladies in my class tonight were sharing their worries. There are some of them who have parents, children and other relatives in the Kanto area. (The Kanto area is a large area which encompasses a number of prefectures, including Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, etc.) They were saying that there’s talk about the “big one” happening some time this year.
Of course, this whole country sits upon so many fault lines… the thing is, not ALL parts of the country have as many earthquakes as other parts. Take where I live, for example. Fukuoka has had two major earthquakes in the 20 years I’ve been here. That’s practically nothing compared to the Kanto area. (Which is where I grew up.) But those two were quite frightening, to be honest. It was the very first time for me to actually hear the Earth rumble!
There have been quakes near Mt. Fuji… a volcano which is dormant. There was a rather large quake yesterday in Oita Prefecture, one prefecture over from where I am. Today, there was one in Okinawa, another rarity.
Of course, there’s nothing to prevent disaster from happening. There are few words which would provide comfort to those who are concerned about their family and friends. All we can do is be prepared if something DOES happen and be ready to lend a helping hand to those who need it.
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