1. Old Comment
    Esper's Avatar

    Scarf’s Japan Survival Guide

    Oh snap. There are some things I totally forgot to mention, like karaoke. How could I forget that!? Time to edit.

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kura View Comment
    Awesome blog! Super helpful! Any tips on general courtesy? *Justcurious*
    For courtesy, I dunno. Most of the people I ever talked with were kinda used to Westerners like me and/or more laid back so they didn't mind any unintentional rudeness. I think if you're just a polite person in general it will translate okay, like not being late and making people wait (or at least apologizing if you do), offering people tea or something if they visit you, and accepting food or other things if someone offers even if you don't want it. Obviously you want to follow all the common customs like taking your shoes off when you enter someone's house, etc. I think one thing that struck me was how much people say good morning, good afternoon, and all those kinds of greetings. I wasn't someone who did that, but it kind of felt like I should after a while, like it was just part of the ritual of acknowledging someone.

    Oh, and on escalators you should keep to one side so people can walk past you if they're in a hurry. That one tripped me up at first. Supposedly different areas of the country go to the left and the right but I never noticed if they did.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kura View Comment
    OH and how to say "I don't like hot/spicy food" :/ Every time I look it up, I get something different :ccc Either hot in temperature or spicey as in general spices.. Or how to ask that.

    @[email protected] I can't handle spicy..
    The word for "spicy" is "karai" (辛い) so you could say "karai mono wa taberarenai" (辛いものは食 べられない) "I can't eat spicy things." Or you could say "karai mono ga suki ja nai" (辛いものが好きじゃない) "I don't like spicy things." Or if you really want to put your food down: "karai mono ga iya desu." (辛いものが嫌いです) "I hate spicy things."

    I would go with the first one though because in Japan it's seen as a little childish for people to have "sukikirai" (好き嫌い) or pickiness with their food so if you make it sound like you physically cannot eat something that's the easiest way around it.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Vendak View Comment
    I'll see you in the Sapporo pachinko parlour.
    I can't think of a place I'd rather not be.
    Posted March 14th, 2012 at 9:04 AM by Esper Esper is offline
  2. Old Comment
    Rogue planet's Avatar

    Scarf’s Japan Survival Guide

    I'll see you in the Sapporo pachinko parlour.
    Posted March 13th, 2012 at 1:52 PM by Rogue planet Rogue planet is offline
  3. Old Comment
    Kura's Avatar

    Scarf’s Japan Survival Guide

    OH and how to say "I don't like hot/spicy food" :/ Every time I look it up, I get something different :ccc Either hot in temperature or spicey as in general spices.. Or how to ask that.

    @[email protected] I can't handle spicy..
    Posted March 13th, 2012 at 1:26 PM by Kura Kura is offline
  4. Old Comment
    Kura's Avatar

    Scarf’s Japan Survival Guide

    Awesome blog! Super helpful! Any tips on general courtesy? *Justcurious*
    Posted March 13th, 2012 at 1:21 PM by Kura Kura is offline
  5. Old Comment
    Mr Cat Dog's Avatar

    Scarf’s Japan Survival Guide

    Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you! :D
    Posted March 13th, 2012 at 12:51 PM by Mr Cat Dog Mr Cat Dog is offline
  6. Old Comment
    Esper's Avatar

    Japanese Lessons: Part 7

    Ah, I keep missing people's comments. :<

    I haven't heard of LiveMocha but I'm going to look into it now, thanks.
    Posted March 13th, 2012 at 10:46 AM by Esper Esper is offline
  7. Old Comment
    Alice's Avatar

    Japanese Lessons: Part 7

    Oh, wow. How did I just now notice that you were doing this? I'm gonna have to find some time to catch up.
    Posted February 27th, 2012 at 11:31 AM by Alice Alice is offline
  8. Old Comment
    Cello's Avatar

    Japanese Lessons: Part 7

    Thank you so much for these blogs. ;_;
    I've been trying to learn through both Rosetta Stone and LiveMocha (LiveMocha's main Japanese lessons, not a tutor), and they both fail to teach lessons in what I feel to be a proper order.

    By the way, LiveMocha allows you to share lessons like these if i'm not mistaken, so you could take these lessons and help out others like me loads if you wanted. Just in case you don't already know about it.
    Posted February 25th, 2012 at 6:11 AM by Cello Cello is offline
  9. Old Comment
    Rogue planet's Avatar

    Japanese Lessons: Part 7

    Well maybe there's a different standard over there but no language teachers here are particularly proficient lol
    Posted February 21st, 2012 at 4:52 PM by Rogue planet Rogue planet is offline
  10. Old Comment
    Esper's Avatar

    Japanese Lessons: Part 7

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Vendak View Comment
    have you ever considered teaching Japanese as a profession?
    Yes, but I'm not nearly good enough for that. Best I could do is tutor.
    Posted February 21st, 2012 at 2:52 PM by Esper Esper is offline
  11. Old Comment
    Rogue planet's Avatar

    Japanese Lessons: Part 7

    have you ever considered teaching Japanese as a profession?
    Posted February 21st, 2012 at 12:11 PM by Rogue planet Rogue planet is offline
  12. Old Comment
    Hiidoran's Avatar

    Adventures in Pop Music

    Sometimes people want something that's just fun to dance. Not everyone wants a deep message when they get in the car or turn something on to create atmosphere. Music can be enjoyed on multiple levels... LMFAO is just a very, very superficial layer.


    Wouldn't be topping the charts if it wasn't something most people enjoyed.
    Posted January 29th, 2012 at 3:55 PM by Hiidoran Hiidoran is offline
  13. Old Comment
    Mr Cat Dog's Avatar

    Japanese Lessons: Part 6

    I'm just bookmarking all these for after I finish my exams. They're going to be sooooo useful to rejig the ol' memory!
    Posted January 26th, 2012 at 2:26 PM by Mr Cat Dog Mr Cat Dog is offline
  14. Old Comment

    Adventures in Pop Music

    What's not fair is that there's a lot more artists out there that are unknown and not at all successful with a lot more talent that are aiming to make good music that has meaning, while LMFAO continues to climb the charts on their ridiculous songs that have zero significance and are just a bunch of fun to dance to.
    Posted January 21st, 2012 at 3:32 PM by
  15. Old Comment
    Margot's Avatar

    Adventures in Pop Music

    But that's not fair, Adele's goal is to make good music that has meaning. LMFAO is trying to be ridiculous and have songs that have zero significance and are just a bunch of fun to dance to. They're not trying to be ~amazing, deep musicians~.
    Posted January 21st, 2012 at 3:27 PM by Margot Margot is offline
  16. Old Comment
    Mr Cat Dog's Avatar

    Japanese Lessons: Part 5½

    Gah! So many kanji, and this is just the tip of the iceberg! Still, if I can learn these, then that's definite step in the right direction.
    Posted January 21st, 2012 at 4:03 AM by Mr Cat Dog Mr Cat Dog is offline
  17. Old Comment
    Zeffy's Avatar

    Adventures in Pop Music

    you can hate on lmfao you want, still won't change my mind about how awesome they are
    Posted January 20th, 2012 at 10:58 PM by Zeffy Zeffy is offline
  18. Old Comment
    Sydian's Avatar

    Adventures in Pop Music

    OKAY IT'S CHILDISH GAMBINO HOMEGIRL DROPS IT LIKE THE NASDAQ

    i also agree with nick
    Posted January 20th, 2012 at 8:39 PM by Sydian Sydian is offline
  19. Old Comment
    champagnepapi's Avatar

    Adventures in Pop Music

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Razor Leaf View Comment
    karpy i honestly can't tell if that version is a joke or not
    it's real, childish gambino is hella dope
    Posted January 20th, 2012 at 4:39 PM by champagnepapi champagnepapi is offline
  20. Old Comment
    Nihilego's Avatar

    Adventures in Pop Music

    karpy i honestly can't tell if that version is a joke or not
    Posted January 20th, 2012 at 1:51 PM by Nihilego Nihilego is offline