(no subject)
Went out to dinner a couple nights ago, a going away party for the JETs that are leaving soon. Thrown by Ido-san, who knows them from the Kishiwada gym! Do you know of any Americans that would take a person out to dinner because they used the next treadmill over? But maybe these people do exist...
JETs, various friends and girlfriends, Ido-san.
Mike, me, Christine, Ido-san. Everyone is making some kind of hand signal but me.
Mike is probably translating something for me.
Coby, Mike, me.
Excitedly attempting to communicate something!
These dinners are always kind of challenging for me because I don't speak Japanese, and the group will consistently have a few people that speak limited English. The polite thing for the JETs to do is to speak in Japanese- they understand each other, and the Japanese-speakers understand them. I can sort of understand half of what is going on by asking for translations. But it is frustrating sometimes to only know how to ask the most perfunctory questions of someone, like "what is your name?" and "do you like [insert thing here]?" and "excuse me."
Has anyone ever been seen that "human intelligence" computer at the Exploratorium in San Francisco? You can "talk to it" and it "learns from you." I feel like that computer. Someone might say to me in Japanese, "What kinds of things have you been doing in Kishiwada?" This is already outside the scope of my language ability. All I can answer is: "I like sushi. Do you like sushi?" Or: "My name is Sarah." Or: "Kyoto is beautiful."
Try composing a conversation from other phrases that I've sort of picked up by osmosis, like:
"It was a real feast."
"Please be kind to me."
"Good thinking!"
"I'm sorry, I am a fool."
"Excuse me, I don't have one."
"I am Mike's girlfriend."
"Cool!"
"For example..."
"Do you have a phone card?"
What scintillating conversations I can have.
JETs, various friends and girlfriends, Ido-san.
Mike, me, Christine, Ido-san. Everyone is making some kind of hand signal but me.
Mike is probably translating something for me.
Coby, Mike, me.
Excitedly attempting to communicate something!
These dinners are always kind of challenging for me because I don't speak Japanese, and the group will consistently have a few people that speak limited English. The polite thing for the JETs to do is to speak in Japanese- they understand each other, and the Japanese-speakers understand them. I can sort of understand half of what is going on by asking for translations. But it is frustrating sometimes to only know how to ask the most perfunctory questions of someone, like "what is your name?" and "do you like [insert thing here]?" and "excuse me."
Has anyone ever been seen that "human intelligence" computer at the Exploratorium in San Francisco? You can "talk to it" and it "learns from you." I feel like that computer. Someone might say to me in Japanese, "What kinds of things have you been doing in Kishiwada?" This is already outside the scope of my language ability. All I can answer is: "I like sushi. Do you like sushi?" Or: "My name is Sarah." Or: "Kyoto is beautiful."
Try composing a conversation from other phrases that I've sort of picked up by osmosis, like:
"It was a real feast."
"Please be kind to me."
"Good thinking!"
"I'm sorry, I am a fool."
"Excuse me, I don't have one."
"I am Mike's girlfriend."
"Cool!"
"For example..."
"Do you have a phone card?"
What scintillating conversations I can have.