(no subject)
Nov. 12th, 2010 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddAfter ten days of faithfully following my two memes, plus the usual Travelpod updates, I was sitting pretty at just under 14,000 words.
THAT'S INSANE! At that rate, dare I hope to break 30,000 by the end of the month?
This week has been tough, and I'm not even sure why. Yesterday I was feeling blah and crabby and it was an overall lousy day, except for spending the evening with Eda, which was wonderful as always. <3 Today, I thought I was going to throw up at one point, but I didn't, and felt better by the end of the afternoon. It's not even like there's anything wrong that I can pinpoint, it's just a general feeling of malaise and fatigue. :P
Okay, here are today's topics:
Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment (Where your foreignness was to your benefit)
I've thought long and hard about this one, but I've mostly come up blank. I may have had horrible fail!gaijin moments, but I either never realised it, or blocked them from my memory. XDDD There have been times where I didn't understand something due to my Japanese not being up to par, but the worst cultural faux-pas I can think of was the time when, during my first year in Japan, I failed to take off my shoes before entering a change room in a store. It was one of the first times I'd tried on clothes in Japan (the first time I tried on jeans, certainly!), and it just didn't occur to me that it might be an issue, though of course I'd taken my shoes off at restaurants and other places before. In my defence, there was no one else in the change room at the time (it was at a Uniqlo); if there had been, I would have noticed the shoes outside the rooms and clued in. Nowadays, I know better, even though salesgirls sometimes ask me to take off my shoes as I enter the change room. Is this part of their spiel? I've never thought to listen to find out whether they say that to everyone, or just to foreign little me.
As for a gaijin!smash moment, uh... I really don't know. I get annoyed when I hear foreigners bragging about playing the "I'm just a foreigner I don't understand" card so they don't have to do something (like pay the NHK fee XDDD), because if the situation were reversed, I'm sure they'd be pissed about a foreigner to their country doing the same. I try not to do that, but sometimes it happens accidentally. Then there's the fact that I always stick out in a crowd (especially with my current hair colour!), so if my friends and I are anywhere near the stage at a concert or a show, we get noticed pretty quickly.
Day 01 - A picture of you "in Japan". (doing or wearing something "Japanese")
Day 02 - Describe your neighbourhood in Japan.
Day 03 - Most interesting person you've met.
Day 04 - What's your favourite place that's not in any of the guidebooks/lists of places to visit?
Day 05 - Which, if any, Japanese mannerisms or expressions have you adopted?
Day 06 - Food that you swore you would never eat but now love (or tolerate).
Day 07 - Which Japanese words do you use in English? (hanami, shinkansen, etc.)
Day 08 - Are you a Herbivore or Carnivore? S or M?
Day 09 - Favourite stores/shopping centers.
Day 10 - Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
Day 11 - What did you find most overrated and underrated about Japan?
Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment (Where your foreignness was to your benefit)
Day 13 - How is daily life in Japan different from how it was back in your home country?
Day 14 - What is the hardest thing about living in Japan versus your home country?
Day 15 - Weirdest food item you've seen, and weirdest food item you've actually eaten.
Day 16 - How you realised you'd acclimated to Japan. (if you have)
Day 17 - Your karaoke top 5, your sushi top 5, your conbini top 5.
Day 18 - Post some amusing/cute/faily purikura.
Day 19 - Your favourite Japanese character(s) and Gachapon/UFO Catcher toys
Day 20 - Favourite Japanese festival or folklore.
Day 21 - Favourite and least favorite Japanese fashion trends.
Day 22 - Your favourite Japanese saying or kotowaza (proverb).
Day 23 - What is something you have/do in Japan that you wish you had/could do in your home country?
Day 24 - Your favourite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"
Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.
Day 26 - What's your favourite/least favourite train line?
Day 27 - Place you avoid going to if at all possible.
Day 28 - A picture of you looking like a weaboo/A picture of you trying to blend in and failing.
Day 29 - What's the thing you [will] miss the most about Japan when you leave (either on vacation, or move away)?
Day 30 - Did Japan meet your expectations, both good and bad? What has been the most surprising thing about Japan for you, or the thing you least expected?
Day 12 – What's in your bag
Here's a list, because I'm too lazy to take a picture and upload it.
These days, I'm using the green bag with the black cats on it that I bought in Chongqinq. If you looked inside, you'd find...
Main pocket:
- cell phone (it's finally paid off! Bills have gotten cheaper!);
- notebook with various papers and receipts stuffed into it;
- two pens;
- wallet (containing money, a bunch of receipts, and more membership cards than I care to count);
- small towel;
- individually packaged plastic spoon and moist tissue from when I bought lunch at the conbini the other day;
- packet of tissues;
- glasses case (can hold both my sunglasses or regular glasses, though usually I'm wearing one of the two);
- rolled up eco bag (it's bright green and from Andersen bakery, because I used to buy lots of pastries from them and those stamps add up!);
- little make-up case containing: mini deodorant stick, eyedrops, comb, small tub of hair wax, a few q-tips, two pairs of earrings, a few hair clips and bobby pins, a nearly empty package of powder sheets, a package of oil-absorbing sheets, a powder compact, and my hepatitis A vaccination certificate.
Small outside pocket (left):
- coupon for half-priced drinks at an izakaya;
- lip balm;
- Pasmo card;
- Glamatic honey-lemon glavoured gum (it's the new flavour, and it's really good!);
- Xylitol mind gum;
- packet of chili oil (must have been from a convenience store lunch, but when?!);
- very small clam shell from Yakushima.
Small outside pocket (right):
- sparkly lip gloss;
- USB key with Seigaku phone strap hanging from it;
- pair of earrings;
- 4 fabric bandages;
- business card from the hotel Emily and I stayed in in Chongqing;
- business card from a travel agency in Yichang.
Sounds like a lot, but it's really not heavy at all. When I go out, my keys go into the outside zippered pocket, and I'll usually have a bottle of water or something with me if I'm planning on going somewhere other than just work, and often a book if I'm going to be riding trains.
Day 01 - Introduce yourself
Day 02 - Your first love
Day 03 - Your parents
Day 04 - What you ate today
Day 05 - Your definition of love
Day 06 – Your day
Day 07 – Your best friend
Day 08 – A moment
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Day 10 – What you wore today
Day 11 – Your siblings
Day 12 – What's in your bag
Day 13 – This week
Day 14 – What you wore today
Day 15 – Your dreams
Day 16 – Your first kiss
Day 17 – Your favourite memory
Day 18 – Your favourite birthday
Day 19 – Something you regret
Day 20 – This month
Day 21 – Another moment
Day 22 – Something that upsets you
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – A first
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favourite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your aspirations
Day 30 – One last moment
Now I'm going to put on a light, fluffy movie, eat the lemon tart I bought earlier, and knit.
Good night!
THAT'S INSANE! At that rate, dare I hope to break 30,000 by the end of the month?
This week has been tough, and I'm not even sure why. Yesterday I was feeling blah and crabby and it was an overall lousy day, except for spending the evening with Eda, which was wonderful as always. <3 Today, I thought I was going to throw up at one point, but I didn't, and felt better by the end of the afternoon. It's not even like there's anything wrong that I can pinpoint, it's just a general feeling of malaise and fatigue. :P
Okay, here are today's topics:
Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment (Where your foreignness was to your benefit)
I've thought long and hard about this one, but I've mostly come up blank. I may have had horrible fail!gaijin moments, but I either never realised it, or blocked them from my memory. XDDD There have been times where I didn't understand something due to my Japanese not being up to par, but the worst cultural faux-pas I can think of was the time when, during my first year in Japan, I failed to take off my shoes before entering a change room in a store. It was one of the first times I'd tried on clothes in Japan (the first time I tried on jeans, certainly!), and it just didn't occur to me that it might be an issue, though of course I'd taken my shoes off at restaurants and other places before. In my defence, there was no one else in the change room at the time (it was at a Uniqlo); if there had been, I would have noticed the shoes outside the rooms and clued in. Nowadays, I know better, even though salesgirls sometimes ask me to take off my shoes as I enter the change room. Is this part of their spiel? I've never thought to listen to find out whether they say that to everyone, or just to foreign little me.
As for a gaijin!smash moment, uh... I really don't know. I get annoyed when I hear foreigners bragging about playing the "I'm just a foreigner I don't understand" card so they don't have to do something (like pay the NHK fee XDDD), because if the situation were reversed, I'm sure they'd be pissed about a foreigner to their country doing the same. I try not to do that, but sometimes it happens accidentally. Then there's the fact that I always stick out in a crowd (especially with my current hair colour!), so if my friends and I are anywhere near the stage at a concert or a show, we get noticed pretty quickly.
Day 02 - Describe your neighbourhood in Japan.
Day 03 - Most interesting person you've met.
Day 04 - What's your favourite place that's not in any of the guidebooks/lists of places to visit?
Day 05 - Which, if any, Japanese mannerisms or expressions have you adopted?
Day 06 - Food that you swore you would never eat but now love (or tolerate).
Day 07 - Which Japanese words do you use in English? (hanami, shinkansen, etc.)
Day 08 - Are you a Herbivore or Carnivore? S or M?
Day 09 - Favourite stores/shopping centers.
Day 10 - Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.
Day 11 - What did you find most overrated and underrated about Japan?
Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment (Where your foreignness was to your benefit)
Day 13 - How is daily life in Japan different from how it was back in your home country?
Day 14 - What is the hardest thing about living in Japan versus your home country?
Day 15 - Weirdest food item you've seen, and weirdest food item you've actually eaten.
Day 16 - How you realised you'd acclimated to Japan. (if you have)
Day 17 - Your karaoke top 5, your sushi top 5, your conbini top 5.
Day 18 - Post some amusing/cute/faily purikura.
Day 19 - Your favourite Japanese character(s) and Gachapon/UFO Catcher toys
Day 20 - Favourite Japanese festival or folklore.
Day 21 - Favourite and least favorite Japanese fashion trends.
Day 22 - Your favourite Japanese saying or kotowaza (proverb).
Day 23 - What is something you have/do in Japan that you wish you had/could do in your home country?
Day 24 - Your favourite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"
Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.
Day 26 - What's your favourite/least favourite train line?
Day 27 - Place you avoid going to if at all possible.
Day 28 - A picture of you looking like a weaboo/A picture of you trying to blend in and failing.
Day 29 - What's the thing you [will] miss the most about Japan when you leave (either on vacation, or move away)?
Day 30 - Did Japan meet your expectations, both good and bad? What has been the most surprising thing about Japan for you, or the thing you least expected?
Day 12 – What's in your bag
Here's a list, because I'm too lazy to take a picture and upload it.
These days, I'm using the green bag with the black cats on it that I bought in Chongqinq. If you looked inside, you'd find...
Main pocket:
- cell phone (it's finally paid off! Bills have gotten cheaper!);
- notebook with various papers and receipts stuffed into it;
- two pens;
- wallet (containing money, a bunch of receipts, and more membership cards than I care to count);
- small towel;
- individually packaged plastic spoon and moist tissue from when I bought lunch at the conbini the other day;
- packet of tissues;
- glasses case (can hold both my sunglasses or regular glasses, though usually I'm wearing one of the two);
- rolled up eco bag (it's bright green and from Andersen bakery, because I used to buy lots of pastries from them and those stamps add up!);
- little make-up case containing: mini deodorant stick, eyedrops, comb, small tub of hair wax, a few q-tips, two pairs of earrings, a few hair clips and bobby pins, a nearly empty package of powder sheets, a package of oil-absorbing sheets, a powder compact, and my hepatitis A vaccination certificate.
Small outside pocket (left):
- coupon for half-priced drinks at an izakaya;
- lip balm;
- Pasmo card;
- Glamatic honey-lemon glavoured gum (it's the new flavour, and it's really good!);
- Xylitol mind gum;
- packet of chili oil (must have been from a convenience store lunch, but when?!);
- very small clam shell from Yakushima.
Small outside pocket (right):
- sparkly lip gloss;
- USB key with Seigaku phone strap hanging from it;
- pair of earrings;
- 4 fabric bandages;
- business card from the hotel Emily and I stayed in in Chongqing;
- business card from a travel agency in Yichang.
Sounds like a lot, but it's really not heavy at all. When I go out, my keys go into the outside zippered pocket, and I'll usually have a bottle of water or something with me if I'm planning on going somewhere other than just work, and often a book if I'm going to be riding trains.
Day 02 - Your first love
Day 03 - Your parents
Day 04 - What you ate today
Day 05 - Your definition of love
Day 06 – Your day
Day 07 – Your best friend
Day 08 – A moment
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Day 10 – What you wore today
Day 11 – Your siblings
Day 12 – What's in your bag
Day 13 – This week
Day 14 – What you wore today
Day 15 – Your dreams
Day 16 – Your first kiss
Day 17 – Your favourite memory
Day 18 – Your favourite birthday
Day 19 – Something you regret
Day 20 – This month
Day 21 – Another moment
Day 22 – Something that upsets you
Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better
Day 24 – Something that makes you cry
Day 25 – A first
Day 26 – Your fears
Day 27 – Your favourite place
Day 28 – Something that you miss
Day 29 – Your aspirations
Day 30 – One last moment
Now I'm going to put on a light, fluffy movie, eat the lemon tart I bought earlier, and knit.
Good night!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-11-12 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-13 12:23 pm (UTC)The little gifs don't appear in gmail when I get comment notification, so I was all, "Why is she posting a blank comment? T___T" XDDD