Steve's sandbox

Tag: Japan

  • Festive facts from around the world

     

    Paris, France

    France – France is widely known for its food and delicacies. People in the Provence region even go so far as to serve a sumptuous feast of seven main courses and 13 desserts at Christmas!  Among the most popular festive dishes are: Fougasse (pancakes), nougat with honey and pistachios, pumpkin pie and dried fruits.

     

    Italy

    Italy – In Italy many children get two sets of gifts – one on the 24th of December and a larger gift on the 6th of January. On this day, Italians celebrate Epiphany Day and according to popular belief, a witch called La Befana arrives in the night to fill good children’s stockings with sweets, while naughty ones get chunks of black coal.

     

    Japan

     

     

     

    Japan – In Japan, Christmas is considered the “Festival of Love”. It is not uncommon to see couples spending a romantic evening together, while singles will be out partying and looking for the love of their life.  Christmas is more of a time to spread happiness rather than a religious celebration. Christmas eve is often celebrated more than Christmas Day. Christmas eve is thought of as a romantic day, in which couples spend together and exchange presents.

     

     

    Madrid, Spain

     

    Spain – Christmas in Spain gets off to a rather peculiar and unofficial start on Dec. 22nd when children from San Ildefonso School can be heard calling out the numbers and prizes of theLotería de Navidad, which is likely the most followed Spanish lottery during the entire year. In Spain, when you hear the melodic sounds of the prize draw on the radio, you think: “Christmas time has arrived”.

     

     

     

     

    China

    China – Christmas is treated more like Saint Patrick’s Day or Valentine’s Day. That is, it’s a light-hearted day for going out and being with friends, not for staying in with family, as we do in the West. Typical ways to celebrate include seeing a movie, going to a karaoke bar, or shopping. China Daily says Christmas Eve is the biggest shopping day of the year. Young couples often treat it as a romantic day. Ice skating and amusement parks are popular destinations.

     

    Germany

     

     

    Germany – A big part of the Christmas celebrations in Germany is Advent. Several different types of Advent calendars are used in German homes. As well as the traditional ones, there are ones made out of a wreath of Fir tree branches with 24 decorated boxes or bags hanging from it. Each box or bag has a little present in it. One candle is lit at the beginning at each week of Advent.  Christmas Eve is the main day when Germans exchange presents with their families.

     

     

     

    Christmas traditions vary from country to country. Elements common to many nations include the installing and lighting of Christmas trees, the hanging of Advent wreaths, Christmas stockings, candy canes, and the creation of Nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas carols may be sung and stories told about such figures as the Baby Jesus, St Nicholas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Christkindl or Grandfather Frost. The sending of Christmas cards, the exchange of Christmastime greetings, observance of fasting and/or special religious observances such as a midnight Mass or Vespers on Christmas Eve, the burning of a Yule log, and the giving and receiving of presents. Along with Easter, Christmas time is one of the most important periods on the Christian calendar, and is often closely connected to other holidays at this time of year, such as Advent, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, St. Nicholas Day, St. Stephen’s Day, New Year’s, and the Feast of the Epiphany.

     

    Click here for more  Worldwide Christmas traditions

     

     Merry Christmas            Feliz Navidad              メリー

    クリスマス

                         聖誕節快樂                       Buon Natale

     vrolijk kerstfeest

    A very happy Christmas from the John Speak Language Trust 

  • My first day in Japan – Andy Newton, October 2015

    日本で一日。

    ワー、やっと日本へ来ました。ついたちから今まで沢山が起りました！当初、飛行機で席に着いた後で、隣接した日本人と話し始めました。離陸から着陸まで日本語で喋りました。彼はＫＹＯＣＥＲＡのオーソぺデイック営業事業部で、４２歳です。

    The guy I met on the plane!

    彼は私の漢字本を見て、知識にびっくりされました。滞空時間はとても久しい時間が掛けました（十二時間ぐらい）。着陸のときに私は「又会う日まで」と言って、彼の名刺をもらいました。

    それで、羽田から福岡まで日航機の中では綺麗過ぎるエアホステスに会いました。本当に明眸皓歯がある娃鬟ですよ。

    福岡まで行き着いた後で、とてもジメジメ蒸し暑い天気を感じました。私と友達が別れた後で、一人でした。怖かった。おなかがペコペコで、疲れて、歯を磨きたかったから、近く旅館にチェクインしました。歯を磨いて、シャーワーを使って、昼ご飯を食べた後で、町へ遊覧しに出かけました。旅館の近くは条天時通りです。条天時通りはお寺公園です。その後歩いてとき、他人は私に親切な僧を知り合った。お寺の中はとても綺麗でした。でも少し部屋は立入禁止です。遊覧の終わった後で、僕の顔にお疲れが見えて、旅館へ寝に帰りました。

    My first day in Japan.

    Ah, I’ve finally made it to Japan, so much has happened from the day I arrived until now! Firstly, I took my seat on the plane at Heathrow and began chatting to the Japanese man sitting next to me, and we were talking away in Japanese pretty much from take-off to landing. He told me he works as an orthopaedic sales manager for Kyocera and was 42 years old. He saw my notebook and was surprised by my knowledge of kanji (a big ice-breaker). The flight took ages, about twelve hours in total. When we landed I said “until we meet again” and he gave me his business card in return. He suggested we meet for a beer if he comes to Fukuoka.

    After that, whilst on our JAL plane from Tokyo International Airport to Fukuoka, I met the most beautiful air hostess I had ever seen. As they say in Japanese, she had ‘starry eyes and beautiful white teeth’.  When we arrived at Fukuoka, we could feel the sticky humidity. When we left the airport, my friend and I went our separate ways, I was now on my own -scary.

    I was starving hungry and really tired, and I really needed to brush my teeth so I checked in at a hotel not too far away. Turns out it was a really fancy businessman hotel, but at the time I didn’t really care. After I had a shower, did my teeth and had something to eat, I went to do a bit of sightseeing. Not far from the hotel was a Buddhist park and temple called ‘Jyoutenjidori Avenue’, when I was walking along a stranger in the street stopped me and introduced me to the head monk in charge of the temple there. He was a real nice guy. The temple was beautiful inside but there were a few rooms which I could not enter. After I finished wandering around, I looked and felt extremely tired so I headed back to the hotel to sleep.

  • Samantha Fernandes, Japan – October 2015 monthly report

    日本に来たところです！

    はじめまして、私はサミーです。イギリスのリーズ大学で勉強していて、専攻科目はドイツ語と日本語です。今年は東京外国語大学という大学で勉強しています。東京外大と呼ばれます。この大学に１０月ぐらい勉強します.
    私は１年間ぐらいしか日本語を大学で勉強していませんから、日本に来る前に、ちょっと心配していました。

    私は２０１５年０９月２６日にやっと日本に着きました！成田空港に降り立って、イギリスの文化を後にしました。リーズで勉強していたところで、和花という日本から来た留学生と友達になって、この日には、和花はわざわざ私に迎えるために成田空港に来てくれました。和花は東京外大の学生で、今私のパーソナルチューターになってくれました。毎週何回も和花と遊んだり、日本語を勉強したりします。

    Eating Tonkatsu at a restaurant in Tokyo with Aika.

    日本に着いて、新しいい異文化に出会って、ビックリされたものを様々気づきました。日本に行く前に、日本は安全な国だし、物価も安いし、それに日本の生活はとても便利だそうです。これは自分で経験しました、例えば、コンビニや自動販売機は道りごとにあるようです。値段はイギリスより安くて、売れ物の品質はイギリスよりいいと思います。日本の自動販売機は熱い飲み物や冷たい飲み物などだけではなく、インスタントラーメンやお菓子なども売れます。傘やネクタイも売れる自動販売機もありますが、まだ見つけていません。

    東京外大は小さくて、静かな所にあります。まだ落ち着いていませんから、いろいろな行きたい場所はまだ行っていません。今まで、東京のにぎやかな場所へ友達に会ったり、本物の料理を食べてみたり、カラオケをしに行ったりしまた。例えば、原宿、新宿、吉祥寺という所へ行ったことがあります。 日本の生活を全部経験してすごく楽しいです。日本の文化によく慣れると思います。時々、日本人と話すとき、分からないことがあって、間違えてしまいます。でも、毎日日本語の練習によって、いつかペラペラになれると思います。だから、今から、頑張ります！

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    Hello, my name is Sammy. I study at Leeds University in England and my major is BA German and Japanese. This year, I am studying at Tokyo university of Foreign Studies (Also known as TUFS) for approximately 10 months. Because I have only been studying Japanese for approximately 1 year at university, I felt a bit anxious before coming to Japan.

    26th September 2015 was the day I finally arrived in Japan. After arriving at Narita Airport, I left behind my ties to British culture. When I was studying at Leeds university, I made friends with an exchange student called Aika and on this day, she went out of her way to come meet me at Narita Airport. She is not only a student at TUFS, but she also requested to become my personal tutor. I meet up with Aika numerous times every week to explore Japan and study Japanese.

    Harajuku

    Upon arriving in Japan, I was exposed to a new culture and there were a variety of things that I noticed which surprised me. Before arriving, I heard that Japan was a safe country where you can live cheaper and the lifestyle is very convenient. I experienced this for myself, as I noticed, for example, Convenience stores and vending machines on what seemed like every single street. Not only are the prices here cheaper than that of England, but also the quality of the products are, in my opinion, better than that of Britain. Japanese vending machines sell not only hot and cold drinks, but also instant ramen (Japanese instant noodles) and snacks and sweets. There are also vending machines that sell umbrellas and neckties and other interesting things but I have not come across any of these yet.

    TUFS is located in a small and peaceful part of Tokyo. I haven’t fully settled into Tokyo just yet, so there are many places that I want to visit but have not yet been to. Until now, I have been to livelier parts of Tokyo to meet friends, try authentic Japanese food and to sing at karaoke. Such places are Harajuku, Shinjuku and Kichijyouji. I really enjoy every aspect of living in Japan. I find myself adjusting to Japanese lifestyle quite well. Sometimes I have problems understanding what a Japanese person has said to me and as a result I make mistakes but I am sure that with plenty of everyday practice speaking Japanese then someday my Japanese can become fluent. So this year I will do my best!

  • Samuel Franklin – Beijing, China, February 2015

    my very patient teacher

    一般说和在国外学习中文比起来，在北京纯粹的汉语环境中练习中文有好多好处，特别是无限与当地人聊天的机会。我觉得这样的道理辩解我常常坐出租车的习惯。虽然很多与司机的闲谈有点儿像，但是我几次有过很有趣的对话。比如，有一次我遇到了一位对国外非常感到好奇的司机。我告诉他我来自英国以后，他先问我是否在英国每一天都有24个小时。我向他保证在英国每一天的确都有24个小时。接着，他想确认在英国每个星期都有七天，星期一到星期日。我又使他能够放心。然后他问我英国有没有四个季节。这次我开着玩笑说，英国只有两个季节—一个很长的雨季和一个很短的阳光灿烂的季节。不过，我意识到他可能会相信我，所以我决定通知他英国其实也有四个季节。顺便一提,他是一位能够的驾驶人。我向另外一个司机学习，在北京所有开出租车的司机都要考上一个包括英语部分的考试。这个消息让我吃惊，因为大多数外国人对北京司机的英语能力没有很好的印象。她笑着解释她什么外语都记不住。最后，有一位司机敬烟给我，但我不抽烟；并不是说这个事提高了我的口语水平。

    过去一个月我旅游到了很多不同以前没去过的地方。其中，云南是我最喜欢的省份。这不仅是因为那里的气候一直很宜人，还是因为尽管我不常欣赏自然风景，在大理和丽江的风景仍然给我留下了很深的印象。一个特殊的亮点就是在大理的山上，在一个茶园做普洱茶。在云南我甚至抽空锻炼：我在丽江的虎跳峡爬了几个小时的山，在大理的洱海骑了七个小时的自行车（我迷路了）。上个月我也享受在日本一边放松一边吃太多日餐。

    我最近从河北的石家庄回到了北京。为什么会有人要去河北呢（在中国污染最严重的省份）？当然是为了参加一场国际象棋比赛！我参加了中孚杯的公开组，通过5.5/9的表现得到了个奖金。排在前10名的棋手都很厉害，我认可了几位代表中国的特级大师。除了主要的公开组以外，还有各种年龄组—大概300多个孩子参加了这样比赛—对中国国际象棋的未来看来令人鼓舞。

    最后,春节的时候，我和几个朋友从我们位于27楼的房子里看到了成千上万的烟花无休无知地燃放。在北京的表演真壮观，我们一时甚至以为世界毁灭开始了。而且春节时北京几乎没有人，所以使用公交时不用担心人太多。不幸的是，现在我没有坐出租车的借口。

     

    I went for a walk in Kunming

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    It’s said that compared to studying Chinese in England, practising one’s Chinese in a pure Mandarin speaking environment confers a great many advantages, in particular the limitless opportunities to have conversation with locals. For me, this kind of reasoning justifies my habit of frequently taking taxis. Although much of the small talk I’ve had with drivers has been a bit samey, I have had a number of interesting exchanges.  For example, I once came across a driver who was particularly curious about the world abroad. After telling him I was from England, he first asked me whether the English day has 24 hours. I assured him that English days do indeed have 24 hours. Following that, he wanted to confirm that the weeks back in England have 7 days – Monday to Sunday. I reassured him they do. Then he asked me whether we have four seasons in England. I joked that we only have two seasons – a long rainy one and a short sunny spell. But realising he would believe me, I decided to inform him that we do actually share another similarity in the form of four seasons. He was, by the way, a very competent driver. I learned from another driver that all Beijing taxi drivers have to pass a test that includes an English language section. This surprised me, as most foreigners’ impressions of Chinese drivers’ English are not very positive. She smiled and explained that she’d already forgotten any English she’d ever known. Finally one generous driver offered me a cigarette, but I don’t smoke; not that this exchange contributed much to my spoken Chinese.

    This past month I travelled to a number of places I’d never been before. Yunnan province was my favourite among them. This is not only because of the perpetually pleasant weather, but also because of the beautiful scenery in Dali and Lijiang, which is normally the kind of thing that doesn’t affect me very much. A particular highlight was making Pu’er tea at a plantation in the mountains in Dali. In Yunnan I even managed to find time to exercise: I went hiking in Lijiang’s Tiger Leaping Gorge and cycled for seven hours by Erhai Lake in Dali (I got lost). Last month I also enjoyed a week in Japan, relaxing and eating too much Japanese food.

    Recently I returned to Beijing from Hebei’s Shijiazhuang. Why would anyone want to go to Hebei (China’s most polluted province)? To play in a chess tournament obviously! I entered the tournament’s open section, where 5.5/9 was enough to win me a modest cash prize. Those finishing in the top 10 of the event were all serious players, a number of whom I recognised as top Chinese grandmasters from before. Apart from the main open section, there were also various age group categories where around 300 juniors were playing – an encouraging sign for the future of Chinese chess.

    Finally for New Year’s, a few friends and I, from our apartment on the 27th floor, watched an endless display of thousands upon thousands of fireworks being set off all over Beijing. The scene in Beijing was truly spectacular, and it even felt at times that we were in the middle of an apocalypse of sorts. During the spring festival in China, Beijing becomes relatively empty, so one does not need to worry about it being too busy on public transport. Unfortunately that means I presently lack an excuse to take a taxi.

    You won’t find ‘selfie’ listed under ‘skills’ on my CV!

     

  • 2014年一月:Christmas, New Year & Japan

    Struan Rutherford 2015

     

    正如我在上一篇博客上眼，我在北京过圣诞节。寻找传统圣诞午餐的麻烦以后，我们都去西式酒店吃饭 。很多我给打电话的饭馆说他们有传统圣诞午餐可是他们的圣诞午餐跟英国的有很多区别。这并不是抱怨：我认为中国接受，改编圣诞节的办法是非常有意思。我们在酒店享受优秀宴席，包括火鸡，寿司和香槟。由于别致圣诞节的场景，我们想有别致吃饭后的活动所以我们决定去打保龄球。还有，我们在北京过新年。不幸，北京没有焰火。我认为原因是城市的污染，最近的更厉害。当地政府以前说焰火应该被禁止来缩小污染。

    一月十二号，我去日本旅游。我有在东京和京都学习的朋友所以我还想去看他们，我不是单独！除了东京和京都，我去广岛，宫鸟，奈良和日光。日本是非常漂亮培养的国家。虽然日本文化有很多中式地方，日本文化还是独特的。我现在在东京，已经花了差不多一个星期。我去看各种各样名胜古迹，包括东京国家博物馆和常常引起争论的供奉战死者寺庙：靖国神社。回来北京的时候，我盼望在中国庆祝春节。我知道春节大概是我在中国时间的一大亮点！

     

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION

    As I touched upon in my last monthly report, I spent Christmas in Beijing. After some of stress in trying to find a traditional Christmas lunch, we all went to eat in a Western style Beijing hotel. Many other restaurants that I had called said they had a traditional Christmas lunch but this differed greatly from the Christmas lunches I know in Britain. This is certainly not a complaint, rather I found it interesting to once again see how the Chinese have accepted Christmas and adapted it to create their own version of Christmas. At the Western style hotel, we enjoyed a fantastic feast including turkey, sushi and champagne. As it was an usual Christmas setting, we wanted to have an unusual after lunch activity so we decided to go bowling. We also celebrated New Years in Beijing however there were no fireworks in the city. I suspected this was to do with the pollution which has not been too good recently. The local government has said before that fireworks should be limited in order to lower pollution.

    On the 12th January, I went to Japan for two weeks of travelling. I have friends studying in both Tokyo and Kyoto so I also planned to visit them, I am not completely alone! Besides Tokyo and Kyoto, I went to Hiroshima, Miyajima, Nara and Nikko. Japan is a beautiful country with great culture. Although the culture has many Chinese traits and similarities, it remains as a distinct one. I am currently in Tokyo and have spent almost a week here now. I have had the chance to visit all sorts of tourist sites, from the National Museum of Tokyo to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine which honours Japan’s war dead. Upon my return, I look forward to celebrating Spring Festival in China. I know it will be a highlight of my time in China!

     

    Struan Rutherford 2015