Tag Archives: language

Current mood: in love

“Sono andata da Firenze a Ginevra e ritorno!”

Just got back from a calm and relaxing weekend in Geneva, Switzerland (“Ginevra, Svizzera” … Can you guess the title?!) where I visited my Aunt and Uncle for the weekend. (Or, I suppose, grand-aunt and grand-uncle would be more like it!) I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Geneva and their home, flying over the Swiss Alps on the plane ride there, and then again gaping at the view of the Alps through their kitchen window! Unbelievable.

We also saw some beautiful neo-impressionist art by a Swiss painter named Signac, enjoyed Swiss fondu and delicious chocolate (“il cioccolato”), took those naps, and indulged in life convos over coffee, croissants, and oj at the breakfast table! This was definitely my favorite weekend by far!!! I also heard tons of French (“Francese”) and learned a little bit as well, but just enough to get me through the airport and back to Florence!

“Oggi a Firenze”

“Today in Florence” for my Italian class, our teacher met us at the Piazza della Reppublica to practice our speaking and listening skills. We introduced ourselves to random Italian people, and we asked them if we could interview them for our class! All in Italian! It was so much fun! The people we spoke to were all very gracious in helping us do our assignment. Today was also an incredibly warm and sunny day (“oggi”), which has been quite a change from the past few. It was so warm, I was even able to hang out on the front steps of la Basilica di Santa Croce. Church (“chiesa”) steps seem to be a common place for Italians to hangout.

Current mood: in love

I feel like all the beauty in the whole world is just being revealed to me, and I’m just standing here speechless receiving it all in my heart, feeling tons of emotions, and loving everything. I’m so little (almost too little to handle it), but so in love, and I can’t imagine ever going home! (“Ti amo Firenze!”)

At this stage in my study abroad experience, I think the song “I See The Light” from Tangled sums it up perfectly…

Chorus
"All those days watching from the windows
 All those years outside looking in
 All that time never even knowing
 Just how blind I've been
 Now I'm here blinking in the starlight
 Now I'm here suddenly I see
 Standing here it's all so clear
 I'm where I'm meant to be..."

And, the people I’m meeting? Incredible. A good friend (“la mia amica”) of mine named Annie told me today, “It’s never too late to have a childhood. It’s never too late to be who you are, and it’s never too late to add to yourself.” She’s had some inspiring life experiences working with kids at her day camps. She’s like the kind of girl you’d read in a storybook! Like, Merida from “Brave” or Rapunzel from “Tangled.” She’s a brave, brave girl with a kind heart and a wicked sense of humor! She also has a horse named Annie too, but purely by coincidence!

I met a girl named Rena, who’s like a sister (“sorella”) to me! We are so similar! And, Cici, and Megan, and Brian, and Heather, and Nick! Such adventurous and endearingly optimistic people. And Sara, my beautiful friend from Florence, and David and Andrea, who work at the cafe next door to school (“scuola”) and put up with me trying to learn Italian!! What a dream this is! It must be!

Finding my bearings!

So far, I’ve been here for 23 days, and I’ve experienced quite a whirlwind of events.

Italian Notes | Photo credit: Rena Kassak

Since I’ve last written, I’ve gotten into the thick of my classes and have fallen in love with the staff of ISI Florence. Professors here are a bit more laid-back than in the States. Our Italian Language teacher ensured us that we’re on the same level, and he made sure that we know we can go to him for help with anything at all during the semester! From my past experiences with college, which I carry solely from the U.S., this hasn’t always been the case. His heart is focused on helping us learn, and the same goes for my photography professor. Put simply, ISI Florence is taking absolute wonderful care of us!

Learning the language

I’m in love with the language here. It’s so beautiful. Today we engaged in conversations with four Italian speaking 20-somethings who visited our class; it was kind of like speed-dating! I speak “un po” (only a little!) Italiano, and they could speak a little bit of English. It was neat to see how well we could communicate.

View of Florence from the top of the Duomo!

Also, last week, I met up with a Florentine girl named Sara. We met through a language exchange website. She loves traveling and learning languages, and she studies English, French, Spanish, and Chinese. It was so lovely to meet her and to learn about Italy from her perspective! I very much enjoyed our conversation, which was mostly in English seeing as she speaks English better than I can speak Italian. And, not to mention, I am still a bit shy! (“Sono un po timida”)

Il Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore - View from Piazzale Michelangelo

A view of the Duomo from Piazzale Michelangelo – In the last photo, I was looking out from the tippy top of this one.

We talked about the differences between Italian boys and American boys, indulged each other with stories of our past relationships, and bonded over a love of purity. She also taught me some slang words in Italian, like “figo,” which means beautiful but is used how we would use the word cool, and also its synonym: “ganzo,” which is only characteristic of Florence.

Wine tasting in Chianti

On a school trip to Chianti, we met Gino, a family-oriented man, who showed us the “sweetness” of life. The Italians’ mentality is much different than what’s common back home.

A view of Chianti from Gino’s vineyard

“There’s no food without wine and no wine without food,” he said. Gino also emphasized the joys of taking things slow and really enjoying everything with all of our senses as not to get drunk but to enjoy the wine. “Wine is everything,” he said, it’s even where you are and the people you are with; “wine is life.” He advised us to drink good wine with good friends, and warned us to never drink alone. He also taught us that just because a wine is expensive, that doesn’t mean it’s a good wine! It could just mean that it comes from a very small vineyard. The only way you can tell if a wine is good is “with your eyes, your nose, and your mouth.”

Adventures in Siena

Last Saturday, I visited Siena! Signing up for the trip by myself, I wasn’t sure I’d know anyone there, however, a stellar group of kids, Heather, Brian, and Nick (Nick, who is actually in my buon fresco class) were there!

I had an amazing time spending the day with them enjoying the city view from atop the Cattedrale di Siena, stopping for gnocchi and “picci,” a thick pasta prized by Siena, and visiting the Church of Saint Dominic where we found the relic of Saint Catherine of Siena. It was so awesome to learn about her life right in her home city! Apparently people were drawn to her, and it’s no wonder since she was so drawn to Christ! Later that day, we ventured over to San Gimignano, a small medieval town with an incredible view that I could have easily mistaken as a painting had we been inside!

V for Venezia!

Then, of course, there’s the gorgeous city of Venice! With its waterways instead of streets and boats instead of cars, Venice is one of the most quirky places I’ve visited. We were able to catch the parade where the floats were literally floating (boats, of course!) And, we enjoyed what the Venetians call the Carnevale.

People wear all kinds of fun masks during the carnival!

Venice is quite touristy, and I’d suggest going later on in the week to witness the carnival in full effect. We were unaware of this, and we actually made plans with a tour group in advance. The skies turned out to be overcast, and it was only the first day of the carnival–much too soon for the fun to pick up!

Although I met some great people on the bus, I ended up spending most of the day by myself. But, on the bright side, I got to check out the Chiesa di Santa Lucia, a church by the grand canal, where I saw the relic of Saint Lucy’s incorruptible head and visited the Blessed Sacrament of our Lord in a side chapel.

I actually didn’t get to go to mass on this day (Sunday), which was pretty upsetting to me. It was mainly poor planning. I’m still figuring out how to adapt to this life on the road because, at least at this point in my life, it’s so easy for me to get distracted. But, truly God is the most beautiful!

The not-so-wonderful truth

Although the travel life can seem romantic and glamorous from stories and photographs, I’ve been here for less than a month and as you can tell, I’ve already experienced a few bumps along the road.

Crepe and waffle alla nutella date in between classes! I don’t know how we made it through Italian class after this! Photo credit: Rena Kassak

Pro tip: If you ever go to Italy please, please drink tons of water, and be weary of your dairy intake! I absolutely love picking up new foods from the market, especially cheese because it’s fresh, inexpensive, and we’re in Italy! So, why not try them all? (“perchè no?”) Well, just recently, I learned the hard way… that too much cheese and other dairy foods, like gelato, can actually cause constipation. (“Come sei dice embarrassing?”) Fortunately, a call home to mom, some prune juice, and laxatives really did the trick! Thank God!! I had no idea how painful that could be!
Next? Well, I lost my cell phone one evening when taking out the trash. I would have gone diving in after it!!! But, the trash disappeared into the ground. They have some clever dumpsters here, and I didn’t even feel my phone slip out the moment it happened…
Is this not the most beautiful motor vehicle you’ve ever seen?! Spotted near Firenze S.M.N. train station.

Since the garbage company was already closed for the night, we had to wait to call in the morning. At this point, it was already compacted into a teeny tiny cube. I was able to communicate with my family and friends online, and my parents had mercy on me. Fortunately, I was able to replace the phone, and everything is semi-back-to-normal, if you can even call it that.

Despite the appealing aspects of travel, it definitely has its fair share of adjustments, ups, and downs (and there are even more if you’re clumsy!), but every single one of these has come and gone, and it continues to amaze me that I am actually here… Praise you, Jesus! And, thank you, Mom and Dad!

Next stop… Roma!

Easing Back Into “Reality”

Post Madrid, we had a three day week which was nice to use to get back into the swing of things. The Thursday of that week we went to Ronda’s 16^th century bodega for a wine tasting. We learned about the process that goes into making the wine and why it’s done a certain way for each. The darker the wine, the older it is. We also stumbled across the one and only avocado tree in Ronda. It grows in the shaded patio of the bodega on the cliff side, so it’s protected from certain aspects of the weather that it wouldn’t have been if it were somewhere else.

On Friday, I woke up with two welts that could be known as none other than spider bites according to careful research (aka browsing through none other than Google Images). Susana and I went to the hospital after school to get them checked out since the bug bit me while I was sleeping and we weren’t sure if it would go away on its own. Luckily, the doctors told me (told Susana in very fast Spanish that she later relayed to me in a simple version) that I only had to continue taking the seasonal allergy medicine that I already do. They’ve since deflated and left some Spanish battle wounds that I can take back home. There’s this quote that I like that says “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow”. Can’t help but to think that the way it applies here is kind of funny in a backwards sort of version.

I woke up like this (and proceeded to unintentionally freak everyone out at school)

Saturday we didn’t have any trips technically scheduled, but everyone planned to use the free weekend to go to a Spanish beach so the majority of us took a bus to Marbella, which is about a 40 minute drive. The town is beautiful. We got it on a cloudier day than we’d hoped, but all in all it was still fun to go to. Susana told us that you can see Morocco when the sky is clear and that it’s only 14 km away. To put in perspective as to how close we were, a few of our phones picked up the Moroccan time zone.

First step in the Mediterranean

The beach itself also had a lot of people carrying around knockoff purses, sunglasses, and the like. Most told us that they had come from Africa and were trying to earn money to live in Spain which was admirable, but were so pushy in trying to get us to buy their things that it became annoying. The initial question and answer was the same from man to man:

“Sunglasses? Jersey? Buy this t-shirt for your boyfriend?”
“No, thank you.”

After tons and tons of people approaching us with only a few minutes between each, we resorted to more creative tactics that served us well for the rest of the trip, specifically our favorite weapon with the best Spanish accent that we could muster:

“Sunglasses? Jersey? Buy this t-shirt for your boyfriend?”
“¡No hablo inglés¡” (aka I don’t speak English)

It’s foolproof–10/10 would recommend.

Location: Marbella

So, are you fluent yet?

An Interminable Progress

One of my pet peeves is when I talk to my friends at home and they ask me, “So are you fluent yet?” Considering I came to Argentina to improve my Spanish and practice it living day to day in a foreign country, this is a valid question. After being here for about two months, my Spanish vocabulary and my ability to speak has improved immensely. However, it is very hard to say yes, I am fluent in a second language. I am still learning constantly, so I would say that I am certainly proficient in Spanish. But saying I am fluent makes me feel that I am done learning Spanish, that I am satisfied with my ability to communicate in a second language. I always try to improve my accent, but I am resigned that this is very hard to do. Even people whose first language is not English who have lived in the US for decades often still have accents. Even with this being said, I do not think I will ever be satisfied with my fluency in Spanish. Even in English, I love reading and learning new words to enrich my vocabulary. Of course, I would say I am fluent in English. But the never ending process of learning a second language – learning new vocabulary, learning the context of when words and expressions are used- makes it harder for me to say yes, I am fluent in Spanish.

I need something that glues things together a.k.a glue

For example, the other day I needed glue or tape to finish a poster project about fracking in Argentina for my Spanish class. As I was walking to the store to buy glue, I realized I couldn’t remember the word for glue in Spanish. This presented a problem because in the school supplies stores here, the worker asks what you need and they get it for you. I couldn’t just look around for glue and pay without speaking. However, I remembered the verb to glue. So I asked the worker in the store for something that I could use to glue paper to a poster. She understood and asked if I wanted liquid form or the stick. Of course, this was not the most concise way for me to buy glue, but I got what I needed and finished my project. But now, I now the word for glue and won’t forget it anytime soon. This kind of learning is a daily occurrence.

Living in a foreign country that speaks your second language is the most incredible learning experience. All of my courses here are in Spanish. Whether I’m in my Argentine poetry class or my Patagonia anthropology class, I’m constantly learning new words. When I take the bus through the city, advertisements and store signs flash by me, teaching me new words and expressions. When summer was ending here, every store had signs of “rebajas, rebajas!”, “sale, sale!”. I learn new social and political terms when I pass by signs campaigning for candidates. In the Plaza de Mayo, there are always political demonstrations or political graffiti and posters across from the Casa Rosada, the equivalent of the White House.

The poster hung in the Plaza de Mayo says Truth…? Memory…? Justice…? Inclusion…?: Lies from those governing!
We want to believe in their commitment to memory, justice, and truth.

Sail or candle?

Although I read La Canción de la Pirata (The Song of the Pirate) in my Spanish literature class, I have never had a sailing unit in any Spanish class at Penn State. When I first told my host family I was going sailing, I remembered the word for sail, but my host family didn’t understand me at first. I second-guessed my memory of the word for sail because it also means candle. But after going sailing, I have a concrete experience of sailing, had conversations with our Spanish speaking captain, and learned lots of new words related to sailing and the river: words like sailing, stern, and words for different types of sailboats.

Sailing with my friends on the Río de la Plata

Oh, I can read a menu in Spanish… I think

We also had alfajores on our sailing trip. Alfajores are two cookies that have dulce de leche in between them, and the whole thing is dipped in chocolate. A lot of Argentine dishes, like in any language, have their own specific name. So, it has surprised me how difficult reading menus or reading labels in the market has been. For example, lomo is a word I commonly see on signs near large cuts of meat at delis. I am normally a vegetarian at home, so not knowing what type of meat my sandwich has freaks me out. I think, “Oh, is lomo rabbit? Deer? What could this possibly be?” Turns out lomo is just a cut of meat. Argentines are very serious about meat, so normally signs and menus always include the cut of meat, no matter whether it is a to-go sandwich shop or a nice French restaurant. I also saw a quiche that was labelled “puerro” in the market. This also freaked me out because puerro sounds very similar to perro, meaning dog. However, I found out puerro means leek, so I didn’t need to worry that the market offered dog quiche.

My favorite bakery: In the name of dessert!

An alfajor

I have even learned a lot of words for vegetables, fruits and herbs here: eggplant, basil, arugula, parsley, grapefruit. When I go to my favorite bakery, En el Nombre de Postre, I learn new words for spices like cinnamon or the phrase for whole-grain bread.

Another language challenge is the ice cream parlor. You would think this would be simple, but if a foreigner came to an ice cream store in the US, there are plenty of names that don’t really describe what the ice cream actually is. For example, what the hell does moose tracks actually mean? There are many ice creams like this in Spanish too. I have been intrigued by one flavor named Roger. Sometimes I feel silly asking what an ice cream is like, so I remind myself that there are a lot of nonsensical names for ice creams in English too. I ask my friend who owns the store what the mysterious Roger ice cream is like, and he says that it is like the candy Ferrero-Rocher. So I tried it, and it was amazing!

So, all in all, I work on my Spanish constantly outside of the classroom. A lot of it depends on my own effort to learn. I can either point and gawk, or I can exercise my ability to ask Argentines what something means or get my point across without knowing the exact word that I want to use. So sometimes, it seems so much easier to point instead of say, “what is this like?”, “what is this made out of?”. So even though sometimes I feel like a complete idiot asking silly questions, I am an idiot that is learning new things every single day in the city, unlike any experience in a contained classroom at Penn State.

Location: Paraná 1205 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Switzerland for the Night

We got a call from a new classmate saying Basel in Switzerland is having a Museum Night where all of the its museums are free. She asked us if we wanted to join her and her friends. YES!! We were going to SWITZERLAND for a night! My one friend, Aviva, couldn’t get over how cool it was we could just hop into another country!

As soon as we’re on the train, all of the Europeans are pulling out apples, sandwiches, cupcakes, chocolates, thermoses with coffee, and even wine! They all were offering each other and us tastes of snacks. We quickly learned: always carry food on the go. Maybe it’s a European thing, but it would explain why my European mom is always prepared with basically an emergency picnic.

In an hour, we were in Basel and it was raining. Everyone was un-phased by the weather and the museums still packed. I felt that in the States bad weather means smaller crowds – but in Europe I haven’t seen anyone fearful of some bad weather, they just pull out umbrellas, rain coats (and cool rain cover-up pants our one friend ripped off once in the museum) and go. All of the city trams were free that evening so we hopped between several museums and awed at works by Gustave Courbet, Peter Doig, and Alexander Calder (originator of the mobile). Unfortunately no snapping pics in the museum but we had so much fun meeting some new classmates and seeing the gorgeous works. We caught the train home sleepily with lots of Freiburg-er’s and were all home by 3.

Life around Freiburg

Not only did I hop over to Switzerland, the next weekend I was in France within 40 minutes. I made a daytrip to Colmar and Strasbourg. Upon arriving, I kind of forgot that I have absolutely no French and resorted to “merci” and the language of hand gestures.

On the streets of Colmar, France

For now, I am working on improving my German language. Last week I apparently mixed up an order so badly that for a tuna sandwich without cheese, I somehow ended up with a cheese sandwich…surprised on the first bite. But actually laughed. Otherwiseee, I’m practicing my German in the markets and saying, “Wie sagt mann” (how do you say) for the words I don’t know yet and want to learn. It really helps to pick up words and phrases!

Light snow along river outside of Freiburg.

Freiburg streets

To Come

I’m heading to Berlin this week! A friend and I are organizing our trip and we found our 7 hour train ride tickets for 37 euros each, with some research and time. I can’t get a cheaper 3 hour bus ride to Penn State for that. Basically we will spend under 200 euros for 4 days in Berlin, saving for other things! Can’t wait to share details!! (P.S. Paris booked in 3 weeks too!)

Location: Basel, Switzerland

Adfrenchures: Chapitre 4

HoAdfrenchures: Chapitre 4
Gra(c/th)ias // Bar(c/th)elona

This past weekend, the entire program took a (partially subsidized) trip to Barcelona, Spain. I’d change the title to Adspainchures, but it doesn’t have quite the same charm. We left Friday afternoon and returned Sunday evening. All said and done, I only got 6 hours of sleep for the whole weekend. (Worth it.)

On the bus ride, we were all chipping in our meager bits of Spanish. I realized I could say “Where is…?” but couldn’t remember the word for “bathroom.” The only Spanish nouns I had in my arsenal were “queso” and “azul.” Verbs were impossible and limited to Dora the Explorer episodes: “Vamenos!” I knew please, thank you, and you’re welcome (staple vocabulary in any language). Someone taught me how to say “sorry,” since I’m not graceful and constantly bump into people, but I never wound up using it because before “lo siento” could pass my lips, I had already said “D�sol�e!”

I was a little nervous about not knowing any Spanish; as it turns out, Barcelona is so flooded with tourists that the English was plentiful. All I really needed to know was the address of our hostel for the cab driver at 4 in the morning. (Of course, I was the only one who had bothered to learn it. I am always the mom of the group. You’re welcome.) 33 Passeig del Gracia, for anyone wondering. There was a constant refrain among our group of people saying “Grathias,” mimicking the way “c”s are pronounced. It sounds very different from any of the other Spanish I’ve heard. Many of the signs were also translated into Catalan, which has enough French in it that I could understand without having to read the English signs.

In fact, being in Spain made me realize how much I have begun to think in French. It took exposure to a third, different language for me to notice that, 90% of the time, my brain is functioning in French. While realizing this made me happy at the vast improvement of my language skills, it was also incredibly frustrating because, yeah, hi, not in France anymore, Marie– no one’s going to understand you.

The hostel was large and welcoming– the second floor was a huge hangout space with TVs, computers, drinks, and foosball. There was also a terrace (and accompanying top floor bar) which had an absolutely beautiful view.

We went to Parc G�ell, the Sagrada Familia, and, on the way home, we saw the Salvador Dali museum. The weekend was packed full of beautiful sights, high views of the city, and a survey of Antoni Gaud�’s unique architecture.

Both Parc G�ell and the Sagrada Familia were designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaud�, who also designed many houses in the city. More than simply buildings, Gaud�’s creations are standing works of art. They are incredibly intricate, featuring hand-done stonework and mosaics, incorporating a variety of mediums. His style is incredibly distinctive– you could identify a Gaud� house from a mile away.

I think my favorite thing about Parc G�ell was the way the architecture and planning flowed with the landscape of the hill. It didn’t fight against the slop; it used it to build a terrace. At the peak, showing Gaud�’s religious side, was a worn dual spiral staircase up to a cross, where you could see almost all of Barcelona and as far as the ocean.

We all saw Gaud�’s most famous work, la Sagrada Familia. Corinne, a Frenchwoman and one of the program directors, told me it was like Barcelona’s Eiffel Tower. It has been under construction since 1882 and isn’t expected to be completed until 2026; there are cranes and scaffolding in almost every picture I’ve seen of it. Gaud� died when the project was only one quarter completed, so you can see the distinct styles of all the different architects on each facet of the building. Walking around la Sagrada Familia is like walking around at least four different cathedrals at once.

While the attention to detail was almost absurd in its intricacy and the craftsmanship of the building is impeccable, I didn’t find la Sagrada Familia particularly pretty or aesthetically pleasing in any way. Each of the pieces would be beautiful independently, but thrown all together as if by hazard makes the building look confused, overcrowded, and at points a little tacky.

However, my favorite part about the trip was Barcelona’s nightlife. We coerced Corinne, the director, into going to the clubs with us both nights. As they say in France, “on fait la f�te,” (et on l’a fait, en fait!). All of the clubs were right on the beach, so that you entered into the building, went onto the patio, and exited no more than 100 feet from the Mediterranean sea.

Spain has pretty strict dress rules for their clubs, and two of our friends got turned away the first night because of their sandals. At 4 A.M. we watched the waves and soaked our feet in the ocean and wound up tracking back an ungodly amount of sand into our hostel room.

Thanks for an amazing weekend, Barcelona! (And sorry about the sand.)

Location: Barcelona, Spain

I’m illiterate, but that’s okay!

Language learning is more of a lifestyle than an ultimate destination. You can set up goals, but there is no end to this task. With that in mind, I tend to ignore most of what I don’t know and try to just work with what I got, but sometimes it is painfully obvious where I stand on the road to fluency: not that far from where I started.
Learning a language with a different writing system is pretty serious business. Especially when your target language has three different writing systems. I mastered two since they are as simple as the alphabet. It’s the Chinese character based (Kanji) system that is the killer and it makes up a large majority of writing. Essentially, I know about 400. To read a newspaper, however, you should know about 1,945.
This doesn’t mean I don’t read at all. I have a few comics with kanji in them and on top of the kanji, there is furigana. For those who don’t know, furigana is the kanji reading using the other two alphabets. Japanese kids face the same problem I do up until a point, so it’s pretty normal to come across accessible materials.
Another way to alleviate the Kanji issue is watching television with closed captions on. At first, it looks like nonsense, especially since I can’t understanding everything being said. But after a while, watching the same shows, things start getting familiar to my eyes and ears. Unfortunately this doesn’t solve the problem that is producing the characters on paper for myself, but I think recognition is the most important skill at this point.
This would probably work for other languages too. Good reading and listening practice, so try it out!

Location: minami-ku, nagoya-shi, aichi-ken, Japan

じろじろ？ちらちら？笑う？

Japan is essentially a homogenous country. Frequently I hear that about 1% of the population is foreign. That is not a lot of people and more likely than not, they are in and around Tokyo and military bases.
Despite this, however, it is not a rare occurence that you see foreign models in magazines and on tv not only smiling and wearing clothes, but actually speaking. Sometimes they speak Japanese, sometimes English. Even without actors, a lot of commercials use English text and names for their products. This is a little odd to realize, but it would probably be very easy to navigate Japan without knowing the language as long as you know English. It is that common.
Here`s the best example I can find on the spot that is currently airing. Foreign actors, English on the packaging, and `Stride Stripe Debut!`
http://www.youtube.com/embed/wzyuPwTVy44

And of course American movies and music are very popular here. Even at the music store, Japanese music is stored under `JPop` as opposed to just `Pop` music, which is where the western music is. How is it that even within Japan, Japanese music has it`s own special section and Western music isn`t considered `International?` Are the Japanese backwards or is the West lacking in cultural exploration? That`s a question for another time.
What I am getting at is it doesn`t seem that the western world is so far away here. I don`t get a sense that western pop culture is rare or unfamiliar to Japanese people as a whole. So why is it that they stare at me every chance they get? They stare at me with curiosity (where is she from, is she a tourist, an English teacher or a student?) and with anxiety (Do I have to speak English to her? Can she understand us?). These things I have come to understand and sometimes I can ignore it, sometimes I have fun with it and wave as if I am a celebrity, and sometimes it makes me self conscious. It`s still something I am working on.
Today, however, was different. Today two little girls spotted me, pointed at me and laughed. At the time, I was pretty insulted. `I am not a joke,` I said to Okaasan (host mother). `I am a human. They`ve seen different people on tv, so why is it different in person?` She tried to put things in perspective, but sometimes things are just rude and that`s all. To make my point, I asked her when she was living in England, did anyone laugh or stare at her, knowing she`d say no. They treated her like she was any other person. For that reason, she will never know what it`s like to go somewhere and have everyone staring at her all at once and thus cannot console me.
I feel well adjusted to every other aspect of the lifestyle here, but being stared at and laughed at doesn`t make any sense with my American logic. I really don`t think I will be able to see it from their perspective given the mainstream value of western culture.

Location: Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken, Japan

Do you understand? Amazing!

A lot of the time when I talk to strangers such as store clerks, tour guides, they are in awe of the fact that I am speaking Japanese. I say one sentence, probably something like `I`m from America.` and they instantly go `You`re Japanese is so good!`
In America, it is just so natural that so many different people speak English that I can hardly think of a time that I complimented someone on their ability to communicate. Even amongst my international friends, I just accept that fact and don`t really think about the work and effort behind it. But in Japan, speaking Japanese feels a bit like a circus trick. Especially when my host family claps when I`m done with my homework. Tonight, Otousan was explaining that he had to do overtime at the store tonight. `Do you understand `overtime?` he asked me. I said I did and he commented to Okaasan, `Oh really? She even knows overtime! That`s amazing.` Mostly I don`t think too much of it. Other times I seriously wonder how many people go to countries and can`t even spit out a sentence or two. They`re giving the wrong impression for the rest of us!
It`s probably just that Japan is very homogenous and I`m the shiny, colorful blip on their radar at the moment. Though I can understand that idea, it`s still a strange occurence.

Location: Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi-ken, Japan

NZ Lingo, Culture and more

Kia Ora,

While they definitely speak English here, some of the words used can be very different and sort of fun.

Kia ora – NZ welcome from the Maori language
Sweet as, bro – roughly “that’s cool”
no worries – a very popular way to respond to any sort of apology
she’ll be alright – everything will be okay
papers – a term for classes or courses taken here, e.g. “I am taking two math papers”
a flying fox – a zip line (My friend wasn’t even aware of what a zip line is)
a carpark – a parking lot
Philadelphia – cream cheese (although this is apparently common for those who don’t live so near Philly)
toilet – not bathroom
Jandals – sandals
a penguin – nickname for the 5 dollar bill, which has a penguin on it, e.g. “I’ve got a penguin”
fresh up – a name brand juice, flavored apple and orange together
L & P – their lemonade
z = “zed” – not z = “zee”
Kiwi – a NZ person, a green fruit, or a flightless bird

There’s also a host of other cultural differences that I’ve picked up on so far:
1. Drivers will actually stop at crosswalks and wait until you comely cross to drive, but will nearly hit you if you attempt to cross the road in any other place.
2. Wellington is one of the cleanest cities that I have ever seen. However, despite being so clean, there are very few trashcans around and I have yet to see a street sweeper. Instead, it seems to be a cultural policy not to litter, but rather to carry your trash around until eventually you do manage to find a trash can or you go home. Similarly, there is much less graffiti than one might expect to find in a city and often the graffiti you do see might even be very beautiful.

3. Everyone is super super friendly! even more so than I might have guessed they would be.
4. If you wait for the servers to bring you a check in a restaurant, you will sit there for the rest of your life. Instead you must pay at the bar.
5.No one tips! and tax is already worked into the prices. So when you see the price on an item, it is the real price.
6.Walk on the left; drive on the left.
7. Prices are really very different. Some unexpected items are very expensive. For example, you’ll pay an arm and a leg for sunscreen, but lamb costs less than chicken. (This makes sense as there are more sheep than people in NZ). Also a regular spiral notebook might cost about US$10!
8. They don’t refrigerate their eggs! You go into the store and see boxes of eggs on the shelves like chips or cereal. Clearly something is wrong with this picture. Either Americans waste energy in refrigerating our eggs or there’s something really different about NZ eggs. (I haven’t purchased any yet, but I’ll keep you posted.)
9. They are a lot more liberal about what can be publicly posted. For example, note the billboard below.

In other news, today I went to Newton for a casting call for elf extras for the Hobbit. Unfortunately, they were looking for people over 5’7″, which is so not me, but I went anyways with some taller friends. We stood in a really long line for a while, until we were let into the building, a NZ dance studio. From there, those tall enough filled out an application and were led into small rooms where pictures and measurements were taken. Once we got into the building, everything moved really fast. I just hope one of my friends will be chosen, because they would be really neat. I also found out that I am short enough to have been cast as a hobbit extra, but unfortunately they had already finished those casting call, before I arrived.

One day, I went to an inflatable party, which had an inflatable obstacle course, human fuse ball, and twister.

Also, since I live so close the the botanical gardens, I also went there again. Aren’t the flowers so beautiful?

Location: Hutchinson Rd., Newton, Wellington, New Zealand

Education Abroad GeoBlog

Penn State bloggers from around the world

Tag Archives: language

Current mood: in love

“Sono andata da Firenze a Ginevra e ritorno!”

“Oggi a Firenze”

Current mood: in love

Finding my bearings!

So far, I’ve been here for 23 days, and I’ve experienced quite a whirlwind of events.

Learning the language

Wine tasting in Chianti

Adventures in Siena

V for Venezia!

The not-so-wonderful truth

Next stop… Roma!

Easing Back Into “Reality”

So, are you fluent yet?

An Interminable Progress

I need something that glues things together a.k.a glue

Sail or candle?

Oh, I can read a menu in Spanish… I think

Switzerland for the Night

Life around Freiburg

To Come

Adfrenchures: Chapitre 4

I’m illiterate, but that’s okay!

じろじろ？ちらちら？笑う？

Do you understand? Amazing!

NZ Lingo, Culture and more