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Sneeze if you want
Entry 19 of 74 | show all | print this entry |
Let's revisit an earlier entry, well a short snippet...
People the world over sneeze, but it's not customary to say bless you in every culture, every language.
My Japanese phrase book points this out in a funny way.
It lists the expression for saying bless you (odaiji ni) but then provides this helpful phrase ... just in case:
(In this situation, Japanese actually say nothing at all.)
I found that amusing...
***
Now on to more "pressing matters."
Like studying Japanese, for instance.
In latest issue of Metropolis magazine, several pages are devoted to a special advertising section about Japanese language schools.
I enjoyed reading the various comments to these two questions sent in by students who live here:
A) What could you accomplish with better Japanese?
B) How did studying Japanese help your life?
For question A, here are two of the better answers:
"I wouldn't have to bug my coworker all day."
"Stick up for myself when I know I'm right."
Question B solicited the following responses:
"It enabled me to have close friends who are Japanese, even if they can't speak English."
"It gave me access to a new world, new values, new people, new experiences."
"I was finally able to ask the chef to stop giving me a raw egg."
"It opened my eyes to the fact that I've been accidentally buying women's shampoo for the past year."
***
First and foremost, Japan is considered a baseball nation. Sumo, of course, is the traditional king of sports here.
Soccer, too, has a grand following nowadays.
For Saturday's J. League game in Saitama, 48,000-plus fans showed up to watch the Shimizu S-Pulse face the host Urawa Reds.
They were treated to a pulse-rising contest, which the Reds won 1-0.
***
Asashoryu is the winner of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo. The 15-day tournament, or basho, actually ends Sunday, but he's earned enough wins so he cannot be runner-up, even though he lost Saturday's bout. The large Mongolian's given name is Dolgosuren Dagvadorj.
He was visited by actress Sharon Stone in his dressing room earlier this week.
Asa, as he is called by fans -- and headline writers -- has now won 18 Emperor's Cups, which puts him in elite company. According to various Web sites, only four others have won that many since 1927.
Asa's ring name, or shikona, means "Blue Dragon of the Morning."
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