しりとりをしましょう！

今週のやくしょのじゅぎょうでしりとりをしました。しりとりは日本語のことばのゲームです。日本語がわからない人はあまりわからないかもしれません（ごめん！）。

This week in my translation class we played shiri tori. Shiri tori is a Japanese word game. If you don't know Japanese then understanding may be a little difficult (sorry if it is!).

英語で！

The game is simply played by saying words (I think it supposed to be nouns only, but we played with adjectives too because we don't have very big vocabularies =P) that start with the same hiragana that the last one ended with. For example, if I said いぬ (inu) then you could say ぬいぐるみ (nuigurumi). However, you cannot use words that end in ん (n) or you will be out because there are no words that start with ん. We only played for a little bit in class, but the game would go until one person can't think of a word.

I suppose the game could be played in English too... simply name words that start with the same letter that the last one ended with (e.g. rabbit -> turtle -> eraser). 

Anyway, I thought this was a fun game (and a pretty good way to practice your vocabulary and maybe learn a few new words!). So if you're feeling a little bored, wether it's in English or 日本語、しるとりをしましょう！(Let's play shiri tori!)

by the way, if anyone reading this knows more about しりとり and finds a mistake, please correct me m(_ _)m

ぼくの週末

So I'm going to have a little fun here... The first year Japanese students had a blog homework assignment to write about their weekend and I thought to myself "I still need to tell people about MY weekend," so I'll do the assignment too! （＞w＜）／

先週末はとてもいそがしくて、楽しかったです。金曜日のじゅぎょうの後に友達と一種にカラオケをしに行きました。はじめてカラオケをして、すごくたのしかったです！よく英語の歌を歌ったけど、日本語の歌を一つ歌ってみました。かしはたくさん知らない漢字があったから、とてもむずかしかったです。後でみんなはおなかがすいていたから、フードコートに晩ご飯を食べに行って、ぼくはオムライスをたべました。

土曜日も友達と出かけました。西高蔵で会って、スシローにおすしを食べに行きました。そこでおすしにして、おすしはコンベヤーベルトで来ます。とてもおもしろいけいけんでした。おなかがいっぱい時に出て、かみまえずに行って、プリクラでしゃしんをとりました。楽しかったけど、女の子の方がプリクラが好きだと思います。

プリクラでとりました！

(we took this at the photo booth(puri kura)!)

そして、土曜日もカラオケをして、日本語の歌を歌ってみました。「ぼくはくま」は日本語の一年のじゅぎょうで歌ったから、金曜日の歌よりやさしかったです。後で帰って、晩ご飯を食べて、アメリカの家族とSkypeをしました。

（ここで「ぼくはくま」を聞けますよ）

日曜日ホストの兄のむすこはうんどうかいがありました。アメリカではあまりないからおもしろいけいけんでした。楽しかったけど、ちょっとあつくてぼくはひやけしました。うんどうかいは十時ごろから二十ごろまででした。そして、四時ごろホストの兄と子供たちとRound1にあそびに行きました。Round1でたくさん楽しいことができます！たとえば、ビリアドやテニスやアーケードゲームがでます。Round1で三時間にあそんだから、ちょっとおそく帰ってつかれました。でも、楽しかったからまだ行きたいです！

ぼくの週末はいそがしいなあ。でもすごくたのしかったです！

Last weekend was really busy, but lots of fun. After class on Friday, I went with friends to do karaoke. It was my first time doing karaoke and it was tons of fun! Mostly I sang English songs, but I tried singing one song in Japanese. The lyrics had lots of kanji that I didn't know, so it was kinda hard to sing. Afterwards everyone was hungry so we went to a food court to eat dinner and I ate omelette rice.

On Saturday as well I went out with friends. We met at Nishi Takakura and went to Sushi Row to eat sushi. There you order your sushi and it comes on a conveyer belt. It was a very interesting experience. When our stomaches were full, we left, went to Kami Maezu, and took pictures in a photo booth. (I have to explain a little here... there are photo booths in Japan, which they call puri kura, that let you take pictures and then write and draw on them and add backgrounds etc. etc.) It was fun, but I think girls like this kind of thing more.

Also, on Saturday as well I did karaoke and tried singing a Japanese song. Since I had sung "Boku wa Kuma" in my first year Japanese class, I was easier than the one I tried to sing on Friday. Afterwards we all went home, I ate dinner, and Skyped with my family back in America.

(You can listen to "Boku wa Kuma" here)

My host brother's son had an athletic competition on Sunday. In America there isn't really anything similar so it was a very interesting experience. It was fun, but it was a little hot and I got sunburned. The athletic competition lasted from about 10:00 till about 2:00. Then, at about 4:00 I went with my host brother and his kids to Round1 to play. At Round1 there are lots of fun things that you can do. For example, you can play billiards, tennis, and arcade games, just to name a few. We played for three hours at Round1, so we got back a little late and I got pretty tired. But it was fun so I want to go again!

My weekend sure was busy. But it was incredibly fun!

Wow another long post! (>o<) This probably wouldn't happen if I posted more often (-__-)

......oh well

いそがしくてつかれっている

Sorry this post is going to be quick and in English. If you can't read the title, it says "busy and tired" and that pretty much sums up my life for the past week. Most of it has been fun (the typhoon wasn't exactly...) and I'm sure you are all dying to hear about it. 

I know a lot of you worried about me during the typhoon, but I am fine. It didn't hit us in Ichinomiya very hard, and class was only canceled for one day. Although, I think some other parts of Japan got hit pretty hard.

To give you a bit of an idea of what I've been doing, in the past week I've gone to karaoke twice, ate sushi, and watched Uta-kun's athletic competition (as well as many other things). I'll write again and tell you all the things I've been doing in detail when I can.

by the way, this is ikura (salmon eggs I'm pretty sure), which I ate when I went with friends to eat sushi. It was delicious! (I didn't take this picture, my camera still isn't letting me put pictures on my computer; I'm waiting for a care package from home that will have a cable to hook up my camera to my computer which should work)

Found this picture at: http://www.eatsmart.jp/do/caloriecheck/detail/param/foodCode/9999020000219/rowNum/0

じゅぎょうははじまった（pt２）

つづきましょう！

Let's continue!

So I think it would be best to translate first, then finish my story

On Monday, my classes started, but the Japanese students' classes have not yet started (they start tomorrow (which was yesterday/Friday)). Everyday I have Japanese class, but Ikebana, Shodo, translation, and Japanese Writing I meet only once a week.

Monday from 1:30 to 3:00, I have Shodo. This week we learned how to make the ink, and we learned the proper technique for writing. Then, we practiced writing, making lots of "月" (moon), and turned in the one that we thought was best at the end of class. It was lots of fun!

Tuesday from 1:30 to 3:00, I have my translation class. I lost track of time this week and was a little late for class, though. Also, the class only has eight students so it is a very small class I think. This week we just looked over the syllabus, but the class seems interesting!

Wednesday from 11:05 to 12:35, I have my Japanese Writing I class. This week we had a quiz, and the teacher told me "I think Japanese Writing II would be better for you." I will try taking Japanese Writing II, but I think it seems a little difficult. Also, after class there was a welcome party that was very fun. However, I am very tired now, so I will write more tomorrow (and translate).

パーティの前に時間がなかったから、昼ご飯を食べなくて、ちょっとおなかがすいていました。そして、パーティでおかしだけがありました。パーティで友達に会って、新しい友達になりました。留学生と日本人の学生がいたから、とても楽しかったです。グループを作って、トリビアクイズがありました。ぼくたちのグループの名前は「じゅうレンジャー」でした（グループで十人がいただから）！この次グループの中でいすとりゲームをしました。後でみんなと話したり、おかしを食べたりしました。日本人の学生はぼくのシリーバンドが大好きいでした！（＞v＜）

木曜日の三時十五分から四時四十五分まで生け花のじゅぎょうがあります。すごくおもしろかったです！あまりむずかしくないと思ったけど、じつはふくざつでした。お母さんは「生け花のはなをもって来てください」と言ったから、がんばります！

そして、じゅぎょうの前に時間があったから、ジャパンプラザに行ってみました。ジャパンプラザでみんなは日本語だけではなして、英語はだめです。ノートルダムの会話テーブルとジャパンプラザとはちょっと同じです。日本語で話すのはちょっとむずかしかったが、とてもたのしかったです！ぜひもう一度行きますよ！

金曜日日本語のじゅぎょうだけがあるから、あまりいそがしくありません。でも、今週の金曜に日本人のじゅぎょうがはじまってから、にぎやかでした。十一時ごろにちょっと休みがあったから、友達と一緒にきょうしつから日本人の学生に手をふりました。何人かぼくたちに手をふって、一人はぼくたちにしゃしんをとりました！じゅぎょうの後でもう一度ジャパンプラザにいきました。そこでジェームズと会った、「一緒に名古屋えきに行きませんか？」と聞きました。七人は名古屋えきに行きました（留学生が二人と日本人が四人とぼく）。名古屋えきで晩ご飯を食べたり、いろいろなみせでウィンドーショッピングしたりしました。九時半ぐらい帰ったから、昨日ブログを書きませんでした。でも、ぜんぶはすごくたのしかったです！

Before the party, I didn't have any time, so I didn't eat lunch and was a little hungry. And at the party they only had snacks to eat. At the party, I met with some friends and made a few new friends. There were study abroad students (like me!) and Japanese students at the party so it was a lot of fun. We formed groups and had a trivia quiz. Our group's name was "Jyu (meaning ten) Rangers" (because there were ten of us)! Next, we played musical chairs in our groups. Afterwards, everyone talked with each other and ate snacks. The Japanese students really like my Silly Bands! XD

On Thursday from 3:15 to 4:45, I have Ikebana class. It was really interesting! I had thought that it wasn't really difficult, but in fact it is very complicated. My host mom told me to bring back the flowers I use in Ikebana so I will have to work hard!

Also, before class I had some extra time, so I went to the Japan Plaza to check it out. At the Japan Plaza everyone speaks only Japanese and English is not allowed. The language table at Notre Dame (for those of you who know about it) and the Japan Plaza are fairly similar. Speaking in Japanese was a little difficult, but it was so much fun! I will definitely go again!

On Friday I only have Japanese class so I'm not very busy. But on Friday the Japanese students' classes started, so the campus was very lively. At about 11:00, we had a bit of a break so a friend and I waved from the classroom to some of the Japanese students. Some of them waved back at us and one person even took a picture! After class I went to the Japan Plaza again. There I met James and he asked if I wanted to go to Nagoya station. In all seven people went to Nagoya station (2 study abroad students, 4 Japanese students, and me). At Nagoya station, we ate dinner and window shopped at various different shops. I returned home at around 9:30 so I didn't finish this yesterday. But everything was some much fun!

（すごい！このポースとはとても長いね〜？）

(Wow! This post is really long, huh?)

じゅぎょうははじまった（pt１）

月曜日じゅぎょうははじまりましたが、日本人のじゅぎょうはまだはじまりません（明日はじまります）。毎日日本語のじゅぎょうがありますが、生け花としょどうとやくしょとJapanese Writing Iのじゅぎょうは一週間に一回あります。

月曜日の一時半から三時までしょどうがあります。今週私たちはすみを作るのをならって、いいテクニックもならいました。そしたら、書くれんしゅうをして、たくさん「月」をかいて、じゅぎょうがおわる時に一番いいと思うのをていしゅちました。とても楽しいでした！

火曜日の一時半から三時までやくしょがあります。今週時間がわすれましたから、ちょっとおそくなりました。そして、じゅぎょうに八人がいたから、このじゅぎょうはとても小さいと思います。今週シラバスを見ただけだけど、おもしろそうです！

水曜日の十一時五分から十二時三十五分までJapanese Writing Iがあります。今週クイズがあって、先生はぼくに「Japanese Writing IIをとるの方がいいと思います」と言いました。Japanese Writing IIをとってみますが、ちょっとむずかしそうだと思います。そして、じゅぎょうの後でウェルカムパーティがあって、とても楽しいでした。しかし、今とてもねむいですから、明日もう書きますよ（明日もやくします）。

So you may have noticed that the title says "pt１". This is because I am typing this right before I go to bed and therefore I am pretty tired (unfortunately, too tired to finish or translate). Tomorrow I should have time to finish and translate, but I will definitely have pt２ posted by the day after tomorrow.

(sorry if you can't read the Japanese! I will finish as soon as possible!)

BBQ

こんにちは！

昨日の昼BBQに行って、楽しいでした。BBQはお母さんの息子の家にありました。名前は「なおき」です（すみません、かんじがわからない）。そして、アメリカ人の友達（Michaelさん)も行きました。たくさんおいしい食べ物がありました。たとえば、ぶたにくや舌ややさいがありました。貝もあったけど、ぼくはたべませんでした。Michaelさんの誕生日だったから、皆はひやざけを飲みました。

ひるごはんの後で、皆ゆっくりしました。小さいプールがあったから、子供となおきさんは入りました。ぼくはみずぎがなかったから、足を入りました。Wave Boardもあって、男の人はのりました。のるのはちょっとむずかしいけど、とてもたのしいです！なおきさんがちょっとよっぱらっているけど、一番上手でした。つかれっている時家に入って、こわいばんぐみを見たけど、あまりこわくなかったと思いました。四時半ぐらい家に帰って、つかれっていました。

しらない人、これがWave Boardです。

For those who don't know, this is a Wave Board

Hello!

Yesterday afternoon, I went to a barbeque and it was lots of fun. The barbeque was at my host mom's son's house. His name is Naoki (sorry I don't know what the kanji is). Also, my American friend (Michael) came. There was lots of tasty food, such as pork, tongue, and vegetables. They also had oysters, but I didn't eat any. Since it was Michael's birthday, everyone drank some sparkling sake.

After lunch, everyone relaxed. There was a small pool so the kids and Naoki jumped in. I didn't have a swimsuit, so I just put my legs in. Naoki also had a Wave Board so all the guys tried that. Riding it was difficult, but a lot of fun! Naoki was a little drunk, but he was still the best at riding it. When we got tired of that we went inside and watched a scary TV show, although I didn't think it was very scary. Around 4:30, I went back home very tired.

日本！

よし！書きましょう！(All right! Let's write!)

先週の木曜日に名古屋に来って、くうこうでホストファミリーに会いました。そして、家に行く時の後じさぼけだから、ゆっくりしました。金曜日にもじさぼけだから、何もしませんでした。土曜日と日曜日に台風があったから、出かけてはいけません。ちょっとつまらなかったけど、ゆっくりしたのはいいでした。

月曜日にはじめて南山大学に行きました。ぼくのホストファミリーの家の近くに南山大学生がいるから、一緒に大学に行きました。名前はMICHAELで、ニューヨークから来ました。南山大学にプレイスメントテストがあって、むずかしいでした。後で、ひるごはんを食べて、色々人に話しました。ひるごはんの後にオリエンテーションがあって、日本人の大学生と一緒にキャンパスツアーがあって、ウェルカムパーティがありました。ぜんぶの後でようじがあるから、おそく帰りました。そして、けいたいがないから、お母さんにかけなくて、しんぱいしました（すみません！）。

火曜日にもオリエンテーションがありました。そして、じゅぎょうをよりました。ぼくはIJ300と（日本語のじゅぎょう）生け花と書道とELEMENTARY TRANSLATIONとJAPANESE WRITING 1Fをとるつもりです。帰る時の後でお母さんとMICHAELとMICHAELのお母さんと一緒にくやくしょに行って、色々ようじがありました。そして、ソフトバンクにけいたいを買いに行きました。でも二時間ぐらいかかったから、まだおそく帰りました。

今日、けいさつは南山大学に来て、話しました。そして、オリエンテーションがありました。ひるごはんの後で名古屋城に行きました。大学生が八十人ぐらい行って、日本人が二十ぐらいいました。名古屋城はすごく大きいで、きれいだと思います。とても楽しかったけど、つかれました（そして、お母さんによるとかおがやけました）。

そして、毎日お母さんはおいしいごはんを作って、しんせんなくだものを食べます。いつも新しい食べ物をたべますよ。ぜんぶがうまいけど、何かはちょっとへん（たとえば、全魚）。でも新しい食べ物を食べたい！すごくおもしろい！

まだ次

バイバイ☆

Last Thursday, I came to Japan and met my host family at the airport. Also, after I got to the house since I was jet-lagged, I relaxed. I was also jet-lagged on Friday, so I didn't do anything. On Saturday and Sunday we had a typhoon, so I didn't go out anywhere. It was a little boring, but it was nice to rest.

On Monday, I went to Nanzan University for the first time. Near my host family's house there is another Nanzan University student, so we went to school together. His name is Michael and he comes from New York. At Nanzan, we had a placement test and it was difficult. Afterwards, we ate lunch and I talked with various different people. After lunch we had orientations, had a campus tour with local Japanese students, and had a welcome party. After everything, I had a few things to take care of which caused me to come home late. And I didn't have a cell phone so my host mom was very worried (sorry!).

On Tuesday as well we had orientations. Also we chose classes. I plan on taking IJ300 (my Japanese language course), Ikebana (traditional Japanese flower arrangement), Shodo (calligraphy), elementary translation, and Japanese Writing 1F. After I returned home, I went with my host mom, Michael, and his host mom to the ward office to do some things (I would explain in Japanese but I don't really know how... we had to apply for a foreign residency card and the Japanese national health insurance). Also, we went to SoftBank to buy a phone. However this took about two hours and again I got home late.

Today, the police came to Nanzan and talked. Then we had more orientations. After lunch, we went to Nagoya Castle. About eighty students went, and about twenty of them were local Japanese students. Nagoya Castle was very big and I thought it looked nice. It was really fun, but I got really tired (and according to my host mom, I got sunburn on my face).

Also, everyday my host mom cooks tasty meals and we eat fresh fruits. I am always eating new foods. Everything is delicious, but some of it is a little different (for example, I ate a whole small fish, scales, head, and all). But I want to eat lots of new foods! It's so interesting!

until next time

bye bye☆

P.S. sorry I didn't post any photos. My camera is being a pain and not letting me put any onto my computer, so I think I need to go buy a cable to connect my camera to my computer. Hopefully I will be adding pictures soon!

いそがしかった

こんばんは！

さいきんいそがしかったから、つかれっています。そして、あまり時間がなくて、ブログを書きませんでした。でも、ひまな時にたくさんかきましょう！

（これが日本語でかくのがあまり分かりません。。。）

(I don't really know how to write this in Japanese...)

But part of the reason I haven't been posting anything is because I didn't realize that there are no 3 prong electrical outlets for me to plug my computer into. Everything is just 2 prongs (I guess they don't use the grounding prong), but today a friend let me borrow his adapter until I get one of my own.

(and now to translate the above =P)

Good evening!

Lately I have been busy, so now I am tired. Also since I haven't really had much time, I haven't written on my blog. However, when I am free I will definitely write a lot!

二本にいます！

おはよう！

今日本にいますけど、台風があります。さいきん雨がふって、風がつよくふいています。そして、ちょっとじさぼけですから、つかれっていて、あまり長いポーストを書きません。じさぼけじゃない時に、もう長いポーストを書きましょう。

Good morning!

I am in Japan now, but there is also a typhoon. Lately it has been rain, and the wind has been strong. Also, I'm a little jet lagged, so I'm tired and I won't be writing a very long post. When I'm not jet lagged, I write a longer post.