みなさん、今日のスピッチはとてもおもしろかったですよ。私はすきでした。ウーさんのしゃしんはたのしかったですよね。こんサメシターはさとう先生はみなさんにたくさんの日本ごをおしえましたね。
It's really incredible to think back to our first class when everyone was trying really hard to get through はじめまして　どうぞよろしくおねがいします。And NOW all of us gave a three minute long speech from topics as varied as golf and the e-school. There is not much I would change about the course, because it all ultimately helped in the end, maybe if I had a lighter course schedule that wouldve been nice...
Minasan, i just want to let you all know that I love you all and that had we not been more of a family than a class this experience would've been entirely different and for the worse i believe. >.<

じゃあ　また

今ばんのパーティに行きませんか
私はミシゲンからきましたが、シャロッツビルのこうこうに行きました。私のこうこうはケーマルトのうしろにあります。バージニア大学のちかくにありませんから、大学生にあまりあいました。学生はおさけを飲んて、あそびましたが、私はぜんぜん見ました。わかい人はおさけを飲みましたか。分かりませんでした。私は十八さいの時にパーティにぜんぜん行って、おさけを飲みませんでした。私はおさけが大きらいでしたから。たばこも大きらいでした。でも大へんでしたよ。私のともだちはよくたのしいパーティに行って、たばことおさけをつかいましたから。まいしゅうまつともだちは私にききました：フックさん、一しょにパーティに行ってもいいですか。でもまいしゅうまつ私は行きませんでした。私はしゅうまつにひまな人でしたが、出かけませんでした。だからともだちをあまり見て、あそびませんした。でも、私のたん生日の時に一ばんパーティに行きました。どうしてですか。ともだちは私にスップラィーズパーティをしましたから。私は出てはいけませんでした。でもだいじょうぶでしたよ。そのパーティまで私はパーティがあまりすきじゃありませんでした。でもあとで私はあげく分かりました。あげくはええごの”finally”です。パーティはとてもたのしかったですから、ともだちはすきでした。パーティはだいじょうぶですよ。でもたくさんおさけを飲みますちょっと。元気じゃありませんですたから。

ブローグプロージェクと

私はミシゲンからきましたが、シャロッツビルのこうこうに行きました。私のこうこうはケーマルとのうしろにあります。バーギニア大学のちかくにありませんから、大学生にあまりあいました。それから学生はおさけを飲って、私は分かりませんでした。わかい人おさけを飲みましたか。わかりませんでした。私は十八さいの時にパーティにぜんぜん行って、おさけを飲みませんでした。私はおさけが大きらいでした。たばこも大きらいでした。でも大へんでしたよ。私のともだちはよくたのしいパーティに行って、たばことおさけをつかいましたから。まいしゅうまつともだちは私にききました：フックさん、一しょにパーティに行ってもいいですか。でもまいしゅうまつ私は行きません。私はしゅうまつにひまな人ですが、出かけませんでした。だからともだちをあまり見て、あそびませんした。でも、私のだんじょう日の時に一ばんパーティに行きました。どうしてですか。ともだちは私にスップラィーズパーティをしましたから。私は出てはいけませんでした。そのパーティまで私はぱーてぃがあまりすきじゃありませんでした。でもあとで私はあげく(finally)わかりました。パーティはとてもたのしかったですから、ともだちすきでした。パーティはだいじょうびですよ。でもたくさんおさけを飲ってはいけません。元気じゃありませんでした。

みなさん、こんにちは。
私のトピックはこどもの時です。
私はこどもの時にミシギンでいました。おとうさんとおかあさんはミシギンだいがくのきょうしでした。まい日ごご三時ごろおかあさんのオーフィスに行きました。おかあさんはベービシッターがあまりすきじゃありませんでしたから。でもおかあさんはとてもいそがしかったです。だから私はおかあさんとだいがくに行きました。そこでおかあさんはコンピューターをたくさんしましたが、私は一人で本をよみます。でも五さいまで私はよみませんでした。だからその時にフォールとをしました。ドラーウインもしました。時々中ごくのえいがも見ました。私のせいかつはちょっとつまらなかったですね。

AHHHH i keep forgetting to do these!!!

みなさん！こんにちは。。。
私の日本ごのクラスはとてもたのしいですよ！ともだちがたくさんいます。時々日本ごのクラスのともだちとパーティにいきます。たていとしょかんで日本ごをべんきょうします。でもしゅくだいはとてもむずかしいです。。：）

日本語でボローグ

みなさん！こんばんは！！きょうはみなさんのスキットはいいですよね。あしたはテストがあります！！いまわたしはべんきょうをぜんぜんします。よくありません。。。としょかんにいきますか？わたしにでんわしませんか。わたしはたいてい一人で日本ごをべんきょうします。土曜日にカルチャーフェースッとでスルサをします。いきませんか。
...たくさんべんきょうしますね。
さらいしゅうの土曜日はわたしはメリでスとワシントンにいきます。この土曜日にわたしはハロウィーンのパーティがあります。せんしゅの土曜日はともだちのウェーディングにいきました。おいしいのケーキもたべました。でもとしょかんにはいきませんでした。
みなさん、あしたに！

木ようび

わたしは　super tired です。でもいまねません。。べんきょうします！！！いつはねますか。こんばん？わかりません〜〜〜！！こんまつはちょっと。。まいにちのあさはおきるはちょっとしませんよ。

Perhaps all that didn't make much sense, but I'm trying to experiment with the language which is especially hard when I don't make a conscious effort. Everyone like the weather? I'm all about 95 to 45 degrees swings. Really. It keeps my wardrobe interesting. So I was actually bummed out that the presentations took so long, because I actually did that review sheet!
But the skits were hilarious. Highlights:

1. the SHIRTS. Everyone should know what I'm referring to and all I can say is that you guys have really raised the bar for props.
2. um Tatum-san as Brit???
3. Wu-san: "oh! Dansu-san!" ::runs::

I'll think of more later. Also, mad props to Kyuu-san's skit for incorporating all the p.95 vocab!
I'm gonna go make dinner now,
じゃあまた

Fall Break

みなさんこんばんは！
このしゅまつはわたしはパーティーへいきます！パーティーでおさけをのみません、でもおちゃはのみます。わたしのともだちはシャロツビルにきます。
みなさん、このしゅまつにDDRをしませんか。
いいですね！

And so another week comes to an end. I am looking forward to this long weekend. A lot. Today I went fig picking with my parents on the Lawn. There's a cluster of trees on the...east side? I'm not good with directions. Anyway we harvested the fresh, succulent figs and ate them on the spot. They were really good. I wonder how you say fig in Japanese.
One thing that's making me happy: recently whenever I guess the katakana for certain words and check online dictionaries I've been right! Well, not all the time, but more than senshumatsu or sensenshumatsu. : )
Speaking of which, for some reason I cannot get the names for the first ten days of the month to stick in my head...p.95 is hard.
I hope that all of you that are heading home or elsewhere this weekend have safe and leisurely journeys. Jaa matta! (this computer stopped letting me type in hiragana...)

Ahhhh!!! I almost forgot about my blog entry! That would not have been good... whew.

Well, here I am again. This weekわたしはぜんぜんねみません。。。I had an incredibley busy weekend last weekend followed by an incredibley busy week. I almost pulled all-nighters twice. Once was two nights ago, so then yesterday, when I decided to take a nap after class, I went to sleep at 6 and woke up four hours later!! My sleep is all screwed up.

わたしはたいていタッカーラオンジへばんごはんをたべます。The thing about Tucker Lounge is that it's awesome because of the communal kitchen and the number of people that are always there to meet, but there's a also a projector and screen so usually someone will be playing videogames there. I don't play vidoegames, never have, but it's way too easy for me to get sucked into even just watching someone play. For example the other night someone was playing Bioshock, which is weird, gory and scary, but I just couldn't みません！

I don't know if my random Japanese here is making any sense. Speaking of which, is anyone else feeling slighty overwhelmed with this third chapter? I guess I'll find out today; I'm going to the follow-up session. See you there perhaps.

oops, I didn't talk about how my life as バージニアだいがくのにねんせい　is going...
It's goint alright, I'm more busy than ever though and sometimes I feel like I'm trying to do so much that I can't spend enough time on each thing individually to do them all well and with as much effort as I want. Fortunately Japanese hasn't really fallen into this category of things in my life, because the class meets often enough that I'm pretty motivated to stay on top of my stuff. かたかなis kicking my butt though. I think it might be easier for me to just memorize the かたかな versions of things that Japanese people have already come up with, instead of producing my own. Frown.
Right now I'm living in Brown, which is really nice. It takes me five minutes to get to class and anywhere else I need to be, I also have a humongous single room and a temprapedic mattress, so I'm set. I haven't made that many friends at Brown yet, but I'm working on it. I cook a lot in the communal kitchen and try to bribe people to talk to me with food. So far this strategy has proved only half successful. Hm.
Ok, time to get working on my workbook and Mallard.

Pancakes

みなさん、おはようございます。
I just made myself some pancakes, Japanese pancakes actually. I bought the mix at the asian grocery store on Emmett, I think the company is Morinagi? Anyway the pancakes taste like cake and the mixing instructions are adorable because the little mixing bowls and eggs and milk all have little faces, smiling happily as they get blended. AND it was very exciting because this morning I realized I could read what's on the pancake syrup packet: ケーキシロップ。
おいしいですよ！！
わたしのたもだち all went to go see Girltalk last night. I couldn't go. :' ( Instead I spent my night in Clemons reading a book called Delinquent Daughters: Policing Female Sexuality. It's about the lawmaking that happened at the turn of the century that was meant to protect girls from lecherous old men. Did You Know: in 1885 a survey of all the states in the US found that the average age of consent for girls was 10?!?! 10 years old!! In face, Delaware's age of consent was 7!
Anyway, I'm going to have a very, very long day today...Classes and then I'm part of the salsa club and we're having a live salsa band come to the SAB. I'm also performing...でも everyone should come!! It's five dollars if you aren't a member of salsa club, but come on, LIVE MUSIC!

じゃあまた。

I Once Wanted To Be A Sushi-She-Chef

Hello 11 AM crew (and others who happen to be looking at this),
I've never kept a blog before, so I'm pretty thrilled! I'm also thrilled that I'm finally giving myself the chance to learn Japanese. I actually lived in Tokyo (Arakawa-ku to be exact, you can see my apartment building on google earth, holler) for a year when I was in 6th grade. Why? Because it was my dad's sabatacle (sp?) year and so he got a job at a University in Tokyo. Why am I in 101? Because I was a very whiney and obnoxious 12 year old and didn't want to go to Japan at all and didn't want to go to a Japanese middle school. My parents literally dragged me kicking and screaming to Japan...and kicking and screaming back to America. Over the course of that year I became completely smitten with the place. I think the thing that is going to stick with me the most is the train ride to my international school. School started at 9 but I had to wake up at 7 am, jump in my uniform, ride the toden/streetcar for 45 minutes and then transfer to the train for 20 minutes and then walk for 15 minutes. I got a lot of thinking time those mornings. I also remember how I would pass this one construction site on my walk to school and all 30 or so of the workers on the site, built thick and squat, would be out in rows with their hardhats on bending and stretching to the recording of a piano.
I had a great year in Japan, disregarding the average preteen angst, and I really would like to go back. I'm not sure for what in particular yet though. Last year I had this fantasy of becoming a sushi chef. Did you know there's only a total of 200 or so female sushi chefs in Japan? Anyway I love eating sushi and looking at it too. Some of those rolls get really complex and beautiful. Almost too pretty to eat. Oishii desu yo ne?!?!! Shout out to Hama-san. My sushi chef dream has not died completely yet, but I'm not sure how likely it is that I will become a legitimate sushi chef in the future. We'll see. In the meantime I just need to go back to Japan. I have this ridiculous notion that the moment I go back I'll figure out what to do with my life.
Class trip to Japan, ne?
See you in class.

PS My display name is meant to be ironic, a throwback to my myspace days.