Tokyo Tower, Odawara and More

I went to Tokyo Tower on Thursday. I very much enjoyed the view, taihen sugoi (very wow). You could see all the way to Chiba, the other side of Tokyo Bay (a distance of about 10 miles). I will say you had to look a bit because it was rather hazy. In Japan, there is usually high humidity as well as high heat, making visibility poor. Took plenty of pictures.

Yesterday (Friday), I went to Odawara. There, I visited Odawarajo (Odawara Castle) and touched the Pacific Ocean. It was actually an open bay (refer to Google maps by Googling "hakone, Japan" and scrolling out some), so I count it as fully touching the ocean. I got a rounded lava rock in commemoration of my visit.

At Odawara, I was quite literally mobbed by elementary school students. I said to one, "Atsui desu ne?" ("It's hot, isn't it?) and that was it. They were asking me tons of questions with varying degrees of success in getting answers, since I didn't know what they were asking for the most part. They grabbed a boy who knew English and he apologetically translated. It was obvious he had learned English in America. He had to think, but he didn't have much of an accent - which all school taught Japanese do. They can't help it - it's the way they're taught through "katakana English". They don't learn the proper sounds, only how to spell it and "sound it out" using Japanese sounds. So their "x" sound, as in "sex", makes them say it "sekkusu" (se-kk-su). And they have trouble with "r"/"l" words because it's the same sound in Japanese for them. One of the things that fascinated the children so much were my blue eyes - blue eyes, even in foreigners, are very rare.

I also met a Japanese man (20 years old). He felt sympathetic to me because of the utter mobbing (amusing, yes, but slightly frightening when you can't move) and we talked for awhile. He had to think hard on some words and he couldn't always get them (I usually helped out if I knew what he was trying to say). His accent was there, but not pronounced (he goes to Keio university, which is actually the university I plan on doing an exchange with UMCP). He plans on becoming a doctor and getting an American Medical license. He asked me if I knew how to get one, but I don't. We also compared difficulty in colleges - Japanese colleges are HARD to get into, but very laid back. American Colleges are difficult to get into AND hard work, which surprised him until I explained how laid back high school is. I even explained the colleges-trying-to-get-you-to-fail concept and the SATs to him. In Japan, there is no "standard" test to get into a college, you pick ONE college and apply. You don't get in, you try next year. All the entrance exams are on the same day. ><

(note: don't know how, but this part got deleted)
My Korean mom's name is Min Jeong and she's really nice. I call her my "Korean mom" because she always gives me food (a banana and some dried mangos) and she gave me cake on my birthday! I even try and practice Japanese with her.
I was going to ask her this, but she left before I got the guts to:
Nihongo o yomu koto dekimasu ka? (Are you able to read Japanese?
(nihongo =" Japanese," o =" direct" yomu =" to" koto =" makes" dekimasu =" able," ka =" ?)
I even ask her what certain words mean. Like "kochikochi", which is "here! Over here!" or "Look, look at this!" And I double checked "amai" which is "sweet".

List of words I've picked up/now know better:

"Irasshaimase" - Welcome! (Always said when you enter a store by EVERY employee)
"Sumimasen" - Excuse me, pardon me, I'm sorry (Literally means "Not living" and is used as a general saying. Say it if you bump into someone, need to get through, need attention)
Gomen Nasai - A much more serious way of saying "I'm sorry". More like "I am SO sorry!"
"Arigatou Gozaimasu" - Thank you very much. (always add gozaimasu if you don't know the person)
"Ohayou Gozaimasu" - Good morning! (always add gozaimasu if you don't know the person)
"Unagi" - Eel. Picked it up watching TV. NOT to be confused with "Usagi" ("rabbit")
Daigaku - University, College
Daigakusei - University Student
Hidari - Left (hear it on trains)
Migi - Right (hear it on trains)

I shall add more terms later. I know the pronunciation, even if I can't say it perfectly (I was complimented by Min Jeong for my small accent when I use Japanese). In Japanese, you don't use infliction (stress) on syllables, which is very hard for English speakers because we're all stress. So "migi" would be "mee-gee" but somewhat fast, with no stress. IF a syllable is stressed, it is written so. Example - "Chisaii" (double "ii" means you say it slightly longer) or "kawaii".

I can officially understand what's going on on the TV ("terebi"), even if I don't know what's being said. I'm so proud of myself.

Boyband - Hey! Say! JUMP

Boybands are still big here, as are girlbands. And choreography is ALWAYS used in pop music, but most particularly in these singing groups. The currently most popular boy band is "Hey! Say! JUMP", which just made it to #1 on the Japanese charts. One of my favorite Japanese singers in Yui - She's a rock musician who also plays the guitar and acts. My favorite is her song "Again" but I heard a new one on the radio that I need to snag. I might buy the CD while I'm here (J-CDs are expensive as hell in America because they're imports).

I'm getting MUCH better at reading hiragana and katakana both, as I see it all the time. It really helps on occasion. Kanji that I've memorized are:
小 - "little" (most often seen on toilets, you want "ookii", otherwise the toilet paper stays in the toilet)
大 - "big" (again, most often seen on toilets. You want this one when you use toilet paper)
東京 - "Tokyo"
中ノ - "Nakano"
駅 - Train station

(if you can't view the kanji (meaning you just see squares), that's fine. This is partially for my own record as well as for you to know what I'm up to)

I'm also in Celsius now. It's easier than saying "It's hot! it's 95 degrees outside!!" and having people look at you funny. I just say "Atsui! 35 degrees?!" 32-33 are about 90, which is what it's been here.

I've been loosing weight, but I'd lose it faster if I stopped eating ice cream...>> But I guess that's bad - loosing weight too fast makes you flabby. ><> (I watched Howl's Moving Castle last night, a studio Ghibili film, and I said that at the end and Min Jeong laughed (we watched it together))

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PS

People stare at you on a train if you start dancing or lip singing to the music. It's pretty fun.