Another Day, Another Rant

How about I post a basic lesson in Japanese on the days I don't have anything to write about? Does this sound good? I think it does indeed.

First thing you must know:

SOUNDS

Japanese follows a consonant - vowel pattern without exception (or almost without exception). There are only 5 vowels and the pronunciation is set. Meaning if you see a certain character, it will ALWAYS be pronounced the same way. The slight exception is in Japanese slang, but that's an entirely different lesson. English is way different in that the "a" in say, father, and man are all pronounced differently. The consonants are all the same as well, with a couple exceptions. Please note that the "R" sound in Japanese is the same as an "L" sound and often doesn't sound like either English equivalent. The best two ways to learn it are by listening to it repetitively and keeping this in mind "Falalalala rararara" (to the tune of the Christmas song, Deck the Halls).

Basic Sounds

Vowels

あ　a - (ah) as in "father"
い　i - (ee) as in "key"
う　u - (oo) as in "flu", but a little more nasal
え　e - (eh) as in "say"
お　o - (oh) as in "no", but a little more nasal

Consonants
か　ka - (kah) as in "cot"
き　ki - (key) as in "key"
く　ku - (koo) as in "coo"
け　ke - (keh) as in "kettle"
こ　ko - (co/ko) as in "coke" or "cocoa"

さ　sa - (sah) as in "saliva"
し　shi - (shi) as in "she" or "sheet"
す　su - (sue) as in "sue" or "sew"
せ　se - (seh) as in "set"
そ　so - (soh) as in "so"

た　ta - (tah) as in "beta"
ち　chi - (chi) as in "cheese"
つ　tsu - (tsu) as in "tsunami"
て　te - (teh) as in "table"
と　to - (toh) as in "toe"

な　na - (nah) as in "arena"
に　ni - (nee) as in "knee"
ぬ　nu - (noo) as in "new"
ね　ne - (neh) as in "neigh", but a little more nasal
の　no - (no) as in "no"

は　ha - (hah) as in "hahahaha"
ひ　hi - (hee) as in "heed"
ふ　fu - (foo) as in "food", but a less sharp "f" sound. Form the "f" but puff air out and make the "u" sound
へ　he - (heh) as in "hehe" or "head"
ほ　ho - (hoh) as in "hoe"

ま　ma - (mah) as in "mama"
み　mi - (mee) as in "me"
む　mu - (moo) as in "moo"
め　me - (meh) as in "met"
も　mo - (moh) as in "ammo"

や　ya - (yah) as in "yawn" or the Germanic "ja"
ゆ　yu - (yoo) as in "you"
よ　yo - (yoh) as in "mayo"

ら　ra - (rah) as in "rot"
り　ri - (ree) as in "reed"
る　ru - (roo) as in "rue"
れ　re - (reh) as in "red"
ろ　ro - (roh) as in "row"

わ　wa - (wah) as in "water"
を　wo - (oh) as in "cold" but more nasal.


I find it funny that the example words were the hardest because I kept thinking of Japanese words with the sound. "ka...ka...muika? Dakara? Kana?" , "ne...ne...megane? Neko? Nezumi?"

These aren't all the sounds, but all the sounds I shall post in one sitting. Tomorrow, we should see the wonderful tenten and tiny ya, yu, yo and tsu.

Yay~

I remembered to actually post two days in a row!

But that's beside the point. I think I hit my calf muscle at work yesterday. Hopefully it won't give me too much of a problem tonight, but it may.

ANIME RECOMMENDATION of the WEEK:

Ao no Exorcist (English Title: Blue Exorcist)



Okumura Rin is sort of a failure to society. He dropped out of school, he gets in fights, he's rather foul tempered. But he always tries his best - and it's not always enough. This is a key concept that goes against typical Japanese beliefs. The thing I like most about the show, however, is that it focuses a lot on character interactions. The music may be corny at times, but I feel like most shounen genre manga and shows really skip over building a relationship with friends. This one incorporates the relationships with the action (particularly the anime - a whole extra episode is added at the beginning to better show Rin's relationship with his father).

The show is definitely worth a watch. Episode 11 should be coming out within the next two days or so. The manga is also definitely worth a read. It's a monthly manga, but with 25 chapters around 35+ pages each, it should occupy the greater part of two days if you have a life aside from reading manga.



As a close-out, I wanted to remind myself that True Blood starts tomorrow night. Game of Thrones was awesome, but it's sadly over until next year. For those of you who haven't seen either series, True Blood is a decent watch but Game of Thrones is amazing.

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Edits!

Rather than make a new post, I thought I would edit it. I would like the also recommend several webcomics.

1.) Teahouse by Emirain

If you want amazing artwork, spectacular plot, hot yaoi smut, good writing, and amazing artwork (yes, said it twice), please look into Teahouse. The story takes place in a brothel and is therefore rated 18+, but if you're of age and interested, check it out! It updates every Wednesday.


2.) Starfighter by HamletMachine

Starfighter has edgy artwork, rough love and is a science fiction comic with starships. The plot is pretty good so far, but again, this comic is 18+. Minors beware. SF doesn't update regularly, but it normally updates on the weekends.



3.) Zombie Waffe by Malin

Zombie Waffe is essentially about a hot Scandinavian guy surviving the zombie apocalypse. The artwork is pretty well done, but the comic doesn't update regularly at all. There is usually about a week and a half between pages.

http://www.zombiewaffe.com/archives.html

4.) Will Work For Blood by Shannon

There aren't too many pages of Will Work For Blood yet, but it updates on Tuesdays. It's a supernatural comic and the author has hinted several times at future and past relationships.

http://wwfb.smackjeeves.com/archive/

5.) Loki by Ukiiukii

Loki is about two guns for hire. It seems pretty interesting, but there aren't that many pages out yet. It updates about twice a week around Tuesdays and Fridays.

http://loki.smackjeeves.com/

Bucket List!!

My Bucket List. If you have any suggestions, by all means suggest them! Please note that quite a few of the things on my bucket list actually fall under number 21.

1. Visit Tokyo
2. Hike Mount Fuji and watch the sunrise from the peak
   
3. Visit Kyoto and Osaka　
4. See the Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto
5. See Osaka-jo in Osaka
   
6. Visit Sapporo
7. Visit the Galapagos Islands
8. See the Maoi on Easter Island
   
9. See The Great Pyramids of Giza
10. Backpacking through Japan
11. Backpacking through Europe
12. Visit South Korea
13. See the Great Wall of China
14. See the Taj Mahal
15. Learn basic vocabulary and grammar in at least 4 languages (English, Japanese, Korean, Latin)
16. Become fluent in at least 3 languages (English, Japanese, Korean)
17. Visit Ireland
18. See Stonehenge
19. Visit Moscow and St. Petersberg
20. See the Aurora Borealis
21. See at least half of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Gah

I really don't mean to put so much time between my posts. It's been over a year since I first made this blog.

My Marine cousin graduated from infantry training last Friday. He'll continue to be at his camp until January. Then he'll be deployed. I'm hoping he gets deployed to Japan or South Korea as an embassy guard, but I think that's a little hopeful. We should get to see him around Thanksgiving, but his girlfriend really likes to absorb all his time. I don't think everyone would be so resentful toward her if she shared his time better.

My mother still hasn't moved out, but it's kind of painful to see stuff that hasn't moved all my life be packed away into a box. I've never moved before and I'll continue to live with my dad, but it still kills me. At least my mother is respectful of the things that are mine and my brother's.

I've been trying to get a jump start on kanji for Japanse next semester. My friend Fix-san is taking my fall courses over the summer so he can graduate in time with a Japanese minor, so he's been e-mailing me the kanji and how they're read. On top of the kanji I learned last semester, I now sort of know about 135 kanji. I'm way shy of the 2000 I need to get by reading manga, but I think it's not too bad for someone who knew 3 kanji in January.

I finished my first year of college with a GPA of 3.066...not too bad for a lazy person like me! I had straight Cs in all my science courses, an A in all the courses I truly enjoyed. Guess that says something about how my brain absorbs information, eh?

My schedule for next semester is as follows:
Japanese 201 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (my only class those days)
Korean 101 on Tuesdays and Thursdays
East Asian Civilization on Tuesdays and Thursdays - my friend Adamson-san says it's a lot of reading, but I should be okay. Our major and minor are the same, so we'll have Korean together. XD
Viking Literature and Culture on Tuesdays and Thursdays too. I'm still on the waitlist, but now I'm first (I was 3rd)...so hopefully someone else'll drop by the end of summer.

Now, someone might call BS and say, "you're only taking 4 classes? Isn't that just 12 credits?" No, it's definitely not. Japanese at my university is 6 credits, making it the most weighted class they offer (other courses weighted so heavily are other intensive language courses, like Russian and Chinese).

I am now employed. I work at a local restaurant as a waitress. I also finally have my license (even though I'm nearly 19...).

Now some delicious side notes:

I plan on studying abroad from Fall 2012 to Spring 2013. A full 11 months in Japan should drastically increase my fluency. I will most likely (95% chance) stay in the place I stayed last time, despite having to share a room. I decided this because most of the time, the room is empty during the day (people exploring or working). Even at night, people don't always come back until the sun comes up. And above all, it's cheap. For the entire year, the only additional costs are my airfare. The deal is, I must pay the difference myself. Being a young teen, I tend to blow money in every which direction, so cheap is good.

I am going to start a bucket list! For those unfamiliar with this term, a bucket list is a list of things you want or plan to do before you die. My best buddy A-chan gave me the idea. Love you, A-chan! http://acosplay.wordpress.com/