Job Discussion Forums

[PAULH]

[Sherri]

I was talking about this with my husband and he just told me that the second kanji has to do with corn (silk)-- as in hair the color of corn silk, the kanji also has an older meaning that has to be with the notion of being from abroad. Sorry he couldn't explain any more than that and I can't reproduce the kanji here.

[PAULH]

Hey

just checked with the wife about kettou. May have jumped the gun a bit. Kettou has the kanji for blood (ketsu) and 'to' as in daitoryou(president)
meaning some one is of good or bad family lineage. can be used in a discriminatory way. Mainly used to refer to dog pedigree it seems.

Sorry for any confusion (apparently she heard her boss use this word at an office party and I think he was referring to foreigners, or so i thought)

[Gordon]

Heated toilet seats. I've got two and on a cold winter's morning, it's like a gift from Heaven. If I had wireless internet connection for my laptop my family would never see me.

[shmooj]

What has it come to Gordon when a question about defining the essence of a country is reduced to comments about heated toilest

[Gordon]

[bshabu]

You are right. Still it would be nice to have one in America. No matter how good the heating is, I still would like to sit on one.

They had them at the Takasaki BOE in Gunma when I used to work there. A lot better them the one in my apartment.

[shmooj]

My USAnian friend got paid 10,000 yen for trying out an automated toilet seat in Nagoya as they wanted to trial it on people from North America to see what the market might be for them.

Think of it... $100 to go to the John. Now that is Japan!

[Gordon]

[bshabu]

Maybe Americans can mean Canadians, Mexicans as well.

[shmooj]

You're American aren't you Gord
Don't get me started now

[Robbo]

The essence of Japan,
Long term foreigners that make mild insults of their Japanese hosts' habits and behavior disguised as observations. It's a fair call shmooj that you start this thread. I think I remember reading a highly informative post by you on obtaining your M.A that was really useful (If it was PAULH and I'm wrong then I apologise).
[And why? Because the light was red of course. No one on the maintenance crew had thought of disabling it for the duration and not one of the drivers had realised that there was no need to stop.
]
Perhaps the crew could not disable the lights and perhaps the drivers completely realised that there was no point in stopping but did it because the your Japanese hosts are law abiding and unlike citizens in so many countries feel that it is OK to spend 2 minutes waiting in order that Ki is maintained. This is the very essence of Japan that paid you Yen, kept you safe form physical harm the plaques many other cities in other countries and provided the unique experience that you will treasure in years to come. I think I know that you are not really insulting the Japanese but it appears that long term foreigners always make observations on the weirdness of the Japanese with a touch of distain yet newbies happily make observations on how Japanese habits have become part of their experience in Japan. As soon as newbies suggest that they are becoming native they should be aware of BFS setting (bitter foreigner syndrome- well documented in many posts from all countries).

TokyoLiz [Or phoning my boyfriend from a noisy train platform. He's a J Guy (Japanese guy) who speaks good English, ]

Good in this sentence is an adjective suggesting that there is bad English- a subjective analysis. I think you might mean- He speaks English well. Here the 'well' is an adverb meaning that your boyfriend can speak English competently or to a level you have judged to be competent. There is of course bad English- swear words and the like. Perhaps you mean he speaks English free of swear words?? Just a suggestion. You might not be an English Instructor but if you are I hope this helps you, your students, and if you teach your boyfriend English. Please check Michael Swan, Practical English Useage, Second Edition. P.618. When I finish my degree at the end of this year and if I'm lucky enough to get a job in Japan you can either buy me a beer or punch me out.

[Gordon]

[avahanian]

This might be a bit late but I've just read the postings regarding racism and calling people names.

In just about every language, there's always a specific word(s) used for foreigners. Why is this so bad?

Why is it so bad to call someone a gaijin, or Jap, or Paki?

I get called Wog, Wop, and other such names from time to time....and my response is the same each time....I laugh in their face!

'Cos I genuinely think it's funny! Wog just sounds funny....I am also honoured that they took enough time to make an opinion about me. That I occupy their thoughts, even when I am a complete stranger to them, is flattering!

You control whether you are offended by someone calling you names....at the end of the day, it's just a word!

Jap is short for Japanese....Paki short for Pakistani, etc.

If a japanese person calls you gaijin, or if a British person calls you Wog, before you get upset, take a step back and realise that it is just a word. That's all it is.

So they called you a gaijin....well, just say to yourself:

"It appeared so to him"

and be on your merry way

or even better before you go, chat up his girlfriend and tell her that foreigners do it better!

cheers

[shmooj]

Robbo - if you have ever been to Japan, which I doubt, you would have to be blind if you think they are law abiding. Ever seen a no parking sign here? It's the one obscured by parked cars. Ever seen a speed limit sign? Well contrary to what it might mean where you and I come from it is actually a "minimum" speed limit here.

So, I'll take your first post on this forum tongue in cheek