Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[yuri0919]

Hi! Everyone How ya doin'?

I'm a japanese who concider my country recently...

Have U ever been to Japan??
What image do U have ??
Manga, Anime? Samurai ? Otaku? Kyoto? strange??

It is called a big economic country Or interesting culture.
I'd like to know how people in the world feel about Japan!!

Anything Okey Please try to put on

[ClarissaMach]

Well, I am from Brazil, and Japan means a lot of things to me... I must confess that, during my childhood, it meant only those anima series like "Saint Seya" (I guess this was the name in English; the main characters were the warriors Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga, and Shun), that were a fever here in Brazil by the time I was 12.

Then, at school, I�ve learnt about some tragic episodes of Japanese history, such as the dropping of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War (when I was a teen I was told, that those cities were full of children, women and old people by the time they were hit, because they were "countryside" cities).

I�ve also learnt that Japan is a country which managed to reconstruct itself after the War, specially by investing in Education (I was told that Japanese boys and girls are accustomed to studying really hard; and that, when they are about 14-years-old, they have to do a very difficult exam; some of them, if they don't pass it, simply decide to commit suicide. Is it true?).

I have also been told that women are not always treated like equals by men. That a Japanese wife must walk right behind her husband, but not by his side (I guess it belongs to the past, doesn�t it?). And by the way, I�ve heard that most of Japanese women don�t think themselves beautiful. What I think is incredible, for I think they�re so beautiful! Specially their hair, it�s always so perfect! So strong! How could them possibly want to change so much?

Well, these are some of the things I know about Japan (I'm sorry for any writting mistakes).

[Outofin]

I visited Japan many years ago, in 1998. Japan is a fabulous and unique country. Clean streets, polite people, nice weather... everything makes you comfortable.

Yes I read and watched a lot of Manga and Anime when I was a teenager.