Roundup: April 2008
These are the top ten popular posts for April 2008!
- Japanese Sports Wives: More Than Just Trophies
- “A Woman Must Pretend That Things are OK” and Other Words to Live By
- Learn a Language Faster By Slowing Down
- Meat-Eating Chinese and Other Causes of the World’s Food Crisis
- Increasing Career Opportunities for Japanese Women
- Using Bilingual Dictionaries
- Art: ’skine.art
- Linkups: Japanese News (10)
- Speak Our Language or Go to Jail
Women’s Only Okonomiyaki Eating Contest
There’s a lot of noise regarding Hideki Matsui’s marriage, which is very atypical of most sports marriages in Japan. Normally a sports celebrity marries someone in the entertainment or news industry to increase PR–in other words, make them look good. The woman, an attractive TV personality, normally quits her job after she gets married to the sport celeb, and is often older than him because naturally someone who leads such a stressful life needs a mother-figure in his life.
Came across this piece in the Japan Times. It is an interview with Hiroko Mito, who is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her bar in Shibuya. It’s an interesting summation of what life is like for a working woman in Japan raising children with a less-than-ideal husband. One point she makes is something that hits really close to home and is pretty commonplace thinking in Japan:
One thing that is hard for many people is making conversation. It’s even harder when doing it in a foreign language–you want to be able to tell jokes or get your opinions across in a completely different culture by using different words and in some cases, completely different ways of expressing yourself.
There’s an interesting opinion article in the New York times regarding the world’s food crisis. Different than the financial crisis and harder to find a solution to, author Paul Krugman offers several reasons as to why this food shortage is happening.
Things are starting to look up with new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s plans to increase career opportunities for women.
There is a super-informative article at About.com on using bilingual dictionaries. The article is aimed towards those learning French, but the same concepts apply to any language.
What? You enjoy sketching AND you have a moleskine? Who would’ve thought the two could ever cross paths? (I kid.) Most artists, with the right amount of office supply enthusiasm, know that a moleskine = awesome art. Why?
“Chinese like gaudy things,” says the female guide escorting one early-morning group. “For that reason alone, cherry blossoms are popular. And Japan is the only place where they bloom in such profusion. Around this season, it’s a popular tour package.”
If you had the option of going to jail for two years or learning a second language, what would you do? Such was the proposition that three Spanish-speaking men faced when arrested for accosting two men on a street. The judge ordered that instead of sitting in jail for 24 months, the men could learn English, get their GEDs, and find a full-time job.
I am so glad I was able to find a video of this ridiculous competition, in which four women competed to see who could eat the most okonomiyaki. I saw this on TV and was completely mesmerized.
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- What's Happenin' Friday
- What's Happenin' Friday
- Roundup: March 2008
- Roundup: February 2008
- 2/27/08: Housekeeping
