This was a video we made for our Japanese class. How to make fried rice! Kudos to Dad, who taught me the recipe.チャーハンの作り方！ This turned out to be a nice precursor to my stay in Kansai Gaidai University in Japan.
This is me practicing my Japanese Audio Journal. I took a long time to set up and got intimidated whenever I hit the record button on my computer.
This was for our big Japanese project in high school.
RAISING ONE EYEBROW IS REALLY HARD FOR ME, OKAY GUYS? This took a lot of making strange faces in the mirror for long periods of time, and praying that it didn't make my roommate feel awkward. And what better way to show off my new talent than to the sweet sweet tune of porno music. (Also, the video goes on much longer than I meant it to, so when the music dies, its over.)
For those of you who want to keep in touch while I'm overseas, I'll have a blog. The videos will be the same as the ones on YouTube, but I'll have entries for each week or so, and other links and pictures. Thanks to Rob for being spontaneous!
Trisha, Mel and I went to Bashbish Falls in New York.
Chicago airport. Enough said.
They have geese on the campus. I got bored on a rainy day and did some artsy shots.
My trip to the big apple
I have some exciting news!
Landed in Osaka Itami Airport, then got a bus to Hirakata City, and finally arrived at the Kansai Gaidai Seminar Houses, which I stayed in during orientation week. I know, super boring. Whatevez.
A brief introduction into the magical world of Japanese cellphones, or "keitai denwa" (携帯電話). My provider is Softbank, one of the biggies in Japan. Hope I don't bore you guys to tears. Sorry this one's so late/crappy.
This is what a typical morning for me looks like, living with a host family, and how I get to Kansai Gaidai. Gotta love the "fun sized" neighborhoods, they're everywhere. Also, using public transportation in Japan is much smoother and simpler than in the US, and since I've got this awesome one month bus pass for all of the buses in Hirakata city, I can easily go where ever I want with out much wait. And something I forgot to mention in the video--Japanese buses are WAY more timely, and are basically never late. There goes that excuse, eh? Anywho, hope everything back in the States is going well, and hope you all are having a great semester.
Meet Japanese toilets. This is the toilet in my host family's house. I was sneaky for you guys and brought my camera into the bathroom one night so I could make this video. Oh the things I do for you! I kinda wished I had some footage of public restrooms--there are plenty gross ones in Osaka. Bleh. Super glad Kansai Gaidai is more modern than the train stations in that respect. Sorry for the crapness once again. Next video should be on bathtubs and showers. Enjoy!
Japanese bathtubs (ofuro) and showers (shawaaa)--this is from my host family's bathroom. How weird would it be if Kansai Gaidai seminar house shower rooms were like this?
My classmates and I from Kansai Gaidai went on a field trip to Hiroshima to visit the Genbaku Dome (atomic bomb dome) and the Hiroshima Peace Museum. That afternoon we listened to an atomic bomb survivor talk about her life. She was a little girl on the day that it was dropped and told us the story.
Japanese yen: coins and bills. Yay for play money!
Kansai Gaidai International Festival 2009. aka INFES. Sorry if I ramble in this one, I'm trying out not chopping up my narration into tons of little clips. Any good? No? Also, if you can get the chance, try tempura fried ice cream! It is teh delish.
Miyajima and Itsukushima Shrine and it's magnificent red torii gate standing off the shore in the ocean. Absolutely gorgeous. My friend and I took a day trip here after visiting Hiroshima (Miyajima is only a ferry boat away). Definitely one of the more beautiful sights you can find in Japan.
My second video on Japanese cellphones! I'll show you how to text in Japanese as well as use their ridiculous emoticons. It's just my crappy Softbank phone, so I can only show you the basics, but the basics are pretty wicked, IMO.
Kobe's Luminarie -- Kobe lights up one section of the city in Christmas lights, all pretty-like. I went with some of my Kansai Gaidai buddies. Kobe is about an hour or two away from Osaka. And I guess it's not technically a Christmas event, but it looks like one. The Japanese don't really do Christmas like back in the States, it's more of a commercial holiday than anything. Which...I guess is basically the same as back home.
I am currently a student at Kansai Gaidai University, and during the fall semester I lived with a Japanese host family in Hirakata city, Osaka, Japan. If you're interested in studying abroad, I highly recommend trying out the home stay experience. Sorry this video is so late, I'm busy traveling right now. Next video will be up in a few days (less than a week). Promise!
Over a month ago my host family took me to Nara to see the great big giant Buddha housed in the Todaiji (temple). It was also really nice to see the same deer from Miyajima back in Nara. かわいい〜！Also I highly recommend to anyone visiting Japan in the fall to check out the koyo in the Kansai region. Gawgeous.
This isn't a usual video, just an update after my friends Jace, Paul and I traveled all around Japan over the winter break. We're back in Kansai Gaidai University again for the spring semester, and its nice to finally settle down. Oh how I missed Osaka and Hirakata! Anyways, sorry this video is hella boring, new video should be up in a few days!
Japanese convenience stores are amazing, and I constantly have to resist visiting them, for fear that my wallet will dry up. Somethings from these corner stores can also be found in the States at Asian markets, like Pocky, Toppo, Pretz and Calpis Soda. Yum! I filmed all of this in Osaka, Japan, and have to give kudos to my camera man and classmate from Kansai Gaidai University, Jace.
Because a general video on Japanese food would be a little too broad to do, I thought I'd do a video on restaurants of Japan, in the area around Kansai Gaidai University, Hirakata City, and Osaka. This video covers a variety of popular meals--udon, curry and rice, tonkatsu, yakiniku, and of course, ramen. If you'd like to see more food videos, let me know, and I'll see if I can pump out more. I will eat food in front of a camera everyday of the week for you guys.
Valentine's Day in Japan! Admit it fan girls, you have always wanted to see those girly anime scenes with the school girl confessing to her crush with super powers played out in real life. Yeah. Those ridiculous chocolates and boxes and stuff? Yeah, that's real. My friend and I made truffles for V-Day and hit up this place called Kiddy Land which sells everything that's cute. Of course, they only reason why I made these chocolates was so that I could get that much more on White Day.
One of the best foods to have when it's winter in Japan: Nabe. Something like a Japanese stew, and very delicious. Best things to add are shittake, cabbage, carrots, pork and leaks. Yummers. This nabe party was with a bunch of my friends from Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata, and we had a blast. Anyways, sorry this video was so short and half-assed, but I enjoyed watching all the clips from the party and didn't think they needed much of my yawn-inducing narration.
The Japanese love their vending machines. These are just some of the ones around Hirakata, Osaka, where I go to school at Kansai Gaidai University. The most common kinds in Japan that I've seen thus far usually sell drinks, food, cigarettes or alcohol/beer/booze. Crazy. Some drinks for winners featured in this video include: C.C. Lemon, Ichigo au Lait by Meiji, and BOSS coffee by Suntory.
Some gaijin friends (from Kansai Gaidai) and I went to see a professional Sumo tournament in Osaka. It was very exciting! Hopefully I explain enough about the rules and traditions of the sport for you guys to get the picture. There's a lot of Shinto aspects to Sumo, such as purifying the ring with salt, chants, etc. Overall, an incredibly culturally rich sport.
Some of you said you wanted to see more of the actual sumo matches so I thought I'd make a quick video with just the clips from the tournament. No editing or intro, I hope you guys enjoy! Real video should be posted in the next day or so.
Izakaya. One of the many places to enjoy a beer or five. Japanese alcohol culture is very strong--they love their booze. This place is called The Seven Lucky Gods, and right near the East gate at Kansai Gaidai, in Hirakata, Osaka, Japan.
At the Japanese pavilion at the Shanghai World EXPO they had a robot that played the violin. Cool? No? Anyways, China was crazy, and I have lots of stories to tell. It's good to be back in the Ole Kansai de Gaidai.
This video is based off of this store near the Kansai Gaidai Seminar Houses called Avail. It's not the coolest place to shop but its cheap.
This video is just an update, I felt bad for neglecting you guys for so long. Not really sure what to do with my brotherannie account now that I'm not in Japan anymore, so any suggestions are welcome! I'm applying for the JET program, and IF I get accepted into that, I'll probably start making real videos again. Until then, sorry if things get kinda boring around here.
Topics covered: 1) Safety and Japanese People 2) Japanese Food 3) Cultured & Well-Traveled People 4) Anime Nerds. These are four big things I learned while studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai University, in Osaka. Some of them might be more trivial than others, but whatever. I applaud you if you made it through part 1 and 2, awake. Sorry about the cheese, guys.
When I was sixteen years old, I visited Japan for the first time through a program called Youth for Understanding. I lived with a host family in Toyota City (yes, like the car) for six weeks and briefly attended a Japanese high school. Last May I decided that on my way home to America I'd stop by my old "hometown" and see my friend Akane. This was only a day before I left for America after studying abroad in Japan for a year at Kansai Gaidai University.
Sorry for being such a terrible youtube buddy, but I'm back. No, no--I mean it this time.
Japanese dancing boys at Kansai Gaidai University, Hirakata (Osaka), Japan. This is what I got to watch everyday around lunchtime. The people at my school really liked to dance in public--I'm pretty sure these people were in a dance troop, we had a lot of those--but it was still awesome to watch. Sometimes they would dance right in front of a window, not caring who was staring out it. Most of the times there was no music.
This is my take on being a foreigner in Japan. Please keep in mind that these are only my opinions and experiences, and I am a white female from the States, so depending on your demographic or nationality, you might see things a little differently. I hope you guys find this interesting! This is based off of my experiences studying abroad in Japan at Kansai Gaidai University, as well as my travels throughout the country.
These are my top five overall resources for studying Japanese that are FREE and ONLINE. Please take advantage of them! 1. Anki - http://ankisrs.net/ 2. Jisho.org - http://jisho.org/ 3. JLPT Past Tests - http://jlpt.myweblesson.com/school/Le... 4. My Language Exchange.com - http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/How... 5. Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese - http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/...
Rei★R.N.G. is one of the first WHITE female Japanese rappers out there, so check out her channel so we can peer pressure her into making more music! http://www.youtube.com/user/ReiRNG I had way too much fun making this video. I hope you're happy, audience.
This video briefly explains hiragana, the phonetic alphabet of Japanese, and its uses. I know that I lot of you guys are interested in learning Japanese so I thought I'd give you guys something to start from. I'll be throwing these terms around a lot once I start teaching in Japan so I figured it would be in my best interest to edumacate my audience. In my next videos I'll discuss the other two writing systems: katakana and kanji.
NOW WITH QUIETER MUSIC! This video briefly explains katakana, the second phonetic alphabet of Japanese, and its uses. I know that I lot of you guys are interested in learning Japanese so I thought I'd give you guys something to start from. I'll be throwing these terms around a lot once I start teaching in Japan so I figured it would be in my best interest to edumacate my audience.
This video briefly explains kanji, the characters that are derived from Chinese, and their uses. I know that I lot of you guys are interested in learning Japanese so I thought I'd give you guys something to start from. I'll be throwing these terms around a lot once I start teaching in Japan so I figured it would be in my best interest to edumacate my audience.
Loosely based off of the ramen I had while studying abroad in Osaka, Japan, I came up with this cheap dish during my impoverished years as a university student in the States. Please don't mistake this for being authentic Japanese ramen--it is certainly not that. But it kind of resembles what I ate back in the day. It's fairly nutritious, filling, and cheap--I hope you guys try it out. Ingredients: -1 package of instant ramen noodles (preferably "Oriental" flavor) -1 egg -1 handful of baby spinach (or regular spinach) -1 green onion, chopped (optional) -pepper and coriander to taste
This is how I got my first job in Japan as an English teacher at an eikaiwa (英会話）called Merry England in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, Japan. I think I'm really lucky to have stumbled upon such a great position and I'm really looking forward to it. Because I graduated late I was unable to apply for the JET program, but it turned out to be the best thing that happened to me. If you're interested in applying for jobs in Japan, check out GaijinPot.com! They have all kinds of jobs, not just teaching positions.
These are some frequently asked questions that I thought I'd address, hope this helps! These answers come from my time studying abroad in Japan at Kansai Gaidai, as well as my years studying the Japanese language. If you found this helpful (or didn't), let me know in the comment section below! 1. Do the Japanese dislike foreigners? 2. What's the best way to study Japanese? 3. Can I live with a host family without studying abroad? 4. What's the cost of living like in Japan? 5. Advice for traveling/studying in Japan?
Welcome to another episode of Nerd Cooking! This is a recipe for Japanese curry that I picked up in Japan (duh), I hope you all enjoy! Ingredients: 1 lb beef chopped into cubes 1 white onion, chopped 1/2 a large potato, chopped 4-5 carrots, chopped 5 serving Golden Curry mix 2 cups white rice (preferably Japanese sticky rice)
After studying abroad in Japan for a year, I'm returning to the land of the rising sun with new insights on what I should bring along. This time around I'll be staying for at least a year teaching English at a private conversation school, but this video should be applicable to anyone planning on visiting Japan.
This is the video I made two years ago for my host family in Hirakata when I studied at Kansai Gaidai University. It was originally intended for just my host family's eyes, but since I love making an ass of myself, I decided to show it to you guys.
Welcome to my first apartment in Japan! It's pretty big compared to most apartments meant for single occupants, and it came furnished with pots and pants and towels and other goodies. CHACHING. This is the housing provided by my company, Merry England (eikaiwa) in Matsusaka, Mie-ken, Japan.
This is the start of a new series of videos I'm doing about little oddities I find in Japan that make this place just a little bit different, because I realized that these are the reasons why I like Japan so much. Hope you guys enjoy!
In this video I briefly go over the basics of Japanese manners. These are just a few things I've learned during my first year living here. Respect in Japan is a very complex issue that I can really only scratch the surface of, but this video should get you started and help you tone down the gaijin. Sorry for the lateness!
I love Japan to death, but their cheese selection in the grocery stores is definitely not their selling point. I hope I don't offend any Japanese people out there, I love your food! Just not your cheese. (heart) Mostly it's just the lack of variety, and any "specialty cheeses" you find (i.e. anything that's not bland cheddar/American) are guaranteed to cost a pretty penny.
I promise I'll stop making videos about dairy products after this! Even though I'm not a huge fan of Japanese cheese, their milk is the creamiest I've ever had in my life, and I don't know why. I know I'm going to get a bunch of comments telling me the reason is because I'm American, but hey, this was a revelation for me!
Known as "suupaa" (short for supermarket), grocery stores in Japan have a lot in common with Western style stores, but what they carry is quite different. I couldn't cover every section but I hope this gives you an okay idea of what these places are like!
Week or so ago I visited Ise Shrine with a friend of mine. In Japanese it's known as "Ise Jingu" (伊勢神宮), and the part we visited was Naiku (内宮). Nearby the shrine is a collection of shops and restaurants which is great for lunch and buying souvenirs (or omiyage - お土産). I settled for some dodgy (delicious) fish on a stick and macha ice cream. Yummers.
Japanese cell phones are PSYCHIC! The predictive text setting in my phone is scary smart.
These are general tips for prospective as well as current exchange students. During my junior year in college I studied at Kansai Gaidai University (Hirakata, Osaka). Hope this helps!
Ishigaki (Okinawa Prefecture) - On Dec. 26-28th, I went on a tour from Matsusaka to visit Ishigaki Island where I actually participated in breaking the Guinness world record in the longest BBQ in history! What a delicious feat. Oh right, and the island was pretty cool too.
Come on down to the ole Shinsaibashi in Osaka for the best Mexican food in Japan (or at least in Kansai)! While Mexican food is hard to find in the land of the rising sun, this place really hits the spot for us foreigners who want a taste of home. It's really more like Tex-mex, but hey, it's still delicious.
I had my first "shinnenkai" with my Japanese friends on New Year's Eve and tried "osechi" (or お節料理）as well! I was going to go to Ise Shrine but I wimped out in the end, sorry guys! I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve!
PLEASE FOR GIVE ME for 1) my tardiness 2) the weird audio syncing issues and 3) stealing the song from the Wild Things trailer, I just like Arcade Fire. I was only a volunteer for a few days, and it was absolutely amazing. I hope you all can find the time and money to help out too, it's a blast guys. Srsly.
I'm not a teacher anymore.
I've moved into a new place--and it's FUN SIZED! Also, I've learn lots of tricks to save space while living in a small Japanese apartment, so I hope you find this video informative! I live in what's known as a "1R" apartment, meaning one room (guess how many rooms it has?). I think we call these efficiencies in English? My apologies to those of you watching from Japan who already have your own apartment, this video must be even more boring than usual.
Sorry for the blurriness! Just thought I would appease you guys by answering some of your questions.
We climbed from the 5th Station (Fujinomiya) all the way to the top. We started at 10ish and climbed through the night, without sleep. It took 13 hours, there and back.
I'm a web developer living in Osaka, Japan and I'd love to answer your questions!
Ever tried REAL Japanese ramen? It's absolutely one of the most delicious foods on the planet. Come slurp up a bowl of miso ramen with us in Osaka! Definitely some of the best noodles I've ever had in my entire life. The shop is called "Men to Hito", meaning Noodles and People.
Kouyou season is that beautiful time of year when all the momiji trees and such burst into flame with color. Kyoto is very famous for it in the fall, and many people visit Kiyomizu Temple to see the scenery light up. This is definitely one of the prettiest times of year in Japan.
Space Station is a popular gaming bar located in Osaka, Japan. If you're ever in the area, swing by and have a drink and play some games with probably the coolest crowd in Japan!
FRIDAY, July 31st – I have a BIG announcement that I'm going to make, so be sure to stay tuned! ————————————————————— Discipline has gotten a bad rap these days, mostly because people think it means to hate yourself into achieving your goals, and a technique ultimately just leaves you feeling like crap. In this video, I'll show you why this ISN'T what real discipline looks like, and discuss the 3 key steps to gaining discipline and reach your fluency goals – without judgement.
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