きのうときょうとせんしゅまつ

きょうわたしはクラスの日本語とかんきゅかがくをしました。ばん、スキトの日本語をべんきょうします。きのうは火曜日でしたよ。火曜日たくさんよみました。本のかんきゅうかがくを七時間よみました。たくさんでしたよ！せんしゅまつたくさんともだちにあいました。いいでしたよ。らいしゅうおかあさんとおとうさんとちゃローツビ－ルへいきます。

らいしゅまつはなにおしますか。

Good Blog

Well, I figured that maybe I should post on the subject of the week. A good blog to me has to be engaging to other readers in some way or another, and it should be informative. So I guess that means that it definitely should relate to Japanese as it is a Japanese class blog. Tips on studying, maybe some rambling on culture - and pictures. Pictures definitely make words pretty. And definitely if they're moving ones - so movies are great.

As far as specifics beyond that, I'm not sure what they should have. Blogs are typically about yourself, but it seems that it's a little harder to write a blog in relation to Japanese. Though we've all managed it thusfar.

I do like the blogs, if only because it's a better way to learn about your classmates outside of talking to them. It also helps up to realize more about everyone's position in class and helps us to support each other.

Much Ado About Nothing

いまわたしはrehearsalをします。Much Ado About Nothingです。わたしはlight-boardをします。もくようびときんようびとどようびは八時にStudent Activities BuildingでperformanceのMuch Ado About Nothingをします。Much Ado About Nothingをみませんか。Please come and see us! It's free!

Review: もののけ姫

もののけ姫：
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime)


I've seen a number of people do reviews of anime that they've watched, and I've enjoyed taking a look at them myself. To follow along in this little idea, I've decided to do a semi-review of my favorite Hayao Miyazaki movie: もののけ姫, created through Studio Ghibli of course.



The story is centered around Ashitaka, a young man who seeks the source of a curse that was placed on him by a demon in hopes of finding a cure. He ends up in a place where Gods still roam the earth, and where spirits protect the forest.


Enter San, known in human myth as Princess Mononoke - the human child whose soul was captured by the wolf Goddess Moro and who now lives to protect the forest. San and her wolf brothers are at odds with the people of Iron Town, who are intent on destroying the forest to mine the iron ore out of the sand.


San and Ashitaka's path are interwoven together, Ashitaka finding the source of the demon in San's forest while at the same time finding a temporary sanctuary in Iron Town. The two represent their respective races (Gods and humans), as they clash and try to find a solution to their problems. Between roving samurai, a not-so-good monk seeking a mountain of gold, boar Gods from another region looking for revenge, a war fought on three sides, and a plot to take the head of the Forest Spirit for immortality unrolling, it's easy to see that even the opening scene of Princess Mononoke is packed with plot-moving events.


As far as the English voice-acting is concerned, I was pretty satisfied personally. Moro has a wonderful voice, though Ashitaka sometimes comes off as being a little dry. This, however, flows well with the original Japanese voice-acting as Ashitaka is supposed to be rather dry - I'd be bitter about it all, too, if I was dying. I will say that I'm more partial to the English voice-acting for Moro than the original Japanese one, simply because the English voice-acting throws in a little more flourish for the wolf Goddess.


Miyazaki weaves a beautiful, entrancing story through fantastic cinematic landscapes and unique character designs. Beyond the aesthetic appeal to the entire piece, there is a strong commentary underlying the movie about society. True to form, this Miyazaki film does not end with sunshine and flowers, but carries its strong message across with a true-to-life closing. The expert weaving of mythology to morals and ethics, blended with the appealing visuals creates an excellent movie.


If you ever get the opportunity, I highly suggest watching Princess Mononoke. It's a fantastic film, and definitely my favorite Miyazaki work.

こんばんは。

あしたスキットをします。I always get really nervous right before a skit, and usually it happens the morning of. I get a little obsessive about practicing too, going so far as to recite while I shower in the morning. Yes, that's sad indeed, especially considering that I can barely get into the shower at the time I wake up.

But, what I really wanted to do was share with everyone something that I found to be incredibly entertaining over the break. It's a sushi making game, and it's actually pretty challenging at first. You have to balance making sushi with ordering more materials, and you also have to know how to make the sushi. There are recipes (that are vastly simplified). It's fun, it's pointless, and it hurts your wrist if you play too long on a laptop.

Sushi Go Round

I never posted about the dream I had in Japanese. I had a dream about living somewhere like Shea House, only it was only にほんごいちねんせい and さとうせんせい　was something like a house mother. It was very strange, and involved koi fish. That is all.

(this is what happens with too much stress and not enough sleep)

カッパ　out!

Mallard

I knew there was a lot of Mallard work this chapter. I even started it sometime this past weekend to make sure that it was done ahead of time. Unfortunately, I didn't get nearly far enough and now I'm worried about getting it all done in time with the grades I want on it. It doesn't help me any that I honestly can't hear a difference between some of the words for the listening portion of writing kanji. That, and from what I've heard from everyone else, Mallard hates everyone uniformly. (At least it's not being personal, right?)

I find that Mallard is probably some of the more challenging things that we do, just because it tests us in different ways. Not only do you have to read characters in slightly different fonts, but they tend to be very small and sometimes run together. And sometimes, Mallard displays kanji that I don't know what it means that we haven't covered thusfar in the book. It's challenging, and I like challenges, but sometimes challenges at the wrong times can be frustrating.

I've also found that my tactic of spending a lot of time on Japanese work and not on other classwork back-fired on me this week. I have a test tomorrow, and, well, I'm still doing Japanese aren't I? It's not like I'm an environmental science major or anything... wait, yes I am. Well, it's not like Geology is a core... wait, yes it is.

I still plan on working on Mallard more. Challenges are not good for my health...

カッパ out!