Fun Rambles

Hi Everyone!  It's Anna.

I know most of you have probably heard this, but the government shutdown is still going on. It worries me a little bit. I don't think that the government is really necessary to have a country, however; It makes me think that the end of days is coming if the government shut down goes on for to much longer. I know they say that it's happened before but it's still scary. It makes me think 'well we don't have to worry about an outside force destroying our country we just have to make sure congress can't agree on a budget and the country will crumble.' It's weird that so many things are closed down because of the government shut down. I tried going onto the United State's Department of Agriculture website and even that's closed down until further notice. 

http://www.usda.gov/fundinglapse.htm 

I'm just waiting for the Zombie out break now. 

  

On a happier note my cousin has a Japanese exchange student right now. I went out to dinner with them last night and it was a little odd because I could not think of what to say to her. I was worried my Japanese was bad because she kept answering my questions very shyly I was worried she just couldn't understand what I was saying. She just couldn't speak much English and she seemed really shy so I don't really know. I think she might of thought I was weird though because I was trying to tell her some of what my family was saying and they're super weird. I tried explaining that my uncle thinks there are no glaciers left and that there is only one polar bear left standing on a single ice cube in Antarctica. I also tried explaining that he dusts with the cat. She gave me a look like they were crazy. It was funny because he doesn't really do or believe any of that he's just a funny guy I don't think it translates well . I hope she has a good time while she's here even though she can't understand much of what she hears.

 Do Japanese people have a hard time understanding American sarcasm I wonder, I feel like we have  a lot of cynical and satirical humor that seems weird to other cultures. What do you guys think? Is it hard or easy to understand our humor? Do any other American's think it's hard or is it just me? What about non American non Japanese people?      

Thanks! 

-Anna

My Walk with Girdie

Hello, everyone! This is Danielle again.Today I would like to talk about dogs. At the end of my last post I included a picture of myself with my dog. Her name is Madison and she is my best friend! I love animals so much, and this semester I started volunteering at an animal shelter called Capital Area Humane Society (CAHS) in Lansing. Every Saturday and every other Tuesday, I go there and mostly walk dogs and play with them in their kennels. I also play with cats so I can get more used to them.

Girdie

 Today I got to walk a very special dog named Girdie. She is 6 years old and she is special to me for two reasons. The first reason is that she is a coon hound mix. My own dog Madison is a basset hound and hounds are my favorite kind of dog, so I was very happy to be able to spend time with a hound today.

The second reason why Girdie is special is her physical condition. In the pictures below it might look like she is pregnant, but she is really just overweight. Although I felt sorry for her when I first saw her, once I started interacting with her I realized that she is very energetic and loves to be outside and move around. We walked for a mile through a forest, passing swamps and a small lake, and she never got tired. I have no idea how she got as big as she is, but her size and weight do not  stop her from being a sweet and happy dog, and that is very inspiring to me.  I would adopt her if I could! But I do not have the money or the space to take care of another dog. I hope that Girdie will find a good home soon, but I look forward to spending more time with her until then.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many animal shelters in America, and some animal rescue organizations have become quite popular. I wonder if animal rescue is as popular in Japan?

Becoming a Polyglot

Hello Everyone, Emily here. One of my main dreams and goals in life is to become a polyglot. A polyglot is someone who knows and speaks several (usually three or more) languages at a proficient level. I have been interested in foreign languages ever since I was a kid, but the first time I ever tried to actually gain proficiency in one was when I started to learn Japanese in college. If it were possible I would try to learn every language in the world. Unfortunately, although I really enjoy studying languages, I really am not capable of that.

However, there are some people who can learn five, ten, even twenty languages. These people are called hyperpolyglots. A hyperpolyglot is someone who is able to speak six or more languages at a proficient level. These are people I really admire. Many of these hyperpolyglots have Youtube accounts and regularly post videos about their language learning experiences.

Tim Doner is a 17 year old American from New York City, who can speak to some extent twenty (maybe more) different languages. Here is a video of him practicing some of them:

This is Benny from Ireland. He makes youtube videos about becoming fluent in a language in three months. He is currently learning Japanese!

This is a video Benny and many other polyglots made together to try to encourage others to take up learning a foreign language. I definitely encourage everyone to watch this, it's great!

Deciding to learn a foreign language was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I hope to one day be able to proficiently speak Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese. It will take a lot of work, but I know it will definitely be worth it. Let me know if you enjoy these videos. I would definitely encourage everyone to watch more of these videos and gain inspiration from these amazing polyglots!

忙しい年

はじめまして。　私はアンナ・ストーファです。ミシガン州立大学の四年生ですが日本語の三年生です。せんこうはどうぶつかがくと日本語です。ねずみやねこや羊とか大好きです。４月９日２０１５に結婚します。その文は私の色々なじょうほうがあります。でも、私のおもての下にいきませんでした。だからたのしみましょうか？
最近、D and Dをしたり日本語で本を聞いたりべんきょうをしたりします。でも、たいてい　たくさん宿題があるんです。しかし毎年２回アニメコーンにいきますから大丈夫です。ちなみにこんやくしゃはアニメコーンで一回目会いました。Looking for Group の Richardのいしょうを着ました。見てきゃあああ、あいぶしてもいいですかと言いました。Richardが大好きですがRichardに入った人は Austin－さんは一番大好きな人です。わたしのひみつをばらさなくてくれませんか。ありがとう！
 今日の前にblogをぜんぜん書きませんでした。でも、とてもおもしろくて楽しいと思います。
 よろしいくおねがいします。

Richard-さん

Nice to meet you!

Hello. My name is Yuri Akashi, from Japan. I'm a student in Chukyo university. My major is Chinese, but it's not all what I study. I need to learn English as well and now I started to learn Korean. I know it's too much. I like watching TV shows in foreign countries, especially Korea, Taiwan, America. For example, desperate housewives is one of my favourite. I've already watched season 7 so far. I can't wait season 8(last one!) is coming up in Japan.. Today, I'll tell you "health and sports day(体育の日 taiiku no hi)". It is a national holiday in Japan, held annually on the second Monday in October. Japanese think the autumn is the best season for playing sports because the weather is great! In addition, most of schools except university have a sports festival in autumn. When I was 4th grade, I rode a monocycle in a festival's program. It took a looong time to master monocycle riding, but it was a good opportunity I think. What kind of sports do you like? I like basketball. Let's get out home, and PLAY SPORTS!!! Thank you. Yuri Akashi P.S. I don't prepare any photos right now, I'm sorry. I'll put some in next blog:)

はじめまして！

はじめまして！私の名前はエミリー・ハモンドです。MSUの四年生で、専門は日本語です。

私はミシガン州に家族と一緒に住んでいます。親と弟がいて、猫二匹もいます。猫たちの名前は「Buddy」と「Adrian」です。^^

私は外国語を勉強するのが大好きです。今日本語と韓国語を一生懸命勉強していて、本当に似ているので楽しいと思います。将来は中国語も習いたいんだけど、とても難しそうです。皆さんは他の外国語を勉強したいですか。

私は日本の音楽に興味があるんです。特にJpopとJRockが大好きなんです。一番好きなJpopグループはKAT-TUNで、一番好きなJRockはGacktとギルガメシュです。そして、Kpopも本当に好きです。音楽はとても面白いので、皆さんは好きな音楽があったら教えてくださいね。（^_^）

2011年の夏に滋賀県の大津市に住んでいて、本当に楽しかったです。できるだけ早く日本に戻りたいんです。皆さんはアメリカや他の国に行きたいですか。

よろしくお願いします！

こんにちは！ダニエルです！

皆さん、こんにちは！実は私には英語の方が伝えやすいですが、みんなはすでに英語で書いていたので、日本語で書こうと思いました。はじめまして、名前はDanielle Grace （ダニエル・グレイス）です。ミシガンの出身で、MSUの三年生です。専攻は国際関係とフランス語です。日本語も勉強しています。フランス語と日本語を同時に勉強するのは難しいですが、子供の頃からずっと外国語に興味があるので、難しいこともあればめっちゃ楽しいこともたくさんあります。私は色々な趣味がありますが、大好きなのは読書と書くことと歌うことです。ちなみに、自分のブログがあるので、時間があったらぜひ読んでみてください。http://deelasees.blogspot.com/

今アメリカの最近の出来事について少し説明したいと思います。日本人のみんなはまだ聞いていないかもしれないが、今朝からアメリカの政治が一時的にしまっています。住民の全員はそういうことはいやだと思っているようですが、待つほか仕方がありません。ニュースからアメリカ軍の人はまだ働いて給料をもらうと聞いたので、U.S. Department of Defense に勤めている母は心配することはないだと、私は思いました。しかし、その規則は兵士に限ります。だから、母は兵士じゃなくてオフィスで働いている技術者なので働けないばかりではなく、給料ももらいません。私の母の他には、多くの人もそんな苦労を耐えています。絶対に不公平だと思います。日本ではアメリカのように政治がしまうことはありえるでしょうか。

ちょっと悲しいトピックではじめてのブログポストを済ませるのはちょっと変だと分かりますが、皆さんの意見を知りたいから、コメントを書いてくれたら喜びます。これこらこのブログで一緒に面白いことについて話し合うように、よろしくお願いします！