Photo answer #50

This one didn't turn out to be too hard, at least the answer came very quickly from a few

sources.

But before we get there, it is fun to brainstorm about this mind-boggling product, Maple Flavoured Almond Poodle Blend. Here are Deb's fun suggestions:

A large vat of poodles from which is extracted...
Or a type of almond hair conditioner for frizzy hair...
Or a carpet freshener for poodle accidents in a maple scent....
Ah, the possibilities are delightful.

The true answer lies here: http://www.justhungry.com//almond-poodle. Basically it is a mangled French word that means "powder". So it is Powdered Almonds.

The Japanese language has a tendency to do this, because they only have 46 sounds, they squeeze foreign words into those 46 sounds and the result can be unrecognisable. For example, Makudonarudo is Japanese for McDonalds!

In the case of the "Almond Poodles", they've taken a foreign word (poudre), squeezed it into Japanese (puudoru or プードル) and then "translated" back in "Romaji" script (ABCs) with an unfortunate result.

No more karate

Just over a year ago we had a surprise entry into the karate world. Our two younger boys joined a karate club in a nearby city. My husband's faithfully ridden with them every Wednesday afternoon and I've faithfully put dinner on the table a full hour early to get them there.

When they started we had the start-up costs of their uniform. So we said they must stick at it for a year then they could decide if they wanted to give it up.

Our youngest son has been a bit challenged by the discipline required, in contrast his older brother's self-control has been rewarded by moving up several belts in just a year. 

However they've both decided to stop. I was able to watch this performance at their last training night. The four boys (all from CAJ) choose a "kata" (set series of moves) to perform for everyone and did very well.

So, for the first time in nearly five years we have no after-school extra curricular activities that we have to get them to. (Our youngest still has piano and choir, but they are at school, and don't affect me much at all, except for practises at home.) They did swimming for nearly four years, then karate. Now nothing. It feels nice, actually. A break before we go back to Australia and try out having them all involved in a wrestling club in Brisbane!

Japanese words that don't translate well

I came across this list the other day, it lists eight Japanese words or phrases with no English equivalent. But I reckon they've left a few useful ones off, so I've made a list too. (Feel free to correct me.)

Osakini (shitsureishimasu) 
Means, "I'm sorry that I have to leave before you." It can be used in all sorts of situations. Knowing phrases like this in Japanese helps make life smoother. In English we don't have a neat phrase that does this, but then again, generally we're not as polite in English-circles as Japanese people.

Sorosoro (shitsureishimasu) 
My dictionary says this means soon, momentarily, before long, any time now. It is a great phrase to use when you are with someone and you need to indicate that you need to leave soon. Again, this is something that is missing from the English vocabulary!

Genki 
My dictionary gives all these meanings: healthy, robust, vigour, energy, vitality, vim, stamina, spirit, courage, pep. You use this word to enquire about someone's health in a greeting, it can be the next phrase after the "Good morning". I guess, in a question format, it is somewhat equivalent to "How are you?" But it's use is wider than that. Great word that sounds as upbeat as its meaning.

Suteki
This comes up in my dictionary as lovely, dreamy, beautiful, great, fantastic, superb, cool, capital.  It's a great compliment that doesn't really translate well either.

Dozou
This useful word has many meanings, including: please go ahead/come in, by all means, here you are (when handing something to someone), here's something for you, no problem (ee dozou), and feel free (like in answering "Can I ask another question?"). And probably a lot of others that I don't know.

Ojama (shimasu)
This means a hinderance, intrusion. It is used in the sense that you may be causing a problem for someone else, getting in the way. You also use it when you've been invited into someone's home. It seems strange in English, but this is what you say as you walk into someone's entrance and take off your shoes (see it here). It's like "I'm sorry to disturb you."

When we first moved to Tokyo I felt like I was an ojama. Wherever I went outside of my house I always seemed to be in someone else's way. At the store, at kindy, on the road/footpath. Even when driving, you can't just park your car anyway, few places have car parks.

Ganbare/ganbatteIt means to persevere, to persist, to keep at it, to hang on, to do one's best, to remain in a place, to stick to one's post, to refuse to budge, to insist. Essentially an encouragement: "You can do it." It can also be used as a request: "Please try" or as a compliment "You put up with that well." You shout it at sports events. It was the phrase commonly written on banners to encourage the tsunami survivors that the rest of Japan was behind them. You can hear it spoke in this very cute clip.

My most negative encounter with this verb is when I came out of surgery after the caesarian birth of our second son. As as they rolled my bed to the ward, the doctor informed me that they hadn't inserted any painkillers in my drip, so once the epidural wore off I was to "Gambarre" for as long as possible. I was not impressed. It remains a bad memory and a story I try not to tell to expectant mums here.


There are others, but I think I've stuck my poor knowledge of Japan out there far enough. Suffice to say, there are some great phrases in Japanese that don't translate well into English. However, if you learn them they can really help to smooth your way in Japanese life. 

Unfortunately people can get the impression that your Japanese is way better than it actually it, but that is just an opportunity to use another great phrase: madamada desu. Meaning "There's still a way to go before it's good."

Photo a Day April Week 2

For anyone who didn't catch these on Facebook this week. This is a bit of fun I'm enjoying this month, responding to this photo meme.

Day 8: hobby

Cross stitch.

Day 9: dark

I can't take credit for this photo of the campfire at our recent conference. But it is a great example of how dark can highlight something beautifully. Max Oehninger was the photographer.

Day 10: my fave part of the day.
After the boys are (usually) in their rooms either sleeping, reading, or doing homework and David and I enjoy some downtime, often with an episode from a show like NCIS or Monk. 

Day 11: three of a kind

My three boys. Different, yet definitely brothers. 

Day 12: on my left

This is on my left when I'm in bed. My bedside "table". I definitely don't take it for granted because I didn't have one for the first eight years I lived in Japan. Such a useful piece of furniture, especially for one who loves to read in bed. 

Day 13: more please. 

Bad photo because these scones my husband made for afternoon tea were being eaten at quite a pace. Taking time to take a good photo would have cost me a scone!

Day 14: dirty

With less than 11 weeks till we fly back to Australia for a year, I'm very aware of how much extra cleaning this house needs before I'm happy to let someone else move in. Japanese houses are full of crazy little dust-catching ledges! The windows and walls, particularly are filthy. Thankfully the weather is warmer now, so I no longer feel like moving out of the heated living area is an endurance event. 

Another question I've been asked recently

Have they found a replacement for my husband David's job for the time we're away? (He's a high school maths and a science teacher at the Christian Academy in Japan.) 

The straight answer is no, but the correct answer is they are covering it internally. On Saturday we had two guests for dinner, the teachers who'll be living in our house while we're away (hopefully, we're still waiting for the landlord to approve it). 

Typically conversation turned to teaching and school matters. I got the distinct impression that the headmaster has been playing a complicated slider puzzle to fill all the spots this coming school year. They don't have many new teachers coming, but there are many internal changes. That is, teachers taking different subjects and year levels than they did before. 

So no, there is no one person covering David's role, but there will be people teaching all his subjects (physics, calculus, applied maths, and, as far as I know, statistics too).

Two main thoughts
One main thought is that I'm glad I don't have to job of figuring it all out, it is very complicated!

The other thought is that I'm so grateful that things are gradually falling into place for us to leave for Australia. Praise God! There are so many bits of the puzzle for us to just move our family. I'm looking forward to seeing more bits in place as we get closer to the actual move (we booked our tickets last week and are leaving the country on June 29, eleven weeks from yesterday).

A Sunday morning mystery

Again, not a great photo. But this was the front of our church
this morning a few minutes before the pews filled.

I rarely write about church here. Not sure why. Perhaps because I'm ashamed at my poor Japanese.

We go to an independent Japanese church. The service is in Japanese, but is simultaneously translated into English for those who want it (and they use earphones). 

The worship is mostly in Japanese, though some of the slides include either alternative words in English or a translation.

After living nearly 12 years in Japan, I still can't explain very well what it's like to worship in a language I don't understand well. It isn't meaningless. In fact, it can be very  meaningful, but in a deep way that is not easy to articulate. Certainly different to being in a worship service where I understand everything that is said.

Today we closed the service with a song that's been translated into Japanese from English: Above All by Michael W. Smith. I sang in Japanese along with the majority of the congregation, and understood some of the words, but in the back of my mind was the English that I understood very well. Strange bi-lingual worship that somehow seemed doubly meaningful? 

Because, of course, a song translated isn't exactly the same song. It seems that generally it takes more syllables to say the same thing in Japanese, so often less concepts are included in a translated song than in the original. And often the concepts are slightly different, so you get a different slant in meaning. Does that make sense? Like reading the Bible in different English translations can make a passage more meaningful.

Here are the English lyrics of the song:

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here, before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified, laid behind a stone
You lived to die, rejected and alone
Like a rose, trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all. 


English video here:

Japanese video here: 

I am looking forward to coming back to Australia and enjoying worshipping in English every Sunday, but after nearly 12 years here, there is a unmeasurable, inarticulate part of me that loves to worship my Lord in Japanese. In fact the odd occasion that I do get to worship in Japanese in Australia will often find me in tears!

Photo question #50

Here is a doozy that I found this afternoon at the shop. 

It is Almond Poodle Blend. Maple Flavoured.

That about takes the cake in terms of bad English. I've no idea what it is. I'm planning to ask some Japanese friends on Wednesday, but in the meantime, do you want to have a guess?