30 Days and Counting
In 30 days it will be December 30th in the US. We will be flying over the Pacific Ocean that day, and since we’ll cross the date line, that means we’ll arrive in Tokyo on New Year’s Eve. And when I get there, thanks to my Japanese class, I’ll be ready to say あけまして おめでと ございます(akemashite omedeto gozaimasu - happy new year! - that’s the phonetic Hiragana - I don’t know the Kanji). Although, it’s my understanding that they don’t use this phrase until it’s actually the 1st. The class has gone really well. It’s a non-intensive introductory class, so I am far, far from fluent. But I believe I’ll be able to handle basic tasks like ordering food and letting a taxi driver know where I want to go.
I’ve been supplementing my classroom learning with Manga-jin magazine. It’s been out of print for almost 10 years, but back issues are still available. It contains Japanese manga (comics) with detailed English translations. I’ve picked up some great phrases that would never come up in class, like “otosan nobori” (daddy climbing - something Eidan does routinely). Here’s an example from the magazine.
We leave Philly for RI on the 22nd, to spend Christmas with my family, and we have an awful lot to do before we go (we fly from Boston to SF on the 28th, and then leave for Tokyo on the 30th). Our “to do” list keeps getting longer as we keep thinking of more things we have to take care of (figure out just how little we can get away with packing for a 6 month stay, cancel the car insurance, bring our tax documents so we can do our taxes in April, etc., etc., etc.). All our paperwork came through today for our visas, which is nice, because it means we can actually go (we’ll be there too long to just use tourist visas).
