Japanese Super Powers

I’m not referring to Power Rangers, or anime character’s ability to be punched and sent through a thick stone wall, which then collapses on them, and they stand up with a few scratches. I’m talking about sensory perception, the kind that we americans, as a whole seem to lack.

1. Smell - This is probably the most heightened og the senses, and why Japanese say that westerners smell so bad. I am amazed daily at my girlfriend’s and daughter’s abilities so notice minor scents. In many ways it’s also a curse for them, living in America, where we seem to revel in strong perfumes, colones, deodarants and our own sweat. Rarely does a day go by when I don’t hear one of them exclaim “kusai” (smells bad). It’s especally bad for her daughters at school, where the popular trend for young men to practically bathe in “Axe” bodyspray, or other similar products.
2. Taste – Apparently western food kills your tastebuds, and yes, they tell me that a lot. They are shocked at how I can miss subtle flavors in cooking, and that it is do to a diet high in sweets, and artificial sweeteners.
3. Hearing - her daughters were wondering if I was sick, because I was breathing too loudly through my nose. They have noticed it quite often, but never mentioned it before. I can’t hear it at all unless it’s completely quiet.
4. Reading Expressions – I’ve heard that Japanese couples often communicate without speaking, and I believe they can do this through facial expressions. No slight muscle movement is ever missed, they will know what you are thinking. Never play poker with a Japanese person, just saying…

Blood? Really?

Perhaps someone can respond to this.  I really don’t get it.

This is a blog about learning Japanese language and culture, granted it’s a somewhat limited audience. I was never expecting to have a large following. But after looking through my stats, something caught my eye.  As of this writing the most popular post on this site is…

‘Blood is thicker than water‘ with 666 total views (no I’m not making that up).  That is more than 6 times the page views for the number two spot.

I was curious as to why that singular post was the most viewed. It wasn’t better written, or more funny, or more novel.  It didn’t really stand out from any other post, then I started looking at search terms…

Here are the top three search terms that brought people to my site:

blood              556

hirigana         35

blood cells    20

Also in the list are ‘blood images’, ‘blood cell’, ‘blood pictures’, ‘images of blood’, and ‘blood picture’.  I’m sure the ones looking for a picture were disappointed, just a small thumbnail for their trouble.

Makes me wonder how popular phlebotomist’s blogs are…

So perhaps I can help? If you have reached this blog searching for blood you aren’t going to find much here, may I suggest:

American Red Cross (Donating Blood)

Food Network (Bloody Mary Recipe)

Blood+ (Anime)

Hematology Library (Science-y blood stuff)

Urban Dictionary (Slang meanings for blood)

Fantastic Free Japanese Free Resource

I found this free Japanese learning resource that teaches the top 2000 Japanese words at smartfm.com, there is also, for more advanced students, the next 6000 words, as well as 2000 kanji and hirigana and katakana for beginners.

Definitely try this out, it’s free and it does a good job with repetition, and also has time based practice games to help increase your speed.  you can select to learn 5 or 10 words per session, I choose 5 because I am an あほじじ。。

one of the things I really like about it is that it drills you in both the hirigana and the kanji, and you have to pass a quiz several times before you are really considered to have learned it. So far, it is the best free resource I’ve found.

I’ve been a bad blogger.

Well, it’s been 5 months since I’ve last posted. Wayyyy too long, and so much has happened since then. In mid-December my girlfriend and her kids were victims of an immigration paperwork error, and during a regular appointment, they were all arrested and were told that they would be deported. They were sent to a family detention center in PA, and had to spend xmas there, but her lawyer managed to get everything straightened out, and they were back before the end of the year, but it was a really terrible experience for them. I didn’t feel much like writing when that happened, or afterward. Then my job contract ended, got a new job and moved. Things seem to be calming down for the time being.

Anyways, I don’t always have the time to blog, and not as much to write about. When I have the time and something that requires a longer post, I’ll add it.
But for shorter updates that are more frequent, please subscribe to my twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/nihongobaka