Table Manners
1.Have you ever eaten in a restaurant in a foreign country? Where? What did you eat? Did you make any mistakes? Please explain your experience.
I have eaten in a restaurant in foreign countries but i don't remember any mistakes, but when my host family in Australia came to Japan, i found the culture differences at the noodle restaurant. I took them to the noodle restaurant, and we ordered the noodles. We ate them, making noise, but they didn't make any noise, and they ate the noodle like the spaghetti, winding the noodles on the chopsticks. I was very surprised, and I found that it was very rude for them to make noise when they eat something.

2. Did you learn anything?
I was embarrassed when I noticed the fact, and I told my father to do not make noise when we ate noodles in front of them, but he said "they are in Japan now, so we should not feel embarrassed, and we should not have to adapt their way of eating. We should tell them to make noise! It is the best way to eat the noodles in Japan!" He told them how to make noise. I learned that there are not correct ways to eat, and it is depends on the countries. I should have not been embarrassed at the moment because it was in Japan.

Wedding

1.Since Japanese weddings are expensive, do you think having a massive wedding like Korea or UAE is a good idea? Why?
I think it is great to be celebrated by many people, but i prefer small wedding than massive one. I want to invite only family and important people for us.



2. What do you think about eloping? Is it a good idea or romantic? Why?
I think it is romantic, but it must be sad if our parents don't bless us. I don't want to make them sad.

3. Have you ever thought about having a wedding in a foreign location like Hawaii? Would you do it? Why?Or Why not?
Yes, i do!! Wedding is the most important event, so if i can have a wedding in foreign like Hawaii, it could be the best memory in my life!! I want to have a wedding at the location where it has beautiful ocean!



4.What is your ideal wedding?
I want to have a happy wedding, make everybody smile. People sing a songs, and dance. I want to tell my big gratitude to my parents.



5.What would you definitely do, wear or go to on that big day? Why is that important?
I want to wear lovely white dress and long veil, and i want to change the dress two times. I yearn the red dress , but i don't think it will suit me...



6. Have you ever been to a foreigner's wedding? What was your impression?
No, i haven't. I wish i could been to foreign wedding!

Superstitions
1.Do you think it is important to talk about superstitions in cross culture communication class? Why?
Yes, it is. I think the superstitions have a lot of historical means of each countries. Knowing the superstitions of the country, we might be able to know the country's background, and i think it is very interesting to know them in different countries.

2.Is communication affected by superstitions?
Yes, it is. If i talk with someone who is enthusiastic about the superstitions, i might be not able to communicate with the person well. I think it is hard to understand him or her very well.

3.Do you believe in superstitions? If yes, what superstitions do you believe?Why do you do, use, or believe in them?
Yes, i believe some, for example "the spiders you find in the morning have luck." When i was a small,　my grandmother often said that. I don't know why, but when my friend tried to kill the spiders in the morning, i don't let them kill the spiders.
When i was a children, i was very afraid of hiccups because one of my friends told me that if you had hiccups 100times, you would be died, so i often counted.

Denmark
It was very nice to listen about Denmark, and i was surprised about the history of Andersen. I found many differences between Japan and Denmark , so i was very attracted to Denmark. I want to eat open sandwiches in Denmark, and I want to try apple soup.

Time
1. Please explain a time proverb in your culture.
　"時は人を待たず "
　it means time don't wait us, so we should cherish every moment.

2. What do the following proverbs mean:
a. Time is money.
Money is very important for our lives,and time is also important as money.
b. A stitch in time saves nine.
Ｉt means we should do it when we can do it before it's gone too far.
c. There's no time like the present.
Ｉt means "Now is your chance!!!"
d.Let's meet at 4. If I'm not there by 5, leave without me at 6, and I'll be there at 7.
I'm sorry, i don't know the meaning.

The language of clothes

1. Do you judge people according to what they wear? Why?

Yes, I think I judge people with clothes sometimes. I cannot know about the people with only clothes, but I think it is one of the way to know about them. If there are two peosons in front of me who i dont know, and one wears a very fashionable and nice clothes, and another wears normal clothes. I think that i will have a good first impression to the person who wears a fashionable and nice clother.

2. Do you think Japanese society puts an importance on clothing when judging other people from another country?
No. i dont think so because there are many different sense of fashion between Japan and other countries, so it is hard to judge people from other countries.


3. What colors are you wearing now? Do they reflect your mood?
I am wearing a navy blue dress and tights.
Yes, they do. If i do not like the clothes which i wear the day, i feel depressed during the day.


FRIENDS

1. What are some subjects that you will never discuss with a friend?
I don't talk about my biggest worry with friends. I don't want to talk about that because It is too praivate to talk to friends sometimes.

2. Do you have different friends for different parts of your life? If so, how are they different to you? Do you talk about different things? Go to different places? Give me some examples.
ummm... it is difficult question. i don't know what the different parts of my life is.

1.Death and Funerals
a. Do you have any international friends or a host family? If so, how would you express your condolences to them if a family member died?

I have a host family in Australia. When their grandfather died, I sent a letter of sympathy to them. I forgot what i wrote, but i remember that I didn't know how to write to them then. I said "i am very sorry for that" at first, and i wrote some memories of him which i spent with him.

b. Have you ever been to a foreign funeral?
No, I don't.

2.The language of clothes.
a.Why are Japanese designer label crazy? Why is what you wear so important?
I think the appearence is important when we meet people. The clothes are one of a important thing. The people who wear nice and fashionable clothes attract me, and I think Japanese are interested in the fashion. I like to enjoy wearing various clothes.

b.What does “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” mean to you?
We don't know whether the book is good or bad until we read the book to the end.

a. Where do you go when you die?
I don't know, but I think there is heven and hell.

b. Explain why do Japanese have death memorial services 1 month, 1 year, 3 years, 7 years, etc. after a person's death?
There are the judgments in each year in the underworld. The dead people are judged by god of the underworld. The dead people are decided where they will go after the death by the judgments, so we pray for the repose of their souls to god in each year. This is a thinking of Buddhism.

Politics and Reflection
If I work at UN, I would like to work as a translator. I took the class of the translator this term, and I knew how difficult to translate. We need high English ability,but also we need Japanese ability. It is very hard to do it, but I think it is very meaningful job because I think there are many opportunitues to meet with various people with English, and I think we can learn many things from this job.

1. You’re talking to a co-worker. How close do you stand?
I stand 1 or 2 meters away from the person.

2. You’re talking to a friend. Do you touch each other?
Yes, I do if they are good friends, but I don't touch friends who are not close to me.

3. Look at the diagram of a waiting. Where do you sit when you enter?
I think I would sit the seat next to the woman.

4. You’re in a crowded elevator. where do you look?
I look at the numbers.

5. You’re standing in line. How close do you stand to the person in front?
1 meter away.

6. You get on the bus. There is an empty row of seats at the back, and an empty seat close by. Where do you sit?
I would sit the seat close by. I hardly sit at back of the bus.

7. You’re in a library and there’s an empty seat beside you. Do you want to stop someone sitting there? If so, how?
Yes, because i want to concentrat to study, so I want to study by myself. I put my stuff on the seat or table next to me.

8. You’re going to the beach. Do you like to see lots of people or very few?
I prefer few people to lots of people, because I do not have to care about people.

9. When you’re talking to someone, do you look them in the eye?
Yes, I do. I think it is very important to look people's eyes to talk.

10. You’re on a train. Do you talk to the other passengers?
No, I don't. but if someone speak to me, I would talk with him or her except strange people.

working with different cultures!
When I went to UK, I found many differences from Japan.
I thoght Japanese people work too much time, and we have lots of rules in workplaces in Japan.
Most shops in UK close at 5 or 6, and clerks go back home soon, they don't have overtime work a lot. I saw some people worked talking on their phones and others worked while singing. I was very surprise at first time, but I found people in UK do not seem to be bound by the work. I like thier lives, so I want to work in UK.

Dating practices

respect
I think "respect" is most important for me. I want to marry a man who can respect each other. I want to respect my partner's life and personality.

ambitious person
I think people who have ambitious are very cool because realistic idea is sometimes boring. I want to keep trying vorious things and enjoy my life no matter how old I get.

fashion
Looks are very important to give a good image to people and fashion of the clothes is also important.

same hobby
If I have same hobby with my partner, we can do them together.

Name and Addresses
1.Are feelings, emotions and facial expressions universal across borders, happy, sad, etc..?
Yes, they are. When people feel happy, they smile but when they feel sad, they cry or frown. There might be difference of expressions of feelings between different countries but I think feeling, emotions are common and these can cross the world.

2. Try to name as many feelings as possible in Japanese. ( 10 minimum) Then, write the English translation.
うれしいhappy pleased glad　悲しいsad　怒ったangry　わくわくするexcited　　
心地よいcomfortable　 混乱してconfused　いらいらするnervous　哀れなsorry　
いらいらさせるannoy　　　

3. Are there any feelings in Japanese that cannot be translated into English?
なつかしい
I want to say なつかしい in English sometime and try to translate it into English but I can not find English word. I think it is the one of Japanese special feeling.

1. How do you greet members of your family? (mother, father, older brother, younger brother, grandparents, etc.)
I just say good morning to my family.


2. How do you greet people that are important in society?
I bow to them politey and say hello to them with smile.


3. Do you greet people from the opposite sex in a different way?
No, I do not. I do not think I have different ways between man and woman but I hug with my girl's friends sometime but I do not hug with people from opposite sex in Japan.


4. Do you hug anyone? If yes, who and when. If no, why not?
Yes, I do. When I meet friends who had not met for long time, I hug with them or I hug with foreigners.

World religion
・How do you greet people in your life?
When i meet new people i bow or just say hello to the people. I never kissed or hugged with new people in Japan. I rarely touch the people for the greeting.

・Is it different for different people? How so and why?
Yes it is. I think it is very different from the countries and religion. When I went to England I met many new people from other countries and I felt big diffrence from Japan. I was kissed cheeks when i met spanish people. I never done that so I was very surprised. There are many different feelings by the diggerences of the greetings.

・Do you touch people when you talk to them? Why? Or Why not?
Yes, I do but it depends on the people. I do not touch people who do not know well but I touch good friends. Sometime, touching make people uncomfortable or make feel bad so I have to pay attention to do that.

Buddhism and My life




・i say "itadakimasu" before i eat meals. We have to appreciate lots of things and people because we can live thanks for lots of lives like animals, fish, plants. To say "itadakimasu" is very important way to appreciate lots of things.





・It is not daily life but when someone die, people gather at the person's house or the meeting place before the funeral and they drink and talk about memories of the person. The family wake up till the funeral and they have to keep burning incenses.




・There is a buddhist altar(bustudan) in my grandmother's house. She sits front of it and chants a Buddhist sutra every morning and evening for hotokesama and my grandfather and she gives the rice or some food for the hotokesama. When i go to her house i always sit front of it and worship.



・My grand motehr has the time to appreciates to hotokesama everyday becouse she can live. She told me that it is very important time so when i go to her house i appreciate everyday and say thank you to hotokesama.





・We have obon in summer. We go to graves to worship our ancestors in obon.

Multiethnic flavor permeates Little Tokyo in L.A.

There is a downtown area called Little Tokyo in Los angeles. It has become more "international" or rather multiethnic. There are vorious kinds of food stalls in the town but the signs of many shops and restaurants remain in Japan. The town has seen a sharp rise in the Korean population in recent years, while young Japanese-Americans are leaving the area. The town's transformation from a Japanese to multiethnic community reflects changes in the Nikkeijin (Japanese-American) community in the United States.
Japanese emigration to the United States began in the late 19th century. Around that time,Japanese opened Japanese restaurants where Little Tokyo now stand but the Asian Exclusion Act of 1924, which virtually banned immigration from Asia, dampend Japanese inflow. Although Japanese could return the town after the World WarⅡ, the town was for many black residents during the war.
The new budokan sports facility will be build in the town and it will have a multipurpose gym that can hold four separate basketball games. "It can bring young Nikkei back to L.T. (Little Tokyo), We want young Japanese-American families to use it. Parents can tell their kids about their roots in L.T." said LTSC Executive director Bill Watanabe.


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