2008年7月31日木曜日

Politics

If you were working for the UN, which job would like to do using your English abilities? Why?

I would like to work as translation. The translation needs all of meeting in United Nations so I want to engage it.




I enjoyed this class and I made agreeable comversation with you. Thank you so much.

Personal Space

1. You're talking to a co-worker . How close do you stand?
I will stand 1m apart from co-worker.

2. You're talking to a friend. Do you touch each other?

I usually touch my friend, shoulder, head, arm and hand. I like to hold hands with my friend.

3. Look at the diagram of a waiting room. Where do you sit when you enter?
I will sit near woman, but I space absolutely out.I want to sit take a seat in the back, so I will sit second chair of the left side. I don't want to sit opposite each other.

4. You're in a crowded elevator. Where do you look?
I always look up at sign that is written by number or look down at my foot.
I can't look around restlessly.

5. You're standing in line. How close do you stand to the person in front?
I stand 30cm apart from people.

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 sit a seat at the back because I don't feel comfortable when I sit close by.

7. You're in library and there's an empty seat beside you. Do you want to stop someone sitting there ? If so, how?
Yes. I don't care a bit when there are people around.

8. You're going to the beach. Do you like to see lots of people or very few?
I like to see very few people because I don't like a people jam.

9. When you're talking to someone, do you look them in the eye?
No. It's diffcult for me to deal with eye contact. So I look at someone's lip when I'm talking.

10.You're on a train. Do you talk to the other passenger?
No. I never do it.

CW Certainty Questionnaire

Your score is 64 on a scale of 0 to 100 = Preference for Need for Certainty

Your scores indicate that you have a moderate Need for Certainty and might prefer job security to a more entrepreneurial job opportunity. In countries/cultures with a Need for Certainty, organizations have a preference for strong codes of behaviors and management practices and tolerate less deviation from them; they tend to support their employees on the job. If you work in countries such as Sweden, Denmark, or the United States, where there is a higher Tolerance for Ambiguity, you might react by seeking out situations in which there is a higher level of job security and loyalty to the organization is rewarded. In countries/cultures with a Tolerance for Ambiguity, conflict in organizations is perceived as natural, and rules may be broken for pragmatic reasons. You might feel yourself under attack if the level of conflict rose above your threshold.

The countries you requested are listed below. The numbers in parentheses refer to the country scores as listed by Professor Geert Hofstede in his book Culture's Consequences:

United Kingdom (35) Tolerance for Ambiguity, a moderate preference for an entrepreneurial environment which is less bound by rules and regulations

Japan (92) Need for Certainty, a strong preference for an environment that is more structure-oriented, and where rules, roles and management practices are clear and unambiguous

my ideal man

Personality is the most inportant when I choose my boyfriend.
Next I love and be loved each other so devoted is second.
Also kind and looks is need for awfully nice person.

2008年7月30日水曜日

Class#9 Reflection

Family



a. When do children usually leave home?
In my opinion, they leave home when they graduate from high school or university. Also they ch
oose a university that have to live on their own.

b. How many people live in your home?
There are four people living in my home, and the stracture is that my fater, mother, younger sister, and me.

c. Do you have head of the family?
I think it's my father. He doesn't speak much, but he usually wax eloquent when he has a belt.

d. Who does the house work?
My mother did. But I have no opinion it so family member should help her more.

e. Who runs the family?
I think it's my father. He deside everything of house.

f. How many rooms do you have to sleep in?
There are four rooms, my room, my mother's room, my father's room and my sister's room.

2008年6月15日日曜日

Lesson 7 Names and Addresses

1.Are feelings emotions and facial expressions universal across borders, happy, sad, etc..?
In my opinion, it's different how to put each feelings each countries. Foreigner think Japanese are a poor hand at verbalizing their emotions but I don't think so. Japanese are so shy and they can't put their feelings and fascal expressions when they meet for the first time. Consequently, they are good at putting their feelings when they become close.

2. Try to name as many feelings as possible in Japanese. ( 10 minimum) Now write the English translation.

楽しい→happy amusing blithe enjoyable
気楽→comfortable familiar homelike homey
面倒→annoying messy feisty
眠い→sleepy drowsy
心細い→insecure lonely lonesome
心地よい→agreeable comfortable congenial cozy
不愉快→bile rudeness unpleasantness
愛おしい→loved
満足→content contentedness
憂鬱→blues dismal mood dump
もどかしい→frustrating irritating
切ない→agonizing painful
恥ずかしい→ashamed disgraceful embarrassed
恐ろしい→appalling awesome dire

3. Are there any feelings in Japanese that cannot be translated into English?
ウザい 全然( use in a good sense)

Welcome Colgate University Students!

I met Colgate University Students and I talked with a guy who is 19 years old. I asked some guestions to him. I was surprised at his answers every time. One of the thing that I was impressed by talking with him was a episode since we were children. In Japan, we go to bed with our familiy when we were children. We usually say "we bed like chinese logo of river."(川の字で寝る) I think it's not out of the way but he never have beded with his family. When I know that thing, I can't swallow. I realized that it's suffered culture to live in another coutry.

2008年6月9日月曜日

Class5# Greeting

a) How do people greet someone they've just met?
I usually say "Hi" or "Hello."

b)How do you greet members of your family?
I use "Good morning" and "Good night."

c) Do you hug members of your family?
No, I don't hug my family as greeting but I sometimes hug my mother without excuse.

d)How do you greet people who are important in society?
It's good that I greet and bow deeply with people because I leave a good impression on them.

e) Do you greet people of the opposite sex in a different way?
No, I don't. I don't need to change the way of greeting as sex.

f) Are the customs the same all over your country?
Yes, I think so.

Class#4 World Religion

How do you greet people in your life? Is is different for different people? How so and why? Do you touch people when you talk to them? Why? Or Why not?

I think it's important for people because we can become friendly with strangers. So I try to bow in salutation when we walk past people on the street. It's one of greeting in Japan. Also I change to greet for each persons. For example, when I meet with my friends, I say "おはよう." However, if I come contact with my teacher, I say "おはようございます." In Japan, we have to respect our elders and we need to choose fitting words for the occasion. Then, I touch my friend and talk with them when I get drunk. I don't know why I touch them but it's more than probable that I feel sad without warmth of someone's skin.

Class#2 Buddhism


1. How is your daily life affected by Buddhism? What do you do and why do you do it?

No, my daily life is not affected by Buddhism. My family don't believe in any religions and I'm not interested in it. Also I don't know rules of each religions but I believe the existence of God. Because I think there is a creator on the earth. So I pray to God for help and I draw a fortune slip.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/kyoiku/renai/20070516us41.htm
I read this article and it's written about education. It said that students learn about the global enviroment and the peace education and they should master cross culture communication. In my opinion, we need to know more international situation affairs and Japanese should be interented in foreign countries.

2008年1月23日水曜日

Education

Please read the opinion in the December 6th International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/06/opinion/edkumiko.php 

Do you agree with the writer? Why? Give at least 3 examples to support your answer.


I agree with this opinion. I think that our English proficiency has no advantage over other advanced nation's English proficiency. When Japanese meet foreigners, most Japanese who studied English since they are junior high school students can't tell foreigners their thoughts in English without hindrance. There are three reasons why we can't speak English well. First, Japanese are very shy. When foreigners approach Japanese in English, Japanese will look uncomfortably down at their hands and they might be thrown into confusion. Next, Japanese are afraid of failure. For example, Japanese people has discussions and, they should say their opinion before a large audience in Japanese. But they don't have an active involvement on discussions. They can't say their opinion in Japanese and, even more cannot do in English. Lastly, Japanese are perfectionists. They don't give an inch for everything. If teacher say to introduce theirself, first of all, they writes some papers about saying. Then, they run a check on writing. After that, they rehearse a speech. I think that the Japanese government change them opinion about English education in Japan. So kids of Japan can't have communication in English for a long, long time.

2008年1月22日火曜日

Happy New Year

Do you agree or disagree with the author (who is Japanese). Please explain why in your blog.

I agree with this opinion. There are two reasons that I agree it. First, I think that men gets interested in fondness for women. For example, when I was a high school student, my friend brought a foundation in the school. One of my male classmate got interested in her foundation and, he put on foundation. He said, " Am I pretty?" Then, I can see men that wear a skirt in magazine. They says that it's always in fashion but, I think that they has a weird shape. Also, my male friend often asks me to lend me some comics for girls. So I sometimes borrows him some comics for boys but it's a story about friendship. I don't know he can understand this comic's heroine feelings about love. Next, the notion of women's equality gains ground in Japan society. I think Japanese are getting a blurry between men and women. Because, it becomes less that men gets an upper hand of women on business or daily life. So women are not the weak of society for men and men changes his way of thinking about women. For all these reasons, I think men becomes like women about thinking or feeling.

2008年1月21日月曜日

Class#10 Table Manners

Today we discussed table manners from all over the world. Please answer the following questions in your blog.

Have you ever eaten in a foreign restaurant? Where?

Yes, I have. I went to a French food restaurant.

What did you eat? Did you make any mistakes? Please explain your experience. Did you learn anything?

I went there with my family. It was set some spoons and forks on the table. I know to use their from the end in french food and I didn't make any mistakes. And, the waiter or waitress told us how to use their every putting on a dish. So we could enjoy eating and no need to worry about mistake. Also, I had a presentation about table manner in Germany last time. Table manner is rules of this etiquette that is attention for someone and the adult graces during dinner. So in my opinion, it's good to enjoy dinner, for example, chatting and laughing. But, we should conduct ourself appropriately as we are in public place.