My Trip!

I am pleased to announce that I will be leaving for Japan next week! This is my first time to go to Japan, so I am very excited. I wont be making any posts untill I reurn. When I get back I will make some posts about what I saw and did in Japan!!!

New Music

I just wanted inform you all that I have updated the music!

Valentines Day In Japan

Valentines Day in Japan is celebrated the same way as here in America. Except for the fact that on this day only women give out chocolate. Women give chocolates to bosses,co-workers,male friends, fathers, husbands, and boyfriends. Usually if the women is giving chocolate to a boyfriend or husband she will also include a small gift. Men return the favor on March 14th, which is called White Day.

Japanese New Year

Alright! Lets get this year started off with a blog post on Japanese New Years!

New Years in Japan is usually a more family oriented holiday. Families will spend New Years eve together making Mochi (餅) and watching Kohaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦). Mochi is a very sticky rice cake and is very popular around New Years. Kohaku Uta Gassen in a music show on NHK (Japanese broadcasting station) which features popular musicians split into two teams who compete against each other. The first team is the red team which is all female artists and the second team is the white team which is all male artists. Watching this show together is a more current tradition. During New Years it is also customary for Japanese families to send New Years cards (年賀状 Nengajo) to friends and co-workers. The Japanese New Years card is the equivalent to the American Christmas card. On the day of New Years it is also customary that adults give money gifts (お年玉 Otoshidama) to the children in the family. The amount of money given depends on each child's age. A trip to the local shrine is also a must on New Years. Families also often plays games on New Years day such as, Takoage (kite flying), Kona (top), and Fukuwarai (pin the tail on the donkey).

Here is a video showing you how to pray at a shrine:

Here is the correct way to pray at a shrine:

1. Put your offering of money in the box (does not matter how much)

2. Ring the bell once

3. Bow twice

4. Clap twice while thinking about your prayer/wish

5. Bow once

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday! Be safe on your travels! See you all in 2009!

The End.....Or is it?

I can't really begin to explain how wonderful these past eight weeks have been. Being able to share something I am so passionate about with all of you has been such a treat! When I started this class I just knew that I would be in for it, night after sleepless night of writing essays. But to my surprise, this class would be requiring none. This class would only be requiring blogs! At first I thought this was a joke, there is no way an English teacher would have us doing blogs. But this was no joke, I was elated and knew exactly what I would blog about. Week after week I was able to read all of your blogs and I was able to learn more about what each of you like. During that same time, I would write on my blog and be able to share with you what I like. I can remember so many times when as soon as I got home I would rush to the computer to check to see if I had any comments on my blog. If I didn't have any comments on my blog then I would check back every 10 minutes until I had at least one comment. I am very glad I had this opportunity to take such a fun and unique class. Thank you Julie for making it happen and thank you all for making it much more enjoyable. From learning about relationships,politics, going green, firefighting, family relationships, nutrition, fashion, diesel, offroading, the View, relationships in the work place, superstition, and criminology, I have become more aware about many new things and ideas. Thank you all. Now, you may be wondering if I will continue this blog or not and of course I will! I have enjoyed this experience so much that i wont let it end now. Feel free to continue to check my blog, comment, and leave me topic ideas. I look forward to hearing from you!

For some of you this may be the end of your blogging journey. If that is the case, then i leave you with this last video. It is a music video to the song Weeeek by the music group NewS. The meaning of this song is to cherish everyday becasue days and time go by so fast.

Did You Know?

Here are some things I bet you didn't know about Japan.




-Did you know there is a hotel in Tokyo almost the size of a coffin?

Tokyo is a fun place but no visit is complete without a stay at a capsule hotel. A capsule hotel is a hotel with a series of coffin sized cubicles that visitors rent for the night. Each capsule is stacked side by side and two high. They are covered with either a curtain or door. visitors share a bathrooms and most cubicles have a small TV and WiFi connections. This type of hotel is definitely not for the claustrophobic.

-Did you know that there is no tipping in Japan?

Yes, you heard me right, there is no tipping. The price that is there is the price you pay. Some times foreigners do not know this rule. Many waitress and waiters will take the tip anyway to avoid having to explain things to you in broken English. In some places tipping is considered to be very rude.



More things I bet you didn't know.



-Christianity comprises less than 10% of the Japanese population (Interesting 1)



-Normal Japanese kitchens don’t have ovens (Interesting 1)


-The bathroom is not where the toilet is found in a Japanese home (Interesting 1)


-You don’t wear shoes in the house, you wear slippers (Interesting 1


-There are special slippers for the toilet (Interesting 1)



-A traditional Japanese toilet looks like a urinal lying on the floor (Interesting 1)

(I just had to show you what it looked like)

-The “WALK” lights on Japanese street corners make a chirping sound so that the blind can know when to cross the street (Interesting 1)



-Japanese subways are very clean and safe (Interesting 1)



-Japanese cars are mostly the same size as American cars (Interesting 1)



-In Japan, fair skin is regarded as beautiful (Interesting 1)



-Refrigerators in Japan are tiny (Interesting 1)

- Did you know that I have never been to Japan?

I am very passionate about Japan and I do a lot of research to keep myself well informed but i have yet to take a trip to Japan. (Although that might(note that I say might) change in March of 2009 if im lucky!)



For more interesting facts see

http://www.tooter4kids.com/Japan/interesting_facts.htm



Works Cited

1) "Interesting Facts About Japan." Interesting Facts. 9 Dec. 2008 .
<http://www.tooter4kids.com/Japan/interesting_facts.htm>