Japan Dayのイベント

 今週末に、Japan Dayのイベントにいきました。

The event began with a talk from Hiroshi Tajima, the consul general of the Japanese Consulate of Chicago. とてもおもしろいひとです。I was very impressed when I heard of all the things he has done so far, and I thought it was very cool that he knew はなぶさ先生 from 中学校。

日本人シェフがきました。お寿司をつくりました。He was very skilled at preparing the food and had acquired his own "secret" techniques. I was happy that I could understand most of everything he said in Japanese, which means that I must be improving. Watching the audience members also make the sushi はたのしかったです。

Lastly, there was a presentation from JET which I had heard of before, but I was never very familiar with it. とてもたのしそうです。The presentation was extremely interesting and seems like a fantastic opportunity to work and learn in Japan.

イベントのおわりに、そのりょうりをたべました。大変おいしかったです。

Before this event, I had never been to Jenkins Nanovic Hall. いいたてものです。

Overall, the event was an interesting experience where I was able to learn a lot, and it ended with delicious food, which made everything even better.

京都の有名なところ：ダイアログ

 Bさん：こんにちは、ギャベトさん。しつもんがあります。

わたし：そうですか。何ですか。

Bさん：日本の京都に、何がありますか。

わたし：そうですね。たくさんゆうめいなところがあります。そして、とてもきれいなのもあります。

Bさん：りっぱなじんじゃとおてらがありませんか。

わたし：はい、京都にはきんかくじがあります。あのたてものはきんいろです。そして、とてもうつくしいです。

Bさん：あたらしいですか。

わたし：いいえ、あたらしくありません。ふるいですよ。ろくひゃくにじゅうごさいです。

Bさん：わ～。すごいですね。

わたし：京都にもとうじ（東寺）があります。たかいおてらですよ。京都えきからじゅうごふんぐらいあるいてかかります。

Bさん：そうですか。いきたいです。ありがとう。

わたし：いいえ、なんでもない。

日本のメディア: "74" by Itoki Hana and Toby Fox

 

    This is a song that I discovered during the spring of 2020, during the quarantine. During this time, I found the musical artist Itoki Hana and listened to most of her works. This song in particular I enjoy not only because of its melody but also because of its unique themes and story. The song presents itself as a stereotypical tale of a princess trapped in a tower, guarded by a dragon, who waits for a brave knight to rescue her one day. The number "73" is repeated over and over as the number of knights who have died trying to save her. This song occurs as she sees the 74th knight try to climb the tower to save her, and the princess laments being trapped for so long. 

    The subtitles are presented in three colors: one for the princess' spoken dialogue, one for the knight's dialogue, and one for the princess' inner thoughts. The princess looks on in seemingly abject sadness as she watches the knight die from the traps and the dragon in the tower. Then, the tone of the song drastically changes as it is revealed that the princess actually fears the knight rescuing her. It is revealed that she is the one who actually set the traps, gathered the monsters, and imprisoned herself in the tower, and that she fears that she will lose this aspect that "makes her special" if she is ever freed. The song ends as the princess, now revealed to be the true monster and a dragon herself, kills the knight as he enters her chambers, and we are left with the final number "seventy-four" as the total count of all the knights who have fallen trying to save her. 

    Of the Japanese media I have consumed, I have often seen the theme of adopting Western fairytales or tropes and adding twists to them that surprise the viewer. In my opinion, this song acts as the perfect example of taking a trope and using it to subvert expectations. The other artist in this song, Toby Fox, is a well-known music composer and video game developer. He has said before that he was strongly influenced by Japanese role-playing games like the Mother series (Earthbound) in both his music and his game development.

私のまいにちの大学のせいかつ

平日、まいあさはちじはんにおきます。げつようびもすいようびに、　くじはんからさんじじゅうごふんまでじゅぎょうがあります。 そのあと、かいいくかんにいきます。たいてい、いちじかんじゅっぷんうんどうします。ぜんぜんノトハルのたいいくかんいきません。とてもかなしいところです。そして　あかるくありません。

まいにち、ごじはんごろばんごはんをたべます。まいばん、へやでしゅくだいをします。としょかんでもべんきょうします。 かようびともくようびに、かいいくかんにいきません。にじかん　ABP　ではたらきます。そこで、たくさんカフェをのみます。

私のいちばんすきのひはきんようび。しごともあります、でもひとつじゅぎょうがあります。そして、すきなクラスです。たいてい、そのあさ　せんたくをします。 きんようびのばんともだちとあそびます。ときどき、いっしょにビデオゲームをします。