Does anyone have any recommendations on language guides/books/audio CDs/computer software? I want to pick something up next month to work on my Japanese, but I’m not sure which way to go.
Right now I’m looking in to the Pimsleur CDs, the Rosetta Stone software, and the Auralog Tell Me More software. I already have the Japanese for Busy People books, but I’m looking for something more interactive / less book based as well.
The blogging slows to a crawl.
After 20,109 miles, four countries, and more hours in planes than I can remember right now, I’m home. The silence is defeaning here, after 10 days of planes, cars, hotels, people, noise, construction, motorcyles, tourists, wildlife, water, and all the other noises that abound.
We think we’re designing and buying the “latest” “cool” electronics back home, but what they don’t tell you is that Asia really is keeping all the good stuff for themselves. Cell phones that record and play full motion video while also getting TV and high speed internet access are common, not rare like they are back home. Full 1080 HD was everywhere along with the slickest widescreen plasma and LCD tvs. Stores were stocked with Blu Ray burners. There was an entire aisle in one of the electronics stores devoted just to mice, in all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Laptops and desktops came in design and color combinations we never see. There are whole genres of video games you’ll ever know about. Nintendo Wiis were plentiful. And Compact Flash cards were available with 8 gbs of storage, which even Bryan might have a hard time filling with his camera in a single day.
First I read about them. Then I saw the video. Even so, I had to see for myself. So I hopped the subway line and headed to Akihabara, the electronics district, to find the maid-costume-wearing Japanese women who allegedly wander the streets on Sundays.
First, though, I headed to Asakusa, on the recommendation of the nice young Japanese woman frmo Beijing who sat next to me on the flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok. I spent about two hours wandering the area, doing some shopping in the arcade which reminded me so much of my time in Kyoto almost five years ago. Then it was on to the shrine, where I experienced Sunday “church” in typical Japanese efficiency. Toss in a coin, do a quick prayer, and on your way you go. So much for the whole standing and kneeling thing.
As it turned out, though, the maid-costume-wearing girls really do exist in Akihabara, where they are routinely followed by hentai old men easily three times their age trying to take pictures and even paying for better quality pictures that some of the girls themselves were selling. I suppose it’s commerce in action, much like the Amusement Cafe, which also tries to cash in on the trend. It would have been the quintessential quirky Japanese experience to have actually gone in, but, unfortunately there was a pretty long line and I didn’t feel like waiting to spend time solo in what is an obviously social place. A shame, really, but since I know where they are, I’ll have to find them if the trend lasts until my next trip.
And given Japan’s obsession with maid-costume-wearning girls, I doubt that will happen.
The thought just struck me – my passport, with all its stamps representing the places I’ve seen, is one of my proudest accomplishments.
It doesn’t hurt that I’m nearly out of space.
Listing of Countries
* Does not count multiple entries on a single trip.
List of US States
I’ve discovered that there’s a problem with nice hotels and hotel rooms. When you stay in a middling place, one without too many creature comforts, you’re motivated to go out, to explore, to see the city or wherever it may be. After all, staying put doesn’t buy you anything but bordeom.
When you’re in a hotel room with plasma TVs, DVD players, satellite, Internet, and all the modern conveniences you could want, why do you even need to leave?
This becomes even more true when you’re staying in the top of the line suite.
I finally emerged from my hotel in Bangkok sometime in the mid-afternoon, heading over to, of all places, Siam Paragon, one of the trendiest upscale shopping experiences around. If you’ve ever been to the Short Hills Mall, you have an idea of what I’m speaking of. Just add in a gourmet food market, standard Asian food courts, aquariam, exhibition hall, 20+ screen movie theatre, and you’re getting closer. And don’t forget, you need to link Short Hills Mall via a courtyard to, say, the Bridgewater Commons and connect that to Menlo Park Mall.
When going to Asia, really, there’s no better thing to do than shop, so shop is what I did. I picked up a few items and souvenirs. Wandering through Asian shopping centres provides a window in to our future, where some of the mediocre technology ideas might eventually show up. For better or worse, the best ideas never seem to reach these shores, and when they do, they are usually scaled down, weaker versions of the original.
No where is that more true than cell phones.
In fairness, the rest of the day was spent making arrangements, including intiating a conversation to see condos in Bangkok on Friday.
And to catch a few hours of shut eye before heading to Cambodia early the next morning.
I know what it’s like, since I’ve done it before. But no matter how good you are, traveling for 30 hours across 12 time zones is exhausting. Being trapped in a long tube in cramped space, you come to understand what your laundry must feel like, especially when there’s turbluence. Missing out on two good nights’ sleep before the trip and staying awake intentionally for most of the flights doesn’t do you any favors, either.
When I arrived in Bangkok all I could think of was sleep. Although the airport was new, we still had the same intolerable ride to the immigration line via a shuttle bus. We packed in to these busses, all the 200 or so passengers, exhausted at midnight local time. Immigration itself proceeded quickly, though not quick enough for my tired mind and body, and suddenly I was thrust out in to the 80 degree heat and humidity. The crowd in the arrivals area, even at that time of night, was loud and boisterous. There was no doubt I was back in Thailand.
Within the hour I was in the nicest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in. So nice, in fact, it took an extra 45 minutes before I could figure out how to shut off the lights to head to bed and finally sleep.
Only in Japan…
…will you find TV talk/game shows too bizarre to follow.
…will you see on MTV a music video with four Japanese teenagers in short, pink pleated skirts, CURLING, for Christs’ sake.
…will all the commercials be produced with oversytlized graphics that lend a “kawaii” element to even the most routine products.
Yes, it’s good to be back.
I have a whole littany of observations to post, like listening to “To Be With You” on the freeway on the way from the airport to the hotel in Bangkok this evening. Or the birthday cake in my hotel room tonight when I got upstairs. Or the cute, sweet Japanese girl I sat next to on the plane from Cambodia who works for NNR in Beijing. Or the amazing, unbelievable, scenes from Cambodia, that you simply have to experience for yourself to even begin to understand.
Yeah, it’s been a helluva ride over the past three days.