Nihonashi #7 - Watashi no Machi

What did I say? Here it is!!

Nihonashi #7 - Watashi no Machi

Watashi: Are wa watashi no kyoku desu yo.

Hokano koe: Suteki deshita ne....

Watashi: Ichido dake, ‘watashi no machi’ to iu shukudai ga arimashita. Sukitto ja nakatta, bunpo no shukudai desu. 

Hokano koe: Jaa, dou shimashou ka?

Watashi: Maa... dou ka na. Un. Hitori wa shitsumon wo kiite, mukou wa kotaemasu.

Hokano koe: Naruhodo. Dare ga shitsumon o kikimasu ka?

Watashi: Saisho wa guu, jan ken pon!

Hokano koe: Ah, Mai no kachi desu ne. Jaa, Mai wa doko ni sundeimasu ka?

Watashi: Watashi wa ‘sarutoreeku’ to iu tokoro ni sundeimasu.

Hokano koe: Sarutoreeku wa yuta ni arimasu ne. 

Watashi: Hai, sou desu. Kono machi wa shuto de, jinkou wa yaku ni-hyakuman nin desu.

Hokano koe: Sugoi desu ne. Yuta no kikou no koto to yuta de donna koto wo dekiru koto o oshietekuremasen ka?

Watashi: Koko wa sabaku desu. Takusan yuki ga furushi, yama ga ooishi, sukii ga yoku dekiru machi desu. Yamanobori mo dekimasu.

Hokano koe: Ii desu ne. Doushite Mai no machi wa ‘sarutoreeku’ to iimasu ka? Shio no mizuumi no imi desu ne? Sonna koto wa arienai deshou?

Watashi: Iie. Yuta de arimasu yo! Sarutoreeku wa shio no mizuumi ga yuumei desu. 

Hokano koe: Hontou desu ka? Shio no mizuumi no koto wo motto oshietekuremasen ka?

Watashi: Mizuumi ga ensui no ebi mo shio mo sangyou to ite arimasu. Watashi wa mita koto ga arimasenkedo, furamingo ga tokidoki mizuumi e ebi o tabeni ikimasu.

Hokano koe: Sugoi desu ne. Itsuka mi ni ikitai desu. Mai wa donna gurai sarutoreeku de sundeimasu ka? 

Watashi: Watashi wa sumareta toki kara kono machi ni sundeimasu. 

Hokano koe: Mai no machi ni tsuite nan no koto ga suki desu ka?

Watashi: Shizuka dashi, keshiki wa kirei dashi, koutsuu wa warukunai shi, watashi wa kono machi ga daisuki desu.

Hokano koe: Suteki na kotoba deshita ne. Jaa, minna, kore wa owarimasu.

Watashi: Jikai mata sukitto o shimasu. 

Hokano koe: Tanoshimi ni shite imasu!

Nihonashi #7 - My Town

Me: That is my melody.

The other voice: And wasn’t it lovely...

Me: Just once, I had homework titled ‘My town’. It’s not a skit, but grammar homework.

The other voice: So, how should we do this?

Me: Well... how, I wonder... Oh. One person will ask questions, the other person will answer.

The other voice: I see. Who will ask the questions?

Me: First comes rock, rock, paper, scissors!

The other voice: Ah, that’s your win. Well, where do you live, Mai?

Me: I live in a place called Salt Lake.

The other voice: Salt Lake is in Utah, isn’t it?

Me: Yes, that’s right. It is the state capital, with a population around two million.

The other voice: That’s amazing. Will you tell us about Utah’s climate and what kinds of things you can do there?

Me: This place is a desert. It snows lots, there are many mountains, so it’s a place where you can ski a lot. You can also go hiking.

The other voice: That’s lovely. Why is your town called ‘salt lake’? It means a lake that is salt, doesn’t it? Isn’t that impossible?

Me: No. There is one in Utah! Salt Lake is famous for its salt lake.

The other voice: Really? Could you tell us more about this salt lake?

Me: The lake has brine shrimp and salt and a related industry. I haven’t seen it, but sometimes flamingo go to the lake to eat the shrimp.  

The other voice: That’s so cool! Someday I want to go and see it. Mai, how long have you lived in Salt Lake?

Me: I’ve lived here since I was born.

The other voice: What do you like about your town?

Me: It’s quiet, the scenery is lovely, the traffic isn’t bad, so I love this town. 

The other voice: Weren’t those lovely words. Well, everyone, here we end.

Me: Next time I will do another skit. 

The other voice: I’m looking forward to it!

Vocab

kyoku = tune, melody

suteki = lovely

ichido = one time

dake = only

machi = town

iu = to say, to be called

shukudai = homework

bunpo = grammar

hitori = one person, alone

shitsumon = question

(kiite and kikimasu come from) kiku = to hear, to ask

mukou = the other side, the other person

kotaeru = to answer

naruhodo = I see; sometimes it’s used in conversation to show you are still listening to the other person.

dare = who

saisho = first

guu = rock, in the game

jankenpon = rock paper scissors game, also called janken, the etymology is unknown

kachi = win, victory

doko = where

sundeimasu is the ‘doing’ form of sumu = to live, reside

sarutoreeku = Salt Lake — I wanted to keep the katakana to a minimum, so I left off the City part.

tokoro = place

yuta = Utah

shuto = capital

jinkou = population

yaku = approx.

ni = two

hyaku = hundred

man = ten thousand - to make ‘million’ in Japanese, you have to say a hundred ten-thousands, which believe it or not is really really confusing!

nin = people

sugoi = amazing, cool, awesome

kikou = climate

oshieru = to teach, tell

-tekuremasen ka? = won’t you do this for me?

sabaku = desert

takusan = lots

yuki = snow

furu = to fall, blow

yama = mountain

ooi = lots, many, numerous, a great deal

yoku = often, well

yamanobori = mountain climbing, literally, but it also means hiking. Or you can just use ‘haikingu’

doushite = why, whatever for

shio = salt

mizuumi = lake

imi = meaning

arienai = impossible

yuumei = famous; place wa thing ga yuumei desu = this place is famous for this thing

motto = more

ensui = brine, salt water

ebi = shrimp, what I wanted to name the kitten. Actually I wanted it to be Ebisu, the god of fishing and commerce, and call him ‘Ebi’ because that is so cute!... Also, our favorite Japanese teacher was called Ebisu, she was lots of fun. But my sister wouldn’t go for it. 

taberu = to eat; verb in -masu stem + ni/e + moving verb (iku, kuru, kaeru) means going/coming to do that first verb; in this case, going to eat shrimp. Toshokan ni hon o yomi ni kimashita = I came to the library to read a book.

itsuka = someday

verb in -masu stem + tai = want to

donna gurai = I think it means how long but you know, I really don’t know

sumareru = to be born

toki = time

kara = from, since

ni tsuite = regarding, in the case of

shizuka na = quiet

keshiki = scenery

kirei na = pretty, clean

koutsuu = traffic

warui = bad 

~shi ~shi = because of these things

kotoba = words, language

jikai = next time

mata = again

tanoshimi ni shiteimasu = I’m looking forward to it

My original homework:

私の町

私はソルトレークという所に住んでいます．サルトレークはユタ州にあります。この町は首都（しゅと）で、人口（じんこう）は約2００万人です。

ここは砂漠（さばく）です。それで夏はとても暑いです。夏に涼しい所へ行く人は多いです。冬は寒いです。沢山（たくさん）雪が降るし、山が多いし、スキーがよくできる町です．山登りもできます。

ソルトレークは塩（しお）の湖が有名です。湖が塩水（えんすい）の海老（えび）も塩（しお）も産業（さんぎょう）といてあります。 私は見たことがありませんけど、フラミンゴが時々湖へ 海老（えび）を食べに 行きます。

私は生まれた時からこの町に住んでいます。静かだし、景色（けしき）はきれいだし、交通（こうつう）は悪くないし、私はこの町が大好きです．

Producer ShiroiHyou

Director ShiroiHyou

Editor ShiroiHyou

Script Mai-chan

Voice talent Mai-chan

Piano Mai-chan

Software

Voice recording Garageband

Video editor Screenflow

Text LiveType

Pictures Graphic Converter

Pages

Hardware

MSL USB Condenser Mic

iMac

Resources

Dictionary jisho.org

Thank you! -ShiroiHyou

p.s.

Learn more about jankenpon via Rock-paper-scissors on Wikipedia.

RSS Feeds

It's been so long! There IS a lesson coming SOON I promise! I just have to put all the audio files together so it should be within the next week.
In the meantime, here are some RSS feeds you may find useful to subscribe to. I like the Maggie Sensei one, the other ones I haven't tried for very long. The Word of the Day looks like a nice one -- I've put the widget on this blog too because I like it.
Some of them only offer a few on the feed, for those just read through what it gives you then delete it. The Survival Phrases one is related to the JapanesePod101 site, which has some awesome resources -- not all available for free. 

 feed://www.maggiesensei.com/feed/
http://feeds.feedburner.com/JapaneseWordOfTheDay

 http://survivalphrases.com/japanese/feed/

http://learn-japanese.podomatic.com/rss2.xml

http://www.japancast.net/feed/rss/

You may also like this e-mail newsletter for the Word of the Day and Phrase of the Day:
http://japanese.about.com/od/japaneselessons/u/StartLearning.htm

Subscribe to the RSS feeds and get some Japanese every day!

Nihonashi #6 - Hikkoshi no Sukitto

Click on the title for part 1
Click here for part 2

Nihonashi #6 - Hikkoshi no Sukitto

Intro:

Totemo ureshikatta yo / kimi ga warai kaketeta

Subete o tokasu hohoemi de

Haru wa mada tookute / tsumetai tsuchi no naka de

Mebuku toki o matte ita 'n da

Tatoeba kurushii kyou da to shite mo

Kinou no kizu o nokoshite ite mo

Shinjitai / kokoro hodo ite yukeru to

Umare kawaru koto wa dekinai yo

Dakedo kawatte wa ikeru kara

LET'S STAY TOGETHER / itsu mo

Watashi: Konnichiwa! Sono uta wa ‘furutsu basuketto’ to iu anime no teema songu desu. Furuba no uta ga suki desu ka? Watashi ga Furuba to Furuba no uta to kono uta no kashuu no Okazaki Ritsuko no uta ga suki desu. :: Kyou, sukitto wo happyou shimashou. Kono sukitto wa shukudai de, sensei wa watashi ni naoshitekuremashita. 

Hokano koe: Hajimemashou!

B: A-chan, kinou wa oneesan no hikkoshi wo tetsudatte agetan deshou? Dou datta?

A: Un, taihen datta. Tsukuba e itta no. Turakku ga osokatta kara, kuu-ji made nakami wo dashita no. 

B: Hontou? Sore wa tsukareta ne. Oneesan wa kagu o takusan mottekita no?

A: Mochiron hitsuyou dakedo, piano ya beddo ga chotto mendoukusakatta wa. Kinniku ga itai.

B: Kawai sou. Demo beddo? Futon jaa nai no? 

A: Ee, futon no hou ga karui kedo, ane wa futon yori beddo ga suki.

B: Sou nan desu ka. Ayame-chan wa atarashii ie ga suki?

A: Ee, Ayame-chan wa totemo ureshikatta. Ayame no shinshitsu wa hirokute, kirei de, mado mo arunda.

B: Urayamashii ne!

A: Soshite, ima ni piano wa atte, daidokoro ni teeburu wa atte, totemo hiroi uchi da yo.

B: Honto? Ii wa ne. Oneesan wa shiawase deshou. Tsukuba wa ii machi?

A: Maamaa ne. Atashi wa amari suki jaa nakedo, kirei de, ane wa ‘choudo ii wa, daisuki!’ tte. Kinjo wa shizuka da. Eki mo chikai aru wa.

B: Benri sou. Jaa, hikkoshi ga mou owatta kara, hikkoshiwai o suru?

A: Suru to omou. Issho ni ikou!

B: Zehi!

Watashi: Owari desu. Dou deshita ka?

Hokano koe: Ii da to omoimasu. Kajuaru desu ne.

Watashi: Hai, tomodachi no naka dakara, kajuaru desu. Futsuu ni, atashi-tachi mo kajuaru no kaiwa wo shimasu ne.

Hokano koe: Hai. Dewa, minna, odaiji ni!

Outro:

Boku dake ni waratte / sono yubi de / nee sawatte

Nozomi bakari ga hateshinaku

Yasashiku shitai yo / mou kuyamanu you ni

Nageki no umi mo koete ikou

Tatoeba kurushii kyou da to shite mo

Itsu ka atatakana omoide ni naru

Kokoro goto subete nage daseta nara

Koko ni ikiteru imi ga wakaru yo

Umare ochita yorokobi o shiru

LET'S STAY TOGETHER / itsu mo

Tatoeba kurushii kyou da to shite mo

Itsu ka atatakana omoide ni naru

Kokoro goto subete nage daseta nara

Koko ni ikiteru imi ga wakaru yo

Umare ochita yorokobi o shiru

LET'S STAY TOGETHER / itsu mo

Nihonashi #6 - ‘Moving’ Skit

Intro:

I was so happy, you were laughing

With a smile that melts everything away

Spring is still far away, inside the cold earth,

Waiting for the time to sprout

For instance, even if today is painful

And yesterday's wounds remain

I want to believe that I can free my heart and go on

I cannot be reborn 

But I can change as I go on, so

Let's stay together always

Me: Hello! That song is the theme song to an anime called ‘Fruits Basket’. Do you like the Furuba songs? I like Furuba and the Furuba songs and the songs of the singer who sings the song, Okazuki Ritsuko. :: Today, let’s perform a skit. This skit was homework, and was corrected by a teacher. 

The other voice: Let’s begin!

B: Hey A, yesterday you helped your sister move right? How’d it go?

A: Yeah, it was a pain. She went to Tsukuba. The truck was late, so we were unpacking until 9 o’clock.

B: Really? That’s tough. Did your sister take a lot of furniture?

A: Of course it was needed, but the piano and bed and stuff were kind of a pain. My muscles hurt.

B: Awww. But a bed? No futons?

A: Yeah, futons are lighter, but my sister likes beds better.

B: I see. Does Ayame like the new house?

A: Yup, Ayame was really happy. Her room is spacious, pretty, and there’s a window.

B: I’m jealous!

A: Also, there’s a piano in the living room, a table in the kitchen — it’s a really spacious house. 

B: Really? That’s nice. Your sister must be happy. Is Tsukuba a good town?

A: It’s ok. I don’t like it much, but it’s pretty, and my sister said ‘it’s perfect, I love it!’. It’s a quiet neighborhood, and they are near the station.

B: Sounds convenient. So, since the moving is over, is there going to be a house-warming party?

A: I think so. Let’s go together!

B: Sure!

Me: The end. How was that?

The other voice: I thought it went well. It was casual wasn’t it.

Me: Yes, because it was between friends, it was casual. Normally we do casual conversations too.

The other voice: Yes. Well then, everyone, take care!

Outro:

Smile only at me and touch me with those fingers

This simple desire is everlasting

I want things to be simple

Let's finally get across this sea of mournful sorrow

For instance, even if today is painful

Someday it will become a warm memory

If you leave everything up to your heart

I understand the meaning our living here

It is to know the joy of having been born

Let's stay together always

For instance, even if today is painful

Someday it will become a warm memory

If you leave everything up to your heart

I understand the meaning our living here

It is to know the joy of having been born

Let's stay together always

Vocab

happyou suru = to perform

shukudai = homework

naosu = to correct

hajimeru = to begin

oneesan = older sister

hikkoshi = moving

tetsudau = to help

taihen = a big pain, tough, hard

osoi = to be late, or slow

nakami = conents, interior

tsukareru = to be tired

kagu = furniture

takusan = lots

mottekuru = to take

mochiron = of course

hitsuyou = needed, necessary

~ya~ya = and, things like these

mendoukusai = a pain, annoying

kinniku = muscles

itai = to hurt

kawai sou = basically, ‘you poor thing’. 

demo = but

~no hou ga~ = more than, in this case ‘futon no hou ga karui’, the futon is lighter

karui = light (weight)

A yori B~ = B more than A; so ‘futon yori beddo ga suki’ she likes beds more than futon. Idiom, ‘hana yori dango’, sweets over flowers.

atarashii = new

ie = house

ureshii = happy

shinshitsu = bedroom

hiroi = wide, spacious

kirei = clean or pretty

mado = window

urayamashii = jealous, enviable

ima = living room

daidokoro = kitchen

uchi = house, home

shiawase = happy

machi = town

maamaa = it’s ok, kind of, so-so

amari = not really, used with a negative

choudo = just right, exactly

kinjo = neighborhood

shizuka = quiet

eki = station

chikai = close (proximity)

benri = convenient

~sou = sounds like, seems like

hikkoshiiwai = house-warming party equivalent (iwai is congratulations or celebration as well as congratulatory gift)

zehi = certainly, sure thing

kajuaru = casual

tomodachi = friends

futsuu = normal

kaiwa = conversation

odaiji ni = common farewell, meaning ‘take care’

Credits:

Producer ShiroiHyou

Director ShiroiHyou

Editor ShiroiHyou

Script Mai-chan

Voice talent Mai-chan

Piano  Mai-chan

Music by Okazaki Ritsuko

Software

Voice recording Garageband

Video editor Screenflow

Text LiveType

Pictures Graphic Converter

Pages

Hardware

MSL USB Condenser Mic

iMac

Resources

Dictionary jisho.org

Lyrics (& trans.) animelyrics.com

Thank you! -ShiroiHyou

p.s.

Find Fruits Basket sheet music (/links) here: 

http://josh.agarrado.net/music/anime/index.php?startswith=F
The Fruits Basket pictures are from all over the place! And of course the FB pictures and music don't belong to me but are in use thanks to the Fair Use policy. See this video.



Also, check out my YouTube AMVs for Fruits Basket:
Still Rock and Roll
Heroine
Oh that I had but a fine man

Nihonashi #5 - Nihon e itta

(Click on the title for the link to the video)

So finally the long-awaited #5!!!
It takes so much longer than I expect, every time. If it doesn't, I go and do something silly like adding subtitles to the Japanese part. (...Do you like the subtitles? Do they help? Or should I not bother?)

Nihonashi #5 - Nihon e itta

Watashi: Nihon e ikimashita! Nihon ni iku mae ni, Shogun to iu hon o yondeokimashita.

Hokano koe: Sou desu ka? Donna hon desu ka?

Watashi: Ieyasu Tokugawa no toki no hon desu. Igirisu jin ga nihon ni kyuu ni imashita. Nihon no koto wo hayaku narawanakute wa ikenakattan desu! Ano hon kara ‘kinjiru’ wo naraimashita.

Hokano koe: Jaa, Mai no tabi wa, kono hito no tabi to onaji deshita ka?

Watashi: Iieiie, sore to dai chigain desu. Watashi wa nihongo wo benkyou suru tame ni, nihon ni ikimashita. Roku shuu kan ni apaato ni sunde itte, Shitennouji Daigaku de nihon no sensei-tachi ni nihongo wo oshieraremashita.

Hokano koe: Muzukashikatta desu ka?

Watashi: Hai, muzukashitakkatta kedo, totemo tanoshikute, honto ni ii keiken deshita. Nihon no keiken no speech wo happyou sasemashita.

Hokano koe: Ima mou ichido happyou shimasu ka?

Watashi: Iie. Ima shimasen ga, ato de Nihonashi no lesson wo tsukurimasu.

Hokano koe: Nihon ni iku koto wo zenbu oshiete ne.

Watashi: Hai, sou shimasu. 

Hokano koe: Jaa, kono lesson wa mijikakute owarimashou. Sumimasen, tsugi no lesson wa motto nagakunarimasu yo.

Watashi: Mata ne!

(Aa, sore to, shogun to iu hon wo susumemasu.)

Nihonashi #5 - I Went to Japan

Me: I went to Japan. Before I went to Japan, I read a book called Shogun.

The other voice: Really? What kind of book is that?

Me: It’s a book in the time of Ieyasu Tokugawa. An Englishman is suddenly in Japan, and he has to quickly learn about the Japanese ways. I learned ‘kinjiru’ (forbidden) from that book.

The other voice: So, was Mai’s journey the same as that person’s?

Me: No no, very different. I went to Japan to study Japanese. For six weeks, I lived in an apartment, and was taught Japanese by Japanese teachers at Shitennouji University.

The other voice: Was it difficult?

Me: Yes, it was difficult, but it was fun, and a really good experience. I had to perform a speech on my Japanese experiences. 

The other voice: Are you going to perform it once more now?

Me: No, I won’t do it now, but later I’ll make a Nihonashi lesson.

The other voice: Tell us all about your trip to Japan, ok?

Me: Yes, I’ll do that.

The other voice: Well, we’ll end this lesson short. Sorry, we’ll make the next lesson longre.

Me: Later!

(Ah, also, I recommend the book Shogun.)

Vocab:

mae ni = before

-te oku = do something in preparation for

kyuu ni = suddenly

hayaku = quickly

narawanai = negative form of narau, to learn

kinjiru = forbidden

tabi = journey

onaji = the same

dai chigai = big difference

benkyou suru = to study

tame ni = for the sake of

-shuu kan = -weeks

sunde iru = the doing form of sumu, to live

shitennouji = temple of the Four Heavenly Kings

daigaku = university

-tachi = plural

oshieru = to teach

-rareru = passive, so ^ to be taught (I think)

muzukashii = difficult

keiken = experience

happyou suru = to perform

saseru = to be made to or let to

ima = now

ato de = later

tsukuru = to make

zenbu = all

mijikai = short

owaru = to end

tsugi = next

motto = more

nagai = long

-kunaru = to make/become (samukunaru = become cold)

susumu = to recommend

Credits: 

Producer ShiroiHyou

Director ShiroiHyou

Editor ShiroiHyou

Script Mai-chan

Voice talent Mai-chan

Software

Voice recording Garageband

Video editor Screenflow

Text LiveType

Pictures Graphic Converter

Pages

Hardware

MSL USB Condenser Mic

iMac

Resources

Dictionary jisho.org

Thank you! -ShiroiHyou


p.s. The book is Shogun, by James Clavell. It is a good book, but very long, and not for younger audiences. The TV mini-series based on the book is highly recommended whether you are learning Japanese or not -- it's a great show (and ok for younger audiences). 

I'M BACK!

I got back on Sunday. The 11th.
Sorry.

Will be creating another Nihonashi soon based on some of my homework -- homework checked over and graded by an actual Japanese person!

I'm so happy that I know I won't be wrong :p

#4 End Note

Hajimeru = to begin/start, transitive
Hajimaru = to begin, intransitive

Transitive and Intransitive verbs are my huge weak points when it comes to Japanese (I keep forgetting which is which). I'm starting to grasp it... let me try to explain.

Transitive verbs are when something is happening to something, i.e. I started the dryer.

Intransitive verbs are without an object of attention, i.e. The race started. (I think.)

Some verbs can have entirely different words, like 'fell' and 'dropped'. I fell = intransitive, She dropped me = transitive.

Try out this English quiz for trans. and int. verbs: quia.com
In Japanese, there is no clear rule for changing a verb one way or the other, you simply have to know all the words through experience. Here's a little explanation: guidetojapanese.org
A few examples:
akeru = to open (trans), aku = to open (int.)
shimeru = to close (trans), shimaru = to be closed (int.)

Another thing the above webpage points out is that sometimes you can tell which verb it is by the particle used. I.e. 'o' is used when something is being done to something, in a transitive way, vs. wa/ga is used like 'is', more intransitively.

You still have to learn the two version of all the verbs, but at least it's a start.

Time for some intensive language study -- I'll be in Japan for 6 weeks for a language course, so likely I won't be posting Nihonashi #5 (I might write a few...), but I might link to some other Japan-related videos created by yours truly, and as I learn I might post some written explanations.

Ciao,
~Mai

Nihonashi #4 - Matsuri (Festival)

Click on the title to go to Part 1. The whole thing is 17 min long (WOW). 
Here are the links:
Part 1
Part 2

Nihonashi #4 - Matsuri

Mai: Konnichiwa! Hisashiburi desu ne?
Hokano koe: Honto ni. Mai ga namakemono dakara. Demo shigata ga nai.
Mai: Kamo ne. Mazu, mina-san, koneko ga katteimasu! Shashin o misemasu. Kawaii deshou? Yasashikute, yawarakai koneko desu. ‘Yuforia’, ka ‘yuuhi’ to imasu. ‘Yuforia’ wa shiawase no imi chikai desu. Jaa, kyou no hanashi wa matsuri desu.
Hokano koe: Nihon matsuri. Doko datta ka?
Mai: Salt Lake City deshita.
Hokano koe: Itsu?
Mai: Shigatsu no nijuuyokka ichinichijuu deshita.
Hokano koe: Jaa, Mai wa douyobi ni soko de itta ka?
Mai: Maa na. Asa wa tesuto ga attakara, gogo niji-han goro ni matsuri ni ikimashita.
Hokano koe: Ah, zannen da ne.
Mai: Desu ne.
Hokano koe: Hitori de itta ka?
Mai: Iie. Tomodachi to onee-san to imouto to issho ni ikimashita.
Hokano koe: Kondeita ka?
Mai: Hai, totemo kondeimashita. Ototoshi yori kondeita to omoimasu.
Hokano koe: Kyonen ikanakatta?
Mai: Ee. Matsuri wa nakatta to omoimasu.
Hokano koe: Soka. Jaa, matsuri wa dou datta ka?
Mai: Tanoshikatta! Totemo omoshirokatta desu.
Hokano koe: Hai hai, jaa, mou setsumei shite!
Mai: Hai. Mazu, taiko o kikimashita.
Hokano koe: Kiita dake?
Mai: Eh, arukinagara kikimashita. Ookii na oto deshita kara.
Hokano koe: Sore de?
Mai: Michi de arukimashita. Matsuri wa sono michi dake de arimasu. Sore de, iroiro na karate haki o mimashita.
Hokano koe: Dou datta?
Mai: Ikuraka omoshiroikatta desu. Tatoeba, otoko-no-hito ga yon-mei to onna-no-ko ga hitori no kumi wa kakkoyokatta desu. Totemo kirei na haki shita shi, onna-no-ko wa kawaii shi, tanoshikatta desu.
Hokano koe: Soshite? Hitori de ieru yo!
Mai: Hai! Okinawa Kenjinkai no odori o mimashita. Uchiwa o tsukau odori deshita.
Hokano koe: Dou?
Mai: Eh, amari omoshirokunakutemo, watashi ga mimashita. Kakkoii sou na karate haki o kakashite, kanashii desu. Tomodachi ga sore o mimashita. Sono ato de, ichi no suteegi o modotte, watashi-tachi ga odorimashita! Suteegi de odorimashita!
Hokano koe: Honto? Doushite?
Mai: Odoru hito wa odori o oshieteitadakimashita kara. Tanoshikatta desu!
Hokano koe: Hai.
Mai: Uchiwa o tsukawanakatta kedo. Tokorode, nihon ni wa, uchiwa o tsukau chishi no taijutsu ga aru no wa shitteimasu ka? Tessenjutsu to imasu.
Hokano koe: Omoshirosou desu. Demo, matsuri, matsuri!
Mai: Ch. Sore de, taiko o mimashita. Saisho no taiko o mimasen datte, saigo no taiko wa tanoshikatta desu. Umakatta desu. Shashin o torimashita, hai.
Konano koe: Mai rashii, shashin o kannari totta deshou.
Mai: Iie, kamera o wasureteshimaimashita. Keitai dake arimashita.
Hokano koe: Ah. Ii desu.
Mai: Motto shashin ga arimasu. Kore, gorankudasai.
Hokano koe: Kore, ikebana, kirei. Kimono, kirei. Ningyou mo kirei. Ah, kore wa temari da.
Mai: Atari! Te no marumaru deshou?
Hokano koe: Kimono no kire de tsukurunda.
Mai: Hai. Kirei desu ne?
Hokano koe: Eh. Jaa, tsuzuke.
Mai: Saigo no wa anime odori deshita.
Hokano koe: Ee? Bakana koto darou?
Mai: Iie, totemo kawakatta desu! Hai, bideo o miseteagemasu. Watashi no video dewa nakute, mitsuketa dake desu.
Hokano koe: Hajime!
[video]
Mai: Kawakatta dewa nai ka?
Hokano koe: Ee, chotto.
Mai: Mae no onna-no-ko wa ichiban deshita.
Hokano koe: Eh, sou to omou. Hen dakedo. Kosupure wa hen da.
Mai: Chotto dake. Demo, kosupure no hito wa itsumo akarui deshou?
Hokano koe: Sou kamo ne....
Mai: Itsumo wakuwaku deshou?
Hokano koe: Sou kamo ne....
Mai: Tokidoki kosupure wa sugoi deshou?
Hokano koe: Sou kamo ne....
Mai: Dakara, suki desu.
Hokano koe: Maa na. Dou demo ii. Nanika kaimashita ka?
Mai: Iie. Bukka takakatta desu kara.
Hokano koe: Soka.
Mai: Jaa, mou nagai hanashi ga atta, kore wa owari desu ne.
Hokano koe: Maji? Mai wa ‘owari da’ to iu no wa honto da?
Mai: Honto yo. Shigoto ga shinakereba naranaindesu yo.
Hokano koe: Eh? Shigoto?
Mai: Shh!
Hokano koe: Baaakaaa....
Mai: Jaa ne, minna-san!
Hokano koe: Mata ne.
Mai: Aa, matte, matte!
Hokano koe: Nanja?
Mai: Ano sa, nihon e ikimasu yo!
Hokano koe: Eh?
Mai: Rokugatsu ni!
Hokano koe: Eeeeh?!!


Nihonashi #4 - Festival

Me: Hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
The other voice: Really. It’s because you’re lazy, Mai, but it can’t be helped.
Me: Maybe. First of all, everyone, I have a kitten! I’ll show you a picture. Isn’t she cute? She’s a sweet and soft kitten. Her name is Euphoria, or ‘Euphi’. Euphoria means something close to ‘happiness’. Well, today’s talk is about a festival.
The other voice: A Japanese festival. Where was it?
Me: In Salt Lake City.
The other voice: When?
Me: It was April 24th, all day.
The other voice: Then, were you there on Saturday, Mai?
Me: Kind of. I had a test in the morning, so I went to the festival around 2:30 pm.
The other voice: Oh, that’s too bad.
Me: Really.
The other voice: Did you go alone?
Me: No. I went with my friend and my older sister and my little sisters.
The other voice: Was it crowded?
Me: Yes, it was very crowded. I think it was more crowded than the year before last.
The other voice: You didn’t go last year?
Me: Yeah. I don’t think there was a festival.
The other voice: I see. So, how was the festival?
Me: It was fun! And very interesting.
The other voice: Yeah yeah, so, explain more!
Me: Right. First, we heard drums.
The other voice: Just heard?
Me: Yeah, while we walked, because it was loud.
The other voice: And then?
Me: We walked down the street. The festival is only on that street. Then we saw various karate demonstrations.
The other voice: How was that?
Me: Some were interesting. For example, the group that had four men and one little girl was cool. It was fun because their demonstration was really pretty and the little girl was cute.
The other voice: And? You can talk by yourself!
Me: Yes ma’am! We saw an Okinawa Kenjinki dance. It was a dance that used fans.
The other voice: How was it?
Me: Eh, it wasn’t very interesting, but even so I watched it. I missed a karate demonstration that sounded cool, which is sad. My friends saw that. Afterwards, we returned to Stage 1, and we danced! We danced on the stage!
The other voice: Really? Why?
Me: Because the people who were dancing were kind enough to teach us a dance. It was fun!
The other voice: Yeah.
Me: But we didn’t use fans. By the way, did you know that in Japan, there is a lethal martial art that uses fans? It’s called ‘tessenjutsu’.
The other voice: It sounds interesting. But the festival, the festival!
Me: Ch. After that, we saw drums. We didn’t see the first drums, but the last drums were fun. They were good. I took pictures, here.
The other voice: Just like Mai, you took a considerable amount of pictures, didn’t you.
Me: No, I forgot my camera. I only had my cell phone.
The other voice: Oh. It’s good.
Me: I have more pictures. Here, look!
The other voice: This is ikebana, pretty. Kimono, pretty. The dolls are also pretty. Oh, there are temari.
Me: That’s right. Te as in hand, maru as in circle.
The other voice: They are made of pieces of kimono.
Me: Yes. Aren’t they pretty?
The other voice: Yes. Ok, continue.
Me: The last thing was an anime dance.
The other voice: Huh? Isn’t that stupid?
Me: No, it was really cute! Here, I’ll show you a video. It’s not my video, I just found it.
The other voice: Begin!
[video]
Me: Wasn’t it cute?
The other voice: Yeah, a little.
Me: The girl in the front was the best.
The other voice: Yeah, I thought so too. But it’s weird. Cosplay is weird.
Me: A little. But the people who cosplay are always cheerful, yeah?
The other voice: Maybe yeah...
Me: And they’re always excited?
The other voice: Maybe yeah...
Me: And sometimes the cosplay is cool?
The other voice: Maybe yeah...
Me: So I like it.
The other voice: I guess. Whatever. Did you buy anything?
Me: No. It was all expensive.
The other voice: I see.
Me: Well, we have a long talk already, this is the end right?
The other voice: Is this for real? Is Mai saying ‘it’s over’ for real?
Me: It’s real. I have to do my job.
The other voice: Huh? Job?
Me: Shh!
The other voice: Moron....
Me: See you later, everyone!
The other voice: Later.
Me: Ah, wait, wait.
The other voice: What?
Me: Well, I’m going to Japan!
The other voice: Huh?
Me: In June.
The other voice: Huuuuhhhh???

Vocabulary:

hisashiburi = it’s been a while
honto = real, honto ni = really
namakemono (怠け者) = lazy person
shigata ga nai = it can’t be helped
kamo shiranai = maybe, shortened to ‘kamo’
mazu = first of all
kokeno = kitten
katteimasu is the continuing present form or whatever of ‘kau’, which in this case means to keep or raise an animal.
shashin = photo, picture
miseru = to show
kawaii = cute
yasashii = sweet, kind
yawarakai = soft
-to imasu = to be called, or to say
shiawase = happiness, a little different than ureshii, shiawase implies a more lasting happiness.
imi = meaning
chikai = close - this might only be for physical proximity, I don’t know.
matsuri = festival
itsu = when
shigatsu = April; the months are really easy, just the numbers 1 through 12 followed by ‘gatsu’, so July is shichigatsu and December is juu-ni gatsu
-ka = day of the month. Kind of.
ichinichijuu = all day long
douyobi = Saturday
asa = morning
gogo = afternoon, pm ; gozen = am.
goro = around
zannen = too bad
hitori = one person, by yourself
tomodachi = friend
onee-san = older sister
imouto = little sister
issho ni = with, together with
kondeiru = to be crowded
ototoshi = the year before last
-yori = more than...
kyonen = last year
setsumei = explanation, setsumei suru = to explain
taiko = big drums
kiku = to hear
aruku = to walk
-nagara = while doing something
oto = sound
michi = road, street
dake = only
iroiro = various
karate = literally means ‘empty hand’ or whatnot
haki (発揮) = demonstration, show
ikuraka = some
tatoeba = for example
-mei = the more polite way to count people, rather than -nin.
kumi (組) = group (of people)
kakkoii = cool
lala -shi, lala-shi = because of these things
iu = plain form of imasu; ieru means ‘can speak’.
odoru = to dance, odori = a dance
uchiwa = fan
amari = not really - used with a negative verb.
-sou = when you have plain form followed by -sou, it indicates hearsay
kakasu = to miss something - a new word
modoru = to return
-teitadakimashita = the humble form of ‘-temoraimashita’, when someone does something for you
tsukau = to use
tokorode = by the way
chishi (致死) = lethal, fata
taijutsu (体術) = classic form of martial art
tessenjutsu (鉄扇術) = the martial art of the war fan
saisho = first
saigo = last
umai = good, skilled
toru = to take, like a picture
-rashii = like something, otoko-rashii would be ‘like a guy’... I think.
kannari = considerably
-teshimau = to do something completely, like to read a book through, or, in this case, regret doing something.
keitai = cell phone, shortened from keitai denwa
goran kudasai = please look, it’s a polite way of saying it, and indicates that it’s for the other person’s own good.
ikebana = flower arranging
ningyou = dolls
temari = a special type of traditional ball made from scraps of cloth
atari = on the mark, that’s right
te = hand
maru = circle, marumaru means to become a circle or to roll into a ball
kire (切れ) = piece, strip, scrap
tsukuru = to make
tsuzuku = to continue; the -ke at the end changes it to a command
bakana = stupid, silly
-teageru = when you are doing something for someone else
mitsukeru = to find
hajime = the beginning, also used as a command to start, I guess shortened from ‘hajimete’
mae = front
ichiban = number one, best
hen = weird
kosupure = cosplay, costume play
itsumo = always
akarui = bright, cheerful
wakuwaku = onomatopoeia, excited, thrilled, or nervous or trembling
tokidoki = sometimes
sugoi = amazing, cool
nanika = anything
kau = to buy
bukka = price of commodities or prices in general, so bukka takai means everything was expensive. Or so I heard somewhere.
nagai = long
owari = end
maji, or maji de = really, seriously
shigoto = job
-nakereba naranai = must do something
matte is from matsu = to wait

Lyrics:
LOVE & JOY kaete yuku
ashita wo kaeteku
kokoro ni niji wo tsukuru kisetsu ni
LOVE & JOY mayowazu ni
oikaketai no wa
dareka ga tsukuru "ima" ja nai kara

Credits:
Producer/Director/Editor    ShiroiHyou
Script/Music/Voice        Mai-chan
Intro Drums            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8i_wMfSvmo
Outro  Music            by Yuki Kimura, performed by Mai

Software
Voice recording :   Garageband
Video editor :       Screenflow
Text     :       LiveType
Pictures  : Graphic Converter
                Pages
Outro  :     Garageband

Hardware
            MXL USB Condenser Mic
            MacBook Pro

Resources
Dictionary   :     jisho.org
Video      :      youtube.com
Lyrics      :      animelyrics.com

Thank you!
-ShiroiHyou

p.s.
I'm so glad to get another episode out. It took me a while, and there are plenty of excuses for that, but I won't bore you. It's finished, that's what's shiny :)