Homeworks 1, 2, & 3

Hello everybody! :) Hope everyone is doing great~

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

Well, my life really isn't affected by Buddhism because I'm not Buddhist, I'm Christian. One thing that I do that confuses my friends is when an ambulance drives by, I always do the sign of the cross for the person in the ambulance (like a little prayer).

Homework #2
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 greet people depending on how much I know them or how close I am to them. I don't really hug very much, but I always hug my family when I see them. When I meet a guy for the first time I usually shake his hand, but don't usually shake women's hands.. I'm not really a touchy kind of person, so I don't like touching or vise versa when talking to people (unless i'm good friends with them). If I hug you, its rare and means you're a good friend haha

Homework #3
From Text:
a) How do you greet members of your family?
Hug them or kiss them on the cheek. Or both.
b) Are the customs the same all over your country?
I think so... people often hug their family members
c) How do you greet people who are important in society?
A firm handshake while looking them in the eye and smiling
d) Do you greet people of the opposite sex in a different way?
No, not really.
e) How do people greet someone they've just met?
Usually with a handshake and saying 'nice/please to meet you"
f) Do you hug members of your family?
Yes

Homework #11- Men and Women

明けましておめでとう～！:)

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

I'm not really sure if I'm in a position where I can agree or disagree with the author. I really have no idea how Japanese men's minds work, and I haven't really spent any time with Japanese guys here, so I don't know much about them. So I honestly can't say that I agree or disagree... considering that the author is a Japanese woman and has more experience dealing with Japanese men than I do, I guess I would have to agree because she would naturally know better than me! haha, this is a difficult post...

But in my opinion, I think the guys are being a little selfish and childish. If they are worried about spending too much money on their girlfriends, maybe the girls they are dating (who may be demanding gifts), aren't right for them and they should find someone else who isn't so greedy. And as for the men saying they are annoyed because their girlfriends 'expect them to call', that is just plain laziness...

Homework #10- Table Manners

Have you ever eaten in a foreign restaurant? Where? What did you eat? Did you make any mistakes? Please explain your experience. Did you learn anything?

When I was in high school, I went to a local Japanese restaraunt with a few of my friends (this was long before I studied any Japanese language or culture). So I ordered some food, I forget what, but rice came with my meal. When I was eating, I took a break from eating my rice to get a drink, but left my hashi in the rice... well, at that point, I didn't know yet that this is a really bad thing to do. So when I realized the restaraunt owner giving me strange looks, I was sort of confused. It wasn't until later that I realized what I did, and I was so embarrased and felt really stupid...

Homework #6- Weddings

Since Japanese weddings are expensive, do you think having a massive wedding like Korea or UAE is a good idea? Eloping? Having it in a foreign location like Hawaii?What is your ideal wedding? What would you definitely do or wear or go to on that big day? Why is that important?

I don't really like the idea of a massive wedding.. I can understand why people do them, but for me, weddings are something really personal. A massive wedding sort of takes the magic outta it..

I have no problems with couples who decide to elope; I actually think it is sort of romantic! But however romantic I think eloping may be, if I were to ever do it my mother would kill me. So eloping isn't an option for me. Foreign locations for weddings are a good idea too. :)

As for my own wedding, because I am already engaged I have already started planning it.. it won't be for around two years, but my whole family will be there, I'll have my own white dress (because my mother's is too small for me to wear), and the color theme is dark blue, light blue, and white. :) ... I think its going to be a little expensive...

Homework #5- Superstitions

We talked about many superstitions in many countries, but do you think it is important to talk about them? Why?Is communication affected by superstitions?Do you believe in Japanese superstitions? If so, what superstitions, what do they mean and why do you do,use, or believe in them?

I think it's important to study other countries' superstitions because if we were to ever travel to another country, we wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable or cause any awkward situations by accidently doing something they considered superstitious. Also, it's really interesting to study. :)

I don't really believe in (American) superstitions, but I still sometimes react to them. Like if I see someone open an umbrella indoors or walk under a ladder, I'd be sort of shocked and think 'uh-oh.. thats not good..'. But sometimes superstitions are just fun because they can make life a little more interesting. Like if Im with my friends in a restaraunt and someone knocked over the salt shaker, we could tease them a little and say they have bad luck. We don't really believe it, but its just fun to tease eachother.

Homework #4- Time

The English language has many proverbs and sayings about time.

1. Time is money.

Heres an example: If I don't spend my time wisely now and study, I won't get a good job, and won't have money. So.. spending my time wisely now means I may have more money in the future.

2.A stitch in time saves nine.

If you solve a problem now and get it out of the way, it'll save you from a lot MORE trouble in the future. One problem can turn into many, so you　should just take care of things as they happen.

3.There's no time like the present.

I like to think of this phrase as saying 'stop worrying about the future, don't let the past bother you, and just focus on the here and now'. If you spend your time not paying to the present, you'll miss a lot of whats going on around you.

4. Fashionable late.

Fashionably late means arriving at a party just before its considered rude to arrive late.. like, 10 or 15 minutes. Everyone in my family tends to do this...

Homework #3

1. Do you judge people according to what they wear? Why?

I think everyone to a certain extent judges people by their outward appearance. But I don't think it's imporant. They're just clothes...

2 Do you think Japanese society puts an importance on clothing when judging other people from another country?

This may give away who I am, but... I remember being so afraid of what people would think of me based on how I dressed before coming here. I've had to change the way I dress to try and fit in the best I could. I bought all new clothes before arriving.

3. What colors are you wearing now? Do they reflect your mood?

I'm wearing black and white now. I'm not sure if they reflect my mood or not. If black is sad, and white is happy, does that make me bipolar?

Next week we will discuss friends, please prepare by answering the following questions:
1. What are some subjects that you will never discuss with a friend?

I would usually never discuss any politics or religion with my friends. Usually with some of my friends, we share very different options so it is better for us not to discuss them and just have fun.

2. Do you have different friends for different parts of your life? If so, how are they different to you? Do you talk about different things? Go to different places? Give me some examples.

Most of my friends now I've made in college (I've only kept 3 or so friends from high school), and we do almost everything together. There really aren't different groups amongst our friends, we all go out together and talk together. We're like a big family.