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Merry... er.. Holidays!
Oh and that stinks about your flight sorry :O
How are you all?
Interesting, Actually? this article made me feel a little bit better. I have almost always been the odd one out. I've been struggling to be myself and fit in at the same time for so many years already. I am going to start to focus on being myself. And I'm going to be open and brave about sharing who I am with other people and not hide behind a wall of formal behaviers.
I fear this place a lot, where people who didn't like me before will act as though they have liked me from the beginning when they find out that I can do something that people will admire!
I have to be the best me that I can be now!
Thank you for writing and for posting this article Koichi-sensei! It's very nice, I think.
Have a very happy Christmas / holiday other then Christmas! And a wonderful newyear's Koichi-sensei and Viet-san and Erin-san! And of course Everyone!! :D
-QuinsY. (ok tomorrow I'm buying a webcam.. I want a flip cam as well but with Extrnl mic).
I got a letter from them today and i'm trying to write back something awesome and maybe send some pictures and video.
I liked this! It sucks that you're snowed in.
Texas has "lovely" 70 degree weather for Christmas.
Except, I wish it were colder.
Dang. XD
Haha, nice post. :)
Imagine it this way: you're an ace pilot and you save your own air force from annihilation by shooting down the Red Baron in a epic dog fight that will be referenced in aviation tactics for over a century. You get back to base and the squadron leader never once mention the dogfight or the result. Instead he says: Good job. I hear the ground crew and other pilots think you're a nice guy. You'll be glad to hear I've decided to let you continue to serve under me.
A japanese pilot would be thrilled, because he knows that's all he'll get from the boss. Only from his peers will he get superior praise for a superior job. He will use this kudos for political altitude via popularity. I.e at first he gets all the toasts at the bar and then later be the first in his age group to be promoted mainly because he got more face time at year-end parties.
So, do one piece of good work then a lot of social drinking. You'll pass your prime by the time you get a promotion so stick with the drunken socializing for career prospects. The new hires underneath have brilliant new skills and youth-given stamina which you couldn't hope to have yourself, you alcoholic. Best to never let skills and accomplishments come up in any conversations with them.
Afternote:
Sadly for Rudolph he is not Japanese. His team will now hate him doubly- he was an outsider and now's showed them up and that'll brings out the nastiness people have to displace what should have rightfully been shame. He's f--ked on the outside, and he's f--ked even on the inside.
That's an interesting way they have over there in Japan hehe,
Merry Christmas Koichi and New Years too if you don't make another blog post :)
Happy Holidays, Koichi!
I'm also wondering whether Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' is Japan's *official* Christmas song. Like Jesus' daddy, this song is everywhere.
and how i wish we had some of that portland snow where i live! all there is outside my front door is an ice patch that people keep slipping on.
happy christmas, everyone!
Brings new meaning to the term, 'REINDEER GAMES.'
Just sayin',
Chester
p.s. I suspect Koichi was slightly intoxicated when he wrote this article. Not that that's a bad thing.
I chose to be a little naughty, not nice, this holiday season.
You know I love you,
Chester
But I hate that song, so it's a little depressing. The cheery-ness was what made it so hate-able!
I do wonder what the world is coming to when we have to dissect Christmas songs in order to have something to write about... hmm?
I'm just saying, we're putting this into context, but exactly which context are we putting it into?
Everybody always made fun of the red-nosed reindeer.
But one Christmas day, Old Santa Claus said to him,
"your flashy nose would be helpful on streets at night.
The always-crying reindeer was delighted thinking/saying
"tonight I can finally shine!"
I think what you said about the Japanese culture is very true, but in this song, Rudolf is just being laughed at because of his "red nose" and not exactly because he's "different", if that makes sense?
Also, Santa Claus doesn't sound like he's an emperor at all there... It must be that the translator was just not very good at his job. Santa is being nice to Rudolf and telling him he shouldn't care about what others say and be proud of who he is. I don't think there's too much of a difference in the original and Japanese lyrics.
Your cultural analysis is very interesting though:D
Rudolph is different through no fault of his own and is teased unmercifully by his peers. I always hated how even though Santa says Rudolph is great because of his nose, Santa never tells the other reindeer what asses they were for teasing him in the first place. And if Santa hadn't needed Rudolph, then he couldn't have cared less that the other deer made Rudolph's life hell.
I never bought that they really changed their minds about Rudolph just cause Santa found him useful. More like they were nice to him so they don't get in trouble with the boss.
So the lesson from this when I was a kid, that it's OK to be mean to those different from you, unless you need them for something or your superiors find them useful, then suck up to them, even though you still don't like them.
I also saw this behavior on the playground everyday, so it seemed very true to me back then.
Maybe it was supposed to make kids who are different have hope, but truly I thought it was in reality an horrible lesson about how awful people can be to each other.
I did enjoy learning some of the insight to Japanese society the article talked about. Maybe western culture becomes different as adults, but on the playground, between kids, it's pretty much just like that. In my experience.
I actually worry about blending in too much.
"Am I boring? Maybe I'm just like every other person out there with nothing special to stand out about myself."
Like Kermit said, "It's not easy being green
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
Or stars in the sky"
...BUT...
"I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
And I think it's what I want to be"