Ever since April started to learn Japanese, it was obvious that she was exposed to the culture, the customs and traditions of the Japanese (haha, funny how 'customs and traditions' are always wrapped together ever so unconsciously =^0^=) as its mandatory to fully or at least partially understand the taste and flavor of the country of origin of the language one is learning. Okay, that was too many ofs.
The Japanese in particular have almost everything 'synced' to their language--the seasons, feelings, the social strata ranking, everyday actions, and just about everything. Of course, its the same as any other language in the world, but with Japanese, its just a lot more than what meets the eye. Trust April there.
Its almost poetic, even. Okay, April is not sure but the line before this? She is very sure that she recalled that off of a novel. Mostly the Twilight series, she thinks. She's unsure, but she's sure enough that she recalled it off of a novel she has read before.
Many things that we do in everyday life might actually be frowned upon in the Japanese culture; paying someone cash/money just as it is--straight neat bills in the open air, walking with shoes on inside the house, not greeting each other at the appropriate times and places, eating styles, and even body hair. Yeah, that's right. April has heard that its eerily common for Japanese women to shave the hair on their hands. She says eerie because that's almost the exact word she had heard on a YouTube video. Okay, now April is deviating from what she wanted to say.
Anyhoo, April Twelving has gotten used to many of the things that are done the Japanese way. After having been exposed to it for quite a while now, she's always wanted to implement some, if not all, of those customs. Little did she know that her first try at one custom would actually make her feel dignified, distinguished, poised and all those 'graceful' words one would aim to hit upon a 'lady'. Right, that wasn't the intention. But what April meant to say was that it made her feel really good.
---
April has been frequenting a particular beauty salon since recently and the proprietor just happens to be her neighbor. The last week (probably, April has poor memory), April ran short of a small albeit good sum of money while paying at the salon. She'd requested the proprietor to let her pay it later, and completely forgot to pay her back as soon as she had promised.
Not that she meant to; she had told her father so many times as he gets to see and talk to that person almost every other day. But when it became clear enough that she could not rely on him anymore, given that he didn't step up to her request (not exactly one..), she decided to act.
While heading home after paying the internet bill, she bought a couple of brown normal sized (no, April doesn't exactly know what a normal sized envelope would be sized like. That was weird.) envelopes. She broke into a brisk walk to come home, got a pen the first thing while at the door, and even without shoes taken off, she ran to the nearest wall to pen the proprietor's name and hers in the front and back, added a 'Thank You,' and a 'Sorry I'm paying so late,' message in the front. Ran up, rang the doorbell, handed it to the proprietor's parents who were home after saying that she owed some money as payment.
After doing that, April marched with a proud heart, and a better, dignified sense of what is right. That honestly felt good that just handing over or shoving a bunch of crumpled bills under someone's nose.
日本のことかんぱいって感じが出ました。Yes, that had to be typed in Japanese.
---
On a side note, April just realized this evening that for the past few months, she has been the one paying the house's internet bill. She's been paying it out of her pocket, with the money earned from Listly. April feels proud of herself, and wants to accomplish more good things and viewpoints in life.
Off to studying Oracle now, for tomorrow's practical exam!
The Japanese in particular have almost everything 'synced' to their language--the seasons, feelings, the social strata ranking, everyday actions, and just about everything. Of course, its the same as any other language in the world, but with Japanese, its just a lot more than what meets the eye. Trust April there.
Its almost poetic, even. Okay, April is not sure but the line before this? She is very sure that she recalled that off of a novel. Mostly the Twilight series, she thinks. She's unsure, but she's sure enough that she recalled it off of a novel she has read before.
Many things that we do in everyday life might actually be frowned upon in the Japanese culture; paying someone cash/money just as it is--straight neat bills in the open air, walking with shoes on inside the house, not greeting each other at the appropriate times and places, eating styles, and even body hair. Yeah, that's right. April has heard that its eerily common for Japanese women to shave the hair on their hands. She says eerie because that's almost the exact word she had heard on a YouTube video. Okay, now April is deviating from what she wanted to say.
Anyhoo, April Twelving has gotten used to many of the things that are done the Japanese way. After having been exposed to it for quite a while now, she's always wanted to implement some, if not all, of those customs. Little did she know that her first try at one custom would actually make her feel dignified, distinguished, poised and all those 'graceful' words one would aim to hit upon a 'lady'. Right, that wasn't the intention. But what April meant to say was that it made her feel really good.
---
April has been frequenting a particular beauty salon since recently and the proprietor just happens to be her neighbor. The last week (probably, April has poor memory), April ran short of a small albeit good sum of money while paying at the salon. She'd requested the proprietor to let her pay it later, and completely forgot to pay her back as soon as she had promised.
Not that she meant to; she had told her father so many times as he gets to see and talk to that person almost every other day. But when it became clear enough that she could not rely on him anymore, given that he didn't step up to her request (not exactly one..), she decided to act.
While heading home after paying the internet bill, she bought a couple of brown normal sized (no, April doesn't exactly know what a normal sized envelope would be sized like. That was weird.) envelopes. She broke into a brisk walk to come home, got a pen the first thing while at the door, and even without shoes taken off, she ran to the nearest wall to pen the proprietor's name and hers in the front and back, added a 'Thank You,' and a 'Sorry I'm paying so late,' message in the front. Ran up, rang the doorbell, handed it to the proprietor's parents who were home after saying that she owed some money as payment.
After doing that, April marched with a proud heart, and a better, dignified sense of what is right. That honestly felt good that just handing over or shoving a bunch of crumpled bills under someone's nose.
日本のことかんぱいって感じが出ました。Yes, that had to be typed in Japanese.
---
On a side note, April just realized this evening that for the past few months, she has been the one paying the house's internet bill. She's been paying it out of her pocket, with the money earned from Listly. April feels proud of herself, and wants to accomplish more good things and viewpoints in life.
Off to studying Oracle now, for tomorrow's practical exam!
No comments:
Post a Comment