日本語会話: The Japanese Conversation Thread

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Fosters is crap, and I say this as a trained bartender. Most export beer from most countries is pretty bad.

As far as immersion goes, it's less about how much you like a place than about how much you get into it. For me I fond if I go out on nights before work then I don't do so well at my job the next day, so I try to focus on work first and play/immersion second.
I've got five years here, I'll be plenty immersed and more so as my Japanese improves. Right now I'm one of those recently arrived foreigners, and one whose job is largely pandering to those English speaking Japanese.
On which topic I have to go now and see one in particular...gomen.

[GoktimusPrime]

For me I fond if I go out on nights before work then I don't do so well at my job the next day, so I try to focus on work first and play/immersion second.

Yeah, that's fair enough. I was there as a uni student and... I don't know if you're aware of this yet, but Japanese undergraduate university is a complete bludge. Nobody studies - they just party a LOT. It's like in compensation for their senior high school years where they have no social lives and study their butts off to get into university, but once they're in, they need to learn how to socially interact (i.e. get drunk ). So JP university is less about べんきょう and more about のみかい! Which was great for me, because basically partying was the main way that I learnt Japanese! It was far more efficient and fun than learning out of books.

Having said that, I've heard that post-grad study in Japan is really hard though (I did my post-grad in AU; only ever did undergrad in JP so I can't comment first hand about JP post grad study - but JP post grad students all tell me it's heaps hard).

I've got five years here, I'll be plenty immersed and more so as my Japanese improves. Right now I'm one of those recently arrived foreigners, and one whose job is largely pandering to those English speaking Japanese.

Five years! That's freakin' awesome! I'm sure you'll be more fluent than me before you can say りゅうぐうのおとひめのもとゆいのきりはずし! (that's a real word btw ;p)

[1AZRAEL1]

Fosters is crap, and I say this as a trained bartender. Most export beer from most countries is pretty bad.

I have to say that Fosters sucks as well. I love alot of the aussie beer myself, that one not lol. Tooheys Old or any other dark beers are my fav. I would say I'm a bit of a coniseur of beers. I tend to go to Dan Murphys and go in the international beer isle and buy whatever looks good, or the name appeals to me lol.

As for vegimite, yes that does rule, and does kinda suck that you can't get it cheaply over there. Why not ask some aussies over here to send you some? gotta be cheaper that way than buying it there.

[GoktimusPrime]

Do they sell Vegemite in Japan? (I've never seen it sold there)

When I was studying in Japan, there was this another Australian student whose parents sent him a jar of Vegemite. He brought it to uni one day and to let some of the other international students (and our Japanese teachers) have a taste. Most people (other than Aussies and Kiwis) thought it was either weird or just yuck... I think one Chinese or Korean guy thought it tasted okay... but this one American dude had the best reaction - he took a huge scoop and shoved in his mouth, then he wanted to spit it out but of course couldn't so he forced himself to swallow and said, "MWWOAR! I THOUGHT IT WOULD TASTE LIKE CHOCOLATE!"

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

A friend found an import place that sells the small jars at inflated cost. Think I'll just hassle my mother to send some over instead.

On a more topic-related topic, if it's not too blurry could I get a translation on this please?
I just made what may be the most crazy good value Japan acquisition yet, but it seems a little too good to be true so I'd like to know what the sticker says.

[GoktimusPrime]

Picture's rather blurry... The printed text above the hand written one says "damaged box" (lit. "hurt box"), and the large hand written text says "shaded colours," which I'm guessing might refer to discolouration. The rest is particularly blurry (that second Kanji is illegible) and kinda confusing, but I think it says that they're not sure if all the paperwork's there.

Here's a typed version if anyone else wants to have a go:
Printed sticker says:
箱イタミ（箱痛み：はこいたみ）
Large hand written text says:
色ぬり有（色塗り有：いろぬりゆう）
折本(?)有（せつほん(?)ゆう）

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Cheers Goki, and sorry for the pic quality - I did the best I could with the camera.
Shaded colours might be the fact that my 1050 Yen 'hurt box' BW Metals x-9 has a black tail...guess I'll have to open him and see.

[GoktimusPrime]

That is indeed incredibly cheap! The paper work should be the instructions which has the catalogue printed on the other side - and this sticker sheet. Oh, and the lenticular tech specs card which is evidently present, and a self-addressed survey/feedback card, although the postage-paid would be expired by now.