Operator

Hi, this is Basque-san once again...

If I've left a comment on your blog that directs you here, it's because I've been forced to use my old Blogger username because of your comment setup.

Unfortunately, this blog is no longer active. For the blog I'm using right now, follow this link:

www.honya-ch.com/frontier

Thanks!

さいごに

I feel kind of sad as I type this. I've ignored this little blog for so long now, completely unlike the way it was at the beginning of last semester, and since I've recently opened my own website under a friend's purchased domain, this is probably the last post I'll ever write here.

This coincides with my Japanese class' year-end project, in which we were assigned to compile a CD featuring audio clips, images, and movies describing a major building on the UVA campus. I had the privilege of working together with Keem-san and Carandang-san (a fine group if I do say so myself), and we chose John Paul Jones Arena as the subject of our project.

John Paul Jones Arena, or JPJ for short, is one of the more famous buildings in the UVA-Charlottesville area, despite being only about 2 years old. It's a top-scale facility for both concerts, having hosted such popular acts as Maroon Five, Justin Timberlake, The Police; and basketball games, with Sean Singletary and his teammates gathering their fair share of glory under its roof.

I feel like it should take a while to explain how we managed to complete our project, but it's actually a very short story. All three of us had been to JPJ enough to know most of its brief history, so we were able to compile a draft in no time. Keem-san and Carandang-san were especially impressive with their work in collecting photographs of the Arena, and while all three of us edited our script at some point and time, I think they took it upon themselves to make the most important corrections. Things went so quickly and so well that, at the time of this writing, we've already recorded our respective audio clips and need to meet only once more, on Sunday, to put everything together in proper fashion.

In retrospect, I feel like I was pretty lazy during this project, and probably could have done a lot more - but with the school year winding down, I'm feeling less and less motivated to do much of anything. I don't really even feel bad about our Japanese class being essentially over for the year, as I expect to see Sato-sensei and several more familiar faces next year in Japanese 202. (I'm taking the 11:00 section next year, by the way.) This is more like an intermission than an ending.

But what a year it's been. I'd try to summarize it all, but it would be too difficult - besides, this is the reason blogs have archives. Suffice it to say that, looking back, Japanese class has been one of the most positive aspects of my college experience thus far, and looking forward, it's likely to continue to hold that distinction. If that's the last important thing I ever say in this blog, then I'm satisfied.

Recording

If you press the "play" button, you'll hear a speech that I delivered in my Japanese class as a major graded assignment.

I'm afraid I'm always the sort to be harsh on myself - I can't say I really like what I hear, especially after I felt like I did so well on a similar project last semester. All I can notice are the times when I stumbled, stuttered, paused, and forgot.

I'm especially glad that I didn't ask Lam-san to record the questions that people asked about the speech later. I know for a fact that my replies were simplistic, poor, broken, and made use of far too many borrowed English words.

But as for the speech itself, I guess it wasn't ALL bad. I can't say that it was a total failure, because there are times when my Japanese sounds fast and fluent. I just really wish I could have kept that kind of proficiency throughout the speech, especially considering how much I demanded out of myself and how diligently I practiced beforehand.

スピーチ２

Here's the second draft of my speech. I've cleaned up some grammatical errors and cut out a sentence or two, but I haven't been able to figure out how to add additional information or use new materials from today's lesson without changing the structure. I'll get back to this...

中学校の時に私はもう日本の文かがおもしろいと思いましたから、アニメを見るのがはじめました。その時に私の一番すきなアニメのタイトルは「きどうせんしガンダム」でした。今もガンダム (Gundam) は私のすきなアニメです。だから私はよくガンダムのものを買います。

新しいガンダムのエピソードを見るの後で、私はよくそのエピソードに出るロボットのモデルを買って、作ります。たくさんのモデルを作るのは私のしゅみですが、ガンダムのモデルと車のとひ行きのの中で、ガンダムのが一番たのしくて、おもしろいと思います。

中学校の時に私ははじめてのガンダムを作りましたが、小学校の時からほかのモデルも作っていました。でも、中学校の時に作ったガンダムはとてもむずかしかったから、私はてちがい (mistake) をたくさんして、おわった時にそのガンダムがぜんぜんかっこよくなかったです。

でも、すぐかんたんなのを買って、作りました。おわった時にそれはかっこいいと思いました。その時から、ガンダムを十二ぐらい作りました。今、私はしゅみをするのが上手だと思います。

さっきにこのしゃしんに出るガンダムデュナメス (Gundam Dynames) のモデルを買いました。先々週のエピソードでデュナメスの人気があるパイロットがしにましたから、デュナメスのモデルは高くて、とくべつ (rare) になりました。だから、今私はお金がありませんが、大じょぶです。このごろガンダムの中で、デュナメスが一番すきですから。

スピーチ

So, here it is - the self-indulgent monologue I'm expected to turn in and perform towards the end of the semester. As mentioned, it might look a little similar to my entry of two weeks ago, but it's the sort of thing I'd love to write and talk about, no matter what the language.

中学校の時に私はもう日本の文かがおもしろいと思いましたから、アニメを見るのがはじめました。その時に私の一番すきなアニメのタイトルは「きどうせんしガンダム」でした。今もガンダムは私のすきなアニメです。それから私はよくガンダムのものを買います。

新しいガンダムのエピソードを見るの後で、私はよくそのアニメに出るロボットのモデルを買って、作ります。モデルを作るのは私のしゅみですから。それから、ガンダムのモデルと車のとひ行きのの中で、私はガンダムのが一番かっこういいと思います。たくさんのほかのガンダムがすきな人もモデルを作ります。「ガンプラ」と言います。

中学校の時に私ははじめてのガンダムを作りましたが、小学校の時からほかのモデルもつくっていました。でも、中学校の時に作ったガンダムはとてもむずかしいでしたから、私はてちがいをたくさんして、おわる時にそのガンダムがぜんぜんかっこうよくないだと思いました。

でも、すぐかんたんなの買って、作りました。おわる時にそれがかっこういいと思いました。その時まで、ガンダムを十二ぐらい作りました。今、私はガンプラをするのが上手だと思います。

さっきにこのしゃしんに出るガンダムディナメスのモデルを買いました。前のエピソードでディナメスのにんきがあるパイロットをしにましたから、そのモデルは高くて、とくべつになりました。だから、今私はお金がありませんが、大じょぶです。このごろガンダムの中で、ディナメスが一番かっこういいと思いますから。

Sound good? Tell me what you think, everyone.

Bridge

Lately, I've had a lot of work piling up, so I've unfortunately been forced to put Japanese on the backburner a little bit. I really do wish I could take the time to get a firmer grasp on the new kanji, but thanks to the effects of Unlimited Reading Works and an exhausting 3-person skit-drafting session last night (the first time I've ever been a part of a triad skit), I don't even have the will to write this post in Japanese. Actually, I'm feeling just plain worn out right now.

But I have to talk about something, right? So let's go with some lighter fare. Last night, some friends and I got together to watch some old videotape episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that my friend Julie had discovered over the spring break. It was a healthy dose of nostalgia, for sure, but EVEN BETTER was the fact that it was still genuinely fun to watch. I feel privileged to have grown up watching such an awesome show.




We even had the Green Ranger Saga episodes. Anyone who remembers the original Power Rangers knows that those were the best.

On another note, I've been making good progress on this semester's speech draft. For those of my classmates who read my blog (I'm sure there are a few), it might sound a bit familiar, because it's definitely about Gunpla, the subject of my last post. I apologize, but lately I've been successful integrating elements of anime into my class projects, and I want to keep using this method.

But first, it's time to take a nap.