School's in Session!

Kids are going back to school, 

but I wanna always keep learning! 

So KK and I went textbook shopping at Kinokuniya

and got some supplies. 

Let's  study! 

"Dammar"

I had the incredible pleasure of writing/singing Japanese for this piece, 

a story of a powerful dragon fallen from the sun 

who welcomes travelers to his cave for conversation and friendship. 

Click here to listen!

"Dammar" painting © Alector, music © Fox Amoore

"春は初恋 Spring Love"

I wrote this haiku during class. Quite literally, it reads:
haru wa hatsu - A new springkoi ni ochikeri - The remnants of falling in loveaki wa aku - Tired in autumn
Here's my English version:

Aw, that's sad... o(；△；)oBut the Japanese traditionally link spring with budding love and autumn with wearied love.So, I experimented with that idea.
         

"haru wa hatsu" and "aki wa aku"

contain an alliteration in Japanese that make it pleasing to the ear.
"hatsu" is the end of the first line,"koi" is the beginning of the next line."hatsu-koi" means "first love".If read correctly, these lines can be linked with a dual meaning.

Delving into literature and the arts of the language you're studying is a beautiful way to strengthen your understanding of it.
{"春は初恋 Spring Love" © Ashley Serena}

"Japanese Slip-Up of the Day"

Professor: 

"What are you trying to say?"

Me: 

"'kokoro ga ai de mera-mera shite mo', 
'Even if she's burning with love.'"

Professor: (laughing) 

"No, that's,
'Even if she explodes with combusting fire... in love.'"

Me: 

Japanese is HARD, friends.

"mera-mera" = "exploding in flames"
"mero-mero" = "falling in love"

Burn some incense for me.

{image via WeHeartIt; gif via Hetalia}

"Let Us Not Be Autumn Fans"

The Japanese phrase, 

秋の扇 (aki no ougi)

translates directly to "Autumn Fan". 

But it translates idiomatically to 

"a woman who has lost a man's heart",

 just as the fan is forgotten 

when summer turns to autumn.

An autumn fan, of course, is purposeless. 

Though I believe we reach our greatest potentials

when our heart is bound to another's,

when one loses the affection of a lover,

a new purpose must be found.

There is always purpose for us,

always a reason to thrive.

{images via WeHeartIt}

"Healing Incantation"

Let's continue the Tangled love & culture ourselves, too.
In Japanese, Rapunzel's beautiful "Healing Incantation"
is called「魔法の花」 or "Magic Flower".
{I added some background vocals to make it magical-ler.}



花は煌めく　魔法の花
時を戻せ　過去に戻せ
傷を癒せ　運命の川
さかのぼれ　蘇らせろ
過去の夢

hana wa kirameku    mahou no hana
toki wo modose    kako ni modose
kizu wo iyase    unmei no kawa
sakanobore    yomigaerasero
kako no yume

Glowing flower    Magical flower
Turn back time    Bring back the past
Heal the wounds    River of fate
Flow upstream    Resurrect (him)
Dreams of the past

Although Tangled is dubbed into Japanese in the Japanese version,

{ 塔の上のラプンツェル or "Rapunzel Above the Tower"}

the mouths are not synced to match the Japanese dialogue.

I find this fascinating.

But I suppose they've done that with 

all the Disney movies thus far.

For a bit better quality,
you can download the mp3 here: {Healing Incantation}

魔法の花 Healing Incantation by ashleyserena

Gah, I can't get enough of these two.
Rapunzel & Flynn Eugene forever.

{"Healing Incantation" 魔法の花, Tangled 塔の上のラプンツェル © Disney}

"Rudolph the Tonakai"

Rudolph the Tonakai by ashleyserena

Recorded this for my ninth graders.

We're having a whole lesson

just singing Christmas songs.

Actually, I'm starting to turn into Rudolph myself.

Achoo!

But dancing in the rain was so worth it.

{MP3 Download Here}

{Instrumental © Joey Miskulin}
{Images via WeHeartIt & FotoSearch}

"Husbands"

We all love our husbands, right?

Just kidding. I don't have one.

forever alone

This was a

language practice

voice acting exercise

and character development activity.

Three birds with one stone.

Blazin' baby.

White Day is the day

when boys give girls Valentines.

Japan does things right.

All it took was a simple question from Cho

and a sassy response from Shampoo

to spark the fire

and begin the heated husband battle.

Atleast we know these girls love their spouses... Maybe too much.

In order of appearance:

Cho

Husband: Riku ("Ri-kun")

Aiata

Husband: Yuugi

Ukyou

Husband: Sora ("Socchan")

Kairi

Husband: Ranma

Shampoo

Husband: Ryou ("Airen")

Anzu

Husband: Katsuya ("Jounouchi-kun")

Shizuka

Husband: Hiroto ("Hi-chan")

{Cho, Aiata © Ashley S. Harmon}

{Kairi © Tetsuya Nomura}

{Shampoo, Ukyou © Rumiko Takahashi}

{Anzu, Shizuka © Kazuki Takahashi}

{Music via Britney Spears & Alex Goot}

{Image via WeHeartIt}

"Love and War: Jusenkyo Melee"

"Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting.

...But never hit soft." -Theodore Roosevelt

{This is voiced in both English AND Japanese, for no reason other than I wanted it that way. Uh huh.}

Everyone loves a little romantic drama
and a good smash n' bash, right? RIGHT?

So, Ranma loves Kairi, yeah?
But Kairi has passionate feelings for Bakura.
But Bakura is just a spirit,
inhabiting the body of a boy named Ryou.
Shampoo loves Ryou,
but can't tell when he's being possessed by Bakura.
Ukyou is an old fiancee of Ranma's.
Ryoga is an old rival of Ranma's.
Mousse loves Shampoo,
and will chuck bombs at anyone who touches her.
Ranma turns into a woman
whenever cold water splashes him.
And Riku & Cho are married.
THE END.

{Ranma, Shampoo, Ukyou, Ryoga, Mousse © Rumiko Takahashi}

{Bakura © Kazuki Takahashi}

{Riku & Kairi © Tetsuya Nomura}

{Cho © Ashley S. Harmon}

{Fight image via Under the Sun}

{Music © Brand X Music & Ranma 1/2}

{All voices by Ashley S. Harmon, except Bakura's... because Little Kuriboh just does him so well.}

"Japanese Voice Acting: Karaoke Box"

"Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning." -Maya Angelou




Karaoke boxes are hugely popular in Japan.

Especially when they have all-you-can-eat ice cream.
{...Okay, that's what draws me inside.}
If you ever find yourself in Japan,
grab some pals and pyon! over to a karaoke box.
Trust me, you'll find one easily.
They're as common as Starbucks in NYC.
Or as churches in Utah.
Or as ice cream wrappers in my garbage bin.

What's going on in this recording?
A double date, that's what.
YES.
Ranma took Kairi, Riku called Cho,
and they all went karaoke-ing together.
Daww.

Who are these characters, anyways?
Riku and Kairi hail from Kingdom Hearts,
a beautiful Square Enix video game.
We stole Ranma from Ranma 1/2,
a 1980s comic that will leave you in stitches.
And Cho comes from my brain. She's all mine, baby.


Why is Ranma singing a girly song?
A running gag in the Ranma 1/2 comic is,
despite Ranma's ability to turn into a woman
{he fell in a cursed Chinese hot spring, go figure}
he is completely heterosexual, 100% male.
And he wouldn't ever touch a Disney song. Or sing it so passionately.
But the lyrics fit him perfectly,
since he's both male and female,
constantly struggling to only be male,
and to be the manliest male in the history of manliness.
Chuck Norris, here comes Ran-chan.


Boys and girls speak differently...
...in Japanese as well. Jumping jellyfish, do they really?
To illustrate a character more fully,
you must fuse their speech style with their word choice.
And you must evaluate the scene.
Since these four are all close friends and lovers

they speak casually to one another.
The only character who retains any politeness
is Kairi
though she slips into colloquial speech near the end,
from shock and humiliation at Ranma's performance.
*hee hee*

Are you at home?
In a cafe?
On your Blackberry?
Listen to the people around you.
You can probably guess a lot about them
their mood, their relationship to the person they're speaking to, their deception/sincerity
just by listening to what they say, and how they say it.

{Image via WeHeartIt}

{"Come Back to Me" © Utada Hikaru}

{"Reflection" © Matthew Wilder & David Zippel}

{"Jajauma ni Sasenaide" © Ranma 1/2}
{Riku & Kairi © Tetsuya Nomura}
{Ranma © Rumiko Takahashi}
{Cho © Ashley S. Harmon}

"Japanese Idioms: What'd You Just Call Me?"

My father taught me

one of the fun-nest ways to get into the mindset

of the natives of a foreign language

is to learn their idioms.

Here's a little game for you:

Can you guess the meaning of these Japanese idioms

or their American equivalents, if they have any?

neko-jita 猫舌
"cat tongue"
...

...
"cat tongue" means you have a sensitive tongue

i.e. you can't eat spicy foods

Makes sense, right? Kitties can't eat spicies.

Yes, that's a word.

✿

ken en no naka 犬猿の仲

"between a dog and a monkey"
...

...
This means fighting like cats and dogs.
America doesn't really have a monkey population,
but apparently they don't get along too well with puppies. Shame.

✿

naki-mushi 泣き虫

"cry bug"
...

...
The answer is crybaby.
Poor wittle buggy.

✿

hon no mushi 本の虫

"book bug"
...

...
Bookworm!
Yeah, that one wasn't too hard.

✿

tsuki no usagi 月のうさぎ

"moon rabbits"
...

...

Instead of the man in the moon,

rabbits live up there,

making mochi from its dusts,

rather than cheese.

Do you have any favorite idioms
in English or another language?

{cat tongue via Rosie}
{dog-monkey via Techinsight}
{crybaby via EpiCute}
{moon rabbits via Ronin}

"Japanese Voice Acting"

My father can do these

amazing voices,

in pretty much any accent you can think of.

This could be why

I'm so in like-like with voice acting.

My friend, Erin,

has the ability to take

just about any fictional character

and deepen their story,

bringing them to life.

This could be why

I'm so in love with character development.

Triple Date:


Haunted:

I've found creating these voice clips

to be a really entertaining way

to retain all the little Japanese tidbits

I pick up from my friends

and people I hear on the streets of Japan.

I added my own characters to the stories...
hope you enjoy!

{If there are any grammatical/pronunciation errors, they're there because I'm still learning.}

{Cho, Aiata, Shiroi, Rai © Ashley S. Harmon}

{Music & other characters © their respective owners}

{Image via here}

"Arrietty's Song"

I was so moved by the new Ghibli fan

借りぐらしのアリエッティ

{The Borrower Arriety}.

The music transcends me into another world,

and the composer, Cecil Corbel, is a Ghibli fan.

I think we should be friends, Cecile.

Japanese:

     

I'm 14 years old, I am pretty

元気な小さいlady

床下に　ずっと　借りぐらししてたの

I'm 14 years old, I am pretty

genki na chiisai lady

yuka shita ni zutto karigurashi shiteta no

時にはhappy、時にはblue

誰かに会いたい

toki ni wa happy, toki ni wa blue

dare ka ni aitai

風　髪に感じて　空を眺めたい

あなたに花届けたい

kaze kami ni kanjite, sora wo nagametai

anata ni hana todoketai

向こうは別の世界

ほら蝶々が舞ってる、私を待っている

mukou wa betsu no sekai

hora cho-cho ga matteru, watashi wo matte iru

そう、変わることのない　私の小さい世界

嫌いじゃないの　でもあなたを

もっと、もっと知りたくて

sou, kawaru koto no nai, watashi no chiisai sekai

kirai ja nai no, demo anata wo

motto, motto shiritakute

喜びと悲しみは　いつも　折り混ざってゆく

yorokobi to kanashimi wa itsumo, ori mazatteyuku

風　髪に感じて　空を眺めたい

あなたに花届けたい

kaze kami ni kanjite, sora wo nagametai

anata ni hana todoketai

向こうは別の世界

ほら蝶々が舞ってる、あなたを待っている

mukou wa betsu no sekai

hora cho-cho ga matteru, anata wo matte iru

太陽の下で　花に囲まれて

あなたと日々過ごしたい

この想いを胸に　新しい世界で

私らしく　生きる

taiyou no shita de hana ni kako marete

anata to hibi sugoshitai

kono omoi wo mune ni atarashii sekai de

watashi rashiku ikiru

-------------------------------------------------------

My English Translation:

I'm 14 years old, I am pretty

An energetic little lady

All my borrowed things under the floor

At times I am happy, at times I am blue

I want to meet someone

Feel the wind in my hair, I want to gaze at the sky

I want to send you flowers.

Beyond here is a separate world

Look, a butterfly is soaring; it's waiting for me

Yes, my little world is unchanging

I don't hate it, but I want to know you more and more

Joy and grief are always folded, mixed together

Feel the wind in my hair,
I just want to look at the sky and send you flowers.

Over there is a separate world

Look, a butterfly is dancing; it's waiting for you

Beneath the sun, enclosed in a flower,

I want to spend each and every day with you

With this thought in my chest, I will live in a new world.

My Japanese professor told me that,

in order to master Japanese,

I have to stop translating the words in my head

and start translating them in my heart.

I hope you enjoy my interpretation of this lovely song.

♥

{Click for Download}
{"Arrietty's Song" by Cecile Corbel & Ghibli}
{Image via Vanessa Paxton}

"Completing JAPAN 302 in Two Weeks is Silly"

"Of course there's a lot of knowledge in universities: the freshmen bring a little in, the seniors don't take much away, so knowledge sort of accumulates..." -A. Lawrence Lowell

I've been a little busy lately.

Maybe if I rub my books all over my head

the kanji will stick to my brain.

It's worth a shot.

{image via here}

"Kanji"

"There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign."

-Robert Louis Stevenson

Rather than learn kanji by difficulty level, my class learns them by convenience.

Which, yeah, that's cool. But I don't even know the character for "grass". I doubt it's harder than the one for "train station" (which is my favorite one to write).

... Okay, I can't stand it. I have to check.

Grass: 草

Train Station: 駅

Yep, grass is easier. It almost looks like "haya" (which means "fast"): 早 Oh, that's because it's one of the radicals. Okay.

ANYWAYS. It's kinda neat that I know some complicated characters. It just won't be so neat when I'm teaching preschool in Osaka, and, based on my knowledge of difficult kanji, will be expected to know all the ones the kiddies know. Welp, c'est la vie.

So, moving on, here are the characters I was quizzed on today:

And now, the combinations:

My handwriting's quite laughable, but I promise with pen and paper, it's readable.

One last thing, BOTH internships to Japan are pulling through! If they do, I'll be spending all of next year in Japan, stationed in Tokyo and Osaka for certain, as well as several other places unbeknownst to me at the moment.

Am I excited? Oh, yes, yes, yes! But I'll try to contain it until I'm actually accepted. :)