ヘキョンさん、おたんじょうびおめでとうございます！

きょうはSection3のヘキョンさんのたんじょうびです。ヘキョンさん、おたんじょうびおめでとうございます！

ここからにほんごでたんじょうびのメール（mail)がおくれます。

http://greetings.yahoo.co.jp/

Our Classmates Need Help!

みんなのクラスメート(classmate)のvwさん とbao kang ruiさん needs your help! Can you help him or her?

http://ccmpvnrt.blogspot.com/2007/02/not-too-past-few.html

http://itsdeuteronomy.blogspot.com/2007/02/bad-weekend-for-traveling-good-weekend.html

If you need help, why don't you post your problems on your blog? I am sure our classmates and blog communities will help you!

ひらがな、カタカナのタイプのしかた

こんにちは。ヘルプデスクのおざわみどりです。
I hope you are getting familiar with typing ひらがな and カタカナ.

Today I'm gonna give you a little quiz. (^^);
How do you type　じかん、とうきょう、しゅっちょう、ヴァイオリン、 ウィキペディア?

I added the new link "Typing Japanese Words in Hiragana and Katakana" at
にほんごでのタイプのしかた on this blog.
If you want to know the answer, please refer to this URL.

Next week I am going to Baltimore. I am very excited to eat soft shell crab meet there.
それでは、みなさん、よいしゅうまつを。

おざわみどり

しゃしんのサイト(saito)

きれいなしゃしん(picture/photo)のwebsiteです。いいですね。

http://blog.so-net.ne.jp/catenamas/

I wish I could take pictures like these....

にほんはたかいですか？ (Cost of Living)

にほんはたかいですか。Check the following website:

http://www.finfacts.ie/costofliving.htm

http://www.citymayors.com/features/cost_survey.html

１．モスクワ (Moscow)
２．ソウル (Seoul)
３．とうきょう

です。ニューヨーク(New York)は１０ばんです。

かおもじ (face marks or emoticons)

Some of you used the "Japanese" or "Asian" face marks and I just wonder where you learned. For example, Hachi-san used ^______^ and チェン(Cheng)さん used ~____~

http://www.anikaos.com/japanese_emoticons.html

http://www.harapan.co.jp/english/japan/kaomoji.htm

Check wiki, too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticon#Japanese_emoticons

I am not good at Japanese face marks. I have been living in the US for 11 years...
('～`；)　（＝わかりません。I do not know the answer.)
Σ(゜д゜;) （＝びっくり！surprised or shocked!)

(^^)/ （＝じゃ、また）

おもしろいサイト（２）

チェン(Cheng)さん and シュマトフ(Shmatov)さん found more useful sites:

りかい.com (very useful!)
http://www.rikai.com/perl/Home.pl

きれいなしゃしん(pictures)とおもしろいビデオ(video)です。
http://kis2101.blogspot.com/2007/02/and-yet-more-spam.html

http://kis2101.blogspot.com/2007/02/useless-link-again.html

どうもありがとう！

Please let us know if you know any interesting & useful sites! おねがいします。

About Section 3 Midterm

テスト(test)は３がつ２１にちです。Please write your opinion about the midterm by らいしゅうのかようび (next Tuesday). Write your opinion here so that we can share with each other. What type of exam helps you to review the material that we have learned?

にほんのバレンタインデー (Valentine's Day) とホワイトデー (White Day)

ジュリー(Julie)さん asked me how Valentine's Day is celebrated in Japan. Check wekipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day

And see "Valentine's Day and its equivalents in other cultures." If you know any good sites to write about Valentine's Day in Japan, please let me know. Maybe we can celebrate White Day next month! :)

にほんのうた(song)

にほんのうた (song)がすきですか？If so, please check the following site:

http://facilitator.seesaa.net/article/33597916.html

I asked my friend, どいさん to recommend some Japanese songs for you. このサイト(site)はにほんごです, but if you use the following site, you can read the site.

http://www.hiragana.jp/

We will probably use some of the songs in class, too. どうもありがとうございます、どいさん。

どいさん wants to know if any Japanese musicians are poular in the United States. If you can answer this question, please visit his blog.

おもしろいサイト（site)

みなさん、こんばんは。

シュマトフ(Shmatov)さん found an interesting link. Please check it whenever you have time.

http://kis2101.blogspot.com/2007/02/one-of-my-fellow-students-suggested.html

ヘルプデスク(Helpdesk)のおざわさん made a link on this page under useful sites. The title is JAPAN SELDOM ASKED QUESIONS.

By the way, my father slurps when he eats spaghetti. :)

にほんのもじ (Letter)

オルガ(Olga)さん, ジェニー(Jenny)さん, and ツァイ(Tsai)さんtold me that they could not type in Japanese. If you have any questions about typing in Japanese, please send an e-mail to Helpdesk, おざわさん.

helpjpcu@gmail.com

ブライアン(Bryan)さんasked me exactly when we use ひらがな、かたかな、and かんじ. We learned a basic rule in class, but that was not the definite one. If you are interested in the history of Japanese writing, there is a great book:

Seeley, Christopher (1991). A History of Writing in Japan. University of Hawaii Press.

I encourage you to use ひらがな when you send me an e-mail, but sometimes I cannot read your Japanese. This is because of もじばけ. (improper encoding: もじmeans letters and ばけmeans turn or disguise.) I will tell you when もじばけ happens. If you have another e-mail account, please use the ccount. I might be able to read your ひらがな.

にほんごはむずかしい(difficult)ですか？

Is Japanese a challenging language? Well, it depends on what language you speak. I noticed that some of you are struggling with Japanese grammar or hiragana. Also Cheng-san asked me how long it will take until he can understand Japanese dramas... Here is the fact:

http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/learningExpectations.html

にほんごはLevel3です。You may notice that all European languages are categorized in either level 1 or 2, not level 3. So, if you are a native speaker of English or European languages, Japanese is probably the most challenging language. Now you might be overwhelmed or discouraged, but please do not! That's why I am here to help you. We have a great classmates, too.... . Imagine when you go to Japan and communicate with people there.... Think about watching Japanese TV and laughing.... Only you can make it happen!

By the way, do you know what language is the most challenging for native speakers of Japanese? I heard that Russian is the most challening.

はじめまして

Helpdeskのおざわみどりです。　
TCのだいがくいんの２ねんせいです。にほんじんです。
せんこうはInternational Educational Developmentです。
とうきょうからきました。みなさん、どうぞよろしく。

I am interested in Information Communication Technology integrated education. I like traveling, diving, and surprisingly studying language, too. I speak four languages, such as Japanese, English, Indonesian and Nepali. I feel rewarded when I could communicate successfully with the language that I have learned. I believe language opens the door to another culture and another way of viewing the world. I am very pleased to assist in setting up your joyful (?) environment for Japanese learning. Good luck for this semester!!

みどり　（わたしのなまえの”みどり”はひらがなです）