Episode 9: Return to the Neko Kingdom

こんいちは、私のともだち！I have returned from my やすみ!

先週ニュウメキシコしゅのうちにひこきでかえりました。くうこうのまえにりょうしんとあってくるかでうちにかえりました。うちでねことあそびましたよ！ねこのなまえはチーンキウィーンキ(Tinky Winky) です。

^Prince of Darkness, Tinky Winky

水曜日のあさBlake'sにブリトをたべにいってスタバでコーヒーをのみました。とてもおいしかったです！木曜日のごごともだちのうちにともだちのうちにサンクスギビングデーをしにいきました。

^Eye witness photograph of Jake Berney at Thanksgiving

金曜日は私のともだちのたんじょうびですんじょうびです。そして、金曜日のばんともだちのうちにパーチーにいきました。パーチーはたのしかったのしくたよかったですすよ！私のやすみはとてもいそがしかったですね！

It was a busy week :[] But it was really nice to go back to the Land of Enchantment. I just gotta survive this last stretch until Christmas break. Wish me luck!　じゃあまた！

Episode 8: So Long, Weekend-sama. I'll Be Missing You :(

We're back at it again boys! こんにちは私のともだち！Welcome back to my blog, I've got a special spicy post in store for you today ^-^　I'm Going to tell you the ancient Greek epic called, ”私の週末”


今週の週末はよかったです。金曜日のごごバスでモールにかいものをしにいきました。りょうにばんごはんをたべにかえりました。うどんとごはんはとてもおいしかったです。土曜日のごぜんにロールさんと学生かいかんにコーヒーをのみにいってさんぽをしました。ごごにりょうにともだちとえいがをみってピザーをたべました。日曜日によじかんぐらいべんきょうしってしゅくだいをしました。私の週末はとてもいそがしかったですね～

It was quite the weekend, even though it was freezing :0



brrrrrr....
As of posting this, Thanksgiving break is rapidly approaching, I can't even begin to express how excited I am to return to Albuquerque :) Hopefully I'll return with some exciting stories for y'all. Well, that's all for this time. See you on the flipside! じゃあまた、ともだち。

Episode 7: Rice is Nice

Alrighty bois, its ya boy, バーニーせんせい. Back at it again with the Japanese Blogs. We're gonna hop across the pond and visit the wonderful nation of 日本！Unfortunately, we're not going to go visit the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto or the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo. Instead, we're gonna take a looksie at Japanese homes!! Get excited~

Japanese homes, right as you walk in, have a small depression of sorts called a　げんかん, or mudroom. It is Japanese custom to take off their shoes before entering a house, often putting on special slippers. American homes traditionally do not have such a room, and many people leave their shoes on indoors in the US.

Once inside, many Americans would be surprised to see that most Japanese homes don't have carpet! The humidity of Japan could cause the carpeted floors to become musty and germy, so, more often than not, Japanese homes have wooden or tile floors.

Japanese homes also have rice cookers! Personally, I also own a rice cooker, but many Americans probably do not.

Rice comprises a much larger part of the Japanese diet than the Americans', so a rice cooker is a very convenient appliance there.

Well that's all fine and dandy. . . but we all know what you're here for. To hear about me! and my stuff! Well, you're in luck, cause that's what I'm about to do! But, there's going to be a twist. . . it's going to be in Japanese! Alright. . . let's see how this goes. . . 

わたしのへやはKeough Hallにありますよ。へやの中にソファとベッドとテレビがあります。ときどきテレビをみます。ベッドの下につくえがありますよ。まいにちよじかんぐらいべんきょうします。れいぞうこもあります。れいぞうこの中にソーダがあります。

There's not much else in it. . . I'm a college student :/

Episode 6: Spooktown. Population: Jake Berney

Alright みなさん, it's that time of the year. . . Halloween time! Halloween is empirically superior to ALL other holidays, and thus it is my favorite. Today, I will tell you all about my spooky weekend shenanigans, so buckle in!

しゅまつのきにょうびのごごにおばけやしきにいきました。とてもいいでした!

どいようびのごぜんのさんじにおのさんじにおきました。。。そしてロサンゼルスにいきました。League of LegendsのWorld Championshipsをみましたよ。

にちようびにりょうにはえりました。

It was pretty exciting! Also, it was really tiring. あまりねませんでした。。。

Chapter 5: Talking to the Fabulous Catherine Truluck

テュルラックさん：こんにちは、バーニーさん！

バーニー：こんにちは、　テュルラックさん。ぼくも　にほんから　かえりました。

テュルラックさん：　お、そですか？！にほんに　なにが　ありますか？

バーニー：　え〜と。。。ならが　ありますか。

テュルラックさん：なら？　どこに　ありますか？

バーニー： きょうとのちかくに　ありますよ。ならは　とても　りっぱ　まちですよ！

テュルラックさん：そですか、なんにが　ありますか？

バーニー：え〜と、大き ほとけが　ありますよ。そして　しか　いますよ。

テュルラックさん：すごい！かいようのちかくに　ありますか？

バーニー：いいえ、ありません。そして　こやさんは　にほんに　いきますよ。

テュルラックさん：いいですね、どこに　ありますか？

バーニー：おさかのちかくに　ありますよ。

テュルラックさん：なんにが　ありますか？

バーニー：たくさん　じいんが　ありますよ。そして、大き　ぼちが　ありますよ。

テュルラックさん：そですか？すごい！

Chapter 4.5: The Starbucks Chronicles

It's that time of year, the time when we talk about Starbucks. It was inevitable! With all the Pumpkin Spice Lattes in my system it was bound to come about somehow. Now, American Starbucks is pretty spectacular, but there are Starbucks everywhere! Unfortunately, not all Starbucks are created equal. Starbucks is also relatively popular with our friends across the Pacific in Japan! The menus are a bit different though.

Notably, Japan has this fancy little Frappuccino:

It's a Nectarine Peach Cream Frappuccino! That sounds pretty out there as an American, but I've never tried it! It probably tastes wonderful :0












Now, Japanese Starbucks aren't all Nectarines and cream mind you, they don't even have Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

Japanese Starbucks aren't all that different in most other regards besides that, though. America seems to have more variety, but that's about it. But, what's a Starbucks without Pumpkin Spice Lattes!? Nothing. That's what.

Episode 4: New Mexico: Not Really New, Not Really Mexico

こんばんはみなさん！！It's time for a brand spankin' new episode of Jake's Bizarre Adventure! Looks like today is a prequel episode, boys, and we're going to learn all about the wondeful hometown of yours truly :3. So get ready to hear a tale of love, woe, and green chile.

 わたしあわニューメキシコしゅのアルバカキーからきましたか。ニューメキシコしゅはアリゾナとテキサスのちかくにあります。アルバカキーはあまりおおきいです、でもとてもりっぱですよ！あまりたかいあてものです、そひてちゃいろいです。ニューメキシコのフードはいいですよ！まいとしバルーンフェスチバルがあります。

Albuquerque is a wonderful place, y'all should visit! We have a very unique culture and food, plus we have beautiful scenery since we're up in the mountains. Albuquerque might not be that well known, or exceptionally rich, but it's my favorite place in the US ^-^

Okay, well, that's all for this episode. Tune in next week to watch Jake use his omega nuclear suplex attack on the evil emperor Grool!

Episode 3.5: One of Those Filler Episodes. . .

こんいちは　ともだち! 

We'll be taking a break from our regularly scheduled broadcasting for a quick little investigation to the wondrous and fanciful world of katakana! Katakana can do many things, but one of it's main uses is to transcribe loan words into Japanese characters! Instead of writing out America, Japanese write アメリカ. Today I figured I would search far and wide across the internet for fun examples of Katakana for us to decipher :0

Our first subject is an ad for Japanese KFC! There's a whole lot of Japanese everywhere on this ad. If you look to the left to the katakana that reads : ハロウイン　バーレル。It literally reads, "Harouin Baareru", or Halloween Barrel! As indicated by the little spook ghost flying around, this is an ad for a Halloween special meal! But wait. . . there's more! If we peer inside the pumpkin to the right by those silly lil' ghosts we can see リング　チュロス (Ringu Churosu). This means Churro Rings, which are presumably those delicious looking desserts by the chicken tub @_@.  If only America had this. . .

On to another Halloween ad! What is with Japan and Halloween. . . I love it! As you can see, ハロウイン appears again, so its obviously going to be Halloween themed. Right below Halloween we see チョコポテト (chokopoteto). This one seems a big strange, but I'm sure it means Choco-potato, or chocolate potato! This is referring to the chocolate covered French Fries we see in the center-right of the picture. It's an. . . interesting idea McDonald's, I'm not quite sure if it'll work out XDD

Well, that's enough of looking at Japanese fast food websites. . . now I'm hungry zzz. We'll be back next week with another exciting episode of Jake's Bizarre Adventure, じゃあまた、ともだち！

Episode 3: ビールを のみません

よこそ　みなさん！！Welcome back to Jake's Fabulous Funtime Blog, today I have a super omega special blog post for you. I'm going to be talking about my weekend. . . but in Korean! jk its going to be in にほんご :3. Well, let's not dilly dally, がくせい、let's get right into the adventure!

せんしゅうまつの　きんよおびの　ばん　じゅうじはんごろ　ハリポッタを　みました。

でも　パーチーを　いきませんでした。どよおび の　あさ　じゅういちじはんごろ　おきました。でも　あさごはの　たべませんでした。ぜんぜん　あさごはんを　たべません。じゅうにじはんごろ　サオスダイニンハールで　ひるごはんを　たべました。そして　フーツバールを　みました。ばん　J-Squadと　じゅういちじごろ　フリスビーを　しました。

にちよおび　りょうで　にほんごの　しゅくだいを　しました。そして　 J-Squadと　にほんごの　べんきょうしました。

It was a pretty exciting weekend :D! The J-Squad sure do know how to have a good time. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed learning more about your favorite Japanese supastar, Jake Berney. I'll see you all next time, with more fascinating tales of love, loss, and heroism. In Japanese!

Episode 2.5: Taka look at my blog :^)

こんばんわ you beautiful Japanese students! There isn't technically a blog post required, but whatever I'm a rebel :P Today I just wanted to point out the fabulous Japanese Rock band, One OK Rock. This legendary rock band is led by frontman "Taka" whose robust vocals compliment the hard and fast paced rhythm set up by the drummer in their songs. If you're a fan of rock music or just Japanese music in general, you should check out One OK rock, you won't be disappointed. I promise :D One OK Rock recently announced that they'll be releasing a new album entirely in English, so if Japanese music isn't your thing maybe, you can eagerly await their new album.
That's all for this brief blog post, I hope you liked it! Until next time, じゃあまた！

Episode 2: A Day in the Life

こんにちは! and welcome back to Jake's fabulous Japanese blog. Wowee, I've been learning so much Japanese since my last post! I've even been caught saying すみません to non Japanese students. . . Anyways, this post will let you get a glimpse into the amazing, unique, and remarkable of life of Jake Berney, action hero, in Japanese!

わたしは　りょうで　おきます。あまり　あさごはんを　たべません。まいにち　チャイチイ (chai tea)　 のみます。クラス　きます、まいにち　にほんごの　クラス　きます！！　south dining hallで　ひるごはんを　たべます。わたしも　south dining hallで　ばんこはんを　たべます。りょうで　じゅくだいよします。うちで　ねます。

Wow, that was pretty exciting. I'm like  a superhero or something I swear. As you can see, my Japanese is like a million times more! And I'm still learning more! After like 5 more blog posts I'll be a Japanese master. Well, until that day I'm still just a にほんごの　がくせえ, and I'm enjoying every second of it :D さようなら！

わたし の じこしょかい！！

よこそ！はじめまして、バーニーです！わたしは　あめりかじんです。ノテルダムの　　いちねんせいです。せんこは　びじねすです。どおぞ　よろしく！
Woah, that was a lot more Japanese than last time I posted on here. Woohoo! Japanese is very exciting thus far, there's been so much learning going on. So much Japanese, so little time. Anyways, I think I'll use the rest of this post to talk about some of my favorite Japanese things! Honestly, my first run-ins with Japanese were with anime and video games, and Japanese video games have to be some of the best ever created. Among my favorites are The Legend of Zelda series and the Fire Emblem Series! Both of them were developed by the legendary Japanese company, Nintendo. Nintendo was originally founded as a card playing company in Kyoto! Realizing that making cards wasn't exactly lucrative, the founder decided to switch to electronic hardware - and eventually video game consoles! Nintendo would revolutionize video games by introducing lovable worlds with unique characters and artwork. Games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda captured the imagination of millions worldwide and began the world's fascination with electronic games.
< Seriously this series is a treasure :D

Besides Video Games, I also think the Studio Ghibli and especially Hayao Miyazaki are beautiful filmmakers. All of Miyazaki's movies are masterpieces of art and cinema. They tell such beautiful and unique stories and one can't help but feel a sense of wonder in Miyazaki's worlds. Of all of his films, Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite. Please go see it, if you haven't. It's so good. Like, so so good. A million goods.

   

Outside of Japanese media, I also really like a lot of Japanese items! I brought back a lot of things back from my trip to Japan. One of my favorite possessions is this large red Daruma I keep on my desk that I bought in Kyoto at the Fushimi Inari Shrine! (Quick Note: Kyoto is my absolute favorite place on planet Earth. The city is so cozy and magical, one can't help but walk the streets smiling) Daruma are wooden dolls that are modeled after the Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism. They're strangely cute :3 They're usually given as gifts since they represent good luck!



Seriously, look at them! Okay, that's enough for one blog post. I'll be back soon! Probably in a week! Who knows! Until our next time, stay healthy. さよなら！