Japanese Dramas
...written on 12.11.01, @ 10:50 p.m.
Tue December 11, 2001
My TV must be broken, everything is in Japanese. Commercials, comedies, news, talk shows, it's all Japanese! Hmm, I wonder if there is a repair shop nearby?
I recently confessed to my Japanese teacher, that I rarely watched television. She protested in horror that it was a very good way for me to learn the language, so the other day I started watching an interesting samurai drama.
One thing I've noticed about Japanese dramas, is that there is rarely a middle ground. The major characters here never get a break! Every episode they are called upon to emote in the most excruciating ways. Even Nikki in the Young and the Restless gets to take a powder every once in a while, but not the ladies and gents here, no way.
So, in my next Japanese class, I explained what I gathered from this Japanese samurai drama to my teacher . . .
"Yeah, and it must have been in the 1300's cause the Mongol fleet was just off shore waiting to conquer the island, when a "Kami-kaze" (divine wind/typhoon) hit, and blew them all away, and then the main guy was looking for his son, but he had two sons, and the one that wasn't lost and had just one eye, was kinda jealous that his dad was going bonkers over the lost one, but then he sorta repents and starts pulling Mongols out of the water looking for his brother too and then he finds him you see, and his dad is really happy, but just as the one eyed son is dragging the soggy lost one to shore, one of the almost drowned Mongols recovers and lunges and stabs one of them . . ."
My teacher was impressed that I understood so much, but really it was pretty self-explanatory, and then she started laughing when I told her what channel the drama was on. I said it was on NHK. Through her giggles she compared that show with someone trying to learn English by watching Shakespeare on Public Television. Now that would explain a few of the strange looks I've gotten this week trying to use some phrases I heard on the show. So much for my own initiative. ;-)
Sometimes I shake my head and wonder why I am in Japan or imagine how long I can stay here. I don't have any answers right now. I just have a terrible cough.
I'm in a coughless lull right now. It will last for about 45 minutes to an hour and then I will cough for about 3 minutes and spit up pieces of lung meat. I've had it for almost a week now and I think I've bruised my brain from the strain. If you check my diary around this time last year, you'll find that I was suffering from the same malady (Dr, Is there nothing I can take?). Back then I had to play Santa Claus for a bunch of little kiddies and instead of going "Ho-ho-ho!", I was going "Hack-hack-hack!" Could it be that I am allergic to December?
At any rate, I stayed home from the company's end of the year party. Haven't put a foot outside all day. I've just been inside watching a TV that can't speak English and rolling on the tatami floor with the hourly coughs. I hope this ain't as good as it gets.
Late breaking interesting fact:
I just went back and read the entry at the link above and noticed that for lunch that day I had a grilled cheese, pepper and onion sandwich. Guess what I had for lunch today? YES, THE EXACT SAME SANDWICH! Ask me how often I have these sandwiches . . . about once a year, apparently.