Cram for the exam

[cjsmith]

I'm reading over the journal I wrote the last time I went to Japan, looking for hints and tidbits of useful information. I was hoping to remind myself how to get out of the airport or how to say "if I eat seafood I will throw up". Instead I'm finding things that tickle my funnybone.

- Rob reports that the bidet is smart, and will not spray unless you are sitting on it.

- Important Safety Tip: Never ever ever swallow a sleeping pill sideways.

- [After a desperation-level dose of cold medicine:] I saw that my suitcase, which I'd been dragging on its wheels behind me, wasn't zipped. I told Rob: look out for me today, I have the IQ of cabbage.

[I would go on to do this again later in the week, for the same reason. Boy was I sick.]

- Kanji lesson: Osaka is "B square root of covered cauldron." Well, that's the second character, anyway.

- So far [in Japan] I have learned not to wear shoes that need to be tied, like hiking boots.

- We managed to leave our extra food behind at the party, yay!

- [The next day] Michiko and Akira caught up to me. Among lots of hugs and bows and handshakes, they handed me back every single bit of food we'd managed to leave at the party and quite a bit more besides.

Comments

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Seriously, you need to find out the Japanese for "Fish will kill me!"

Also, are you going to Japan again?

Also, I'm reading LJ backwards, so if you've posted about this, I haven't caught up yet.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hah! Yes, "fish will kill me" would be a good start. Somewhere in my notes I have "I can not eat fish".

Yep, going to Japan again. Square dance calling. This is why the past week was finals week. Normally, finals start tomorrow morning, but by then I'll be inconveniently located. :)

[abqdan.livejournal.com]

For help with signs, I highly recommend http://www.engrish.com. I only survived my travel around Japan on the kindness of school children. They were the only people I found who could speak Enlgish! If it wasn't for one young girl, I'd still be standing puzzling over the automated ticket machines at the train station.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Somehow, we managed the ticket machines in various stations okay last time. I suspect we were far better prepared then than we are now. :-(

[hitchhiker.livejournal.com]

or βFx :)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

And you can't look it up using the β radical, either, because that's a simplified version of something else. :)