My Favorite Sign

Tuna Auction/Fish Market
Originally uploaded by littleflowers

Greetings Everyone!

Here is a picture of one of my favorite signs. I've seen it in the subway. What do you think it means? Why do you think the Japanese hang this sign?

Although there are some signs in English, most of the signs I see are in Japanese. Or, they are Japanese words written with our letters, so I don't understand a whole lot. McDonalds and 7-11 signs are in both languages!! I will take more pictures for you.

I hear lots of English when I'm with the other teachers, of course, and from many of our presenters. Today, though, our presenter had a translator. He spoke with us about how math is taught in Japan, and he was VERY interesting.

It is very challenging to communicate here since most people speak Japanese. When we go into restaurants, if no one speaks English, we have to point to what we want on the menu! And it is difficult to get water since we don't know the word for it! Last night, I went out to dinner with some other teachers. We went to a restaurant where no one spoke English. We sat at a counter where we could watch the cooking, and when the waitress came we pointed at pictures of what we wanted. We REALLY enjoyed the food we ate! At the end of dinner, one of the people I was with turned over the menu and found the only English words in the restaurant: CHINESE FOOD! We were surprised, and laughed. Now I've had Chinese food in Japan!

Tonight, I traveled to another area of Tokyo with some friends to see a parade. It had something to do with honoring the dead, but I'm still finding out more. Check the slide show for pictures. VERY few people spoke English there, but we did meet a woman who was able to give us some information.

Television is mostly in Japanese, with no subtitles for me. I do have CNN, BBC News, and one other news channel in English, so I am able to keep up with the election, the economy, and other world news.

On Sunday, I will travel to Hiroshima, where Sadako lived. While I'm there, I will spend one night with a Japanese woman who lives there. I don't know whether she speaks English, but I hope she does! Just in case, I've brought some of my favorite pictures to share with her. She is 58 years old, so she was born in 1950. I have lots of questions for her. Do you have any questions I can ask her if she does speak English? While I'm there, I'll also visit elementary, middle and high schools and a university. I am actually making a five minute speech at the university next Monday, so I'm a little nervous!