Is Your Name Pronounced Correctly?

I read an article about applications that help people pronounce names. These are http://www.audioname.com/ and http://hearnames.com/. The former is an application which creates an audio file to email or send by text. Users can record their pronunciation of a name in a little audio file. The latter is a website that teaches you how which helps to say names from all over the world.

I am always asked again when I give my name to workers at restaurants and stores in the U.S. Many people advise me to use a nickname in the U.S. I don’t want to use a nickname because my name, like most Japanese names, has a specific meaning. A nickname doesn’t represent the meaning in my name from my parents.

My name is Masao. It is made of two words. Masa and O. These two words each have meaning. The nickname “Masa” is easy to pronounce, but it doesn’t represent the correct meaning of my name. “Masa” means a director and “O” means a center. My parents named me “Masao” wishing me to be person who would become a decent director. I don’t know if I embody my parents’ wishes, but that is another story.

Because of my experience living away from my home country, I often think about what name would be best for my child. I have no idea, but I do know a lot of Japanese names which are funny to English speakers. For example;

Yusaku: Sounds like “You suck!”

Yudai: Sounds like “You die!”

Ryohey: Sounds like “Yo, Hey!”

These three are common names for men, but their pronunciation gives them totally different meanings in English. In Japanese, “Yusaku” means “a brave and kind man.” “Yudai” means “a brave and open-minded man.” “Ryohei” is “a man who has conscience”. The following two names are common for women;

Saiko: Sounds like “Psycho”

Mami: Sounds like “Mommy”

How does Yusaku feel ?

The 5 names above are quite good names in Japanese. I like them, but English speakers might feel that the pronunciation is funny. The reverse is also true. I know some names in the world are funny when Japanese speakers hear them. For example;

Barker: Sounds like “Idiot” in Japanese

Naming children is a big deal. I’ll start considering for the future.

How to Identify Japanese People

I had a business trip to Japan at the end of October for a week. It was my first trip back to my home country after a year and three month absence. I visited my hometown and saw my family and friends. It was a great trip; I especially enjoyed eating my favorite Japanese dishes.

During my trip, I figured out my own way for identifying Japanese people at airports. I have summarized it in this blog post.

In old movies, Japanese people were typically depicted as people with cameras dangling off their necks. No one is like that nowadays, but I have found some features that represent today’s Japanese people. I’m not sure if it really works, but let us look at three examples.

1.    Men who wear high-cut, slim-fitting pants.

2.    People who put bandannas on their suitcases to identify them.

3.    People who walk with their heads down.

I would say that number one really works, in particular for business suits. In Japan, most suit stores sell only slim fitting pants because it helps to have a good figure. I never see Western people wearing slim-fitting pants as part of a business suits. Japanese people basically don’t have long legs. Tight and slim-fitting pants are really popular. They are popular not only for business suits but also for casual clothes. As for casual clothes, hipster pants and low-rise pants are commonly preferred by Japanese people. Since low-rise pants look best on slender people who are short or petite. Japanese people with short torsos will be able to get benefits from low-rise pants. Of course, I have some, but I don’t wear slim-fitting pants in the U.S.

I often see suitcases with bandannas at airports. I would say this really works for identifying Japanese people as well. Japanese people are really nervous about their luggage, so they often put a mark on their suitcases. A bandanna is commonly used as a mark because various designs of bandannas are sold at around $2 everywhere in Japan.

Number three is a typical way of walking for Japanese. This style of walking with one’s head down was formed from the lifestyle habit. Japanese people used to wear Japanese-style sandals until a few decades ago. Japanese people used to shuffle their feet along. They didn’t walk starting on their heel like Western people. From this habit, Japanese people came to walk with their heads down. Also, Japanese people are likely to use mobile gadgets, such as cellphones and potable gaming machines while they are walking.

As for me, only number three was true for me. I wonder how I looked to foreigners at Narita Airport and San Francisco Airport because I wore a San Jose Sharks hoddie with loose fitting pants and had soft-sided luggage with a Sharks tag…

Salty and Sweet

I had a Salted Caramel Mocha at Starbucks recently. I felt that it tasted kind of like uni (sea urchin). Uni is the one of the most popular and expensive ingredients in Sushi. The drink didn’t taste like raw Uni. It was like the uni flavor that is commonly used for snacks.

Do you have a similar kind of experience? The idea of combining different flavors to make a new flavor is popular in Japan, in particular among younger people.

When I was a high school student, I enjoyed discovering new flavors by combining two or more different foods. The following combinations are typical examples:

Japanese style custard pudding + soy sauce = uni (sea urchin)

Mandarin orange + seaweed + soy sauce = salmon caviar

Japanese people like sushi, but we can’t afford it so often because of the price. So, younger people often try to find flavors that are similar to the taste of sushi ingredients by combining low price ingredients. I’m curious if there are food experiments for finding new flavors in the U.S.

I would say that mixing up sweet with other flavors sometimes results in something I like. In the U.S, I have experienced many fabulous flavors which I was not used to eating. 

A typical example is pancakes. In Japan, pancakes are thought of as a kind of snack and aren’t eaten as a meal. I couldn’t even imagine the combination of pancakes and bacon when I was in Japan. Now pancakes and bacon with maple syrup have become my favorite. Rice pudding is another example of a food that I couldn’t imagine before because the combination of rice and milk is very unusual in Japan. I felt disgusted when I saw it for the first time, but its taste was great. Sweet seasonings are often used in American dishes, especially in meat dishes. I don’t know a lot about meat dishes that have a sweet taste.

Sweet-tasting meat dishes might be a clue to making new flavors from the combination of unusual ingredients. I should try unfamiliar flavors more often. Maybe I will find an unusual combination between American ingredients and flavors that make a unique taste similar to the flavor of sushi ingredients.

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Have you ever seen a ghost? Do you believe in ghosts?

I believed ghosts existed until my early 20’s. I don’t anymore. They might exist or they might not. I really have no idea.

As I mentioned, I used to believe in them. I was frightened by ghost stories when I was a kid. My experience living in New Jersey changed my mind. Living in a different culture from my own altered my point of view.  

How do you feel when you see a cemetery or a grave? To me, the atmosphere of a Japanese cemetery inspires fear in my mind because in Japanese culture it is said that the souls of dead people gather at graves.

In the U.S, I have the exact opposite feeling when I see a cemetery. There was a cemetery near my apartment when I lived in New Jersey. I drove by the cemetery on the way to work. When I saw it the first time, I felt it was pretty beautiful, with green grass and white gravestones. I liked that place and often took a walk to the cemetery on the weekends. I didn’t feel any fear from the cemetery. While I was walking, I used to think about how I would feel if I met a ghost. My English skills then were worse than now. I was wondering whether a ghost showed up, I would be able to understand what he/she wanted to say. I thought that I might not be able to communicate with non-Japanese speaking ghosts and would not be frightened by them. I also thought about what kind of language they would speak because they would not be human.

While I was taking a stroll at the cemetery, I also thought that zombies might not speak Japanese. Since I don’t believe that a dead person can come back to life, zombies don’t make sense to me. I feel weird when I watch zombie movies, in particular when zombies bite humans, and they become zombies. The reason is simple. Cremation is the common way of burial in Japan and burying in the ground is basically prohibited. We don’t have a tradition of burying dead bodies in the ground. Therefore, I would say only a few Japanese speaking zombies exist in the world. Each culture has a different understanding of death.

After I went back to Japan, I went to my family’s cemetery. I didn’t feel any fear anymore. I thought that if I took my American friends there, they would feel it was a cool place.

I figured out that my fear of ghosts was from my Japanese cultural background. When I go to a place which is said to be haunted, I always wonder how those who have a different cultural background feel about the place.

This is one example of how living in a different culture totally changed my perceptions.

Hummingbird and Sparrow

Recently hummingbirds have been coming to my backyard every day. I hung a hummingbird feeder on my terrace two months ago. One month after I hung it, hummingbirds became guests of my backyard. They are kind of like pet hummingbirds. If the artificial nectar runs out, they fly and chirp above my head. I make nectar for them once a week. They are so cute. I love them.

Hummingbirds live in South America and North America including Alaska. I had never seen a hummingbird before I came to the U.S. However, I knew the name “Hummingbird” from my early years. I learned the term in English class at my junior high school. On the other hand, I didn’t know the English term “sparrow” until recently.

Sparrows are commonly seen everywhere in Japan. Even though it’s a popular bird in Japan, I didn’t know its English name because I had not had an opportunity to talk about sparrows in English until recently. I never learned the word “sparrow” during my school days.

I have many experiences like this. I know a lot of English words for things I have never seen. Here are animals I can name in English, but have never seen:

Anteater, hippopotamus, platypus and so on…

Here are animals I saw often in Japan, but couldn’t name in English before I moved to the U.S:

Wild boar, raccoon dog, flying Squirrel, mole, and so on….

When I explain Japan or Japanese culture, I sometimes stumble over English words. “Sparrow” is one of typical example. I think that most Japanese people who are acquiring English skills are probably like me. During my school days, I studied English more than 8 years. I focused on reading articles because reading skills were the most important for passing the university examination. These days, I really think that I should have interacted with native English speakers wherever possible in Japan and tried to explain something by myself. To me, English was just a subject needed for getting a good score on entrance examinations and regular examinations. If I had kids, I would give them an English education as a communication tool.

Extremely Thick Ramen Soup

If someone asked me what I would like to eat first when I go back to Japan, I would answer ramen. When visitors from Japan ask me what I would want if they brought something from Japan, I would say ramen. In the beginning of August, a friend of mine visited from Japan to California. He brought some vacuum-packed ramen.

There is a unique and famous Japanese ramen chain restaurant. The name is “Tenkaippin.” This name means “out of this world.” He brought Tenkaippin’s vacuum-packed ramen. It was really great.

The reputation of this ramen is quite controversial. This is one of those “love it or hate it” items. Of course, the reason is its taste. The soup, which is made from a strong chicken broth, is extremely thick. The texture and viscosity are like turkey gravy. The company’s ad says its thickness is from the natural collagen that comes out after chicken bones are boiled for more than 14 hours.

Among my friends, the reputations are literally “love it or hate it.” Many of my friends are hooked on the soup. Also many of my friends never want to eat it again. Can you imagine this taste? What does it taste like to me? It’s like potage. Try it! There is a branch in Oahu, Hawaii.

I tried the packed ramen and soup at home. The taste was almost the same as at the restaurant in Japan. It was amazing. I crave this packed ramen pretty much on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, it’s not exported to the U.S. I had not eaten this for about 2 years. Once I have this after a long time, I am increasingly eager to eat it. I think I should take a vacation to Hawaii or Japan to eat this ramen. Hawaii sounds great!

Tipping at Restaurants

Tipping is one of the most difficult customs in the U.S. for Japanese people. In Japan, service fees are included in bills or are free. In America, tipping is confusing. For example, I’m confused about what percentage I should tip at restaurants. Also, where should I leave my tip, on the table or at the register?

One day, I discussed tipping with colleagues while we went for lunch because one of them recently had a bad experience in Orlando, Florida. He said that the restaurant had charged him 30% gratuity even though he was in a small party. The service there wasn’t great, and he didn’t want to pay 30% gratuity, but he paid it. He also said that he was asked for gratuity when he left a buffet restaurant even though no waiter/waitress served him.

Another guy said he still doesn’t have the right answer to tipping at Sizzler. Sizzler customers order and pay first at the register at Sizzler. Sizzler is a kind of buffet. Customers take their meal from the salad bar by themselves. If they order meals, waiter/waitress will bring them to the table, but if they order only the salad bar, customers will not be served by a waiter/ waitress.

From our conversation, I found that tipping is sometimes difficult even for Americans. It was an interesting discussion because everybody in my office had his/her own idea about tipping. One person said 7% was for beverages and 8% for the meal. Another said 10% for bad service, 15% for normal service, and 20% for good service. In my case, I always pay 15% for gratuity when I sit down at a table and someone comes to take my order.

I know more about tipping at restaurants now than I did last year, but I’m still confused about what to do at a hotel, for example what do I tip housekeeping, room service and the porter service. I don’t have exact criteria for what kinds of situations I should tip. In addition, I’m not familiar with face-to-face tipping. From my Japanese cultural background, I feel that handing money directly is not polite.

I have heard a lot of opinions about tipping at restaurants from colleagues. Next time we go to lunch, I should ask them about tipping at hotels or airports.