Nihongo-fied: City Hall, et. al.

I have been in Japan for 493 days. I am starting to become de-sensitized to all the quote-unquote silly Japanese customs and peculiarities (for example, the art of bowing like a stiff man doing standing sit-ups, the ridiculously small shoes you have to change into in the bathroom, the jiggling bodies of sumo wrestlers crashing into each other, the squatting toilets, the high-pitched Japanese women that are constantly trying to morph in to cute kittens, and of course Japanese television...where you are met head-on with kaleidoscopic storylines and game shows on steroids). In fact, if you have been reading this blog from the beginning, you have probably noticed that I am slowly being weaned from the immature remarks on the eccentricities of Japanese culture that I used to focus so much of my blog life on. Maybe it is because I am embracing this alien (astronomically speaking) culture as my own. All I know is that I don't notice the little (stupid) things as much as I used to. Sad. I think I am growing up.

In honor of this, the death of my immature outlook on a weird culture, I must dabble in my old life and honor what once was. On Monday, my first graders (7th graders in the states) were learning new vocabulary and grammar. On this particular day, the textbook dialogue went a little something like this:

A: "Excuse Me."
B: "Yes?"
A: "Where is city hall?"
B: "Take bus No. 3."
A: "How long does it take?"
B: "Well....about 20 minutes."
A: "Thank you."

Nothing special...just an ordinary day. Then came the practicing of the new vocabulary words and repeating after me.

Isaac: "Take"
Class: "TAKE"

Isaac: "Number"
Class: "NUMBA"

Isaac: "City Hall"
Class: "SHITY HORU"

Yes...I had thirteen innocent little boys and girls blurting out "SHITY HORU!" I didn't notice it right away...I guess I am so used to hearing the Japanese pronunciation of English...or Engrish. Later, when they were repeating the full sentences, it finally hit me. About 90% of them were saying "Where is Shity Horu?" I did what any English teacher would have done in that position...I encouraged them to speak loudly. My music teacher in high school always told me that it is better to be a loud singer singing the wrong note than a quiet singer singing the correct note. If you can hear the mistake, you can correct it. I plan on correcting their pronunciation next time.

*Sidenote: My favorite Japenglish:

"Whito bodo maka wa doko desu ka?" Translation: Where is the whiteboard marker?
"Usuarry." Translation: Usually.
"Dabeedoh Bohyee." Translation: David Bowie.
In sports: "Nice pray!" Translation: Nice play!
"Makudanorudosu." Translation: McDonald's.