English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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A Letter From the Past (Part 1)　　過去からの便り（パート1)

Nicole and Justin discuss their misconceptions as children.

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Nicole: Guess what? I just got a letter from my mom.　

Justin: That's rare. She usually e‐mails. What did she have to say?

N: Well, it turns out that she just recently received the letter I wrote to myself and put in a time capsule with my sixth grade class, and she forwarded it to me.

J: Let's see it. (Reading) "Dear Nicky, I wonder where you are, and who you are with when you are reading this letter. I wonder if you are married (What is he like?), if you have kids (How many?), and if you have a job (What?). I hope you have visited Japan by now to eat sushi (If so, were people wearing kimonos?), and to France to eat authentic croissants (If so, were people wearing berets?)."

Wow, this is pretty funny.

N: I know.

J: At least two of your dreams came true. We went to Paris on our honeymoon and had croissants.

N: Though there weren't nearly as many people wearing berets as I'd thought when I was 12.

(To be continued)

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Much Ado About The Basement     デパ地下騒動
Owen overdoes it on his rounds at the department store. (At the department store)

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Owen: Mom, I'm staaaarving.

Nicole: (Looking at her watch) Oh, it's late! We should be heading home.

Samantha: Why don't we go to the basement food section and pick something up for dinner?

O: Ooh, yes! My favorite place in Japan! (Bounds down the escalator)

(In the food section)

N: OK, so what do you feel like having?

O: Anything. I'm gonna go look around.

N: Owen, you'll get lost.

S: It's OK, I'll go with him. We'll meet you back here in a little bit.

(Back at home)

N: I got a green salad and some lasagna. Eat up!

O: I'm not so hungry anymore.

N: What happened? You said you were hungry when we were shopping!

S: He basically "tasted" everything twice, Mom.

O: I couldn't help it. The chocolate ladies kept pushing chocolate in my face.

S: Right, and those pieces of bread and gyoza dumplings just jumped into your mouth, right? Twice each?

O: Yeah.

N: Oh, Owen. Every time.

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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And the Award Goes To ...  今年の受賞者は…

Craig and Justin discuss the pains of Father's Day.

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(Watching television)

Justin: What are those awards?

Craig: Oh, it's the "Best Father Purple Ribbon" award. It's given out to several famous fathers every year, and each one gets a trophy. Though I have to admit, sometimes it looks like the recipients are chosen only because they're high profile and have kids.

J: Do you know what your kids have up their sleeve for tomorrow?

C: Well, until last year, the kids used to make breakfast in bed for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Except ...

J: Except what?

C: Last year, we got food poisoning from their breakfast. Turns out the eggs were old. So this Mother's Day, Denise made sure all the food in the house was fresh.

J: And the Mother's Day breakfast went well?

C: The kids were too scared after what happened last year, so they took Denise out to lunch instead.

J: That's a shame.

C: Well, the food poisoning we got was pretty bad.

J: So you'd prefer a lunch out ...

C: Or even a trophy!

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Anatomy Lesson   解剖学講義

Nicole learns a Japanese expression that explains a curious phenomenon.

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(At a restaurant)　

Justin: Phew, I'm stuffed.

Samantha: Me, too.

Owen: Me, too.

Nicole: Dessert, anyone?

O: Me!

S: Count me in.

J: I thought you said you were full!

S: There's always space for dessert.

O: Yeah, Dad.

N: Oh, Akari's mother taught me a great expression yesterday.

S: You went out for lunch, right?

N: Right. We each ordered a main dish and shared two appetizers.

J: Sounds like a lot of food.

N: It was. We were beyond full when we left the restaurant. But as we were walking down the street, we found a cute little French pastry cafe and walked right in.

J: I don't know how you do it.

N: Well, apparently, the Japanese are a wise people and have known that human beings have a betsubara or a "separate stomach" for their favorite foods!

O: Like cows?

S: No, Owen, she's just kidding.

J: Looking at you three, I wouldn't be so sure ...

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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The Anti-Litterbug   ゴミ箱対策

Owen's bag is mysteriously full.

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(Owen and Samantha return from school.)　

Nicole: How was school, kids?

Samantha: Fine. But I have so much homework today. My bag's so heavy, I thought my back would break.

N: Do you have homework, too, Owen? Your bag looks full.

O: We just got one math worksheet.

S: Mom, you should check out his bag. There's a weird smell coming from it.

O: That's mean!

N: Let me check, Owen.

O: But there's nothing in here.

N: (Taking a plastic bag filled to the brim from Owen's backpack) What's this?

O: My garbage bag.

N: What for?

O: For my garbage!

S: How long have you had it?

O: Since we came to Japan.

N: That's over a year ago!

O: There aren't many garbage cans here like there are in the States, so I needed a place to keep all my garbage.

S: (Pinches her nose) Gross! But it's true. Akari said that a lot of public garbage cans were taken away after the chemical attacks by that cult.

N: Oh, dear.

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Lost in Translation    ロスト・イン・トランスレーション

Justin and Owen are planning how to spend a day.

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Owen: I should've gone shopping with Mom and Sam.

Justin: But you don't like shopping.

O: But I'm so bored!

J: Hey, do you want to go to the batting cages?

O: No. My arms are still sore from bowling the other day.

J: How about the bookstore?

O: No. I just got books from the library.

J: Why don't we rent a movie? I think Caterpillarman is out on DVD.

O: Fine.

J: Come on, it'll be fun.

(Later)

Nicole: So, how was your day?

J: We rented a movie but didn't understand a word of it.

N: Huh?

J: We mistakenly got the dubbed version instead of the subtitled version. So the American hero Caterpillarman shouted in Japanese as he fought off his enemies. I said we should go back to the store and get the subtitled version, but Owen said he didn't mind.

O: The story's not that hard to understand, Dad. Plus, now I know what to say when I'm fighting with Sam: “Omae, mitero‐yoooooo!”

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Role Model Part 2  良きお手本　パート２

Samantha becomes inspired by a fellow American who grew up in Japan.

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(Continued)　

Nicole: Who is she?

Samantha: Her name is Beate Sirota Gordon, and her parents were Russians with Austrian citizenship who'd escaped the persecution of Jews in Europe. But she's now a U.S. citizen. She went to international schools in Tokyo.

N: Just like you.

S: Right. Isn't that inspiring?

N: Sure is.

S: She was in college in the States when World War II broke out, and she was cut off from her parents.She worked as a translator for the US government to make ends meet. She worked at Time magazine as a researcher, too.

N: That's pretty amazing.

S: Her experience and language skills landed her the job at GHQ. She went around to libraries to research different constitutions, and came up with a foundation for sections of the Japanese constitution.

N: Unbelievable!

S: I know! She also grew up learning Russian, German, French, Latin, English and Japanese. I speak English and am taking French, but that's it! I'm already way behind!

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Role Model Part 1   良きお手本　パート１

Samantha becomes inspired by a fellow American who grew up in Japan.

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Samantha: Mom, do you think I could get a private tutor to study Japanese?

Nicole: I thought you were planning to take Japanese class in school next year anyway.

S:  I was, but I'm thinking it won't be enough.

N: For what?

S: Promise not to laugh?

N: I promise.

S: I want to become either a translator of Japanese and English ...

N:  ... or ...

S:  ... at least be completely fluent enough in both so that I can use the two for some kind of non‐profit work.

N: That's admirable. Why the sudden decision?

S: Well, we were learning about the Japanese Constitution in history class, and I was totally surprised that it was basically written by Americans.

N: That's right.

S: But what I thought even more amazing was that the section on social welfare and women's rights was written by a woman who was only 22 years old!

N: I didn't know that.

(To be continued)

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Tying an International Knot Part 3 国際結婚　パート3

Justin and Nicole attend their first Japanese Shinto wedding.

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(Continued)　

Nicole: Here are the pictures I took at the wedding. (Takes out her digital camera) That's the bride.

Samantha: Wow.

Justin: I couldn't help but think a huge Pac Man was trying to eat her.

Owen: What's Pac Man?

S: Some retro videogame character, I think.

J: ...

N: Anyway, that's wataboshi, traditionally for shielding the bride's face from everyone but the groom.And here's the groom.

O: That's him?!

J: Yep. He's American.

S: (Pointing at a photo) Who's this?

N: That's the groom's sister wearing a kimono. She had to change out of it during the reception because it got too tight.

(A week later)

J: (Taking out a catalog) Here's something you two might be interested in.

O: What is it?

J: In return for the gift we gave at the wedding, the couple apparently gives us a thank‐you gift. And we get to choose what we want.

O: (Flipping the pages) Meat!

S:(Grabbing the catalog) Let me see!

J: Uh‐oh.

N: Here we go ...

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＊GW合併号のため来週の更新をお休みさせていただきます。

English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Tying an International Knot Part 2   国際結婚　パート2

Justin and Nicole attend their first Japanese Shinto wedding. 　

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(Continued)　

Denise: Hey, those must be the groom's guests.

Nicole: Really?!

Justin: Did I forget to tell you? The groom's American. The couple met in California as students.

Craig: In addition to his family, some of the groom's friends from Europe and parts of Asia are supposed to be here, too.

N: What an international crowd!

(Later, during the reception)

C: The groom's vow recital was impressive.

J: I personally couldn't tell how his Japanese fared, but I saw the bride's grandfather give him a thumbs‐up after he said his vow.

N: How sweet.

C: Did you see the bride's look of horror when the groom took a single gulp from the first sake cup?

N: No, why?

D: The couple is supposed to take three small sips out of each cup in what's called san‐san‐kudo, a symbol of a happy union.

J: That's the reason for the small sips!

C: The groom told me that he was so nervous it'd completely slipped his mind until he saw his bride take tiny sips.

(To be continued)

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Tying an International Knot Part 1    国際結婚　パート１

Justin and Nicole attend their first Japanese Shinto wedding. Craig: We present our gift money at the reception desk ...　

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Craig's wife, Denise: ... where we also sign our names in a book.

Nicole: What about the ceremony itself? I'm nervous.

Justin: Don't worry.

C: Right, you know the drill.

Justin: Follow Craig's lead, unless his foot falls asleep.*

D: What are you talking about?

C: Never mind. Anyway, the couple will enter last. There will be bowing, standing and sitting ...

D:  ... lovely gagaku music.

C: And sips of celebratory sake.

D: At the reception, we'll probably be served food with auspicious associations.

C: And try not to mention inauspicious words like "cut," for example, even though wedding cake is commonly served. The act of cutting the cake is called either "cake cut" in English, maybe because it doesn't have the emotional impact of saying the same thing in Japanese, or "the entering of the blade" in Japanese.

N: I better keep my mouth shut, just in case.

(To be continued.)

＊２００７年１２月１日号「安らかに眠れ」で、足がしびれて立てなくなったエピソードより

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Home Sweet Home?  Part 2   愛しの故郷？　パート２

Akari visits Montreal for spring break and feels right at home. (Continued)

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Akari: I was on my own yesterday because my parents went to visit museums, and I wanted to walk around. People were speaking French and English, and since Montreal's a cosmopolitan city, my biracial looks didn't feel like an issue.

Samantha: It sounds kind of like New York.

A: Maybe. At one point, I was sitting in a cafe and a woman asked me for the time in French.

S: Luckily, you take French.

A: Right. For lunch, I went into a small noodle shop in Chinatown, where I could see the owner wondering for a split second if he should greet me in English, French, or Cantonese.

S: Really?

A: Yes! And I just loved the fact that to other people I could be a speaker of any of those languages, with any kind of background. Not just a half‐Japanese, half‐gaijin kid who gets compliments from Japanese people on her language skills or her brown hair and long legs.

S: That sounds like it could be liberating.

A: Exactly!

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