My Condolences...

DISCLAIMER: This may be morbid, so forgive me in advance if it seems so. It's no secret that I have always handled death in ways that most people don't understand. As a result of my "odd" behaviors, I no longer attend funerals and try not to be around others who are grieving.

This post comes with sad news. A childhood friend and sweetheart of mine was reported missing this weekend and I just received word that her body has been found. I haven't been close with her in many years, but she did come hang out for my birthday celebration this past year. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for her we never officially dated, but we were really close in Jr. High and High School. She was always such a sweetheart, strong willed, funny, and pretty damn smart.

Needless to say, I'm broken up about this news. But, I'm also a student of Japanese. This is where the morbidity may come in. As I take a break from my tears I became curious how the Japanese give condolences. I guess there is really no good time to learn this, just like there is no good time to fill out a will or get life insurance. It's simply a morbid and often unpleasant topic. But learning is a coping mechanism. And for me, studying is helping ease the pain a bit.

I learned 2 phrases.

ご愁傷様でございます。 (ごしゅうしょうさまございます)

and

心よりお悔やみ申しあげます。(こころよりおくやみもうしあげます)\

The first (ご愁傷様でございます) is kind of weird from an American worldview. It just kinda acknowledges that someone is grieving. This is the polite form you use with someone who is not in your family.

The second(心よりお悔やみ申しあげます） means "condolences from the bottom of my heart" basically (more literally, condolences rise from my heart). I believe this one is ok to use for family or friends, but is maybe too informal for strangers.

In any case, I had to learn that and write this out to kind of deal with what's going on right now. I know it's morbid, but it helps.

Micro-Practice: Counting at the Gas Pump, Cash Register, Car Milage

Yesterday I shared that I had successfully counted to 99,999,999. One of the micro-practices I have been doing is to read numbers in Japanese whenever I can. As an example, yesterday I was filling up my gas tank and I was alternating between counting the total sales amount and the number of gallons.

The Pimsleur lessons provide lessons on filling up your tank at a gas station.

満タンにしてください。

Is basically "fill 'er up, please." Japan, like most other countries in the world, uses the metric system. So instead of gallons, practice saying リットル instead.

Filling up on gas is a perfect time to practice counting and a bit of conversation. If you are lucky enough to be alone at the pump, you can count the numbers out loud, ask the pump to fill your tank, and thank the pump. If there are others around and you don't want to appear like crazy person talking to yourself and a gas pump (what fun is it if people don't think you are crazy??), you can simply practice in your head.

I make a mini-game out of seeing how fast I can keep up with the scrolling numbers. It's a decent challenge.

You can also practice reading the numbers on the cash register or translating what the cashier says is your total. I really recommend doing math completely in Japanese for your totals and change. I'm pretty strong in math, but doing it in another language was difficult at first. Having done it for a few weeks now, I feel it has definitely contributed to my confidence in Japanese number. It is definitely easier than translating the numbers in your head, doing the math, and then translating the answer back.

To practice counting large numbers, you can count your mileage. My car happens to have over 150,000 miles so that is a conveniently high number to work with right now.

From this, hopefully you can see where practicing numbers can be done in other similar situations.

Micro-practice: Driving to the Bar

Pimsleur's Japanese I includes conversations necessary to order drinks at a bar. I find myself practicing this in the car on my way to the bar often. The conversation is fairly simple and at this point in my studies I am confident I could order what I want. Of course, when I get there, there is no one behind the bar who would understand what I'm saying. That's no the point though. You should practice another language as often as you can. Simply following the instructions in any study guide will likely not be enough to master a language. Much of what I have read and experienced first hand when i was learning Spanish in high school, is that it is imperative that you practice as much as possible.

I call this micro-practice, I do it often. I will be including things I do in these mini study sessions during times of convenience in this blog. For now, it's time to go to bed.

おやすみなさい。