Saturday, May 23, 2009
Kootch Returns From Japan
(1)
Kootch returned from her vacation recently. She knocked on the door around 7 PM and I heard her undoing the locks as I approached. After a quick look through the peephole to verify that it was indeed her, I slid back the latch, but playfully kept the chain in place and opened the door to the chain limit (a few inches). 'Password, please?' She laughed and I let her in. She came bearing gifts, as usual, from Japan, the land of strange and yummy food. She had taken the 'Super Shuttle' from DIA, saving me from the traumatic experience of leaving the apartment unprotected for at least two hours. (She had also taken the Super Shuttle when she left three weeks ago. Good girl!)
My experience during her absense was very typical for me: keep the doors locked at all times, especially at night. Always chain the hallway (entrance) door with at least one digital padlock while outside the apartment, even for the few minutes it takes to check the mail. Always chain the entrance door with at least two digital padlocks when leaving the apartment for more than a few minutes. Always select new random 4-digit codes for each padlock. Write the codes down! Always secure the entrance door with four digital padlocks in the event of leaving the apartment for more than two hours at any one time. (This last procedure was unnecessary, as I was able to limit my several food expeditions to less than 45 minutes each.)
Her experience was also typical: immense joy at her yearly reunion with her only remaining sibling (younger sister) and family in Tokyo. There was also the joy of collecting rare (in the USA) Japanese foods, mostly condiments, which we will use over the year to come. And of course there were the inevitable 'new Japanese words.' Seems Japan has become very 'Americanized' since 1945 and English has become such a Japanese 'second language' that new inventions are regularly assigned English (more or less) pronounciations. The most recent example - mentioned by Kootch, is 'tora-ma.' (English, 'trauma'; Japanese, ... (Kootch is watching a Japanese movie on her Japanese language TV at the moment and keeps waving me off here)... ok. 'Tora' means, 'tiger,' 'ma' means 'horse.' Together the two sounds equate to the English word, 'trauma.' Go figure. Did the Japanese have no word for 'trauma?'
Kootch returned from her vacation recently. She knocked on the door around 7 PM and I heard her undoing the locks as I approached. After a quick look through the peephole to verify that it was indeed her, I slid back the latch, but playfully kept the chain in place and opened the door to the chain limit (a few inches). 'Password, please?' She laughed and I let her in. She came bearing gifts, as usual, from Japan, the land of strange and yummy food. She had taken the 'Super Shuttle' from DIA, saving me from the traumatic experience of leaving the apartment unprotected for at least two hours. (She had also taken the Super Shuttle when she left three weeks ago. Good girl!)
My experience during her absense was very typical for me: keep the doors locked at all times, especially at night. Always chain the hallway (entrance) door with at least one digital padlock while outside the apartment, even for the few minutes it takes to check the mail. Always chain the entrance door with at least two digital padlocks when leaving the apartment for more than a few minutes. Always select new random 4-digit codes for each padlock. Write the codes down! Always secure the entrance door with four digital padlocks in the event of leaving the apartment for more than two hours at any one time. (This last procedure was unnecessary, as I was able to limit my several food expeditions to less than 45 minutes each.)
Her experience was also typical: immense joy at her yearly reunion with her only remaining sibling (younger sister) and family in Tokyo. There was also the joy of collecting rare (in the USA) Japanese foods, mostly condiments, which we will use over the year to come. And of course there were the inevitable 'new Japanese words.' Seems Japan has become very 'Americanized' since 1945 and English has become such a Japanese 'second language' that new inventions are regularly assigned English (more or less) pronounciations. The most recent example - mentioned by Kootch, is 'tora-ma.' (English, 'trauma'; Japanese, ... (Kootch is watching a Japanese movie on her Japanese language TV at the moment and keeps waving me off here)... ok. 'Tora' means, 'tiger,' 'ma' means 'horse.' Together the two sounds equate to the English word, 'trauma.' Go figure. Did the Japanese have no word for 'trauma?'
