Random conversations

[labrat]

Mo is this true you live with a man named Chester ?

[Kasi]

@labrat
Only happy cause you brought a big eye wallet chain to be me

[labrat]

[Kasi]

[KawaiiKitten]

[Shelby999]

Pointed Musing

It occurs to me that the inimitable Shinichi Haraki (and his Japanese team - somewhat like the tinkering and racing success of the late American Carroll Shelby) have created (with the considerable marketing foresight of Englishman Giles Padmore and his team) this outlet for a global consortium of high-minded people who represent and promote the distilled best of what human culture has created. Although I fear for the future of humanity (there are too fucking many of us), this forum is a safe place to interact and enjoy people who strive for their best. Some might think Duh!, but I want to state the obvious, and sincerely thank the afore-mentioned people and their organizations for helping to sustain what remains of my faith in mankind (old enough to know what was). I recently witnessed the 101-year-old Canadian John Neu receiving the French Legion Of Honour, "There are some countries in the world who are going through the same hiccup that Europe went through before the second world war. I can see the signs." It was extremely emotional for me to hear this man relate his experience of attending Bergen-Belsen shortly before victory in 1945 and helping the Allies bury thousands in mass graves. This survivor crossed the ocean at 19 years to fight for the freedom that I enjoy in Canada today. What he lived through makes me feel inadequate. I wonder how willingly today's 19 year olds (or any of us) would take up that mantle and put their lives on the line to survive against the odds. High-minded, indeed.

[Shelby999]

@MisterEclectic Ditto.

[SKT]

For you international, multilingual folks, is there one language you would recommend to learn as a second to English? I’m in my 50’s and need a brain challenge…other than having teenagers.

[goosehd]

Probably French or Spanish with the most chance of being able to use it frequently. I have thought Japanese would be fun to learn.

@Alex thoughts and insights on Japanese?

[IrishHeart]

@SKT I would definitely say Spanish. There are twice as many native Spanish speakers as French. ( All of South America except Brazil).
My daughter speaks it fluently and says it’s one of the more straightforward languages to learn and has helped her to understand Portuguese and Italian.

[Denman John]

@SKT Learning Japanese has worked out well for me. Not the most widely spoken language, but I was able to have about 5 or 6 different conversations on my recent trip.

[SKT]

Thanks guys. Spanish does seem to be a no-brainer. But the idea of Japanese is very interesting just because it’s so different. Appreciate everyone’s thoughts

[Alex]

@SKT I am pretty fluent in french, and have I'd say an intermediate standard of Japanese. Japanese is really, really fucking hard. French comparatively was super easy - I would say both are as useful or useless as each other in that there are not many places other than France or Japan that either are useful, though French clearly is slightly more widely spoken than Japanese globally.

I assume Spanish is the obvious choice for any American - my foundation in french gives me above average comprehension in Spanish/Italian. My Japanese gives me little to no benefit in China (only obvious comparison)

[SKT]

@Alex thanks Alex. I mean Japanese looks hard. It would really be a challenge to learn at this point I’m thinking. I like what you said about French giving you a foundational understanding of Spanish/Italian. I would hope learning Spanish would do the same for me with Italian and French. More bang for the buck

[pechelman]

@Denman-John and @Alex or anyone else who has learned Japanese; what/how did you go about it? Something like Rosetta Stone or duo or something totally different? The huge hurdle seems to be not being familiar with any of their alphabets.

[Alex]

Leaning Hiragana and Katakana is the easy part, but until you do that, you cant do much else. Start with hiragana. There are loads of good apps/sites for flashcard style learning of these characters. This is also a good site: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/learn-hiragana/

Once you nail down the two alphabets, if you're still interested, DM me
@pechelman

[Denman John]

@pechelman I took Japanese for a year in university and that gave me the basic grammar and sentence structure. When I moved to Japan it was sink or swim as I lived in a rural area where nobody spoke English. I learned much faster when I was immersed in the language and culture and HAD to use it on a daily basis. I have forgotten some vocabulary and my grammar can be a little sloppy, but I can still get by pretty well. It also helps that my wife is Japanese

[WhiskeySandwich]

Admiring the patina on the waiting room chairs at my tax joint…. Is that tea core? Lol

[Luijim78]

@WhiskeySandwich I don't think so, I think it's a chrome tanning, with wear it tends to whiten but maybe I'm not seeing the colour in the photo

[Giles]

@Luijim78 I think it's a joke Luigi, I think it is plastic showing the white material underneath.....