What is your ethnicity?

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Ethnicity that you identify with...

but Isseis would still retain that

I wonder if there were Isseis who were ... to make Nisseis who did fight ... tougher on the Isseis who were forced

As a student of Japanese language, you should be aware that terms like "Issei" & "Nissei" can be used as plurals without needing to add an "s" at the end - that's an English-language pluralization that should not be used for Nihongo terminology.

[Miulang]

Re: Ethnicity that you identify with...

Yes, but if they got to have conversations, wouldnt people be asking why he would do such a thing? A sense of shame and loss of honour? I think the AJA's wouldnt think this way, but Isseis would still retain that shame/honour mindset.

Most people (especially Americans) don't give a rat's patootie what others might think or do...so long as it doesn't impinge on them personally.

If Issei move to America, it's because they want to move here, which would give them no reason to question why a person who looked like them would want to "shame" his/her ancestors by refusing an order. They realize that in America, people tend to be more outspoken than in old-school Japan. The current case of Lt. Ehren Watada, who refused to deploy with his troops on the grounds that the Iraq war is illegal, has some AJAs in a tizzy, but it's only because they believe that he should follow orders and if he doesn't, he should go to jail, and not because he's AJA himself. AJAs who served in WWII think that Lt. Watada is not being a good soldier, and not that he's disgracing people of his ethnic background. Sansei and yonsei only have an opinion about whether or not he should be court martialed.

Miulang

[softbaby]

Re: Ethnicity that you identify with...

As a student of Japanese language, you should be aware that terms like "Issei" & "Nissei" can be used as plurals without needing to add an "s" at the end - that's an English-language pluralization that should not be used for Nihongo terminology.

Now this is getting really ridiculous. I nominate Shaun as the thread commedian of the year!!

[Pua'i Mana'o]

Re: Ethnicity that you identify with...

Now this is getting really ridiculous. I nominate Shaun as the thread commedian of the year!!

Before you nominate anyone for anything, how about introducing yourself first.

[Peshkwe]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

Me = Amerind (Ojibwe, Odawa, Potowatomi, with a dash of Cree and Mohawk) French (Canadian type), Scot-Irish.

Yer basic fur trade Metis.

[softbaby]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

My ethnicity is German and Scottish mix as with my younger brother Shaun. We lived in Shikokuken for 4 years while our parents were on a business trip from the time I was 14. I just returned from Kochi pefecture on the 31st of August taking a plane from Kansai Airport. We currently live in Seattle Washington. We stayed over at Tokushima Prefecture for 2 years, and Kochi for 2 years. I am currently 18 years old, just finished grade 12, and am taking a year off, and my brother is a 16 year old grade 10 student.

[damontucker]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

and I'm beginning to wonder if your a family of bots?

[Kelly0040]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

I'm calling shens

[Shaun]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

I'm calling shens

Wow kelly, is that u when u were little? Youre so cute! Show me how you look now. I am open to meeting up half way. (Do you like the Joke, no insult intended). You are really really cute. What is shens?

[Jonah K]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

My ethnicity is German and Scottish mix as with my younger brother Shaun. We lived in Shikokuken for 4 years while our parents were on a business trip from the time I was 14. I just returned from Kochi pefecture on the 31st of August taking a plane from Kansai Airport. We currently live in Seattle Washington. We stayed over at Tokushima Prefecture for 2 years, and Kochi for 2 years. I am currently 18 years old, just finished grade 12, and am taking a year off, and my brother is a 16 year old grade 10 student.

Hmm. That explains quite a bit....

Unfortunately, it's a little sad that after spending four years in Japan, you and your brother lack native levels of proficiency in both English and Japanese.

[softbaby]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

Hmm. That explains quite a bit....

Unfortunately, it's a little sad that after spending four years in Japan, you and your brother lack native levels of proficiency in both English and Japanese.

Yeah, we are getting half baked in both. I am writing with only my grade 8 English skills that got messed up learning Japanese. Product of being moved around half way through my teen years. And my Japanese is far from natural as I've been there for only 4 years, as an American kid. I wanted to know if AJA's have similar plight as I do. We have yet to go to university. I was thinking of taking some Japanese language courses right from beginners to get the grades to go to an IVY league university or at least get into UH. My english is horrible, but if I take a Japanese language course from scratch, I should be able to gain enough A+'s to go to university.

Now this scheme doesnt work for native born Japanese, but for a Hakujin like myself, who have far from perfect accent, and have not even a single ounce of Japanese blood in me, would be allowed to do this.

I am hoping to take all Japanese courses, then take the difficult courses at University. I then want to go into Theology and become a Pastor in Japan, and work for a wedding company, since they are in dire need for Christian ministers to marry Japanese.

[joshuatree]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

Wow kelly, is that u when u were little? Youre so cute! Show me how you look now. I am open to meeting up half way. (Do you like the Joke, no insult intended). You are really really cute. What is shens?

Shaun, so you're 16? Yet you're thinking of having kids by next year? Have you thought this through or is this sorta like your current flavor of the month whim?

[nachodaddy]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

Softbaby;

I almost believe you and your brother are for reals, almost.

I will talk to you cuz your brother creeps me out. When his other ball drops, perhaps I will throw him a scrap or two but no self respecting 16 year old that I know talks like he does. He would be missing teeth if he talked like that face to face.

Couple of questions....

What was the purpose of your stay in Japan? Don't say business. What does you parents do for a living?

Where did you get your screen name?

Why would a Japanese guy change his name to "Hoffman"?

You are ue no musuko so I will treat you like that for the time being.

Here is a scrap for you. "shibai" is a word used in Japan to describe a type of Noh drama. In Hawaii it has another meaning altogether.

I got this thing called "work" with encompasses significant "road time" so I GTG, might be able to catch you later today.......

[1stwahine]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

I just caught up with this thread.

OMG!!! Both brothers are babies!heheheh

Wet behind da ears.

Dunno wat is Life and wat dey going to do!

(scratches my okole ~ itchy)

hmmmm...digs my nose.

Oh! No!!!! Da bugga wen bleed!

Dang! Sayonara!

Auntie Lynn

[Jonah K]

Re: What is your ethnicity?

Yeah, we are getting half baked in both. I am writing with only my grade 8 English skills that got messed up learning Japanese. Product of being moved around half way through my teen years. And my Japanese is far from natural as I've been there for only 4 years, as an American kid. I wanted to know if AJA's have similar plight as I do. We have yet to go to university. I was thinking of taking some Japanese language courses right from beginners to get the grades to go to an IVY league university or at least get into UH. My english is horrible, but if I take a Japanese language course from scratch, I should be able to gain enough A+'s to go to university.

Now this scheme doesnt work for native born Japanese, but for a Hakujin like myself, who have far from perfect accent, and have not even a single ounce of Japanese blood in me, would be allowed to do this.

I am hoping to take all Japanese courses, then take the difficult courses at University. I then want to go into Theology and become a Pastor in Japan, and work for a wedding company, since they are in dire need for Christian ministers to marry Japanese.

English is the native language of most Japanese Americans. While some Japanese Americans have near-native fluency in the Japanese language, many others know only a few words. So for the most part, the plight of Japanese Americans is different from that of an expat who has spent four years in Japan.

In terms of taking Japanese courses in the U.S., you might be able to "sneak into" a lower level Japanese course without taking a placement test; however, that strategy is only successful if the class size is relatively large and you keep a low profile. I have no Japanese ancestry whatsoever and I enrolled in a beginning Japanese class that had 200 students when I first started college. When I got a perfect score on the first exam, the instructor summoned me to the departmental office and had me take a Japanese language proficiency test. I scored quite high on the proficiency test as well and I was immediately "bumped up" to the advanced Japanese class, where we spent our time reading, translating, and discussing the works of writers like Kawabata Yasunari. Unfortunately, I was the only non-Asian student in the class and the only one not majoring in Japanese. While I ended up getting good grades in my advanced Japanese classes, I had to work a little harder to earn them than I would have liked.

If I were in your situation, I'd work on improving my English language skills before trying to attend a good college or "Ivy League" university. Many college-aged expats that have recently repatriated attend a community college for a year or two and then transfer to a 4-year college or university later on. Community colleges are usually less "intense" than a 4-year college or university and many of the credits that you earn there are transferrable. Since most of the theology courses that you'll end up taking at a 4-year college or university in the United States will be in English, it would probably be a waste of time for you to try to take beginning Japanese courses just to get good grades.

Cheers,

Jonah K