A sampling of places otaku can buy apparel, Jpop, Jrock, geta, bento boxes, plushies, anime figures and other Japanese entertainment merchandise. Some places are on my wish list, while others, I have frequented.
Challenging My Real Time Listening Comprehension
Sensei and her teaching assistants have started to play CD's containing Japanese conversations in real time. Our task has been to see just how much we can pick out. The answer? Not much.
Nothing makes it so blatantly clear just how far we have to climb than listening to that CD. It made it obvious just how much sensei and her assistants have slowed down their speech for us.
On the first pass, we caught the odd word. By the third pass, we were able to catch phrases - so long as the CD was paused after each phrase!
The question now becomes, "How to practice this at home during the week?" Here are a few ideas that sensei, my classmates and I have come up with:
listen to Japanese radio shows
listen to Japanese music
watch Japanese shows - raw, or without looking at the subtitles
The trick is to listen to the track several times, to see if you can pick out a little bit more each time. むずかしい です ね？
Practicing Conversational Japanese
As with learning any language, if you want to learn how to speak it, you actually have to practice speaking it, ne? Below are a few groups you could join to practice speaking Japanese:
University clubs: Check to see if you have a "Japanese Conversation and Culture Club" on campus.
Form a study group with your classmates. You can meet up in person, or try a "virtual" study group via Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, etc.
Meetup.com: Check out "Japanese Language and Culture Meetup Groups"
Become involved with your local Japanese community association. The Calgary Japanese Community Association is pretty active and many of the older members are helpful when you try to speak Japanese.
Youths can check out the Japanese Youth Association of Calgary.
Although many of the links are Calgary-specific, you can check online to see if there is a similar group in your area.
My Kotatsu Table Project
t seems like there is a kotatsu table in every household featured in the anime shows I watch. A kotatsu is a heated Japanese table. The special kotatsu heater sits on the underside of the table. They are generally fairly low, with a futon placed on top to keep the heat in. The first time I saw it, I thought, "Man, I really need one of those!"
Looking for the Perfect Messenger Bag - Otaku Style
Last weekend, I had to retire my Fullmetal Alchemist messenger bag. The plastic shoulder strap adjuster thingie broke enough to poke me. いったい！ This is my messenger bag:
So I've started to look for the perfect anime messenger bag. So many choices. My criteria is as follows:
ample pockets
design: cool enough that otaku would say "Sugoi", safe enough for my students to see and grown up enough that other adults wouldn't say, "Aren't you a little old for this?"
sturdy design
from a show I like
decent price
decent shipping
I could simply replace my FMA bag with the FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Flamel Cross Messenger Bag:
It's not as nice as my retired one though. This Soul Eater: Meisters Anime Messenger Bag is a serious contender. It has the entire gang: Maka & Soul, Death the Kid with Liz & Patty and let's not forget Black Star & Tsubaki:
Oh yay - there's also the The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: SOS Anime Messenger Bag:
However, the Code Geass: Lelouch Geass Symbol Anime Messenger Bag is pretty cool - and it doesn't look childish:
Choices. Choices. I've only just begun. I'd like to see if there are messenger bag designs for some of the more current anime, such as Hyouka, Accel World, and Sword Art Online. One that's for the ladies. Lyfa and Asuna are cool characters, but I'd much prefer to have a bag with Kirito on it - or the main cast.
I'll have to check out my other main places for otaku gear: Right Stuf, CD Japan andJList. I've been meaning to check out AmiAmi too. See what I mean about so many choices?