I was sitting in a Kagoshima, Japan, Starbucks yesterday enjoying my tall green tea frappuccino. Suddenly, a Japanese woman at the table next to me started talking to me in English (her English was quite good, by the way). This is not an unusual occurrence, as I’m often approached by Japanese people wanting to practice their English on a foreigner.
I just started my second year of living and working in Japan. I came here in March, 2007, without knowing any Japanese. It has been an interesting journey of classes and learning, and I really should be studying harder to get the language down.
This is an essay I wrote for my English class. Let me know what you think, and please rate, thanks.
St. Patrick's Day, for me, symbolizes the coming of spring. I don't know if its so much needed socialization after the cold winter months or just all those green decorations, but it seems to be a pleasant reminder that the world is getting ready to start anew. But every year its also another booze-filled reminder of my blaring lack of heritage.
In the first part of my discussion I began to discuss the essential question, "What is Music?". Where is the line that distinguishes what is music and what is just noise? But the question is much broader than that. In the world of music there are two distinct entities; Western music and what I will refer to as World music. The how and where music is produced could also have an influence on what many people think is music and what isn't.
It seems like today there is more intolerance than ever. Everywhere you look there is a war, genocide, fight, all words meaning one thing: Intolerance.
War and intolerance has been going on for all of time. Why don't we change that? It seems that in today world with such change going on and so many modern thoughts that we should be figuring out how to get along.
I believe that if a person wants to be able to really understand other peoples opinions, and where their views come from that they must travel to other countries to see different cultures. Going to Canada and Mexico is great, but their is so much else out their, and so much to see that you should hop on a plane and go somewhere.
One of the questions I am most often asked on the campus of the University of South Florida: "What are you?"
