ドラエもんに出してもらいたい道具は。。。

Like I said in a previous post, sometimes it's easy to forget you're halfway around the world when you pass McDonald's in the Tanukikoji shopping center or when locals automatically speak to you in English.

Then there are days like today, when the first half of our language class involved learning how to draw Doraemon.

The song: まるかいて,チョン! まるかいて,チョン!

　　　　 おまめにめがでて

　 うえきばち、うえきばち

　　　　 ろくがつむいかにUFOが

　 あっちいって、こっちいって、おっこちて

　　　　　おいけがふたつできました

　　　　　おいけにおふねをうかべたら

　　　　　おそらに三日月のぼってた, ひげをつけたら,ドラエもん！

(Each step of the song tells you how to draw him. The first line is his eyes, the second is his nose, third is his head, fourth is his arms, fifth is the outline of his clothing and body, sixth is his feet, seventh is his stomach markings, and, finally, the eighth line is his whiskers.)

My attempt:

Not the greatest, but hey - I tried! :)

After reading a passage and reviewing kanji compounds, Ichikawa-sensei allowed us to watch 「おくりびと」("Departures"), an Oscar-award winning Japanese film about a cellist who gets a new job preparing bodies during funerals. I HIGHLY recommend the movie - we watched it without subtitles and still understood and appreciated the beauty and irony of the situation, so I believe the overall effect transcends language. Besides, Joe Hisaishi created yet another wonderful soundtrack of beautiful cello ballads, so even moreso can the characters' emotions be expressed without the use of language.

We were so entranced by the film, we barely noticed when Ichikawa-sensei left the classroom to make us all cups of tea to sip while watching it. Again, 5 stars from me. If it hadn't won an Oscar, I would've seriously doubted the Academy's taste in movies. Thank goodness it did. :)