A reversed culture shock
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I grew up in Osaka, had been there for more than 15 years, which means I was exposed to culture in Osaka such as Osaka Ben(dialect), food, their way of thinking and their behavior. They are said to be friendly, for example, when you wait in line, a total stranger sometimes speaks to you. Or middle aged women in Osaka have candies(they call them Amechan)or oranges (in winter season) in their bag and they might share those to you if they start a conversation with you.
When I was a college student, my friend and I visited Tokyo and I felt wired in the train hearing people talk. I couldn't bear their way of talking. Their language sounded a little bit posh for me.
Most surprising thing was that the soup of a noodle was too black. It didn't look delicious.
After married, I became a citizen of Yokohama. I have been in here for more than 20 years. I usually go back to Osaka once a year, since my mother and brother live there. Whenever I hear Osaka Ben, I feel like their language is not refined and the soup is too white.
But still I like their friendly manner and a loud laughter everywhere.
When I was a college student, my friend and I visited Tokyo and I felt wired in the train hearing people talk. I couldn't bear their way of talking. Their language sounded a little bit posh for me.
Most surprising thing was that the soup of a noodle was too black. It didn't look delicious.
After married, I became a citizen of Yokohama. I have been in here for more than 20 years. I usually go back to Osaka once a year, since my mother and brother live there. Whenever I hear Osaka Ben, I feel like their language is not refined and the soup is too white.
But still I like their friendly manner and a loud laughter everywhere.
I grew up in Osaka, and had been there for more than 15 years, which means I was exposed to culture in Osaka such as Osaka Ben(dialect), food, their way of thinking and their behavior.
They are said to be friendly. For example, when you wait in line, a total stranger will sometimes speaks to you.
Or middle aged women in Osaka may have candies(they call them Amechan)or oranges (in winter season) in their bag and they might share those to you if they start a conversation with you.
When I was a college student, my friend and I visited Tokyo and I felt wired (? worried? uncomfortable? ) in the train hearing people talk.
I understand. I moved from Adelaide to Canberra many years ago and I felt a culture shock. I sometimes complain about the things in Adelaide when I go back. But if anyone ever says the same bad things about Adelaide I will defend my old home. Only I can say bad things about Adelaide.
Do you defend your old home?
Mark
Of course, I defend my old home. There's no place like home.
A Reverse Culture Shock
I grew up in Osaka and lived there for more than 15 years, so I was really used to how things were there, like the dialect, food, and just how people (are / act).
Everyone says Osakans are friendly and so, for example, complete strangers might chat with you while waiting in line.
Or Middle-aged women in Osaka tend to have candy ("amechan") or (in the winter) oranges with them, and they might share them with you while they chat.
When I was in college student, my friend and I visited Tokyo and I felt weird listening to the people on the train.
I couldn't bear their way of talking.
They sounded so stuck-up.
When I went out to eat, I thought the soup was way way too dark.
It looked awful.
When I got married, I moved to Yokohama and →
← I've been in here for more than 20 years now.
I usually go back to Osaka once a year, since my family still lives there.
The funny thing is now, when I hear Osakans talk, I think they sound kind of…well, boorish. And the soup is too thin.
But I still like how friendly everyone is and love how it seems everyone's always laughing and having a good time.
There are rules for capitalizing titles, which are a little too complicated for me to explain right now. In any case, you say "reverse," not "reversed."
I grew…
"Exposed" is a very formal word. I don't know if you meant to write so formally, since you identify with Kanto instead of Kansai now. In any case, I prefer to write in a casual style. However, I also identify with Kansai, so you can ignore me if you like. ;)
Everyone says…
Again, "They are said to be" is very formal AND shows that you don't relate to Osakans and in fact, are even distancing yourself from them. My sentence is more neutral.
Middle-aged…
I know it's unnatural to say "middle-aged" in English but I think it's hard to understand the sentence without it.
When I…
It's more natural to talk about the school ("When I was in fifth grade") as opposed to your grade ("When I was a fifth-grader").
I took out the references to your friend, since they added nothing to the story and you don't even say if they felt the same way as you, although I can imagine so.
I couldn't bear…
A very formal sentence. It doesn't fit the mood, since you were still identifying with Kansai at that point.
They sounded…
"Posh" is too formal a word to use here because at that time, you felt it was weird. "Posh" is a positive word, at least in American English. If you mean the British sense, then…I still don't think it fits but I'm not an expert. I think that as a college student, you might think they just sounded stuck-up (arrogant).
When I…
Instead of dark, you could say "thick."
It looked…
"Delicious" is a good word and is mostly used in positive contexts ("The food was delicious.") as opposed to negative contexts ("The food was not delicious.").
When I…
"Citizen" can be used for cities but it's very formal, again.
The funny…
"Boorish" is a very formal word and it shows you look down on Osakans now. I'm sorry if that's not what you meant but…the whole Kanto vs Kansai thing kind of bothers me. It's class / cultural warfare, since Tokyo dialect was selected as the "standard" dialect, so that automatically makes Tokyo "better" or "more refined" than the rest of the country! In the US, we don't put so much emphasis on accent, unlike say England, so it makes me feel unhappy. (Although yes, there are accents that are looked down on in the US, too.) But also for me, it's sense that you've discarded, lost, or forgotten who you were, either intentionally or accidentally. Again, while that might not be your intention, calling someone "not refined" sounds very classist. There is no neutral way to write this sentence.
I added "love" to your last sentence because it made me feel better. =_= It makes it sound that you miss some part of your old life, and you're not just trying to give a faint compliment to those "unrefined" people.
私の拙い文章に、こんなに時間を割いて添削と説明まで書いていただき感無量です。
感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。ありがとう。今、ただ呆然としています.....
I can't say thank you enough. I was overwhelmed by your corrections and explanation. I gotta make a copy and should read many times until I completely understand.
I was knocked out.....
I like Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe where I spent in my adolescence.
Maybe for Osakaben, you could describe it as being "a little rough around the edges", or "sloppy" (at worst)? I've definitely heard some sloppy speakers around here! ;)
Don't worry - your English sounds great! It's a lot more than I can manage to write in Japanese so far. Please continue, I like your posts. :)
ありがとう！かしぱんさんも、日本語で日記を書いてね！