it has been long

[uzauza]

i have finished putting all my things away. it is very strange being alone home here now. i hope i will run into someone who remembers i remember.

japan already looks very different when i can read most of  some of  a few of the street signs. in nagoya we were not supposed to leave school without senior older students, and most people at the dorms were changing  switch  also from other countries. i am not sure where to go to find something good to drink. can i ask one of you  someone?

i've been trying to brush up on my japanese, but its definitely more difficult than my practice books. i would like to practice, but if im more understandable in english to people that is okay too. maybe that is easier for people who can speak it? 

(ooc: strikethroughs are alternate phrasings or words he couldn't remember that didn't actually make it into the post. italics are things typed in english.)

Comments

[knuckling]

!!!!!!!!!

uzauza!! its been ages, youre back in japan?! thats great! your japanese is really good!! oh-

i can write like this too, now, if that is better for you? but also i am welcome to practice japanese with you!

[uzauza]

it is kirihara-san ! . i have been wondering if you would remember, maybe the name helped? i have come to study. computers, not japanese.

if english makes things easier for you, that works too. i suppose you had to learn the language to be able to play in english-native speaking countries? i've seen you play, by the way. you've gotten very good.

do you still get angry about seaweed jokes?

[knuckling]

the name helped, but i think i would have recognised you anyway, hehe. i was gonna ask if calling you uzauza was still fine, but i guess i dont really have to?? it would be hard to call you anything else probably, anyway!! computers, huh! thats interesting!!

not easier, maybe. but it can be done! thank you for watching my games. yes, i will have tried very hard to learn for tennis. three opens and many tournaments are in countries that use english. i am very good now! are you still playing tennis?

[uzauza]

i am told nicknames are good for friends, so i do not mind you call me that. you can also use my first name if you remember, but in japan that sounds weird. maybe studying computers i can make something that will make my japanese better.

i was in the audience at the australian open. it was unfortunate you lost, but you played well. maybe i shouldn't be saying this, what with german solidarity, but i'm sure you have a good shot at winning next time. english probably makes things a lot easier with how much you travel. i haven't played in a while, but i brought my gear with me. maybe i'll get the chance to pick it back up here in japan.

[knuckling]

i remember it, dont worry! but nicknames are good, yeah. if you think of one for me you can use it (except anything with -chan is super banned). a good translation app would be a cool thing to make!! my current one sucks actually. or maybe something that helps with kanji??

oh! it would have been nice to see you there, come and said hello to me. but maybe not after i had lost. i will win next time. hearing you support me makes me happy! if you want to play tennis games, i can make some time. if i say you are good player, my coach will take it as my practice. (this is better for me).

[uzauza]

i am not sure what a good nickname would be. are there any rules to coming up with something? i think chan is usually used for girls, so i think it could be weird to use it. maybe if i work on something like that i will learn to speak properly before actually finishing it, though if i did it with kanji i don't think that is possible. there are too many.

i was with a german player other germans, so that might've been kind of awkward. i am counting on your victory next time. you sound confident, maybe i'll even join a betting pool. i already lost to you even when i was still playing actively so i'm not sure i'd be all that useful to practice with, but the idea sounds nice.

[knuckling]

i dont think there are rules exactly? it should be something that you think of naturally!! chan is sometimes used for boys when people wanna call them something "cute" or theyre trying to insult you. it makes you sound small or, like, young.
there are definitely waaay too many kanji!! an app like that would even be good for japanese people too, heh.

i understand. supporting me maybe could have made them angry. a betting pool is, gamble? if i know you have done this for my win, i will fight even stronger!! please dont worry about being able to win to me. i use my coaches other players for practice most, and with them i am still the best.

[uzauza]

if there are no rules i am not sure where to begin? maybe i will call you just kirihara-san until i think of something. and that seems like a weird thing to do if nicknames are used for friends. maybe i will try to make something like that, yes, so it will be useful for me as well even when i can speak properly.

i don't think they would be angry exactly, but they'd probably get annoying and nobody wants to deal with that kind of bullshit. a betting pool means i'd put money on you winning, so it'd be good for me if you tried your hardest. if you say it is okay i think id like to play a game sometime. you usually look like you are having fun.

[knuckling]

yeah, thats why nicknames have to be natural, since there are no rules. but some nicknames can be a little embarrassing but fine if only friends use them. you can definitely drop the -san at least!! and you can use my given name, most of my friends do!!

my Thoughts On The Bullshit are the same. being close to annoying people is worst, so it is fine to not make this situation. i am going to play in indian wells and miami next!! not a grand slams, so less money if you betting pool, but i will win. it is most fun to tennis with friends, so lets play soon, okay?

[uzauza]

i think i understand. it will be the joke or something related to the name, but not something that is bad in kindness. i will have to think. there was the thing with the sea plant back then, but i do not know if that counts? if you say it is okay, i will call you akaya-kun now.

there's a lot of bullshit around some of the german players. even though you say it'd have been fine for me to come over then, we get a chance to talk now so it's fine. i follow a lot of tournaments, not just the grand slams, so i'm sure i can find a betting pool to weigh into. it's been a while since i have gotten the chance to play with someone who felt that way. i look forward to it.

[knuckling]

ehh... definitely doesnt count. that whole thing was kind of complicated but i wouldnt be considering that a nickname at all. ah, thats fine though!! and dont feel like you have to give me a nickname really. it was just a suggestion.

i am surprised you think the same about german players, but i think that means the bullshit must be very bad. yes, now is good too. if you place money, i will make you more richer!!
when you know your timetable, tell me your free time and we can play.

[uzauza]

it was? i thought it was just something about the hair? i think it is still good to know these things, so i can know if i think of something that is good. it seems to be good for friends? many people have asked not to be too formal while i am here.

some of them are fine. jürgen isn't so bad, when he isn't in a work kind of mood. he's tough to talk about when it comes to tennis though. i don't know him well though, i see more of the annoying ones. i'm counting on it. especially against that person, when you play him again.
you should give me your phone number so i can text you when i know my schedule. i have a lot of free time though, since school hasn't started yet.

[knuckling]

well the hair was. the base of it, kind of. i dont really get everything that happened, actually!! but it wasnt good. so yeah.
ah, japanese culture among strangers compared to friends is pretty different. if youre friends you dont need to worry about being formal at all!!

jürgen is mr. volk? he seems okay but too serious. i do not get to talk to many of the european players often, most they like to talk to themselves only i think.

im gonna just use japanese here actually. ill message you my number and address privately! i have two weeks before america so its a good time to meet!!

[uzauza]

i did not really know the conversation that time too. i could tell now, but it has been long so i do not remember.
if the difference is with strangers and friends, how do you tell when you are allowed to not be formal? i think many people i do not know well have told me to use their names, but not everyone that i know has asked.

jürgen volk, yes. i don't talk to him that often either. he's kind of a hardass when it comes to tennis, but he's not an total dick about it. a lot of people on the european circuit think less of japanese players. its why i was caught off guard when you beat me, way back. they'll probably warm up when you win more.

japanese is good. i will save your number and reply quick, so we can meet before you leave.

[knuckling]

its probably better to not remember it. even though other people have brought it up since, i still dont really like it.
oh it just depends on the person! if people have friendly personalities, you dont have to be formal! just try and match how people are acting towards you at first and youll figure it out. but also dont, like, force yourself!! everyones got their own, uhh... manner? yeah.

"hardass" is a good word to learn. i have got this feeling from them also. but i am going to make sure they stop watching us like lower.

yeah, i told you! send a message to me any time.

[ooc; yeah he forgot to go back to japanese again.]

[uzauza]

i think it is more that i remember that it happened, but not what was said because i did not understand.
so, it is because of the personality. i thought that maybe because some people have siblings they might also be a reason. i think i will use the names as yagyuu-san taught me and then change if people say i can, if that makes sense?

hardass is a useful term. theres a few real hardasses here in japan as well, but most of them are easier to approach. sort of. i hope you do, especially now that i'm putting money on it.

i sent you a picture to check the number. did it work?

((ooc: he's sent a picture of some flowers))

[knuckling]

well, yeah, hard to forget all that!! but the conversation isnt so important at this point, so dont worry!!
ah yeah, siblings can help? i have a big sister and she and i are pretty similar. maybe others are like that too? following what senpai says and changing it to suit people is probably the best idea, yeah!!

"sort of" is right, but if youve found that youre able to communicate better with them then its probably a good thing. ill make sure to get you some profit, hehe! you can buy me a drink when i get back ★

yup, got it! cute photo, did you take it?

[uzauza]

i would not know what to forget anyway. you were red after and then i lost, i was surprised at the time.
i think that if people confused me and the older brother it would be very annoying, but he does not use the same family name. also we do not look alike so much, in hair. yagyuu-san has the good advice. i am glad to still rely on after so much years.

that is good. you will win me the money and then i will let you pick something i can try.

it is what i put next to the window. the apartment is not so full yet, so i wanted something color. good to know the number is right.

[knuckling]

surprised, huh. cant really blame you for that.
i didnt know you had a brother, but it doesnt sound like you guys get along?? thats kind of a shame! my sister and i look sort of alike except shes obviously a girl. same hair and eye colours though.

ill keep my recommendations for that, then! seems like you got a few already so thats fine, right?

ooh. you should decorate it with stuff you collect from japanese places you go and itll look more full in no time!

[uzauza]

it is not something i expecting people to do, for sure.
i have an older brother. we are not so close, but we might look alike if my hair was short. he is an annoying person, do not think too much about him.

i am very curious what kind of thing akaya-kun will choose. i have a list as well, but it will take a while to get through anyway.

that is a good idea. it will be like a representation of what i am learning about japan.