翻訳者 ("Honyakusha") in Japanese means translator, and I had my first experience today in translating Japanese to English. By no means am I completely fluent in the language yet, but I knew enough to understand what a native Japanese speaker was saying, asked them some questions based on the information, and then relayed it to an English speaker. Not to be too dramatic or self-congratulatory, but it was inspiring. I wasn't very good, I wasn't 100 percent sure that what I was saying was correct, but it was nonetheless very empowering and made me appreciate myself, which is always a good thing.
Language is a strange, mysterious thing. When I know a language, I take it for granted: I use it without thinking, I listen in on other people speaking that language, I totally get it, and there's no appreciation that I understand the language. It's when I don't understand a language that I'm inspired to learn the language, to admire people who know the language. It's always been interesting to me how the human race was able to create so many different languages, so many different ways to express the same thing. It's as if different computer geniuses raced to create different codes that normal people have to decipher and crack to gain the language.
Translating a language, therefore, gives me at least the satisfication, more than just helping others, which is a good and noble motivation, of having "cracked the code," of having mastered the language enough to be able to use the language both ways, to translate Chinese to English or English to Chinese, and to have a grasp of the language. It's akin to finally being able to learn how to ride a bike from the first time as a kid, or finishing that last piece of a 5000-piece puzzle. Very few talents in life are there definite indicators that you've mastered something- sure you can know a lot of math or law, but it's hard to understand how much exactly one knows, or to what degree one is good at it to sufficiently discourse on the matter. Language is easy to get a grasp of how one's doing- just have a conversation, and in that sense it gives a sense of accomplishment once one is able to carry on that conversation or know exactly what someone else is saying.
There's a certain element of "Ah, now I'm with the ingroup!" attached to knowing a language, by carrying on a conversation in the presence of others who don't know the language one immediately forms a bond with the ingroup member, as if there is a secret code between the members that one is "in the know," or "is part of the gang," that one can be trusted. It's like being on the same sports team, or working in a group and realizing, "wow, we're in this together, let's do it."
Bill James, a famous fantasy baseball analyst, famously said that once a baseball player develops a tool, he or she has mastered it, and it can't be taken away. Language seems to be like that, that it's a tool that one can work really really hard on for a long time, finally master, and no one can take that skill away, or discredit someone- it does stay with one forever. I'm not there yet for Japanese, but my first translation experience today, however flawed it might have been, inspired to get to that place.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
The Joys of Owning a Dog
I've always contended throughout my life that I'm not a dog person: My parents never had a dog, I get scared of dogs barking, I can barely take care of myself much less another animal, dogs are pretty messy. For various reasons I've always thought I would never get a dog, but recent experiences with a friend's dog changed my outlook and at least made me see the bright side of owning dogs (call it the maturation process of Robert Yan:
1) get plenty of attention from others- there are a LOT of dog lovers in the United States and the world, especially if the dog is cute and approachable. "What kind of dog is she?" and "She's adorable" comes up much more often than people asking "What kind of person are you?" or "You're handsome!" so I guess I'd be able to live vicariously through a dog.
2) feel others' love- Make the world a better place! Bring more love into this world!
3) loyalty- nothing like knowing there's someone always waiting for you. Many people like dealing with dogs over humans and I can see why: no worries about backstabbing, deception, conflicting emotions, etc., etc. All the companionship with none of the complications.
4) knowing that another creature in the world needs you- fulls the need of feeling important, accepting a role.
5) make plenty of "squirrel" jokes from Up- great movie and pretty true: dogs will get excited by anything that pops up on the side of the road.
6) training to make the move up to having a child- a true barometer of whether one is ready for a human being is an almost-human being, a dog.
7) get plenty of exercise. I'm not a terribly outdoors person, but having a dog seems to require one to go outside just from walking the dog, might be more depending on the activity of the breed.
8) easy conversation topic to have- How to meet women/ men 101 says "get a dog and meet other dogowners"
9) rattlesnake watch ( some are trained to avoid rattlesnakes)
10) initiate a conversation- there's a reason they're called chick magnets. Requires that the dog gets along with most people, other dogs, etc.
11) eye candy- the majestic waves of a German shepherd, to the cute gait of a pug.
12.) They're just fun. They make humans laugh, they play around, they do things that animals do. There's a reason they're called "pets"- you get to "pet" them.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
1) get plenty of attention from others- there are a LOT of dog lovers in the United States and the world, especially if the dog is cute and approachable. "What kind of dog is she?" and "She's adorable" comes up much more often than people asking "What kind of person are you?" or "You're handsome!" so I guess I'd be able to live vicariously through a dog.
2) feel others' love- Make the world a better place! Bring more love into this world!
3) loyalty- nothing like knowing there's someone always waiting for you. Many people like dealing with dogs over humans and I can see why: no worries about backstabbing, deception, conflicting emotions, etc., etc. All the companionship with none of the complications.
4) knowing that another creature in the world needs you- fulls the need of feeling important, accepting a role.
5) make plenty of "squirrel" jokes from Up- great movie and pretty true: dogs will get excited by anything that pops up on the side of the road.
6) training to make the move up to having a child- a true barometer of whether one is ready for a human being is an almost-human being, a dog.
7) get plenty of exercise. I'm not a terribly outdoors person, but having a dog seems to require one to go outside just from walking the dog, might be more depending on the activity of the breed.
8) easy conversation topic to have- How to meet women/ men 101 says "get a dog and meet other dogowners"
9) rattlesnake watch ( some are trained to avoid rattlesnakes)
10) initiate a conversation- there's a reason they're called chick magnets. Requires that the dog gets along with most people, other dogs, etc.
11) eye candy- the majestic waves of a German shepherd, to the cute gait of a pug.
12.) They're just fun. They make humans laugh, they play around, they do things that animals do. There's a reason they're called "pets"- you get to "pet" them.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Hitorisama, or How I like to Travel Alone
Japanese has a word called hitorisama (おひとりさま), meaning party of one, usually describing a lady who goes to eat by herself, or likes to do things by herself. I like to travel by myself.
Traveling alone can get a little tricky and dangerous sometimes (lost in a foreign country with no internet reception, no map, and no help comes to mind), so it's not for everyone, but given the right circumstances it can be a ton of fun. It's not as fun when you forget where your hotel is in Istanbul and get lost on your way back after already a long day of walking around through the sights of the city and get frustrated and almost give up (actual story), but I almost exclusively go hitorisama nowadays.
1.) Living in a hostel- as detailed in the last entry, lot of benefits there. Possible backfire: the Boston hostel I ended up finding was out of the city, far away, crowded, 8 people in one room, did not sleep well, didn't have good food options around, not very comfortable. Thus the drawbacks of living a simple traveler.
2.) Do what you want when you want: So many family trips ended in me not being satisfied by the experience, waiting on other people, having my family's quirks get on my nerves after so many hours being stuck together. More importantly, though, the plan has to go through the approval of many other people, one person is not the decisionmaker (although that one person probably knows better than the others what is in the best interest for the group, ahem) and compromises must be made. A hitorisama trip requires no compromise, the only restraint is the hours in the day,
3.) No stopping for long hours of food. On hitorisama trips I buy a snack along the way and keep moving to my next destination. I personally don't think "enjoying the local cuisine" has anything to do with a trip and should be reserved when making meal choices while at home (you can easily get anything "ethnic" in Los Angeles, almost any culture anywhere) but you're not going to replicate the sites of that area, or the real people living in those areas. Example, Especially in a city like Boston that's not exactly known for its food (other than clam chowdaaaaah I guess) I just skipped all of these options.
4.) Experiencing the city through trains. Other than Los Angeles, most major cities throughout the world have a great subway system that connects its major areas including most tourist destinations. From the "T" in Boston to Toronto's TTC, I've had great experiences going through the metro. Not to say that you can't do this as a group, but often with groups it's a shared car experience or tour group bus, you don't get the feel of looking up different subway stations to find one's way or even getting pleasant suprises like the iconic South Station in Boston that was pretty cool.
5.) Going outside the itinerary is fine: I stopped at Boston Public Library on a whim this most recent Boston trip, and it might have been the best decision I've ever made. No homeless people in the library (unlike L.A.), a maps exhibit that had a map of the Redwall world (one of my favorite book series as a child) and 3 levels of cool reading rooms. Spent an hour there and rediscovered my love of libraries. In Kyoto, Japan I was dazzled at the Museum of Manga and spent a half day there despite not having budgeted for it. I am my own boss!
6.) I have a need. A need for speed. In the busy world that I live in, I don't have many days to go on vacation and visit a city, and I like to go to new places so revisiting a city like Boston isn't really in my plans, you have to go quickly to cover everything and get all the finer parts of the city, and that just doesn't work with a group dragging you behind. No restroom breaks, meeting points, long lines to get everyone in, etc. for a hitorisama, just pick up your stuff and go to the next stop. I was able to fit in great Boston landmarks like the Freedom Trail, Harvard University, MIT, Paul Revere's House, Bunker Hill National Monument, the USS Consitution, Public Square, Public Gardens, Fenway Park, and Boston Harbor all in a day and a half. No need to get the "full guided tour" and waste valuable time listening to someone, that's what Google/ travel podcast is for! Listen while you're hurrying along! YES!
7.) Baseball road trip! Accomplishing Personal achievements- only 6 more MLB ballparks to go!
If anyone of these advantages are appealing to you, try the Robert Yan-approved Hitorisama way!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Traveling alone can get a little tricky and dangerous sometimes (lost in a foreign country with no internet reception, no map, and no help comes to mind), so it's not for everyone, but given the right circumstances it can be a ton of fun. It's not as fun when you forget where your hotel is in Istanbul and get lost on your way back after already a long day of walking around through the sights of the city and get frustrated and almost give up (actual story), but I almost exclusively go hitorisama nowadays.
1.) Living in a hostel- as detailed in the last entry, lot of benefits there. Possible backfire: the Boston hostel I ended up finding was out of the city, far away, crowded, 8 people in one room, did not sleep well, didn't have good food options around, not very comfortable. Thus the drawbacks of living a simple traveler.
2.) Do what you want when you want: So many family trips ended in me not being satisfied by the experience, waiting on other people, having my family's quirks get on my nerves after so many hours being stuck together. More importantly, though, the plan has to go through the approval of many other people, one person is not the decisionmaker (although that one person probably knows better than the others what is in the best interest for the group, ahem) and compromises must be made. A hitorisama trip requires no compromise, the only restraint is the hours in the day,
3.) No stopping for long hours of food. On hitorisama trips I buy a snack along the way and keep moving to my next destination. I personally don't think "enjoying the local cuisine" has anything to do with a trip and should be reserved when making meal choices while at home (you can easily get anything "ethnic" in Los Angeles, almost any culture anywhere) but you're not going to replicate the sites of that area, or the real people living in those areas. Example, Especially in a city like Boston that's not exactly known for its food (other than clam chowdaaaaah I guess) I just skipped all of these options.
4.) Experiencing the city through trains. Other than Los Angeles, most major cities throughout the world have a great subway system that connects its major areas including most tourist destinations. From the "T" in Boston to Toronto's TTC, I've had great experiences going through the metro. Not to say that you can't do this as a group, but often with groups it's a shared car experience or tour group bus, you don't get the feel of looking up different subway stations to find one's way or even getting pleasant suprises like the iconic South Station in Boston that was pretty cool.
5.) Going outside the itinerary is fine: I stopped at Boston Public Library on a whim this most recent Boston trip, and it might have been the best decision I've ever made. No homeless people in the library (unlike L.A.), a maps exhibit that had a map of the Redwall world (one of my favorite book series as a child) and 3 levels of cool reading rooms. Spent an hour there and rediscovered my love of libraries. In Kyoto, Japan I was dazzled at the Museum of Manga and spent a half day there despite not having budgeted for it. I am my own boss!
6.) I have a need. A need for speed. In the busy world that I live in, I don't have many days to go on vacation and visit a city, and I like to go to new places so revisiting a city like Boston isn't really in my plans, you have to go quickly to cover everything and get all the finer parts of the city, and that just doesn't work with a group dragging you behind. No restroom breaks, meeting points, long lines to get everyone in, etc. for a hitorisama, just pick up your stuff and go to the next stop. I was able to fit in great Boston landmarks like the Freedom Trail, Harvard University, MIT, Paul Revere's House, Bunker Hill National Monument, the USS Consitution, Public Square, Public Gardens, Fenway Park, and Boston Harbor all in a day and a half. No need to get the "full guided tour" and waste valuable time listening to someone, that's what Google/ travel podcast is for! Listen while you're hurrying along! YES!
7.) Baseball road trip! Accomplishing Personal achievements- only 6 more MLB ballparks to go!
If anyone of these advantages are appealing to you, try the Robert Yan-approved Hitorisama way!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Living in Hostels
Just booked a room in Boston despite outrageous prices in the downtown area (we're talking hundreds of dollars! Didn't know real estate in Boston was that expensive!)
For a while I've been going with hostels instead of booking hotels for traveling. Perfect for the single traveler, I really didn't know what I had been missing because I didn't know these things existed.
Hostel advantages:
1.) cheaper than hotels
2.) Open areas to socialize with other travelers
3.) all the same accommodations as hotels. \
4.) brings one back to the college, bunk bed days
5.) Did I mention cheaper than hotels?
Hostel disadvantages
1.) have to share bathroom with other people
2.) have to sleep in the same room with other people- snoring, getting up in the middle of the night, etc.
3.) not the best accommodations- not a king bed, for example.
4.) all the possible disadvantages from the movie "Hostel."- hasn't happened to me yet.
5.) sometimes you can get a bad apple- air beds or worse, like sleeping on the ground in New York one time. That sucked. Check the reviews before you go. Anyone and their mother can set up a "hostel" by opening up some rooms in their house and taking people's $30.
Hostels, superior to hotels (the extra "S" seals it, and better than airBnb! ( in my opinion better for longer-term stays like for a week or so). I haven't tried Couchsurfing.com, though, where one literally "crashes on someone's couch." Also should some enterprising entrepreneur come up with a way, an "airport BnB" app could be useful to get the best airports to take a nap in/ get the best spots in that airport.
Could be useful if you're a home field cooler like me and go around the country making the home team lose games.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
For a while I've been going with hostels instead of booking hotels for traveling. Perfect for the single traveler, I really didn't know what I had been missing because I didn't know these things existed.
Hostel advantages:
1.) cheaper than hotels
2.) Open areas to socialize with other travelers
3.) all the same accommodations as hotels. \
4.) brings one back to the college, bunk bed days
5.) Did I mention cheaper than hotels?
Hostel disadvantages
1.) have to share bathroom with other people
2.) have to sleep in the same room with other people- snoring, getting up in the middle of the night, etc.
3.) not the best accommodations- not a king bed, for example.
4.) all the possible disadvantages from the movie "Hostel."- hasn't happened to me yet.
5.) sometimes you can get a bad apple- air beds or worse, like sleeping on the ground in New York one time. That sucked. Check the reviews before you go. Anyone and their mother can set up a "hostel" by opening up some rooms in their house and taking people's $30.
Hostels, superior to hotels (the extra "S" seals it, and better than airBnb! ( in my opinion better for longer-term stays like for a week or so). I haven't tried Couchsurfing.com, though, where one literally "crashes on someone's couch." Also should some enterprising entrepreneur come up with a way, an "airport BnB" app could be useful to get the best airports to take a nap in/ get the best spots in that airport.
Could be useful if you're a home field cooler like me and go around the country making the home team lose games.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Thursday, October 8, 2015
The Home Field Cooler
If I ever wrote a book,( I've considered it, but seems very cliche and a lot of work) I would probably write about dodgeball, fantasy sports, dodgeball v. dating, different parallels, (as I was advised by my English teachers from 5th-8th grade: write about something you know) .......or a surprising new topic I've come across recently: being bad luck for the home team at every sports event I go to.
If anyone believes in curses, I certainly do now. About 2 years I started going to a lot of sports events in different events as part of my "travel the world" phase, and in that time I've tried to go to as many sports events as possible. A big chunk of that is credited to the 10-day baseball road trip I took to Midwest America in 2014, one in which the home teams went 1-9. Here's a list of results of sporting events I can remember:
1.) 2014 MLB playoffs: Angels v. KC ALDS, game 1@ Anaheim: Angels lose 2-1 in extra innings
2.) 2015 NFL Chicago Bears v. Arizona Cardinals @Soldier Field: Bears lose 48-22.
3.) 2015 MLB Arizona Diamondbacks: lose 3-2 to Oakland A's
4.) 2015 NCAA Football USC @ Arizona St.: USC wins 42-14.
5.) 2015 NHL Stanley Cup Game 7 Western Conference Finals: Chicago Blackhawks @ Anaheim Ducks: Chicago wins 5-2.
6.) 2015 MLB Dodgers v. Oakland A's at Dodger Stadium: Oakland wins 2-0.
7.) 2014 Oakland Raiders v. Houston Texans @ Oakland Colisseum: Raiders lose big.
8.) 2014 USC v. Arizona State @ Trojans Colisseum- Arizona State wins on a last second hail mary.
9.) 2014 NBA Conference Semifinals, Los Angeles Clippers v. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 3: on my literal birthday, the Clippers lost @ home to the Thunder.
10.) 2015 Toronto Blue Jays v. Tampa Bay Rays ( Yes, the curse even follows me to other countries) @ Rogers Center in Toronto: 3-2 Blue Jays loss.
11.) 2014 Clayton Kershaw Bobblehead night: Phillies 7-3 over the Dodgers @ Dodger Stadium.
So literally, (I wish I was making this up), since May of 2014 I've went 1-20 for the home teams. And it doesn't matter which sport I go to: baseball, hockey, basketball, football, college or pro, you name it, I'm making it hell for the home teams.
Note that not all of these games I wanted the home team to lose, and it's not like the home teams were major powerhouses or even favored to win in a bunch of these contests. But still, it's an alarming trend, and one that makes me believe in curses, especially after what I've been through in dodgeball the last year or so. It's not easy going to these home defeats neither: the crowd doesn't get into it, people are angry, there's no fireworks boosting up the home fans, fans start leaving early and the excitement is gone, general depression. It actually makes my viewing experience less enjoyable.
If it hasn't been done before, it'd definitely be a cool book idea: maybe make it into a fiction, make the curse even more pronounced, add some love angles where the main character is down on his luck with sports but starts meeting romantic interests and starts getting lucky in love, or starts gathering media attention, or starts getting paid by Las Vegas sports gamblers to go to certain games to "fix" them, etc., etc. Seems like the next great box office movie, really. If "Moneyball" or "Fever Pitch" did well, this idea can't be the worst......It reminds me of the movie "The Cooler" with William H. Macy, he has such bad luck any time he sits at a table he immediately cools down hot streaks and makes everyone lose money.
I don't know when my Home Team curse will be lifted, but if anyone wants to give me tickets to any home games to make the visiting team win.......
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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