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ALC Newsletter No. 074 12/13/07
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By the International Marketing Team at ALC Press
http://www.alc.co.jp/international
Contents:
1) The "Dear Readers" Column: Messages from the International Marketing Team at ALC Press
2) Trendy Japanese #25: Internet cafe refugees
3) Quiz on Japan #13: "What are you supposed to do before drinking tea?"
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Dear Readers,
Greetings from Tokyo!
Time flies! It's already December and Christmas is coming soon. You
may be very excited about it. We would like to present you with a
cool Christmas card. We videotaped this at ALC's SIM in Second Life.
We bet you will enjoy meeting our avatars and hearing us singing
a Christmas song! Please go to:
< http://www.alc.co.jp/international/images/movie/xmas07.mov >
If this does not work on your computer, you can also see it at YouTube
although the image quality is a little low:
< http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2KiU_T4T6o >
In Japan, December 25th is not a holiday but just a regular Tuesday
(working day) this year, although stores and towns are decorated
with lots of Christmas ornaments. Traditionally, we celebrate the
first three days of the New Year and they are national holidays.
Most companies also offer their workers January 4th as a holiday.
Thanks to 2008's calendar, the 5th and 6th are a weekend, so we
have a six-day New Year's holiday! You may be surprised to know
that this is luxuriously long for us in Japan.
ALC Press is closed from December 29th, 2007 to January 6th,
2008.
The next newsletter will be delivered on January 16th.
Best wishes from the International Marketing Team at ALC Press.
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Trendy Japanese #25: Internet cafe refugees
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We mentioned the Internet cafe refugees (people who don't have a
fixed dwelling place and constantly stay in Internet cafes) in the last
newsletter. The term began to appear in the media from early this
year, and now is used to show one of Japan's social problems. Before
we consider the issue, perhaps we'd better explain what the Internet
cafes are like in Japan.
Internet cafes in Japan are not just a place to connect to the Internet.
They also have a massive amount of comic books and magazines, and
some are equipped with comfortable reclining chairs, video games, or
even shower rooms! People can enjoy reading comics, netsurfing,
playing video games or just relaxing very cheaply, while taking
advantage of a wide variety of free drinks. During the night is
especially reasonable ─ you can use a small compartment all night
for only about 10-15 dollars.
So, it may be no wonder that people use the Internet cafes almost as
their dwelling place. But you may also be wondering why those people
don't rent a cheap apartment instead. Actually, renting an apartment
in Japan costs a lot. With all kinds of fees, gratuities and deposits, you
usually need the equivalent of six times your monthly rent just to pay
for moving! That means you need to have about 3,600 dollars to
move into an apartment that costs 600 dollars a month. So it can
take some people a long time to save enough money to be add to
move.
It might not be so bad if it was only young people staying in the
Internet cafes temporarily, but among Internet cafe refugees are also
people in their 30's, 40's or even their 50's and above. It is said that
many of them work part-time, but some don't have a job, while some
others have steady jobs and still stay in Internet cafes. Japan has
been known as a "rich" country for a long time, but when you talk
about the quality of people's lives, maybe the richness is relative.
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Quiz on Japan #13: "What are you supposed to do before drinking tea?"
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How much do you know about Japan? We'll give you a quiz in each
issue, so try to find the right answer!
［Answer to last week's quiz］
Last week's quiz question was "What did married women used to do
to show they were married"? The answer is: (c) Paint their teeth
black. The custom of black teeth is said to have been used in ancient
times, mainly as a kind of cosmetic for aristocrats. Especially during
the Edo Era (from the early 17th century to the late 19th century),
it is said to have been used as a sign of being married.
Quiz for this week: The tea ceremony is one of Japan's traditional
cultures and has several rules. When the tea master makes the tea
and puts the teacup in front of you, what are you supposed to do
before drinking it?
(a) Turn the teacup around clockwise.
(b) Place your hands together and pray to the god of tea.
(c) Give a gratuity to the tea master.
(d) Sing a special song in praise of the tea culture.
Check out the correct answer in the next issue!
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Thank you for reading!
*Back issues of the ALC Newsletter are available at:
http://www.alc.co.jp/international/Newsletter.html
*If you wish to be removed from this newsletter or change the e-mail
address to which it is sent, please let us know by e-mailing us at:
intl-mag@alc.co.jp
Publisher: ALC Press, Inc.
2-54-12 Eifuku, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-8611 Japan
Writers: The International Marketing Team at ALC Press / Ayako Ishimoto
Editor: The International Marketing Team at ALC Press
Copyright (c) 2007 ALC Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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