Sunrise in Charlotte: 08/25/2014 6:54

A touch of autumn

I've been feeling a touch of autumn since last week.

My apartment is facing west.

I see the sunrise every day these days,

which I haven't seen during the summer time.

The direction of the sunrise has also moved.

 

 

There are some yellow leaves in the trees.

I saw some fallen leaves too.

 

 

By the way, 

 

what is the name of this tree & flower?

 

The trees have just come into bloom.

 

It looks similar to what my parenents have in their front yard in Japan.

But they do not have flowers in Autumn.

 

Hibachi

Dear Southerners,

  

 

 

 

What do you call this restaurant style?

 

 

Hibachi?

 

 

No.

 

At least, not in Japan, the origin of this cooking style.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a Hibachi.

 

 

 

   

 

 

A Hibachi is a fire bowl.

It is a traditional Japanese heating device.

It is not usually used for cooking.

  

 

 

 

 

 

Not usually, but occasionally, it is used for cooking.

 

We are eco-friendly.

 

We make good use of a little fire in a Hibachi.

 

 

  

  

 

This is a "Shichirin" but not a "Hibachi".

 

 This is a traditional cooking utensil using charcoal. 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Southerners,

 

 

 This is a "Teppan Yaki" style restaurant.

"Teppan" is an iron hot plate, and "Yaki" means to grill.

 

  

 Don't you think a "Hibachi" is a little too small for cooking?

... only a little bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to this Hibachi restaurant last night.

 

 

A slice of onion was burning.

 

 

It's Abunai (dangerous).

 

 

Push down and turn

I don't like this "push down and turn" type of caps.

This trick, I undersratnd, is to avoid the misuse of children, but it doesn't open easily.
The idea is good, but you have to do a better job in producing them.

 

North Carolina Necklace with Heart Over Charlotte

 

届いた！
早っ！！

ノースカロライナ州の形のネックレスでシャーロットの場所がハートでくりぬいてあります。
かわいいので衝動買いしました。
おむかいさんとお揃いで二つゲット。

ノースカロライナ州は東西に細長く、海岸線はギザギザ。シャーロットは西南の端の方にあります。北はバージニア、西はテネシー、南がサウスカロライナ州です。テネシーとの州境は斜め線なのですね。

Guiness Internaitonal Cup

I went to see a soccer game between Liverpool and AC Milan held in Charlotte as a part of Guiness International Cup.

These are what surprised me when I watched the game in Charlotte:

1. Crowded!

Soccer is not a big sport in the US. I don't think many people know about the soccer leagues in England and Italy. But there is no big event in Charlotte. So the place was very crowded. My friend told me that the stadium was more crowded than when there is an American football game. I wanted to meet up with my colleagues, but naturally gave it up as I saw the crowd.

2. Gathering for tailgates　

The Americans like tailgates, and may want to do that for any support event. I think tailgates are for American football games and not for soccer, but who cares?

3. Various different uniforms

Supporters wear not only the uniform of Liverpool or AC Milan, but of any sport. I saw someone wearing the jersey of Panthers, David Beckahm, England national team, Japan! and Pele, the kind of football.

4.  Liverpool fans

It was like a home game for Liverpool. I wonder why it was like that.

English Expression in Charlotte

People in Charlotte speak English with a particular Southern accent which I did not study at school.
I also notice some particular English expressions that I've never heard, partially because I am not exposed to the real English spoken in the life.

Here are some words and expressions I learned in the daily life

1.   Have a good one.

People in Charlotte say "have a good day" more than "have a nice day". I used to say "have a nice day", but change the habit to be more like Charlottean.

When it is in the evening (5:00 pm), you will be greeted "have a good evening" and "have a good night"... although you are not going to bed. When I leave the office in the evening, I usually say "have a good night". I want to say "have a good evening" but, it is a little too long for me to say.

But don't you think it is rather troublesome to choose the right phrase depending on the time? And so here comes "have a good one". This is a casual style use more by men than women.

I did not know the expression, and I was amazed when I first heard that phrase. Good one? Which one? .. well the blog below mentions the same thing
http://englishmaxims.seesaa.net/article/382845994.html

2.   Do what?

My English teacher keeps on saying that this expression is not logically correct, because it is nothiing to do with action. This is used when you ask the other person to repeat whatever the person has just said. "Say what?" is another version of this.

The sound of last "t" is barely audible.
This is a colloquial phrase used mostly by men.
I'm surprised but felt rather happy when my male colleague said this to me. I felt I am now treated as a local.

3.   Hey, dude

People in Charlotte use "Hey" more than "Hi", and "Dude" is used to address to someone, usually a man. This is again used mainly by men. I hear my male friend picking up a phone by saying "Hey, dude" or "What's up, dude".

The female equivalent of "dude" is "dudette", but I've never heard of it.

4.  High, Low, High (intonation)

This is about the intonation in the South.

The intonation is generally flat, and vowels are pronounced long and wide(?). But I think the general intonation style is "High, Low, High". When you count numbers for example, that'll be "One [high], Two [high], Three [high]".

.   Hibachi Style

.   Real Sushi

.  "Coffee person", "tea person", "icing person"

More surprises I had in Charlotte

More surprises I had in Charlotte

I have shared with my friends my article "10 Things about Charlotte That Might Surprise Visitors From Asia". I have received some comments and also noticed that I had more things to write. So, I am listing them on this page and would like to keep the list open.

1. Hand-written paper license plate on a newly purchased car
2. No number plate in front of a car
3. Failed a driving test, but drove back to home
4. Turn right on red
5. Go home at 2:00 pm on Fridays
6. Clinging film being very thin, hard to cut, not resistant to microwave
7. Huge electric appliances
8. Huge laundry detergent
9. Bleach being very weak - 1/2 cup for 1 gallon
10. Going to bed at 10:00 PM
11. Any sport jersey at a soccer game
12. Teppan Yaki is called Hibachi
13. Don't press a "close" button in an elevator, but wait for the door to close.

10 Things About Charlotte

10 Things About Charlotte That Might Surprise Visitors From Asia

1.     Jogging without a shirt

People in Charlotte like to do exercise. The weather is moderate, and many people take a jog in the morning and in the evening along the sidewalks. But, a lot of men, especially those of a good physique, often do not wear a shirt while jogging. They are indeed well built and might want to show that off, but the style is literally called “naked” in my country. This is not a beach, and I don’t understand why they have to be naked in a town. Besides, do they not get a bad sunburn?

2.     No umbrella or a golf parasol

 

People in Charlotte usually do not use an umbrella. They don’t walk outside much because they drive door to door, and do not really mind getting wet for a couple of minutes from a parking spot to an entrance. When it really rains, they open a big golf parasol for personal use (although some people still prefer not to use an umbrella and they get soaked). The Americans are big, and the greater will serve for the smaller. I wonder if it is because their umbrellas are big and heavy that they are not handy to use. For me, I often get a compliment about my little folding umbrella which I brought from my country. It’s small enough to fit in a woman’s little handbag, and we are skilled with our hands to fold it easily.

 

3.     “I’ve lived in Charlotte for ten years, but I have never taken a train. I don’t know how to buy a ticket.”

Charlotte has a light rail service which commenced in 2007. There is (only) one line from the downtown to 15.45km southward. It’s new and clean, and safe enough for a woman to take in the evening. In fact, I take the train daily to work. Many of my American colleagues, on the other hand, have never taken this light rail service or a train at all in their lives. One time there was a day that they had to take a light rail to go to a golf event because the parking was limited and very expensive. They asked me, a foreigner new to the city, how to buy a ticket and if a ticketing machine accepts a credit card, etc. It was rather funny that they looked uneasy on a train like a puppy being taken to a stranger’s house. The Americans are so used to driving a car that they are not comfortable to share a ride with strangers.

4.     Downtown called “Uptown”

 

The central city area of Charlotte is called “Uptown”. It is not “Downtown” as in the other American cities, and there is no “Downtown” area to contrast with “Uptown”. According to Wikipedia (“Charlotte center city”), there was a massive campaign in the 1980s to revamp the image of the downtown area and the term “Uptown” was introduced to the general public. It is such a simple idea to use a positive name to be positive, and it is working well. The current Uptown Charlotte is young and growing vigorously day by day.

5.     No Jam-Pack

Many people in Charlotte leave the office for home almost simultaneously at around 5:00 PM. After you patiently wait for an elevator for a while, the elevator door finally opens. If there are more than six people in the elevator, however, you should wait for the next one. Even if you see a space inside in which you can fit, no one ever moves a step to let you in. The same is true for trains. People in Charlotte need a decent personal space. You are not supposed to squeeze in it if a train is filled with passengers to some degree.

6.     Drive anywhere by car

 

Just as with other American cities, Charlotte is a car society. It’s quite natural for the people in Charlotte to drive one block to CVS and nine hours to New Jersey. Highways are free of charge, and they are freeways.

By the way, my friends in Charlotte tell me that Charlotte is “close to” the beach and also close to the mountains. In reality, it is a three hour drive eastward on a highway to the beach and westward to the mountains. A three hour drive will take me to the other side of the territory of my home country. It may be nothing for the Americans, but it is not “close”.

7.     Cars abandoned on a highway

For some reasons, there are many cars unattended and truly abandoned on a highway. If you drive on a highway for one hour, you will probably see at least three of them, and you will start to wonder where the drivers are. Do they want to dump a car? How did they get home?  Some of them obviously have a flat tire, but the drivers cannot abandon a car on a highway. I’m still puzzled.

8.     Chat with a stranger

In Charlotte, it is quite common that you get greeted by a passer-by. If you are with someone in an elevator, that person surely talks to you. If a supermarket is not crowded, customers chat with a cashier over the counter. Small talks start out of nowhere. It’s not important whether you know the person you talk to or not. If there is anyone around you, you are expected to talk to that person, and it is called Southern hospitality.

9.           Huh?  Do what?

People in Charlotte are generally friendly, but they are not used to talking to foreigners and often have a hard time understanding foreign accents. When they don’t understand my English, they get impatient, frown with discomfort and rudely say “HUH?” I know they don’t mean it, but it sounds so horrible that it really hurts my feelings. I would want to run away from the place, go home and cry as I hear that response. To be fair, it happens not only to me but to many other people from my side of the world.

10.     Fried Foods

People in Charlotte like fried foods. Americans like pickles, and fried pickles is one of the specialties in Charlotte. There’s nothing you cannot fry here. But I would like to make it clear that Sushi is not supposed to be deep-fried. However good it tastes, it is not Sushi. It needs to be named differently.

Cherry Blossoms

 

Cherry Blossoms @ Plaza Midwood

 

Snowed in Charlotte

It snowed an inch.
The entire city was closed.
I was told to work from home.

My neighborhood in Charloote

November 10

In front of Harris Teater

November 19

Bland Street Station towards Uptown Charlotte