i heard a little neighbor girl says "tadaima" in the afternoon. and i realized how good feeling i get by hearing the word and her mom answers to her daughter "okaeri". it is one of my favorite words.
when Kp comes home, the first word i say is "okaeri" always. and he replies "tadaima". yes, we are saying "i'm home." and "welcome home". or it's kind of same as saying "how was your day?"??
also, in the morning or whenever someone leaves houses? Kp(who is leaving) says "ittekimasu" when he leaves for work or wherever. and i (who is staying home) say "itterasshai". i find these words sweet, too. love saying them. so much. feels good and naturally they make me smile. my favorite words. kind of saying, "i'm gonna go now" "have a good day".
and when we got married, i didn't feel i was his family at first. but by having these convasations made me realized little by little that i am his family. i made the name plate for house with cray. it reminded me that i am takemura now. everytime i sew it for a year. now, i finally feels natural to be called takemura-san at hospitals or anywhere. finally:)
speaking of smile, these little smiling dolls are from our entrance of our apartment. we got them from Okinawa(an island at the very south of japan) where the beautiful beaches are. they are called "shi-sa-" and they protect houses from evils. and brings smile. real ones looks more like a lion or a dog. more scarly tough looking. these are cute little ones which a young artist made. they welcome us whenever we come home:) now the shi-sa- and i wait for Kp to open the door and say "tadaima".
what an adorable post !
ReplyDeletei wish i could use those friendly greetings at home.
but i am the only one learning japanese in my family.
i have a cousin in mexico city who is also learning.
maybe when i visit we can use those friendly greetings. :))
I'm happy to have learned a little bit about your culture!! It is very cute.
ReplyDeleteShawna's Study Abroad
clara and shawna,
ReplyDeletethank you for your comment:) i love the culture, too. and i am happy to be able to share them here and get comments.
is there any saying in your country like this? something you always say?? i wonder:)
Oh my goodness! Those shi sas are sooooo kawaii!!!! I wish we could purchase those in Hawaii...epecially that my husband is half Okinawan! :) So, so, so cute! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this post. It reminded me of coming home when I lived with my grandma and gee-chan and hearing them say "okaeri!"
Thanks for sharing! :)
those shi sas are quite popular in Okinawa, i think. i saw them and other cute ones by the same artist everywhere. i just couldn't resist taking them home.
ReplyDeletehehehe, gee-chan sounds so cute:) i call my mom's side of grandpa, gee ge. and grandma, cha- chan.