Japanese English

It's very interesting being one of the few non-Japanese people living in Kitami.  I definitely feel like I stand out.  I'm not abnormally tall, but I am one of the tallest females almost anywhere I go.  I don't consider myself to be blonde, but I'm blonde by hair color standards here.  I don't have blue eyes, but my green eyes still stand out.  And I most definitely stand out when I go out by food or on my bike because I generally appear to be lost or aimless.

On the flip side, being a native English speaker, I can read things that are written in English and understand the different shades of meanings.  I guess what I'm getting at regards things that are written in English but are translated literally from Japanese.  Below I've posted two examples that I've found that make me laugh out loud.  However, being confused by the English or finding humor in the sentence structure is almost a daily occurance.

The one below is a sign of the local bakery shop's sign.  Yes, it appears their name is "Cake Angry" or "Angry Cake."  When I walked past this one I was walking alone through the neighborhood on a dreary day and had to restrain myself from laughing too hard.  I don't want to be remembered as the weird American girl!  As I walked by, the pastry shop appears to be a fine, happy little place with similing people inside, so why would they name their shop "Angry?"

The next picture came from a Tupperware container I bought for food storage.  Please read line #3. I'm not sure what kind of food they eat which may jump out at someone, but I guarantee you that none of my food will be jumping anywhere at anytime.

I think it's okay if I find the humor in the wird English phrases used around town, partly because I know I will probably do the same.  As I work on learning Japanese, I will inevitably make mistakes that will probably sound just as weird and funny to my Japanese friends and coworkers as the phrases above do to me.

Peace,
Kim