しずおかけん

 しずおかけんはほんしゅのみなみであります。ポップレーションは三百五十万ごろです。しずおかけんはまつりをたくさんあります。しずおかのcapital cityははままつです。ふじさんはしずおかけんであります。

ふじさん (Mount Fuji)

しずおかけんborders the Pacific Ocean. れきしがたくさんあります。Castlesがたくさんあります。

Hamamatsu Castle

しずおかけんにりょこうしたいです。

Iaido

     Based on my research, I learned that Iaido is a much more reactive than active art. It deals more heavily with swiftly responding to the opponent than going on the offensive. It also has an emphasis on being Smooth and fluent in motion, not choppy or disorganized. The term Iaido (居合道) roughly translates to "the way of mental presence and immediate reaction", which further emphasizes how important reaction is to the art. 

    Iaido also has some more philosophical undertones to it, not being strictly used for combat. it is meant to be a reflection of the perfect warrior, with intelligence, sensitivity, and conviction. There is no sparring in Iaido, and there are rarely more than one person in each demonstration. Occasionally, higher level Iaidoka (Iaido students), will practice with training dummies, but this isn't extremely common. 

    Overall, Iaido is very interesting. It is a form of swordsmanship that isn't entirely concerned with making the first move or going on the offensive. it is much more of a defensive art, focusing on reacting swiftly, cleanly, and in a controlled manner. 

わたしのしゅうまつ

 せんしゅうのしゅうまつ、ごぜんじゅういちじはんごろおきます。そして、しょくどうでひとりであさごはんをたべました。ごごごごろ、ホッケーのバンドにいます、だからバンドのともだちとスタジアムデあいました。それから、フットボールを見ます。ごぜんさんじにねました。

にちようびにごごじゅうにじにおきました。それから、ダイバートさんやサリンさんとCulture Fairであいました。ごごよじごろ、ホッケーゲイムにいきましたがはやくでました。ごごじゅういちにりょうのへやでしゅくだいをしました。

Me at the game (we were losing)

Katakana Exposure

 When I was looking for good websites to use for katakana, the first idea that I thought of was McDonalds. 

Translation: "McDonald's Hamburgers"

Since "McDonald's Hamburgers" is a loan phrase from English, it is written in katakana on the sign. I went on their website and found the various menu items, one of which was the 5 piece McNuggets. 

Translation: "Chicken McNuggets, 5 piece"

Obviously, "Chicken McNuggets" is a loan phrase from English, which is why it was written in katakana. Surprisingly, the "5 piece" was also in katakana, which I didn't expect. I was curious how much they cost, so I looked up the conversion, and it came out to around $1.60. For reference, a 4 piece McNuggets is $2.59, which is not cool. 

Food prices aside, I then turned my attention to YouTube, and I scrolled through various comment sections until I found this comment. 

Rough Translation: "It's really amazing, an MV that will make you speechless" (Google translate wasn't too helpful sorry)

This comment came from a music video that I found. The top line マジでスゴイis written almost entirely in katakana. I believe that this is to put emphasis on the phrase, as it can be written in hiragana also. These are just a few examples of katakana words and phrases in Japan, and there are plenty more out there.