Show 252 Wednesday 10 January

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Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

After watching the How Not To Use Chopsticks video, some people commented that they’d broken some of the rules – especially the one where you rest the chopsticks on your bowl when you’re not using them.

But I wouldn’t worry about it too much. That’s not one of the very important rules – like say, standing your chopsticks up in the rice. That’s bad because that’s what they do at funerals. The same with passing stuff from chopsticks to chopsticks.
They do that with bones at funerals.

I got those rules from a really long list from Japanese Wikipedia and other sites. And a lot of the things on that list, most people in Japan don’t know.

It’s like western-style eating, there are some basic rules that most people know like “don’t eat with your mouth open” or “don’t play with your food” and there are some other rules that most people don’t care about.

Like in Pretty Woman where she’s trying to learn which fork to use when.
I think most people don’t know about those kind of rules.

STICK NEWS

Kia ora in Stick News today a private girls’ high school in Japan has decided to test applicants on their ability to use chopsticks.

A private girls’ high school in Nagasaki wants to make sure it accepts the right kind of girls. So they’re administering a chopstick test.
The 10-minute test will be on 31st January and applicants will be asked to transfer six types of small objects from one plate to another using specially designed chopsticks with a hexagonal surface.
The objects are marbles, dice, beads and three types of beans.

That was Stick News for Wednesday the 10th of January.
Kia Ora.

the snow report

Yuki kaki or clearing snow was wildly exciting about the first 5 times I did it. But now it’s just a pain in the arse. So I decided that I don’t really need to clear all the snow. Just enough to get out the door.

conversations with sarah
#151 Did you have to do a test to get into high school?

Step 1: Repeat Megumi’s lines.
Step 2: Read Megumi’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Megumi Did you have to do a test to get into high school?

Sarah No. No way!

Megumi What do you mean no way?

Sarah Well, there was only one high school near where I lived – so everyone had to go to that one.

Megumi Are there usually tests to get into high schools in NZ?

Sarah I don’t think so.

Megumi How about private schools?

Sarah Yeah, maybe there is but I’ve never heard of anyone doing a test to get into a high school. I think you just have to pay a lot of money.

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