This might be a fun one:
What would you send to a friend in Japan who wanted to pick up on American culture but doesn't necessarily speak a whole lot of English? What if you wanted to keep it under about 5 pounds or so? I'm exchanging "care packages" with a friend there and I need some ideas.
Currently, I am sending:
- An assortment of English pop music from the last 3 decades or so (on a cheapie MP3 player)
- 3-4 female fashion magazines, replete with pictures (cosmo, etc.)
- Various types of common supermarket candy, sweets, etc.
This is not unlike the Voyager probe, I realized, which is sort of funny. If anyone as any (relatively inexpensive and lightweight) ideas, please let me know.
Cheers!
This wouldn't happen to be the friend you met in the restaurant on your recent visit, would it? ^_^
..Yes, I'm a nosy person...I can't help it.
How about a touristy shirt from a big city that you live near? A lot of the Japanese tourists that I meet really love this stuff.
..Of some local specialty(as long as it won't spoil). I always ask my friends in New York to send me Spiedie maranade sauce since...it's just sooo good on those beef shishkabobs.
You might not like these suggestions since it involves you doing extra work, but IMO the extra care will be appreciated. As such, I'd send the following:
- An assortment of 70-present English popular music videos burned onto dvd. Include everything from: Jazz, Pop, Rock, R&B, Rap, Indie, Musicals, et al.
- An assortment of 80s - present day popular English tv shows and selective advertisements too. I recommend just the first episodes. For ads you need to do more work, but there are tons on the net. Also, you can obtain a wide assortment from YouTube and then burn it onto a dvd. These shows can span everything from drama, romance, comedy, horror, sports, etc. The key in tailoring this particular dvd is to know who the intended audience is. For example, can you tell us more about the recipient? M/F? Age?
- An assortment of t-shirts representing popular cities or sporting teams within the USA. I.e. NYC, SF, LA and everything in-between. And with the t-shirts you can include another dvd (you guessed it), collecting clips from famous moments in USA sports. I.e. Basketball, Hockey = Finals, Football = Superbowl, Golf = pick a tour. You get the idea.
Have fun and IMO this way the recipient will become drawn into the culture AND learn English and USA culture via a multi-sensory experience involving: sound, visuals, touch, and taste (your candy)! ^_^
Edited Aug 03 at 2:27 PM
