Calling all Asians

[MercyMia]

MM--don't know about elegance, but I do try to be helpful...

Bethesda is about a 40-minute drive on the freeway from Dulles, assuming that there is no traffic. Therefore, a taxi would be prohibitively expensive. Also, it's unlikely that a hotel would send a shuttle that far. The best alternative in my view is to rent a car. The other option is to use a group shuttle service, such as SuperShuttle, which will probably charge $20 for a one-way trip from Dulles to Bethesda. The problem with those services is that your friend may have to wait up to an hour before the shuttle arrives, and then may have to ride around as the other passengers are dropped off, making a 40-minute trip sometimes as much as 90 minutes.

Hope that helps...

Roman

That was exactly poifect, thank you! She doesn't have a license to drive in the States...so she'll have to take a taxi or the shuttle.

Has the snow storm looming over the midwest already hit the east coast?

Mia

 

[RomanHans]

That was exactly poifect, thank you! She doesn't have a license to drive in the States...so she'll have to take a taxi or the shuttle.

Has the snow storm looming over the midwest already hit the east coast?

Mia

Whoops! I've been out of the loop--didn't hear that ANOTHER snowstorm is expected here anytime soon! It may be headed further north--no snow is forecast here for the rest of the week!

BTW, if your friend is adventurous, there is an official Dulles Airport Shuttle service that can take her to the nearest Metro (subway) station...the problem is that from there, she has to ride the train all the way into downtown DC, transfer, and then ride back out of town to Bethesda--that may also take a while, and is not convenient if she has much luggage. But it's cheap (probably $8 for the bus and $5 for the subway ticket).

So when are YOU coming to visit?

Roman

 

[MercyMia]

Whoops! I've been out of the loop--didn't hear that ANOTHER snowstorm is expected here anytime soon! It may be headed further north--no snow is forecast here for the rest of the week!

BTW, if your friend is adventurous, there is an official Dulles Airport Shuttle service that can take her to the nearest Metro (subway) station...the problem is that from there, she has to ride the train all the way into downtown DC, transfer, and then ride back out of town to Bethesda--that may also take a while, and is not convenient if she has much luggage. But it's cheap (probably $8 for the bus and $5 for the subway ticket).

So when are YOU coming to visit?

Roman

She'll probably opt for the $20 90-minute shuttle.

Hey, I'll visit! When do the cherry blossoms come out? Isn't that soon?

 

[RomanHans]

She'll probably opt for the $20 90-minute shuttle.

Hey, I'll visit! When do the cherry blossoms come out? Isn't that soon?

Mmm, Cherry Blossom festival here is usually around the first week of April--I hope that all of our freezing temps didn't damage the buds! I haven't had a chance to have a good hana-mi in quite some time...

Roman

 

[MercyMia]

Mmm, Cherry Blossom festival here is usually around the first week of April--I hope that all of our freezing temps didn't damage the buds! I haven't had a chance to have a good hana-mi in quite some time...

Roman

What is hana-mi? Did the cherry trees in DC area come from Japan?

Mia who wants to know more about flowers

 

[RomanHans]

What is hana-mi? Did the cherry trees in DC area come from Japan?

Mia who wants to know more about flowers

Hana-mi is Japanese for cherry blossom viewing (hana meaning flower, and mi referring to the eye). And yes, the original cherry trees here in DC (planted around the Tidal Basin) were a gift from the Japanese government, I think around 1910.

I'm very open to more rambling as required.

Roman

 

[MercyMia]

Hana-mi is Japanese for cherry blossom viewing (hana meaning flower, and mi referring to the eye). And yes, the original cherry trees here in DC (planted around the Tidal Basin) were a gift from the Japanese government, I think around 1910.

I'm very open to more rambling as required.

Roman

Dear Rambling Roman,

A Japanese friend taught me the Japanese name for cicadas as (phonetically) seh mee mee. I wonder if the "mee" is equal to the "mi" in hana-mi. But the seh mee mee I think was an attempt to reproduce the sound of the cicadas rubbing their feet on their little wings.

Keep rambling. I'm a great listener. And I can provide counterpoint and encouragement as required.

 

[Ask For More]

I thought sakura was cherry blossom?

 

[MercyMia]

I thought sakura was cherry blossom?

that's 4.

 

[Ask For More]

Bah never mind. Can you believe I learnt some japanese from watching so much anime?

 

[MercyMia]

Bah never mind. Can you believe I learnt some japanese from watching so much anime?

5.

 

[Ask For More]

I feel like I'm under scrutiny from the CIA here....

 

[Nefarious]

Time for me to speak up. I'm a full blooded Japanese, born in Northern California and raised in So Cal. My grandparents were all born outside of Japan, in places like the Pacific Northwest and the Big Island. My dad and my brother are both 5'5", I'm 6'0" and probably the tallest person who's ever lived on either side of my family. I'm probably the most un-Japanese person of Japanese heritage that you're ever likely to meet. People guess my ethnicity as Amerindian, Hispanic, even Eskimo, but it never fails to trip them out when they learn the truth.

 

[RomanHans]

Time for me to speak up. I'm a full blooded Japanese, born in Northern California and raised in So Cal. My grandparents were all born outside of Japan, in places like the Pacific Northwest and the Big Island. My dad and my brother are both 5'5", I'm 6'0" and probably the tallest person who's ever lived on either side of my family. I'm probably the most un-Japanese person of Japanese heritage that you're ever likely to meet. People guess my ethnicity as Amerindian, Hispanic, even Eskimo, but it never fails to trip them out when they learn the truth.

No, you're not alone--my mom was born and raised in Japan, lived there until she was 19...but has lived in northern California for the past 40 years, playing tennis and golf, and swimming every day in the sun...

Now when she goes back to Japan to visit her family, people compliment her on how well she can speak Japanese for a gaijin (foreigner)!

Roman

 

[RomanHans]

I thought sakura was cherry blossom?

It is. Hana-mi is cherry blossom VIEWING.

This is Japanese--gotta pay attention to all those little objects that totally change the meaning...

Roman

 

[Ask For More]

Big welcome to Nefarious

 

[MercyMia]

getting on AFM's welcome wagon

good to see another asian "face." welcome, nefarious!

this singaporean guy was talking about a shameless performer at a reading tonight and he referred to him as "no skin." it seems like he meant the performer (who was pretty bad) had a lot of gall to get up on stage with all that no talents. in the philippines, we'd say "walang hiya," or "no shame." are there similar concepts in japanese and chinese cultures? (the singaporean context might be construed as chinese, of course.)

mia

 

[RomanHans]

DC cherry blossoms in doubt

As I suspected, the DC cherry blossom festival may have to go on without the blossoms due to our rather harsh winter...

Uncertainties Beset Sure Sign of Spring

Hope that others have a chance to see some blossoms where you are--and that the weather's better than it is here in the northeastern US!

Roman

 

[Ask For More]

getting on AFM's welcome wagon

good to see another asian "face." welcome, nefarious!

this singaporean guy was talking about a shameless performer at a reading tonight and he referred to him as "no skin." it seems like he meant the performer (who was pretty bad) had a lot of gall to get up on stage with all that no talents. in the philippines, we'd say "walang hiya," or "no shame." are there similar concepts in japanese and chinese cultures? (the singaporean context might be construed as chinese, of course.)

mia

I think Singaporean is the same as chinese....although I'm not really sure what the chinese would be come to think about it...

 

[SexyWench]

Wow, there are a few of us here aren't there? Chinese Canadian gal here.

 

[Ask For More]

Welcome welcome

 

[MercyMia]

hi sexywench...AFM has been LOOKING for you! welcome to the thread. come on in and tell us more about yourself.

/gmorning AFM, Roman, my regular Asian buddies /

 

[MercyMia]

SexyWench, we share the same birthday! Gonna be big happenings here at Lit on August 1st!

 

[Ask For More]

Woo hoo, first other full chinese!

Mia, I'm just about to hit the sack for the night.....get on earlier dammit

 

[Ask For More]

Mia

Don't forget to reply my pm....don't think you can get out of it