Personal information

When Japanese meet someone for the first time it is common for them to reffer to themselves with their last name and the respectful "san" title. This is important!
(last name) desu. / (last name) to moshimasu (humble). = My name is (last name).
Personal information
Dochira kara, irasshaimashita ka. = Where are you from?
Kanada kara kimashita. = I am from Canada.
Okuni wa dochira desu ka. = Which country are you from?
Oumare wa dochira desu ka. = Where were you born?
Roma de umaremashita. = I was born in Rome.
Osumai wa dochira desu ka. = Where do you live?
Kanada desu. = I live in Canada.
Kakkon shite irasshaimasu ka. = Are you married?
Kekkon shite imasu. = I am married.
Dokushin desu. = I'm single.
Okosan ga irasshaimasu ka. = Do you have any children?
Oikutsu desu ka. = How old are you? (Another way of saying what I taught you a long time ago.)
Oshigoto wa. = What do you do?
Gakusei desu. = I am a student.
Kyoshi = teacher
Kyoju = professor
Shufu = housewife
Kaishain = office worker
Sarariman = office worker (for men only)
Hisho = secretary
Gijutsusha = engineer
Gunjin = in the military
Kaisha no shacho = company president
Kaisha no juyaku = company executive
Jitsugyoka = industrialist
Isha = doctor
Haisha = dentist
Kangofu = nurse
Yakuzaishi = pharmacist
Bengoshi = lawyer
Kaikeishi = accountant
Kenchikuka = architect
Ongakuka = musician
Geijutsuka = artist
Sakka = writer
Seijika = politician
Yakunin = government official
Komuin = government office worker
Janarisuto = jounalist
There's a nice list of professions for you! Sakka desu. I hope your day goes amazingly and maybe this will someday come in handy if you ever find yourself in Japan for some unknown reason and need to express the fact that you work in an office. Oh! One more thing I feel is necessary to say is: Disuko de, odoritai no desu ga! (I feel like dancing in a disco!)

Introductions

Japanese culture is something that they don't expect foreigners to ever fully understand, there are some things, however, which we can try and grasp. "Proper" intruductions are very important in their culture and although you can introduce yourself and will probably strike a fantasic conversation, it is better if a mutual friend or aquaintance does this with you.
Introducing yourself/Introductions
Ano kata wa, donata desu ka. = Who is that?
Ano kata ga donata ka, gozonji desu ka. = Do you know who that is?
Ano kata ni, aitai no desu ga. = I would like to meet him/her (literally, that person).
Ano kata ni shokai shite itadakemasu ka. = Would you introduce me to him/her (that person)?
A san, B san o goshokai shitai no desu ga. = Mr./Ms. A, may I introduce Mr./Ms. B?
Koko ni iru no wa, watakushi no _______ desu. = This is my _______.
Yujin = friend
Otto/Shujin = husband
Tsuma/Kanai = wife
Musuko = son
Musume = daughter
Chichi = father
Haha = mother
Hajimemashite. / Dozo yoroshiku. = How do you do?
Hajimemashite. / Kochira koso yoroshiku. = How do you do (reply).
Ome ni kakarete, koei desu. = I'm honored to meet you.
Ome ni kakarete, ureshii desu. = I'm glad to meet you.
Your name to moshimasu. = I'm your name.
Watakushi no namae wa, your name desu. = My name is your name.
I know that some of them are different ways of saying the same thing but I figure that you may make use of all of these phrases at some point or another. I hope you go and introduce yourself--or have someone else introduce you--to a new Japanese friend!

Days of the week, Months of the year

I'll find out when these are due... procrastination is a very real thing. Fortunately I get over it sometimes and get my work done on time!
Days of the week
In English we have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The naming system is based off of the planets in our solar system, our "moon" and the sun itself:
Monday(Moon), Tuesday(Mars), Wednesday(Mercury), Thursday(Jupiter), Friday(Venus), Saturday(Saturn) and Sunday(Sun).
In the Japanese language, the days of the week are not based off of the--excluding Saturn--planets, though it does have moon and sun. Really, it is not all that different than ours, only in another language, in Japanese. The elements play a large role in the naming of the Japanese days of the week.
The word we use in English as "day" is similar to how they use "yobi".
Moon yobi
Fire yobi
Water yobi
Wood yobi
Gold yobi
Saturn yobi
Sun yobi 
In Japanese these words are:
Getsuyobi=Monday
Kayobi=Tuesday
Suiyobi=Wednesday
Mokuyobi=Thursday
Kinyobi=Friday
Doyobi=Saturday
Nichiyobi=Sunday
Months of the year
In Japanese, the months are defined by their number. January is the first month and is therefore the "first month" or "month one". Some of these numbers may be familiar to you if you have read the numbers entries. Some of the numbers are abbreviated for the months so keep that in mind if you become confused. "Ku is not a number!" No, but kyuu is.
Gatsu=month
Ichigatsu=January
Nigatsu=February
Sangatsu=March
Shigatsu=April
Gogatsu=May
Rokugatsu=June
Shichigatsu=July
Hachigatsu=August
Kugatsu=September
Juugatsu=October
Juuichigatsu=November
Juunigatsu=December
So, for example, November is "The eleventh month", as March is "The third month"
Relative months
Sengetsu=last month
Kongetsu=this month
Raigetsu=next month
Relative days
Ototoi=the day before yesterday
Kinou=yesterday
Kyou=today
Asu=tomorrow
Asatte=the day after tomorrow
Relative weeks
Shu=week
Senshu=last week
Konshu=this week
Raishu=next month
Reletive years
Kyonen=last year
Kotoshi=this year
Rainen=next year

Weather and the Seasons

Even though I changed the title of this blog entry I still want the world to know and realize that Alan Rickman is fabulous. Recently the weather has begun to be... less than appreciated by sun lovers like myself. So why not enter a blog about the weather and seasons of the year? The following are useful phrases and words which can be placed into them. Enjoy!

Vocabulary
Kisetsu-Season
Shiki-Four seasons
Haru-Spring
Sangatsu-March
Shigatsu-April
Gogatsu-May
Natsu-Summer
Rokugatsu-June
Shichigatsu-July
Hachigatsu-August
Aki-Fall
Kugatsu-September
Jugatsu-October
Juichigatsu-November
Fuyu-Winter
Junigatsu-December
Ichigatsu-January
Nigatsu-Febuary
Atatakai-Warm
Atsui-Hot
Mushiatsui-Hot and humid
Suzushii-Cool
Samui-Cold
Kanso shite iru-Dry
Shikke no oi-Humid
Kiko-Climate
Tenki-Weather
Hare-Clear (sky)
Kumori-Cloudy
Kaze-Wind
Kaze no tsuyoi-Windy
Ame-Rain
Gou-Heavy rain
Raiu-Thundershower
Yudachi-Shower
Kirisame-Drizzle
Tsuyu-Rainy season
Yuki-Snow
Mizore-Sleet
Arare-Hail
Kori-Ice
Shimo-Frost
Taifu-Typhoon

Phrases
Tsuyu wa, itsu hajimarimasu ka.-When does the rainy season begin?
Tsuyu wa, itsu owarimasu ka. -When does the rainy season end?
Sakura wa, itsu sakimasu ka.-When do the cherry blossoms bloom?
Koyo wa, itsu goro desu ka.-When do the Autum leaves begin?
Ii (o) tenki desu ne.-It's a nice day isn't it?
Iya na (o) tenki desu ne.-It's terrible weather isn't it?
Kyo wa, _____ desu ne.-It's _____ today, isn't it?
_____ desu.-It's ____.
Mojiki, yamu desho ka.-Will it stop snowing/raining soon?
Hareru to ii no desu ga.I hope it will clear up.
Ashita no tenki yoho wa do desu ka.What's tomorrow's weather forecast?
Taifu shizun wa itsu desu ka.-When if the typhoon season?
Taifu wa, kiso desu ka.Do you think a typhoon is coming?

Communication

Here is a very important section of this blog--communication. Remember; the biggest flaw with communication is the illusion that it has tacken place. Here I will list off some ways of clerifying and making sure you let people know if you understood or not ect. I haven't put work on here for awhile and now is when I start doing that, and it will be good work too! The phrases themselves are the most important part of this page so read and momorize.

New/Reminders
Hai. Yes.
Iie. No.
Wakarimashita. Understood.
Wakarimasu. Understand.
Eigo. English.
Nihongo. Japanese.
Kudasai. Please.
Sumimasen. Excuse me.

Communicating

Wakarimasu ka. Do you understand?
Hai, wakarimasu. Yes, I understand.
Iie, wakarimasen. No, I didn't understand.

Wakarimashita ka. Did you understand?
Hai, wakarimashita. Yes, I understood.
Iie, wakarimasen deshita. No, I didn't understand.

Eigo ga wakarimasu ka. Do you understand English?
Eigo ga hanasemasu ka. Can you speak English?
Nihongo ga sukoshi hanasemasu. I can speak a little Japanese.
Nihongo wa hotondo shirimasen. I know very little Japanese.
Nihongo wa wakarimasen. I don't understand Japanese.

Mo ichido, onegai shimasu. Could you repeat it, please?
Motto, yukkuri hanashite kudasai. Please speak slowly.
Kami ni kaite kudasai. Write it down on paper, please.
Dareka, eigo ga wakaru hito ga imasu ka. Is there anyone who understands English?
Eigo o hanashimasu ka. Do you speak English?
Eigo ga hanasemasu ka. Can you speak English?
Kore wa,nan to iimasu ka. What do you call this?
Kore wa, Nihongo ge, nan to iimasu ka. What's this called in Japanese?
Kore wa, eigo de nan to iimmasu ka. What's this called in English?
Kore wa desu ka. What is this? (Review)
Sumimasen ga, tasukete itadakemasu ka. Excuse me, could you help me, please?
Kono hon ni aru, tekisetsu na bun o yubisashite kudasai. Please point to the suitable phrase in this book.

Four day weekend! Particles.

At some point homework might be a good idea... or not? I guess it went with the "not" because it's Monday now and I should probably do this thing--I will not be (too) behind on Vocabulary blogs again! Hopefully. So someone I know named Josh is back from japan now and it looks like I could learn the language from him as well so that is cool. I still haven't seen him yet but it's been more than eight years, I can handle another week or so. Hmmm, it sure it Monday, I just spent three minutes thinking about writing this sentence. I feel like I'm straining myself by even existing outside of my house right now.

Okay so particles are like the base and structure of the Japanese language--they hold it all together much like an adhesive--and also indicate what the meaning of words they are between or are by. In these basics they will be just that, basics, but as we get further into the Japanese language particles will become more specific and much more complicated, or so I've been told. If I did understand them I would explain but because I don't know them I have to go by what other people say and write. Particles also work in a case by case sense, where they can mean one thing here and another there. Again, bear with me, we are learning this at the same time--I am seriously looking this up for this blog entry as we speak--but luckily we have already used some and this may come as more of a review than an entirely new concept.

Wa and Ga
Both wa and ga idicate subjects by coming after them but we can break it down further in a loose sense. Wa is a topic marker and ga a subject marker. This gets strange because, at times, the topic is the same as the subject because the topic can be anything the speaker wants to talk about like a grammatical element, object or location. In English this can be roughly associated with "Speaking of," or "As for,"

Examples:
Watashi wa gakusei desu.  I am a student. (As for me, I am a student.)
Hana wa kirei desu. As for flowers, (they) are pretty. (They is not said outright but sometimes wa can mean ga.)
Hana wa Snape-san ni agemashita. I gave Snape the flowers. (As for the flowers, I gave them to Snape.) Here the unstated topic it "I" and refers to the objects "flowers" directly.
Nihongo wa omoshiroi desu. Japanese is interesting. (Speaking of Japanese, it is interesting.)

It gets dark early in winter!

So as my title had bluntly stated, I need to catch up and I plan on doing this today(Which i didn't but two days is good enough!). Wish me luck! Four blog entries to complete now. On the plus side I'm tired, it's raining out and I have a wicked headache.
I'm better now but I hope you are ready for this Japanese vocabulary babble I'm about to force onto you unsuspecting readers!

Vocabulary (Verbs):

Nonde-Drink

Yonde-Read (Reading is yonde imasu)

Nete-Sleep

Asonde-play

Hataraite-work

Hatarakimasu

Hataraki-work/workings/ability

Asobimasu

Asobi-playing

Yomimasu-to read

Aruite-walk

Oyoide-swim

Kaite-write

Motte-hold

Mite-see

Kiite-hear

Suwatte-sit

Tatte-stand

Examples:
Watashi wa sono hon o yomimasu - I will read that book.
Watashi wa sono hon o yomimasen - I won't read that book.
Watashi wa hon o yonde imasu - I am reading that book.

Vocabulary (Family/people):

Shimai-daughters

Imouto-daughter

Otouto-son

Kyoudai-sons

Kodomo-children

Otona-adults

Gakusei-student

Vocabulary (Food/Liquid):

Juusu-juice

Tabete-eat

Mizu-water

Ocha-tea

Sandoicci-Sandwich

Koohii-Coffee

Vocabulary (Wear):

Haite-wear (on the legs)

Kite-wear (upper torso)

Kabutte-wear (head)

Vocabulary (Clothing):

Kootu-coat

Sukaato-skirt

Shatsu-shirt

T-shatsu-T-shirt

Wanpiisu-dress

Kutsu-shoes

Boushi-hat

Examples:

Onnanoko wa shiroi wanpiisu o kite imasu - The girl is wearing a white dress.

Otokono hito wa midori boushi o kabutte imasu - The man is wearing a green hat. 

Kutsu wa haite imasu ga, kutsushita wa haite imasen-Wearing shoes without socks.

Kutsu to kutsushita o haite imasu – Wearing shoes and socks

Kutsushita to kutsu o haite imasuka – Wearing shoes and socks?

Useful phrases (All around):

Itadakimasu-Let’s eat (Stated in thanks before a meal)

Gochisou sama deshita-Thank you for the meal

Onamae wa-What’s your name?

Kochira wa ___(name)___ san desu-This is _____

Ganbatte kudasai-Do your best

Daijoubu desu ka-Are you alright?

Daijoubu desu-I am fine

Douzo-Here you are (Can be used as both an offering or a favour)

Arigatou-Thanks

Douitashimashite-You are welcome

Gomenasai-I am sorry

Kore wa shite imasuka-What are you doing?

Hai-Yes

Eii-No

Ryourshite-Could you cook for me?

Vocabulary (Inanimate Objects):

Kuni-country

Machi-city

Hashi-bridge

Koen-park

Toori-street

Jitensha-Bicycle

Booru-Ball

Kusa-Grass

Hikoki-Airplane

Hana-Flower

Taiyou-Sun

Tsuki-Moon

Sora-Sky

Osara-plate

More Vocabulary:

Kore-this

Itsu-when

Dare-why

Chikaku-close

Tooku-far

Boku-I am (Masculine only)

Watashi-I am (Feminine)

Nan-what?

Ka-particle added to the end of a sentence to make it a question.

Dewa-What about

Arimasen-I don’t have/Isn’t

Okay, there's a load of info puke for you! Have fun memorizing those, I know I will (Sarcasm?). Oh and if you listen to music--and even if you don't--check out Buckethead and your mind will be blown so amazingly that it will implode into a blackhole and eat away at your mind and fill it with real music.

That's right,

Brooke.