Among many things, Deas Richardson is an English teacher on the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) programme. That alone makes his blog essential reading for any prospective Japan-bound JET participant, and there’s plenty more to satisfy anyone with a keen interest in Japan.
The man behind the blog
Describing Deas is best left to his students who had this to say:
Deas seems smart, which surprises me.
Deas is 22 years old. Deas is very very fun. Deas is verry verry cool!!!”
He’s a little older than that now, but is no less fun. Hailing from South Carolina in the U.S, this supposed Harry Potter lookalike invites you to read his blog because,
It could be quite entertaining. (Then again, it could be so bad that it makes you want to put your finger through your eye, into your brain, and swirl it around. Ahem. I hope that that is not the case.)
Do foreign men speak like Japanese girls?
According to some fancy blog metrics, Deas’ most popular article is about foreign men speaking girly Japanese. It’s a good read and probably applies to me, too, as I’m always speaking Japanese with my wife, and learned the language from female teachers. On the subject of language, judging by his popular Japanese translation of “Santa Claus: An Engineer’s Perspective“, Deas has a very impressive grasp of Japanese, which adds a lot of credibility to his articles about Japan.
Japanese in the TV show, Heroes
The most popular series of articles on Rocking in Hakata is not surprisingly Deas’ breakdown of the US drama Heroes. I haven’t seen it myself, but I do remember hearing that one of the stars is wanted by Japanese police for trying to stop fisherman here catch dolphins. In his series, Deas analyzes the Japanese spoken during the first season, and we get to see videos of what the man in Hakata actually looks like!
Start Rocking in Hakata
I’m actually quite new to Rocking in Hakata but I have enjoyed what I’ve read so far. There’s a good balance between teaching, Japan and other things on Deas’ mind, and it’s clear that he puts a great deal of effort into writing quality content. Recommended reading!
Blogging out of Fukuoka in Southern Kyushu, Smoother hails from the American Midwest and is here with his fiancee, who tapped into his desire to see Japan, suggesting they visit after she graduated. Before his departure, he had all sorts of questions about Japan and thought it would be a good idea to blog about his experiences, answering his own questions so other Japan-bound visitors could know what to expect before boarding the plane.
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