Prince Turns to Frog

So, I figured that I haven’t updated this in a while with a post that acutally pertained to the FIRST purpose of this blog which is Drama Reviews… SO…here we go

Prince turs to Frog.
This is by far one of my favorite dramas. Hands down. This series started me with a fervent love affair with Ming Dao. I mean…the man is hot. Hot. HOt. HOT….He just is…

And I hate people who say crap about TWDramas…So allow me to go off on a Tangent and talk about this for a second.

I love asian dramas. Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese. But I have to admit that the one that I like the least is J-Dramas… GAAASSSSPPPPPPPP.. The world of dramas turned up-side-down!!!!!

Yup. That’s right, maa’m. And here is why. I’m an honest chick, okay. I’ll fully admit that I watch dramas because they are a more exciting outlet to my own life. That is why we all watch TV in the first place. Escapism, no? (well…besides things like the news…)

And the last thing that I want when I sit down in front of my new laptop (YAY! My 20th b-day present from the boytoy) is to watch depressing crap. And ALOT of Japanese dramas have toooooo much depressing crap. You know the psychological analysis? The never ending conversations where they try to figure out the meaning behind the actions instead of getting to the point? Where they try to get in touch with everyone’s “inner being” and try to fully understand the person as a human before making assumptions?

Ya…well…I don’t like that.  I just don’t. Maybe its because I’m Brasilian and we Brasilians are not really into the sentimental, feel the love stuff. But that is the MAJOR reason why I think the Japanese dramas rank underneath Korean and Taiwanese dramas.

Now…don’t get me wrong here….because there are some TRULY great Japanese dramas out there (HELLO…Hana Yori Dango)….and if the drama is too “psychologically filled”, I just won’t watch it. But that is Not What I Mean. Wat I’m trying to say is that in Every J-DRama you will get a bit of this. Whether it is a character that won’t give up on another character even though that character does all types of ugly becaues the first character wants to believe in him/her (confused? lol…) or whether it is someone that does all types of ugly because of circumstance and we are supposed to sympathise with him/her (Read: Doumyoji beating up ppl cuz hes lonely……).

Now…on a more positive note…Why I like TW dramas. Ya, they are silly. Kinda stupid sometime. And there are some that are so incredibly cheesy that you can’t even watch it (OMYGOSH don’t even get me started on the TW version of Hana Kimi and…..ewwwwwww…ELLA)……bt in  general TW dramas catch my attention because they show the beauty of the every day family life, while throwing in a plot as if to show that normal people have intersting lives as well. 

This goes kinda opposite of the Kdrama where the single purpose seems to be to show that rich people don’t have perfect lives…..That is until all the drama is handled with and episode 16 is over, then we’re expected to believe that they go back to being perfect……..loozzzzzz

With ALL THAT BEING SAID……my opinions are mostly based on the “popular” dramas…the ordinary dramas that stereotype each country……..there are many psychological TW dramas (Mars (Love!!!) and Love Contract (hate!)) as there are Kdramas that aren’t obssessed with the Rich (I’ve never seen one, but I have seen other people review such dramas)……

However, I have to say that I have NEVER seen a Jdrama where at LEASTE one character doesn’t try to analyse the internal psyche of another character…..

 

Anywaysssss..back to the point… I love TW dramas…and I loved Prince turns to Frog!

Basically it goes like this: Rich kid is mean boss in big company. Rich kid has fiancee. Family friend is in love with Rich Kid’s fiancee. Major stockholder is jealous. Hires ppl to kill him. Rich kid escapes. As he escapes he falls in front of a car and gets run over. Car is driven by heroine. Rich kid loses memory. Heroine is a scammer. She takes him home. Tries to sell rich kid to China b/c she is afraid he will regain his memory and remember that it was her that ran him over. Heroine falls for Rich kid (DUH). Rich Kid becomes realllllyyy sweet. Rich Kid and Herione fall in love and make bunch of promises to each other that you need to remember cuz they will all come back later. Rich kid regains memory and forgets the time he spent with the Heroine. Rich Kid falls in Love with Herione anways. Fiancee goes bezerk. Family friend goes crazy cuz he hearts Fiancee. Conspiracy plot is unconvered. Lots lots lots of bezerkness happens. Can’t tell you the end.

 

So…ya…doesn’t that sound like a korean drama? That’s cuz it IS!! Lol…prince turns to frog has the same undelying plot as an earlier Korean Drama Called Save the Last Dance For Me……. Which i watched and loved..

So…my opinion.

I loved it. I thought that the change in Ming Dao from mean boss to cute Dang Ou was immense! You could see the change in his eyes. I thought he rocked it! I though that our Tian Yue was a little on the plain side to be with Dang Ou….but she wasn’t so bad…..I liked that they killed the dad (spoiler) and thought that they should have done the same thing in Save teh Last Dance For Me because teh dad would have been just EXTRA drama…….i hate teh fact that when a character “changes” from bad to good, or from good to bad, they get a hair cut……..and I HATED FIANCEE’S HAIR…and her single earring!

If your looking for something more dramatic and serious…do NOT watch this…because it gets really cheesy…especially all the sound effects and the background music. If your looking for good fun and can endure 30 episodes… GO FOR IT!!!! The ending was poor..and they dragged on a bit after chapter 24 (my guess is that they decided to extend this mid-airing)……but overall I can guarantee that you will fall in love with Ming Dao…..

And…if all else goes wrong….do you REALLY need an excuse to stare at Ming Dao for 30 hours?

I know I don’t……………

** OH, and by the way…Prince turns to Frog is the HIGHEST rated TW Drama…EVER*** Meteor Garden is second…While It Started With A Kiss is 3rd

Monavie…Get Healthy & Make Money

Here is the Monavie Compensation Plan video:

http://mymonavie.com/myhealthyfamily/opportunity_payplan.asp

I tried imbedding the actual video in the post, but I’m not very handy with computers!

Enjoy…

 

Here is the PDF compensation plan

http://www.monavie.com/1/MonaViePayPlan.pdf

 

As always…don’t forget the ID# 986610…..help us…and others will help u!

 

Monavie…Get Healthy..Make $$

Check out the boyfriend’s website:

http://mymonavie.com/myhealthyfamily/index.asp

Here you can read all about this great money making opportunity! As well as all of the health benefits that come with it!

As I do more research on this, I will be posting more information as well as opening another monavie blog!

This is no time to miss out guys! This company is still young, and the market is wide open…this is the PERFECT time to join!!!!!!!!

 

And remember, as always…Monavie is a mouth-to-mouth, one person helps another business…so if your going to sign up, please use the Id# 986610…. you help us (that is my bfs Id)…and the person you sign up helps you…and the circle goes round and round!!

Monavie…Get Healthy..and Make Money!!!!

Hey guys… sorry I haven’t posted in a while…but life sometimes gets you busy…

But I have some great news to tell you guys!

TODAY I just came from a Monavie Meeting……and it was TRULY life changing!

 

Don’t know what Monavie is? Want to find out? Think its a scam?

 

Let me tell you: Monavie is a company started about 3 years ago that sells this Açai (plus 19 other fruits)drink by the same name.

This drink is TRULY amazing. The testimonials I heard at the meeting will make you shiver! People coming off depression pills, migraines disapearing, cholesterol going down 60 points after 2 months of drinking this stuff!

It really is amazing!! My boyfriend has ALWAYS had these horrible headaches. He changed his prescription recently because he thought it was due to his lack of wearing glasses. It didn’t work. After a couple of weeks of drinking this stuff, he has no headaches anymore!

But please don’t take my word for it! Check it out for yourself. Go to www.monavie.com!!!!

 

And GUESS WHAT?!? This is the best part!…………………….

 

THe way monavie is distributed, you MAKE MONEY!! Yup. It basically works like this. You sign up for Monavie, you try it, like it and then go on Autoship where they will send boxes of bottles to your house monthly. You can then sell those bottles for a higher price than you paid for it, making a profit!

BUT THATS NOT ALL!!! THe best way to make money is to get people to sign up under you!

That’s right…COMMISSIONS pay! You get an Id# and a card. You sign people under your Id and those people will sign people under them…..and you will get a profit off of it….The profit will be automatically put in your card every friday (yup..you get paid weekly)

You get profits couting by the # of bottles that the people under you have! And you get 10% commission!

I’m going to be honest with you that I don’t know almost anything about this yet…but lets give it a try!

You can cancel at anytime, so I got nothing to lose!!

*There is a fee, but most people (most of my friends doing this) make enough during the first month to cover for any fees*

 

So…check out the site…if you like it…..hit my id# up…it is 986610

Me and the boytoy are doing this together for now, so that’s his Id’#

 

I’m planning on doing this long term..so as I learn, I will keep you posted…and will let you know how much money I’m making and some more testimonials!!!

 

I really wish the best for everyone undertaking this!!

 

AND DON”T FORGET TO INPUT MY ID # IF YOU SIGN UP!! MONAVIE WORKS BY PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE…….SO IF I WIN, YOU WIN…WE ALL WIN (corny, but trueee…….lol)

My Portuguese Grammar !

There is no “little grammar book” for Portuguese… 

…At least not Barrons. So, I whipped up from the back of my closet a book I had bought a while ago, but never paid much attention to ( I’m very impulsive ). It is called “Essential Portuguese Grammar” by Alexander Prista.

This isn’t a text book, or anything that will really teach you Portuguese grammar, but it is a great thing to have when you are efficient in Portuguese, but forgot those pesky little grammar details. And, I am exactly in that situation.

For those of you that don’t know, I’m a native-born Brazilian, so I speak fluent Portuguese. I would be very happy to answer any of your questions regarding Brazil, or regarding Portuguese. I’m always intrigued that people want to learn my language! So, if you have any questions regarding vocab or grammar please let me know! Also, if you would like, you can type up some sentences that you have questions on, and leave it as a comment on this post, along with your email address, and I will be happy to answer any questions!

Anyways…

Thank GOD that my parents insisted in speaking Portuguese at home even when we came to the U.S. (when I was 8). Back then, I probably would have preferred that my dad (who was already fluent in English because he was an English teacher in Brazil) would speak to my brother and I only in English so that we could learn this pesky language faster. But, no go. And today, I’m thankful for that. I know many friends whose parents speak other languages who wish that they were taught since birth.

However, being away from Brazil and studying only English grammar in school, you can imagine that over the 11 years that I have been living in the United States, my grammar has gotten sloppy (to say the least). Its not like I can’t express myself, because I can say whatever is on my mind. But, I don’t have that ease about it anymore. I find myself choking mid sentence because I don’t remember if the verb I want to use ends in “ei”, “ia”, etc.

My vocab also sucks. Yah, I can say the everyday stuff pretty fluently, but the new technological stuff, I’m clueless in. It’s just that I didn’t grow up in Brazil to learn the current “slang”, you know. So, I’m determined to get my language back, and that is where I found yet another use for my little grammar book “trick”.

Reading over Mr. Prista’s book has actually taught me a lot. I might sound snobby, but I don’t need an exercise book when it comes to Portuguese because, to practice, all I have to do is open my mouth at home. And, thankfully, my dad is a grammar nut (I wonder who I take after ) who has books after books after books in Portuguese grammar, and he corrects me and answers my questions anytime I need. So, this book is essential, necessary and vital to answer my most immediate questions about my language. If I don’t remember the ending of a certain verb in the Conditional Form, I can just pop open this book and see the rules they have laid out!

Are you fluent in a language? Have you forgotten the basic grammatical structure of your language? Does your language trick you sometimes with some of the more complex rules and exceptions? Then get yourself a grammar book. I believe that the “Essential [language] Grammar” series include many languages, not just Portuguese.

So, buy yourself a concise grammar book, and furthermore try to think in your language. When you find yourself stumped on how to say something (in your thoughts, I mean), open the book, and correct your grammar. This is a truly easy and fascinating way to improve your grammar.

And for vocab? Buy a book, or magazine!

Ok, so…I’m done with promoting the “little grammar book” trick, I promise!

The next post will be about my current J-drama experiences (I know I’m very late on my GTO post!), and what every Japanese/Korean/Mandarin student needs to do!

Familiarizing Yourself With a Language and Speeding Your Learning!

So, what can be better than that, huh!? Learning faster and getting familiar with the language?!?

Well…this is kind of a little “trick” that I have. I’ve just started doing this, and it has worked very well. But, as with anything, it might work for some and not for others, and it will very much depend on what language you are learning.

What is that trick? Buy a “grammar guide”! Barrons has great little pocket-size grammar guides that do not have any sort of exercises, but have cute examples after each grammar point. The books basically chop the language down into sections and explain all of the major grammar points in a very quick way.

This is a great tool for learning languages!!!

The thing to do (what I have been doing) is to read the grammar book. Incorporate it into your studies. By that, I don’t mean sit down with a notebook and copy every single grammar point down and then make your own exercises to go with it. At least not at first. (But, if you learned the language long ago and forgot some or most of it, that would be a superb way to kick start your brain again!)

My suggestion is, while doing your other language studies (textbooks, tapes, podcasts, whatever), just take 10 minutes daily to skim that grammar pocket guide. Don’t write anything down, don’t copy anything. Just read the grammar points, and the examples, and try to analyze the examples and break them down into parts. (Barrons is great for this, it already breaks it down for you). Don’t just passively read it, try to understand it as best as possible, but don’t worry about memorizing or perfectly understanding it.

So, why read this if your not going to do any exercises? Well, because the point is to get a feel for the language. If you finish one of those little books, you will have read probably about 1,000 examples. The books usually keep the vocabulary simple and repeat most of the verbs/nouns used in the examples. Your brain is going to absorb something!

And, also, you will find yourself, while doing textbook exercises thinking: “Oh, wait a sec. I read this grammar point in my little book!”. And you know what? Your brain will probably absorb that material much quicker. (And if you don’t understand the way your textbook explains something, you can always check your grammar book. Having more than one source is never a bad thing)

I’m a language learner and I know more than anyone that feeling you get when you first read the grammar points in an exercise, and you think: “I’m NEVER going to understand this!!” Well, with my little grammar “trick” that feeling goes away because my brain tells me: “Actually, you already learned this, remember?” And it makes it easier for me to remove my doubts and absorb the info.

If you think that your brain won’t learn anything by reading these books, then it probably won’t. This depends a lot on your efforts to keep a positive mind. Don’t stress about learning the material perfectly. If you just keep it light and clear and tell yourself, “This is just a basic review. It is not meant to replace my textbooks. It is just enjoyment so that I can get an overview of my language”, then you’re going to read the grammar guide with an open mind. And with that, you will probably absorb more of the grammar.

Your brain is a powerful tool. Just by skimming the guide, you will learn something. And when you come across that particular grammar point in your textbook, it will stand out in your mind. It’s actually kind of amazing when that happens! It’s like language “deja vu”!

And its even more interesting when it happens in unexpected places. For example, my language of choice is Japanese. And, although I’m a beginner, I am in the middle of the particle section of Barron’s Grammar Guide. This section is kind of intense because Japanese has so many particles. But, I didn’t let it get me down. I just thought “I’m not supposed to be memorizing this, just getting a feel for it”. And you know what? When I go to watch my Japanese dramas now, I can pick up things that I read in the Grammar Guide. Not full sentences, but things that I haven’t learned yet in Genki (my textbook of choice). Like, I will hear the particle “o” being used, and understand where it is coming from. Things like that. (And, it is things like that that will make you learn your language. Doing textbook exercises is nothing when you hear a native speaking and can’t understand a word he/she says!)

And it also makes language learning more fun! It is kind of like “I understand how this language works now!” And that makes it more enjoyable!

And then, of course, after getting far in your studies, or just as a review of a grammar topic you didn’t understand (or need reinforcement in), I would highly suggest sitting down with these grammar books and a notebook and copying down the grammar points, the examples in the book, and then making up your own examples. This will be highly helpful, and it will serve as a great reinforcement to your textbook to really burn the grammar in your mind! [this is also great review]

TRY IT!! You definitely won’t regret it! If anything else, you will probably learn new vocab, which is always helpful!

And, try Barrons. It’s great! They have it for French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish. (They also have a vocab version, but I never tried it).

I am no longer lost :)

So, thanks to Simon from Omniglot!

In the french sentence : “Je suis perdu”, “perdu” acts like an adjective. And therefore, there is no worry about using the verb “etre” before a past participle!!

 And by the way… “Je suis perdu” IS correct! I checked it out in a couple of phrase books!!

Gokusen 3

All in all, this drama is a 4.5 out of 5.

It is lightly funny, never overdone on the “sentimental” factor between students and teacher, and the situations are simple enough so that the plot doesn’t get complicated, which is exactly how comedies should be.

The only thing that I thought was ridiculous, was that little “crush” Yankumi had with the police officer. Honestly, I don’t know why they even put that in the series if they weren’t going to develop it into anything!! (sorry, that’s a spoiler!)

It was like, maybe they were going to play the romance card, but then thought better to leave it alone as it would probably ruin Yankumi’s innocent image and take the spotlight away from her students.

Oh…and another thing that I didn’t like about the drama was that Yankumi didn’t even act like a real teacher! Lol…She never taught the students to “study”, about the “real world” or anything like that. In fact, during the whole drama, it was like she approved of their “delinquent” status, and instead of helping them built up their image, she taught them to be delinquents with “pride”(she actually says that!).

I thought the drama could have progressed better if Yamaguchi could have little by little molded the characters into “respectable citizens”, teaching them the importance of school and the real world. But, alas, she in her ever ditzy nature only focused on the bond between delinquents.

I have to confess that I almost stopped watching the drama because of that! I though, the only change in the characters was that they started trusting Yankumi! And that got me pissed. But, then I began thawing my brain to understand that that isn’t the purpose of the drama. The purpose is that she was the first person that accepted them for who they were, and that is the main message of the drama, no? If she had made them change into any other student, it probably would have defeated the message.

And, after this climatic epiphany, I began loving the drama again and was hooked from start to finish.

So, WATCH THIS DRAMA! If nothing else, you will get a couple of hurt-your-belly laughs!

Oh, and I gotta say 2 other things that I thought were hilariously unrealistic: The fact that she could beat 10 guys without as much as a flyway in her hair. And the fact that her Yakuza family was incredibly mild! They definitely didn’t look like Yakuza! It was actually funny the way they were portrayed!

** and for those of you that didn’t watch the drama, Yamaguchi-sensei is her actual name, and the “Yankumi” that I keep referring to is the nickname her students gave her**

**And for those of you that haven’t had the pleasure of knowing what Hana Yori Dango is, and who have no clue who Jerry Yan is, all I have to say is: Watch Meteor Garden (Taiwanese drama) and Hana Yori Dango (Japanese Drama), but not before reading the original Manga by Yoko Kamio**

OH, and DON”T WATCH METEOR GARDEN II….watch #1…If you watch II first, you will forever loose all expectation of watching a good Taiwanese Drama!

Gokusen 2

And the students… OH, I LOOOOVEEE KUMA… Hahaha. He is so funny. And, interestly enough, he is the first one to “break”and trust Yankumi. I did, however, think that he was treated pretty unfairly in this drama. They always seemed to pick on him! If there was someone to fail something, it would always be Kuma! And I didn’t like how his family turned out in the end (I won’t spoil it for you!)…but, all in all, he was pretty awesome in this series!

Shun Oguri (I forgot his character’s name). Is it just me, or is this guy in EVERY FREAKING DRAMA. HONESTLY! He started out really early and has made a name for himself. I think he is probably one of the most sought out drama actors in Japan, because he is so versatile. (A very young and very cute Shun is also a student in GTO). He can be the main love interest (as in Hana Kimi, now showing in Japan), or the love triangle (HANA YORI DANGO!!), or just another character (Densha Otoko). I love him. And I loved him even more in Gokusen. He is a delinquent with a soft heart, because he has a mother who works her butt off to keep her son in school [SAME plot with YamaP (is that how you spell his name?) in Dragon Zakura]. He doesn’t trust adults because they look at him and just think he is trash. However, Yankumi breaks through to this barrier by believing in him and by getting him out of trouble. He is a pretty interesting character, and seems to be very well rounded. His character is one of the most realistic in the series, and I love his work here.

And then we have the epitome of the Japanese girlhood dream, Jun Mastumoto. I have to admit that, I, too am hot for this guy. Oh, the eternal Doumyoji (after Jerry Yan OF COURSE). I just love looking at this guy’s face. Not cuz he is extremely good looking (Jerry is!), but just because I am forever and ever in love with Doumyoji Tsukasa. Anyone that has the guts to play a character like that, is #1 in my book. But…Did I mention that I love Jerry??…lol, that is for another (LONG) post about Meteor Garden vs. HYD ( I might get murdered for this one, but I prefer MG)….

Anyways, JM plays Shin in Gokusen. And I love him. He is the moody character (again), and is in this series the voice of reason over all of his friends, and sometimes, over Yamaguchi-sensei. He has a deep distrust in teachers and adults in general and it takes Yankumi** many fist fights with steroid-injected, college-looking high school brats (from opposing schools that pick fights with our beloved 3D guys) to win his trust. I read somewhere that Shin is the only "round" character in this series.[ I don’t remember where I read it, so I can’t give credit where it is due, but I’m saying right now that those are not my words!]. I completely agree with this statement. Shin is like a "real person". He is deep, has secrets and his personality changes according to situation. Unlike Yankumi who is always acting in the same ditzy way, unless someone messes with her guys, then she turns Yakuza-Extreme.

So, the drama is pretty much contained with one-time plots. In every episode there is a different situation that she has to deal with, and it almost always ends with her beating up high school students who pick fights with 3D, which, unbelievably, she never gets in trouble for (well, almost never….I won’t spoil it for you! ). During the drama, the head teacher (who is soo farfetchedly funny that he makes the drama interesting) is always trying to get rid of the 3D guys, because they put down the college “average” of the school.

There are some stories, however, that carry on throughout the drama. The main one is, of course, that no one can discovery Yankumi’s family’s “connections”.

Gokusen 1

LONG POST!!!

 **WordPress is messing everything up, (including the font, sorry) so I’m going to have to break this into a couple of posts**

So, I know I’m a little bit late for these entries. I apologize, but life has been kinda crazy.Anyways…Gokusen. I love this drama and I think that Yankumi is awsome, although I did find parts of it a bit annoying.

Let’s see….

This drama portrays the first year of teaching of Yamaguchi-Sensei who just happens to be the next in line to be head of a Yakuza clan. Interestingly, her class, 3D is the toughest class to deal with as all its students are delinquents. You got your head teacher who is a pain and who keeps wanting to screw over all of the 3D kids.

This is a basic Japanese School Drama plot. This is the same plot(basically) of Dragon Zakura (although he promises to get the delinquents into Todai!)…the same plot of GTO, and to some extent the same plot of My boss, my hero (Although he is not a teacher, he is a Yakuza member, and does help his class to “come together”). Oh, and you can’t forget that there is always the principal who is naive and who puts all his/her belief in the teacher (or in My Boss, My Hero, Mikky, the Yakuza student).

Basically, the Yakuza/ex-deliquent in the classroom plot is as common to Japanese School Dramas as the Rich Guy/Poor-Girl combo is to Korean Love Dramas.

Even though it is not the most realistic genre in the Japanese drama world (Japanese dramas are usually wayyyy more “life-like” than K-dramas), it is still one of the most entertaining genres to watch. You get lots and lost of laughs; lots of heart hugging moments; great study tips; a lesson on friendship; and sometimes, if the drama is good enough, a nostalgic feeling so deep, it almost makes you wanna go back to high school (almost…)

And Gokusen is not alone. It provides all of that. Comedy is a definite. Yankumi is hilarious because she is so completely unaware of her surroundings most of the times, she just embarrasses herself silly. I love that she talks to herself when there are people around her, and I love the way she treats her students as if she were in high school. She is really a butt-kicking teacher, and I love her fearlessness in the series. Not only the way she beats up the bad guys, but also the way she handles her students. Everyone else is afraid of them, but she just treats them as if they were any other kids.

As far as character depth goes, I can’t really say much of Yankumi. She is a total bubbly nut in school, and then, like I said, turns into a war demon when her students gets picked on. And not only does she turn into a war demon, but one that has a degree in child psychology, it seems! Lol…she has many insightful things to say, she is in general a great character, and one that is SO MUCH FUN to watch. Surprisingly, and wonderfully, she makes the drama a total knockout!