リンゴ means Apple...according to google

Learning another language has be a tough task for me since I found out we were coming to Japan. I have never been all that talented when it came to learning languages and never really have had listened to Japanese in more than just passing, it was all completely foreign...hahaha (I know, that was lame)...to me. What has been a great help to me was a book Brett purchased for me as a welcoming present called an Illustrated Conversation Book, Japan, In English and Japanese.

The great thing about this book is how it is set up. It will give you a sentence with part of it underlined. The underlined part is a word that can we switched out for other words that the book has given you. This way you can more easily ask something or if its necessary, point to the sentence so a helpful local can answer your question. Here is an example from the book:

Is there a tour of _________ with an English-speaking guide?  (English)
_________英語ガイド付きのツアーはありますか？(Written in Japanese, this is what you can point to)
_____iki no Eigo gaidotsuki tsuaa wa arimasu ka? (this is the phonetic version of the Japanese words)

You can pick from about 10 choices on this page on how to complete your sentence. Very easy!

Most Japanese people here have a little bit of knowledge of the English language from what I have been told. If you are going to a restaurant close to base they are sure to know the basics and will probably surprise you with their command of English. But, as is polite, you should always expect to be the one to know the countries host language and not the other way around. So, here are some key words you will use VERY often while you are here.

(Oh, and vowels are pronounced the same as they would be in Spanish)

English                                                                               Phonetic Japanese
Good Morning                                                                       Ohayoo
Good Afternoon                                                                  Kon-nichiwa
Good Evening                                                                     Konbanwa
Goodbye                                                                             Sayoonara
Thanks                                                                                Doomo
Thank you                                                                           Doomo arigatoo
Can you tell me where I am?                                              Genzaichi o oshiete kidasai
I'm lost                                                                                Michi ni mayoimashita

Something else to be aware of is, in my experience, when you are on a train or somewhere else public, people may not want to sit next to you because they are not comfortable enough with English. At first you may feel like a leaper when your area of seats on the crowded train is empty, but in their way they are trying to not putting themselves in an awkward situation. It seems silly to me because I would love to talk with them in Japanese and get some practice in, but, if this happens to you do not be offended. You don't smell, you are just American.