Q: What is this
page?
A: This is the homepage of the
Natsuume family. They created it to keep their friends and family
updated on their current events. They found that they were writing a lot
of the same emails, and anyone who has a new child knows that time is a
pretty precious commodity. Also, we are kind of hoping that people will
chat and hang out I the message section.
Q: Can I show this
website to my friends, or send them the address?
A: Of course - it's the Internet -
we couldn't stop them even if we wanted to. Anyone who is interested in
our family is welcome to visit and even leave comments.
Q: My screen has
lots of strange looking characters on it, and they don't look like
Japanese. What do I do?
A: You most likely do not have the
Japanese encoding selected on your computer. If you would like to see
what the Japanese looks like, please try selecting
View>Encoding>Japanese from your browser menu. Most people who have
Windows OS can then see the page in Japanese. Of course, you still have
to learn how to read Japanese on your own…
Q: Is all the
Japanese on this page an exact translation?
A: Absolutely not. Shizuka is
writing what she wants in Japanese, Chris is writing what he wants in
English. Sometimes it is the same, often it is not. Our bilingual
friends/relatives get the fun of seeing how different our
opinions/observations are.
Q: I don’t read
Japanese and I want to know what Shizuka is saying! How can I read her
comments?
Well, then, you will have to learn
Japanese. But you can, for fun, get extremely bad translations by going
to
http://world.altavista.com/ and copy-pasting the text in. The
translations often read like bad Japanese stereo instructions, but you
can probably get the gist of what she is trying to say. The wonders of
technology never cease.
Q: Where are you
guys now and what are you doing?
A: In 2002, Chris took a job
producing Far Cry, a computer game made by Crytek GmbH in Coburg,
Germany. We had to move out to Germany for this, and are now living in
Coburg, a small town of 50,000 people in northern Bavaria. How long will
we be here? Where will we go next? Who knows? Stay tuned.
UPDATE: In July, 2004, Chris quit his job at Crytek
and accepted an offer to study at the University of Washington. The
whole family spent the summer traveling the states, and after much fun,
ended up in Seattle, where Chris is now working one his MBA and MA
International Studies. The dual degree plan will take 3 years to
complete, and during that time the Natsuume family will most likely
spend some time in Japan, as Chris would like to spend at least a
semester studying in Japan, and is also looking for an internship
opportunity in Tokyo.
Q: Uh, how do I
pronounce your names?
A: Simple:
Saya Cayce Natsuume
"Saya" rhymes exactly with "Maya".
"Cayce" is the exact same pronunciation as "Casey" or the letters "KC".
"Natsuume" is easier to pronounce like 2 words: Natsu-Ume. Ume rhymes
with "May".
Shizuka Natsuume
"Shi" exactly like "she"
"zu" exactly like "zoo"
"ka" like the end of the word "bazooka"
No syllable is stressed or accented more than any other.
Japanese people generally do not have middle names. Shizuka is no
exception.
Chris Natsuume
Interestingly, Japanese people cannot pronounce Chris, and have to
change the name to "kurisu" when saying it. As a joke, we figured out
that it could be translated into "Ku Risu", which means Nine Squirrels,
which became his online nickname.
Q:
Okay, what do these names mean?
A: Saya is composed of two
characters: Sa
(朝) and Ya
(陽), meaning Morning and Sun, respectively.
The name itself is a relatively common Japanese name. The spelling is
less common. The characters together could be read as "Asahi", meaning
sunrise.
Cayce was Chris's "maiden name"
before taking the Natsuume family name when marrying Shizuka. It is, of
course, from her paternal family, including the world famous psychic,
Edgar Cayce, her great-great grandfather.
Natsuume is composed of the characters Natsu (夏)
and Ume (梅), meaning Summer and Plum,
respectively. It is a relatively rare Japanese name, and can be traced
back in Japan hundreds of years.
Shizuka is composed of the characters Shizu (静)
and Ka (香), meaning Quiet and Fragrance,
respectively. The name is not uncommon in Japan, and has recently become
popular as a character in the Doraemon cartoon series. Most people call
Shizuka "Shi-chan" - a diminutive form of her name, similar to
shortening Katherine to Kat or Katie.
Q: I want to send
a bunch of stuff for Saya, where do I send it?
We are now in Seattle, and will be here for a
while, so we welcome you to send Saya anything you would like. Our
address is:
Shizuka, Christopher, and Saya Natsuume
4200 Mary Gates Memorial Dr. NE #R227
Seattle, WA 98105
Q: I heard Saya
had an education fund set up - what is that about?
A: We
started an education fund when Saya was born, and it is already growing
by leaps and bounds. We are buying stocks with her fund, and have
already purchased a solid block of shares in GE for her. We are
accepting donations and advice for the best stocks to buy with it - we
are thinking about a bank or a utility as a good next move - or a decent
mutual fund. We encourage family in particular to contribute to this
account for Christmas, birthdays, Easters, etc. Saya will not be told
about this account until she is old enough to use it responsibly - most
likely 21.
BTW: For our Japanese family
members, any shussaniwai
(出産祝い)
we received has all been placed in this fund. Thank you very much for
your kindness.
You
can email Chris for details:
chrisnatsuume@hotmail.com . |