Und, daß so was von so was kommt

Karaoke is one of those fantastic little words that are largely responsible for my love of learning languages. It is a portmanteau of the Japanese word kara, meaning "empty," and the English word "orchestra." The history of karaoke is a remarkable game of intercultural ping-pong, with the concept originating in America, made successful in Japan, patented by a Filipino and re-imported into America under its Japanese name.

This Tuesday I got together with my fellow graduate students for an evening of karaoke, and I was reminded again of just how different and fantastic the experience is in Japan. My experience of American style karaoke has mostly not been so great. People singing karaoke (myself very much included) aren't generally the best singers, and if you don't know the person singing there's no real emotional basis for enjoying the performance. Japanese style karaoke eliminates this, though, by putting the whole thing in a little room, where only people you know are singing. Add a few extra microphones for group sing-alongs, a couple of tambourines for the rhythmically inclined, and a non-stop supply of beer, and you've got a recipe for a marvelous social experience.

There were a lot of great moments that night, but the best was singing Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" as the final song before we left. As I sung, everyone else jumped up and began dancing around the room, up on the table, screaming along with the chorus. When the finale came they swarmed me, and we ended the night with a high-energy group hug.

Some things are just better over here.