Origin of the word “Mignon / minion”

Just learned the origin of the word minion (mignon) which I thought was pretty interesting.   min·ion [min-yuh n]  —noun a servile follower or subordinate of a person in power.a favored or highly regarded person.a minor official.Printing. a 7-point type. Definition of minion: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/minion at Dictionary.com Although Henry III valued privacy, he liked to surround…… Continue reading Origin of the word “Mignon / minion”

Saigon Stories – Observations of the Week in Saigon

First, let me say that you must take the last entry about the French with a grain of salt. I like France and French people. Parisians still annoy me though. In fact, I’m reading a French book called “les États- Unis aujourd’hui; les maîtres du monde?” (The United States Today; The masters of the world?)…… Continue reading Saigon Stories – Observations of the Week in Saigon

Saigon Stories – Vietnamese vs. French people

Another glorious day here in Saigon. I just got back from Parkson (best department store in Saigon) where I go to get Gatorade for only 85 cents per bottle. Those other damn stores charge up to 4 dollars a bottle and so I make it a habit to get to Parksons at least once a…… Continue reading Saigon Stories – Vietnamese vs. French people

E-mail to Mathias 8.20.2004

Mathias! My classes at Waseda are finally finished and I’m very happy to not have to go to those boring lectures anymore.  I think it’s time to study Japanese on my own without the teachers troubling me with too many tests that I always received a bad grade on.  : ) Now, I’m just teaching…… Continue reading E-mail to Mathias 8.20.2004

E-mail to Kazuko 7.25.2004

Salut Kazuko, Tu vas bien?  J’espere que le semestre c’etait bien pour toi.  J’ai enfinterminé mes études de japonais, et maintenant je suis en train de chercher un travail en Vietnam.  J´aime bien Tokyo pour jouer mais je sais pas si je veux habiter ici et deviens un “Salaryman”.  Donc pour ça je vais essayer…… Continue reading E-mail to Kazuko 7.25.2004

E-mail to Mathias 5.19.2004

Hey Mathias! Correction, done!  It’s so much easier to translate between French and English then to Japanese isn’t it!  It sounds like you’ve got a tough schedule with school,, good luck. As for Japanese class they split each level into two separate classes.  One class is for people who want to study with a textbook. …… Continue reading E-mail to Mathias 5.19.2004