On the first Sunday morning of January, on my way to church, I met Joaquin, a cute beagle puppy that I first met three years ago.

When I greeted him with "Feliz Ano-Novo!", the owner even bowed politely and said "Omedetou." I was very surprised. Brazilians don't usually have the habit of bowing their heads when greeting people, and I thought "Omedetou" was not as well known as "Arigatou" or "Sayonara."

Then, two days later, I met Joaquin again in the morning. The dog had just started his walk and looked like he wanted to hurry up, so I said "Bom dia!" and headed off to the morning market. Then, this time, the owner bowed politely and said, "Congratulations!"

This time, the owner even said "Thank you" and I was really impressed by how thoughtful the owner was.

Although the first morning market of the year had fewer people than usual, people seemed to be having fun, exchanging greetings here and there and wishing each other a good year.

Then, I heard someone say "Omedetou" and someone else reply "Omedetou" and I turned to look. I saw that they were both non-Japanese! They were naturally mixing Japanese into their conversation.

The title of this series, "Ohayo Bomdia," comes from a conversation that took place between a Japanese person and a Brazilian.

It was about 20 years ago. I met an older woman who lived in the same apartment building as me in the elevator. I greeted her with "Bom dia!" The blue-eyed Italian lady smiled and said "Ohayo." At that moment, the words "Ohayo Bomdia" came to mind. Since then, "Ohayo Bomdia" has been my trademark.

I am happy to say that recently, at last, some Japanese words have been accepted by ordinary Brazilians.

I made a quick list of similar words and noticed that there were many food-related words. "Yakisoba," "Tempura," "Sushi," and "Sukiyaki" are probably the most well-known words to Brazilians.

On the other hand, "shoyu" and "tofu" are pronounced with a subtle accent and sound like "shoyu" and "tofu."

Instant ramen is widely popular among the general public, but instead of "ramen," it is commonly called "Miojo," the name of the manufacturer. The other day, I noticed a T-shirt worn by a young woman. It said, "Eu só sei fazer miojo," or "I can't do anything but Miojo."

Recently, hand-rolled noodles, soba noodles, and robatayaki have also become popular among Brazilians, so specialty restaurants called temakerias, sobarias, and robatayaki have started to appear. These new words were created by adding the Portuguese suffix "ria" to the Japanese words "temaki," "soba," and "robata."

However, there is something interesting. One manufacturer is advertising their zabuton cushions as "futons" in magazines and on the Internet. However you look at it, they are fine zabuton cushions.

Still not convinced, I searched for "futon" on the Internet, and the results were a surprise! I found over 10 stores and manufacturers. After checking a few websites, I discovered that there were many different products sold under the name "futon."

They are roughly divided like this: 1) Colchão futon (a mat like a futon) 2) Sofá-cama futon (a sofa bed like a futon) 3) Almofada futon (a cushion like a futon) 4) Futonete (a thin mat) 5) Futon turco (a futon with a border).

I never imagined that the Japanese word "futon" would be classified in this way and become part of the daily lives of Brazilians!

© 2014 Laura Honda-Hasegawa