Random Fact: Did you know most places won't accept 1 yen or 5 yen pieces? That's worth more than 1 penny or 5 respectively... I don't know what to do with all the ones I've collected!
So today was interesting...
I woke up early enough to chat with Jon, Yay! Then he wanted to meet my host family well, he got his wish sort of. Chihiro and Gakuto came bursting in and they messed around/showed off while I was chatting with him until I told them I needed to get ready to go. We had lunch together, it was Pizza of all things! Crazy! But yeah, then I was trying to collect my stuff when they were practically chasing me out the door. We were going to play, I guess. Well, fortunately I took everything I needed for the day because we walked up to a group of children and a Mom and of course, I fumbled with my Japanese and spoke with her until her friend came. Then we all chatted while the children went to play and they asked me where I was going and I explained to the seminar houses but I didn't know which bus to get on. So they took me to the bus stop and we talked more until the bus came. They spoke about as much English as Chihiro and Gakuto, maybe... But it was really nice of them to wait with me since I had like 15 minutes... holiday so less buses. Ooops.
Well, I ended up getting off at the intersection with the Hiwajima Pachinko place and walked the rest of the way to the seminar house. It wasn't a bad walk just lonely... I'm not used to walking that far without my friends there to chat with me. But I made it and got in and hung out while the girls went out to buy stuff for dinner, which was Curry and garlic bread-DELICIOUS! But yeah, eventually, I thought of inviting Keck-san only to forget he didn't live in Seminar House 2 anymore... and by the time I realized it, 1 it was pouring down rain, 2 he was on his way there and 3 I apparently spoke commanding when I messaged him. SORRY!
So he came and hung out with Lindsey, Lauren, Cassie and I and later Danielle and her roommate. It was fun but he was soaked when he got there. I managed to avoid the rain until I left.
Anyway, we watched Coraline, cool but CREEPY! So I'm temporarily afraid of buttons... just the ones that look like the ones from the movie though... but yeah, then they made dinner, we ate and watched some things on Youtube and then Keck-san and I left to get to the bus stop. It wasn't really raining at all but I managed to forget where my stop was and passed it. I realized this later when I came to the next one- very far away and in a sketchy, unlit area... needless to say I wasn't waiting there for a bus by myself, so I went to the next one another several blocks down. That was better lit but seeing the timing of the bus, I didn't want to wait there and I thought I was closer than I really was. Wooops!
I walked forever again until I came to this next bus stop and realized I had a long way still and decided to wait the 5 minutes for the bus to come. Thankfully, the buses here are on time! Since that bus was only coming at the 05 and 31 and it was 10:27 at this point. That's a long time to wait and I wouldn't have had the patience... as shone in the beginning part of the story. So I got on the bus and got off where I should and got home safely! Yay! Then I had to explain my story to Miwa-san and then Toru-san when he stepped out of his meeting. They then explained to me there was another bus I could've taken to some place close(I did happen to see that bus too...) and were in awe that I walked as much as I did- simply because it was expensive.
In any case, Toru-san and I are going to figure out the bike path to campus on Saturday morning before I got to Hirakata Station to go to Osaka with Ayano at 1.
I also found out that the Osaka Castle is being worked on in March- well, finishing up the work for the next 5 years and I want to see the outside before I leave here! Therefore, I'm looking for people to go with but Sat is bad for me because of my Osaka trip, which is when Lindsey is going. I'm hoping to rope in Mai to take me some weekend before it closes. *crosses fingers*
Keck-san also told me that because I hate being in the level 3 class so much I should try one last time to ask if I can be in the level 4 class. My fighting spirit has died but he brings up a valid point. I absolutely hate sitting in that class. I don't want to be the person who drags the class along when they don't get something or won't speak. Sorry, I want to be challenged! We'll see if I muster up enough courage and logical Japanese to formulate a coherent argument. We shall see. Since I've got such a busy day tomorrow, I'd better be off!
Night!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Everything will be all right at last...
The title is actually something on Gakuto's shirt yesterday but I figure it works since I couldn't think of anything else for today. Well, it's 10:10pm on Wednesday night... what I would normally doing would be dancing like mad with fun people. Unfortunately, I'm sitting in my room in Japan knowing I just spent the last half hour doing homework... actually, it was a half hour before Chihiro and Gakuto came in and wanted to play before they went to bed. So it was an hour ago but still. It was fun but not the normal fun...
I still haven't found any cool swing dancing places, not that I know where to begin in this search. I feel kind of intimidated to ask people if they know of any this's or that's. I have to get over this little fear.
My day started off with me thinking I had over slept when Chihiro came into the room to check on me. I went downstairs for breakfast and well, those two were there and this little clock said "9:40"... I was like WHAT?!?!?! I have class at 10 and a 20 min bus ride! So, I started sprinting around and swallowing food whole when I was in the bathroom and noticed another clock that said "8:40"... I was like "chotto matte!" "Chihiro!! Ima nanji ka?" She replied 8:40... then I pointed at the wrong clock and asked WHY? She didn't know so I gave up and finished getting ready. Apparently they didn't have school today and don't have it the rest of the week... JEALOUS! I mean, I don't have class tomorrow and I just finished Friday's homework but I do have stuff for Monday that I can't do unless I'm on campus, so I better remember to do that on Friday after my lunch with Mai-first speaking partner.
I also might be going to another flea market with Lauren- we shall see since I have to get that homework finished... We were going to go to the bath house together tomorrow but since it's Foundation Day- oops, everything's closed! Except my host parents' jobs... taihen... oh well. I'm going to the Seminar house for the first time since they picked me up and never brought me back! Lindsey is making curry for dinner so we're invited! Yay!
I also found out that whatever happens, my classes will count so long as I get a C or higher. That's a laugh. I've never gotten lower than an A in Japanese and this class is all review since my vocab wasn't sufficient enough for them. *cough cough* snobs*cough cough* Oh well, I might be able to not buy the books too since you can't sell them back at all. I'll just photocopy the pages I need before I give my borrowed book back. It'll be expensive but cheaper than actually buying either book!
I also have my partner for my Psychotherapy project for Psych! Yay! I'm excited! We get to role play! I ended up with this guy, Alex, from the bus ride from Itami airport. He's cool, I run into him a lot randomly and since he's in my psy class we get to chat every once in a while. This will be fun!
Well, since I had that meeting after I went to class I got back really late and no one was home. I found a note from Chihiro that because it was Wed, they have golf lessons and would be back by 7:30 so I just messed around and worked on stuff until they got back. We had sweetened rice, egg, and salmon eggs with some other kind of regular non-fish eggs fish. I can now say I've had fish eggs... it's a little hen for me... Although it was hilarious to hear Chihiro saying she was eating Nemo... I laughed. I forgot to mention I had onigiri for breakfast and I went with Cass to finish my Gaijin card application so everything's good there and we managed to find our way by ourselves! I was so proud! We bought bus/train passes since that's draining my change/yen in my wallet fast so I'm constantly needing to get more out. It costs the same but I'm not fumbling around for enough change now. I'm going to ask about a bike tomorrow... Cass also told me about a used book store near Hirakata station where she bought 4 books for $10. I was excited. We ran out of time between classes to go there so instead we found a bus and decided we would be each others' Valentines since mine are so far away and she doesn't have any. We are also going to buy each other chocolate so on White Day we also get more- it's an obligation chocolate! Aren't we too smart for ourselves? ;P
Well, other than that I've been in a writing mood if I don't get too tired or distracted by music/anime. I'm out!
PS: I totally waited for it to save and clicked another button and it went away, I almost freaked out about losing it all again until I noticed it was saved under a draft! Shoo! *wipes brow* Sorry, I don't know if I would've rewritten it...
I still haven't found any cool swing dancing places, not that I know where to begin in this search. I feel kind of intimidated to ask people if they know of any this's or that's. I have to get over this little fear.
My day started off with me thinking I had over slept when Chihiro came into the room to check on me. I went downstairs for breakfast and well, those two were there and this little clock said "9:40"... I was like WHAT?!?!?! I have class at 10 and a 20 min bus ride! So, I started sprinting around and swallowing food whole when I was in the bathroom and noticed another clock that said "8:40"... I was like "chotto matte!" "Chihiro!! Ima nanji ka?" She replied 8:40... then I pointed at the wrong clock and asked WHY? She didn't know so I gave up and finished getting ready. Apparently they didn't have school today and don't have it the rest of the week... JEALOUS! I mean, I don't have class tomorrow and I just finished Friday's homework but I do have stuff for Monday that I can't do unless I'm on campus, so I better remember to do that on Friday after my lunch with Mai-first speaking partner.
I also might be going to another flea market with Lauren- we shall see since I have to get that homework finished... We were going to go to the bath house together tomorrow but since it's Foundation Day- oops, everything's closed! Except my host parents' jobs... taihen... oh well. I'm going to the Seminar house for the first time since they picked me up and never brought me back! Lindsey is making curry for dinner so we're invited! Yay!
I also found out that whatever happens, my classes will count so long as I get a C or higher. That's a laugh. I've never gotten lower than an A in Japanese and this class is all review since my vocab wasn't sufficient enough for them. *cough cough* snobs*cough cough* Oh well, I might be able to not buy the books too since you can't sell them back at all. I'll just photocopy the pages I need before I give my borrowed book back. It'll be expensive but cheaper than actually buying either book!
I also have my partner for my Psychotherapy project for Psych! Yay! I'm excited! We get to role play! I ended up with this guy, Alex, from the bus ride from Itami airport. He's cool, I run into him a lot randomly and since he's in my psy class we get to chat every once in a while. This will be fun!
Well, since I had that meeting after I went to class I got back really late and no one was home. I found a note from Chihiro that because it was Wed, they have golf lessons and would be back by 7:30 so I just messed around and worked on stuff until they got back. We had sweetened rice, egg, and salmon eggs with some other kind of regular non-fish eggs fish. I can now say I've had fish eggs... it's a little hen for me... Although it was hilarious to hear Chihiro saying she was eating Nemo... I laughed. I forgot to mention I had onigiri for breakfast and I went with Cass to finish my Gaijin card application so everything's good there and we managed to find our way by ourselves! I was so proud! We bought bus/train passes since that's draining my change/yen in my wallet fast so I'm constantly needing to get more out. It costs the same but I'm not fumbling around for enough change now. I'm going to ask about a bike tomorrow... Cass also told me about a used book store near Hirakata station where she bought 4 books for $10. I was excited. We ran out of time between classes to go there so instead we found a bus and decided we would be each others' Valentines since mine are so far away and she doesn't have any. We are also going to buy each other chocolate so on White Day we also get more- it's an obligation chocolate! Aren't we too smart for ourselves? ;P
Well, other than that I've been in a writing mood if I don't get too tired or distracted by music/anime. I'm out!
PS: I totally waited for it to save and clicked another button and it went away, I almost freaked out about losing it all again until I noticed it was saved under a draft! Shoo! *wipes brow* Sorry, I don't know if I would've rewritten it...
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
頭が痛い! (Atama ga itai!)
Hey all,
I have a really bad headache right now and I've actually had it for a while so I'm going to try to crash early tonight. I only have 2 more days of school this week. It was wonderfully warm out today and I found out I was 10 pts off from being in level 4. I consider that very close since on one question I didn't know the word novel and he took 4 pts off for that. I saw the test, I got .5 for a perfect sentence minus one word... If it came down to it, I could argue my way in but my drive has nearly died at this point.
I found out my Department head at home is saying that if I get a good grade in level 3 then it can count. I'm not so sure about all of this but so long as I leave Japan with my minor completed, then I will be satisfied. I still won't be able to take level 3 serious but if it counts and I can't move then there's nothing else to do.
I went to get my Alien Registration all filled out with Miwa-san and co but at first we got there and forgot my papers. Then we got back and got to the guy and realized we forgot the pictures too. So I have to go back tomorrow and finish it up between classes. Mou...
Miwa-san bought us taiyaki so I have better pictures and they were good even though they weren't from a sketchy, white, unmarked van parked on the side of a busy road. She made fried shrimp for dinner with rice and cabbage salad. This almond sesame seed salad dressing is good.
Since there's no school on Thursday, some of us girls were thinking about going to an Onsen- a public bath. I had a blonde moment before I realized what that entailed. I'm still kind of okay with it but we're not sure if we're going. It's either there or with the guys to the Osaka Aquarium. Well, videos are up on Facebook and I think I put up more pictures too but I can't remember. I'm going to go shower and hit bed. Night.
PS: I fell asleep in the ofuro... that's embarrassing... And I forgot to mention that I showed up to my SPJ class level 3 having studied the wrong vocab chapter so with 3 minutes before quiz time I scanned over the correct vocab and managed to get a 100% or I'm pretty sure that's what I got after we went over it out loud... yeah, I shouldn't be able to do that and be in a class that supposedly "challenges" me... *rolls eyes and falls into bed*
I have a really bad headache right now and I've actually had it for a while so I'm going to try to crash early tonight. I only have 2 more days of school this week. It was wonderfully warm out today and I found out I was 10 pts off from being in level 4. I consider that very close since on one question I didn't know the word novel and he took 4 pts off for that. I saw the test, I got .5 for a perfect sentence minus one word... If it came down to it, I could argue my way in but my drive has nearly died at this point.
I found out my Department head at home is saying that if I get a good grade in level 3 then it can count. I'm not so sure about all of this but so long as I leave Japan with my minor completed, then I will be satisfied. I still won't be able to take level 3 serious but if it counts and I can't move then there's nothing else to do.
I went to get my Alien Registration all filled out with Miwa-san and co but at first we got there and forgot my papers. Then we got back and got to the guy and realized we forgot the pictures too. So I have to go back tomorrow and finish it up between classes. Mou...
Miwa-san bought us taiyaki so I have better pictures and they were good even though they weren't from a sketchy, white, unmarked van parked on the side of a busy road. She made fried shrimp for dinner with rice and cabbage salad. This almond sesame seed salad dressing is good.
Since there's no school on Thursday, some of us girls were thinking about going to an Onsen- a public bath. I had a blonde moment before I realized what that entailed. I'm still kind of okay with it but we're not sure if we're going. It's either there or with the guys to the Osaka Aquarium. Well, videos are up on Facebook and I think I put up more pictures too but I can't remember. I'm going to go shower and hit bed. Night.
PS: I fell asleep in the ofuro... that's embarrassing... And I forgot to mention that I showed up to my SPJ class level 3 having studied the wrong vocab chapter so with 3 minutes before quiz time I scanned over the correct vocab and managed to get a 100% or I'm pretty sure that's what I got after we went over it out loud... yeah, I shouldn't be able to do that and be in a class that supposedly "challenges" me... *rolls eyes and falls into bed*
Monday, February 8, 2010
Raindrops on Roses
So... it's a really weird feeling when I've finished all my homework and managed to study vocab cards and watch 3 episodes of an anime... I'm awake but I feel like I should be tired and I feel like it should be later than it really is. This is very strange to me.
Well, my day started off okay in the aspect of I had a warm breakfast, caught a bus, got to school early enough to find out we had a quiz on some vocab in the first period... Don't worry, I'm the master at short term memorization! Down side is that only about half of it is still in my head. I had about 10 mins to find the words and study them, which is better off than some people. Unfortunately it was over Transitive and Intransitive verbs again...
I swear if I have to explain it one more time in Japanese class in English to the class, I might just blow a gear. Needless to say, I probably aced the quiz and felt like my skin was being pulled off my body in every direction as I sat there repeating every short phrase she said and had to drag the class forward by their toe nails. Please, shoot me now!
I showed up to the level 4 class just to ask if I could see my test since I got to see my level 3 but the professor just told me to stay in level 3 and with that I had to bite my lip to manage to walk out of there with any dignity at all. He wouldn't even SHOW me it. I will see that test! If they still have it... Who would've guessed the reason I didn't do fantastic on the level 3 was because I didn't know the vocab from this text book. Hah, I haven't been saying that from the beginning and yet, I tried to remedy it. I even did well on the listening portion and that's saying something since it's me and my listening comprehension confidence is nearly none existent.
I managed to vent to some people earlier in the day so that made me feel a bit better, at least to the point where I could be in public without getting looks for having pink, puffy eyes. I hate that my tear ducts are connected to anger, frustration, and disappointment versus actually being sad... I'm not kidding, I don't usually cry when I think I'm supposed to. I'm waiting on some emails from Miami to help me out but again, I'm still waiting...
I just refuse to go through all the effort and spend the money to get to Japan just to leave here without my minor completed. I'm sorry that's BS. Every second of my life I spend sitting in that level 3 class, I feel as though someone is drilling into my temple and unraveling my brain out except the hole is too small so it's being forced out and stretched out farther than it should be possible. Did I mention, I feel dumber sitting in there and I'm pretty sure I'll lose interest in things I've already learned?
Anyway, I could go on about that for hours but I don't want to dwell on the anger, hatred, and frustration I've been experiencing/attempting to not redirect at innocent people.
So after managing to get to the cafeteria by myself and realizing my phone was dying so I couldn't call anyone, I got some food and sat down in the middle of a long table. About 5 minutes later, a huge group of high schoolers who had just finished taking their college entrance exams came rushing in. Me feeling rather antisocial and still remotely pissed off, kept my head down and ate my food. In no time two male high schoolers sat down in front of me and pulled out their food. I have to say it made me laugh because I pretended not to notice them like everyone who sits by him/herself, but it was difficult when I can overhear part of their conversation in Japanese talking about "say something" "I don't know" "You wanted to practice" "How do I say that in English." Immediately, I realize what's going on and then one of the starts talking to me.
He said that they had just finished their test and wanted to practice more of their English. Since I was currently pissed off about Japanese classes, I was perfectly content with not speaking Japanese. So I humored them. There were lots of long awkward pauses that sometimes I would break, sometimes the talkative one would break. It was funny. I can honestly say, I've never had that happen to me before. They asked me where I was from and what sports I played and general questions like that and I asked them the same but I did point out that one of them seemed shy, which sent the talkative one into a long description of how he's not really shy when he's with his girlfriend and how she's coming to take the test tomorrow and he's going to help her study, etc. He claimed he wasn't embarrassed after having his friend divulge all of that but facial expressions are fairly universal. Fortunately, I had class soon after we all finished our meals so that they didn't feel obligated to continue to talk to me in English. It was entertaining to me and put me in a better mood so that was nice. I got something out of it besides a funny story. At the very end before I left, I asked them what their names were and if I partially recall one was "Yagai" but I was supposed to call him "Michi" and the other shy one was "Shioyuki" or something along those lines. I don't know about Michi though since they both snickered when he mentioned it. Silly high schoolers...
Either way, I had my Anthro class afterwards and it was fairly interesting except I kept falling asleep because 1. I was physically tired, 2. I was emotionally tired, 3. it was ridiculously hot in that room, 4. the professor can be a bit of a boring speaker, and 5. it was right after lunch. Food COMA! But I was really trying to stay awake, which is more than I can say for the girl 3 seats down from me, face flat on her desk and out. When I say I was falling asleep I mean I did the head bobs. We only have his class once this week though, because Thursday is Foundation Day so no school! Hopefully I'll be better next week, I'm sure I will because I will take appropriate measures. Then, I got to my favorite class: My Cross-Cultural Psych. I swear I should have been a psych major... I might get a real job if I had. Plus, a good psychologist is a good listener. I can do that, among other things... But that class was enjoyable and it was fun realizing how balanced I was and ironic some of my answers seemed to be given my other answers and my culture.
Afterwards, I ran into my old roommate from the seminar houses who is in my level 3 class and reconfirmed that I had homework in it, which I forgot to make a copy of because I'm not using the page out of my friend's book. He might need it some day! So, I have to do that before class tomorrow and do the homework but again... it's easy and stuff I've already done twice! So that reawakened my annoyance for that class and made me stomp off to the bus stop (hence I forgot to make the copy). But yeah, I ran into Lauren at my bus stop so I chatted with her a bit and heard how she tried to apply for her alien registration card today but got lost with the map the university gave her, which is apparently completely wrong according to local Japanese people. So yeah, she got lost and by the time she got there, it was closed of course. I was glad to see some familiar and friendly faces then before hopping on the bus home. You know the bike ride is looking better and better if only the weather would get warmer.
But I came home, still slightly soured from the day and messed around on the computer a bit, then began my homework when Chihiro-chan came to visit and wanted to play. I did manage to finish my worksheet before giving in. I had music playing so we danced a bit, had a breath holding competition in which I managed 1 minute and 10 seconds. Woohoo! My new record! We also played with my new pretty things and of course, took more pictures. It was fun and she went downstairs for a bit saying that she'd be back. But after about 10 minutes I realized something was up, so I finished up looking at my vocab for one of my quizzes tomorrow and ventured downstairs.
Surprise! Miwa-san was making Takoyaki. And no, there is nothing Taco- about it. Think okinomiyaki with Octopus in it and in little ball shapes. It was oishii! For all of you who don't know what okinomiyaki is, I took pictures too. My first time eating octopus, I believe. Kind of chewy but tasty. I was also super hungry! So I watched her make that for a while and then we ate, and she went to pick up Toru-san and we made more while she was out so they would have something when they got back. I went over more review cards afterwards, but then came upstairs after everyone went their separate ways. I started looking up new musical artists from the tv shows they watch when I saw a amv for Tokyo Mew Mew and I had to watch a couple. So I did and well, here I am. I figure I'll go over my vocab another few times and head to bed soon. Maybe I'll get more pictures up. Maybe not! I haven't heard any guesses except from Kimmy about what I bought!
Oh well, I'll talk to you all later!
~Me
Well, my day started off okay in the aspect of I had a warm breakfast, caught a bus, got to school early enough to find out we had a quiz on some vocab in the first period... Don't worry, I'm the master at short term memorization! Down side is that only about half of it is still in my head. I had about 10 mins to find the words and study them, which is better off than some people. Unfortunately it was over Transitive and Intransitive verbs again...
I swear if I have to explain it one more time in Japanese class in English to the class, I might just blow a gear. Needless to say, I probably aced the quiz and felt like my skin was being pulled off my body in every direction as I sat there repeating every short phrase she said and had to drag the class forward by their toe nails. Please, shoot me now!
I showed up to the level 4 class just to ask if I could see my test since I got to see my level 3 but the professor just told me to stay in level 3 and with that I had to bite my lip to manage to walk out of there with any dignity at all. He wouldn't even SHOW me it. I will see that test! If they still have it... Who would've guessed the reason I didn't do fantastic on the level 3 was because I didn't know the vocab from this text book. Hah, I haven't been saying that from the beginning and yet, I tried to remedy it. I even did well on the listening portion and that's saying something since it's me and my listening comprehension confidence is nearly none existent.
I managed to vent to some people earlier in the day so that made me feel a bit better, at least to the point where I could be in public without getting looks for having pink, puffy eyes. I hate that my tear ducts are connected to anger, frustration, and disappointment versus actually being sad... I'm not kidding, I don't usually cry when I think I'm supposed to. I'm waiting on some emails from Miami to help me out but again, I'm still waiting...
I just refuse to go through all the effort and spend the money to get to Japan just to leave here without my minor completed. I'm sorry that's BS. Every second of my life I spend sitting in that level 3 class, I feel as though someone is drilling into my temple and unraveling my brain out except the hole is too small so it's being forced out and stretched out farther than it should be possible. Did I mention, I feel dumber sitting in there and I'm pretty sure I'll lose interest in things I've already learned?
Anyway, I could go on about that for hours but I don't want to dwell on the anger, hatred, and frustration I've been experiencing/attempting to not redirect at innocent people.
So after managing to get to the cafeteria by myself and realizing my phone was dying so I couldn't call anyone, I got some food and sat down in the middle of a long table. About 5 minutes later, a huge group of high schoolers who had just finished taking their college entrance exams came rushing in. Me feeling rather antisocial and still remotely pissed off, kept my head down and ate my food. In no time two male high schoolers sat down in front of me and pulled out their food. I have to say it made me laugh because I pretended not to notice them like everyone who sits by him/herself, but it was difficult when I can overhear part of their conversation in Japanese talking about "say something" "I don't know" "You wanted to practice" "How do I say that in English." Immediately, I realize what's going on and then one of the starts talking to me.
He said that they had just finished their test and wanted to practice more of their English. Since I was currently pissed off about Japanese classes, I was perfectly content with not speaking Japanese. So I humored them. There were lots of long awkward pauses that sometimes I would break, sometimes the talkative one would break. It was funny. I can honestly say, I've never had that happen to me before. They asked me where I was from and what sports I played and general questions like that and I asked them the same but I did point out that one of them seemed shy, which sent the talkative one into a long description of how he's not really shy when he's with his girlfriend and how she's coming to take the test tomorrow and he's going to help her study, etc. He claimed he wasn't embarrassed after having his friend divulge all of that but facial expressions are fairly universal. Fortunately, I had class soon after we all finished our meals so that they didn't feel obligated to continue to talk to me in English. It was entertaining to me and put me in a better mood so that was nice. I got something out of it besides a funny story. At the very end before I left, I asked them what their names were and if I partially recall one was "Yagai" but I was supposed to call him "Michi" and the other shy one was "Shioyuki" or something along those lines. I don't know about Michi though since they both snickered when he mentioned it. Silly high schoolers...
Either way, I had my Anthro class afterwards and it was fairly interesting except I kept falling asleep because 1. I was physically tired, 2. I was emotionally tired, 3. it was ridiculously hot in that room, 4. the professor can be a bit of a boring speaker, and 5. it was right after lunch. Food COMA! But I was really trying to stay awake, which is more than I can say for the girl 3 seats down from me, face flat on her desk and out. When I say I was falling asleep I mean I did the head bobs. We only have his class once this week though, because Thursday is Foundation Day so no school! Hopefully I'll be better next week, I'm sure I will because I will take appropriate measures. Then, I got to my favorite class: My Cross-Cultural Psych. I swear I should have been a psych major... I might get a real job if I had. Plus, a good psychologist is a good listener. I can do that, among other things... But that class was enjoyable and it was fun realizing how balanced I was and ironic some of my answers seemed to be given my other answers and my culture.
Afterwards, I ran into my old roommate from the seminar houses who is in my level 3 class and reconfirmed that I had homework in it, which I forgot to make a copy of because I'm not using the page out of my friend's book. He might need it some day! So, I have to do that before class tomorrow and do the homework but again... it's easy and stuff I've already done twice! So that reawakened my annoyance for that class and made me stomp off to the bus stop (hence I forgot to make the copy). But yeah, I ran into Lauren at my bus stop so I chatted with her a bit and heard how she tried to apply for her alien registration card today but got lost with the map the university gave her, which is apparently completely wrong according to local Japanese people. So yeah, she got lost and by the time she got there, it was closed of course. I was glad to see some familiar and friendly faces then before hopping on the bus home. You know the bike ride is looking better and better if only the weather would get warmer.
But I came home, still slightly soured from the day and messed around on the computer a bit, then began my homework when Chihiro-chan came to visit and wanted to play. I did manage to finish my worksheet before giving in. I had music playing so we danced a bit, had a breath holding competition in which I managed 1 minute and 10 seconds. Woohoo! My new record! We also played with my new pretty things and of course, took more pictures. It was fun and she went downstairs for a bit saying that she'd be back. But after about 10 minutes I realized something was up, so I finished up looking at my vocab for one of my quizzes tomorrow and ventured downstairs.
Surprise! Miwa-san was making Takoyaki. And no, there is nothing Taco- about it. Think okinomiyaki with Octopus in it and in little ball shapes. It was oishii! For all of you who don't know what okinomiyaki is, I took pictures too. My first time eating octopus, I believe. Kind of chewy but tasty. I was also super hungry! So I watched her make that for a while and then we ate, and she went to pick up Toru-san and we made more while she was out so they would have something when they got back. I went over more review cards afterwards, but then came upstairs after everyone went their separate ways. I started looking up new musical artists from the tv shows they watch when I saw a amv for Tokyo Mew Mew and I had to watch a couple. So I did and well, here I am. I figure I'll go over my vocab another few times and head to bed soon. Maybe I'll get more pictures up. Maybe not! I haven't heard any guesses except from Kimmy about what I bought!
Oh well, I'll talk to you all later!
~Me
Sunday, February 7, 2010
First Weekend Homestay
Okay, First weekend with a host family and it wasn't too bad aside from things outside of their control. I. E. My disappointing results from the japanese language tests... I've already got a back up plan- downside is I don't want to use it... and me getting lost by myself at Hirakata Station for about 45 minutes before I managed to figure out where to go and then actually get there.
I'm not saying it was a bad weekend by any stretch of the imagination. I got to talk to people on Skype including my parents, which made me very happy. I was able to watch a fair bit of anime and oddly enough, it reminded me of home. I hung out with Chihiro-chan and Gakuto quite a bit and we played and I have lots of pictures of them now, which I will upload later. I also went to Toji Temple to attend a flea market. So cool! So much old stuff, it was crazy! Needless to say, I finally broke down and bought something that I didn't see as a necessity but really, really wanted. I actually ended up getting 3 things and it totally out to 1800 yen, which I did the math and ended up being about $16.38. I was pretty proud of myself although, I wasn't able to barter at all but that's okay... I'm not very good at that anyway... *>.> <.<* *^-^* v.v*
I'll give you a couple hints:
it's sometimes light and sometimes not,
depending on the wearer.
It's made very large for those very small,
and no, they made no error.
Many holes exist in this design,
but only two are made for limbs.
A week of going full out in these
and you won't be needing any gyms.
Give me a break: I tried! It's not very good but I'm tired! Still! I definitely didn't sleep much this weekend so let's remedy that now!
Again, pictures: later. Videos: remind me later! Feeling like you've been robbed after checking your bank account after your first two weeks in Japan: Definitely NOT Priceless!
I mean: I did have to buy a phone and a phone card and books and pens, a pencil, two notebooks, a folder, food, traveling to and from school, more food, paying to get to school from the airport, paying my bills at school in cash... it is expensive here...
I really need to man up and bike to school... I know the way now... I just need to not be afraid to ride with all the crazy drivers on the left side of the road of main streets and make sure I always have my bike registration on me and get my bike a parking pass...
I give up! Bed!
I'm not saying it was a bad weekend by any stretch of the imagination. I got to talk to people on Skype including my parents, which made me very happy. I was able to watch a fair bit of anime and oddly enough, it reminded me of home. I hung out with Chihiro-chan and Gakuto quite a bit and we played and I have lots of pictures of them now, which I will upload later. I also went to Toji Temple to attend a flea market. So cool! So much old stuff, it was crazy! Needless to say, I finally broke down and bought something that I didn't see as a necessity but really, really wanted. I actually ended up getting 3 things and it totally out to 1800 yen, which I did the math and ended up being about $16.38. I was pretty proud of myself although, I wasn't able to barter at all but that's okay... I'm not very good at that anyway... *>.> <.<* *^-^* v.v*
I'll give you a couple hints:
it's sometimes light and sometimes not,
depending on the wearer.
It's made very large for those very small,
and no, they made no error.
Many holes exist in this design,
but only two are made for limbs.
A week of going full out in these
and you won't be needing any gyms.
Give me a break: I tried! It's not very good but I'm tired! Still! I definitely didn't sleep much this weekend so let's remedy that now!
Again, pictures: later. Videos: remind me later! Feeling like you've been robbed after checking your bank account after your first two weeks in Japan: Definitely NOT Priceless!
I mean: I did have to buy a phone and a phone card and books and pens, a pencil, two notebooks, a folder, food, traveling to and from school, more food, paying to get to school from the airport, paying my bills at school in cash... it is expensive here...
I really need to man up and bike to school... I know the way now... I just need to not be afraid to ride with all the crazy drivers on the left side of the road of main streets and make sure I always have my bike registration on me and get my bike a parking pass...
I give up! Bed!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Ordinary Days
So, I've got an early start on my homework which is a good thing since I have so much studying to do for classes tomorrow and I have 3 again and they're early! I haven't written anything lately because 1. I've been exhausted and wanted sleep more, 2. no one's been hounding me, and 3. because the days were fairly ordinary. I've had an ofuro, which by the way, I want in my house! I've had my laundry done which seems strange since I didn't help do it at all. I have been doing homework and catching buses and going to class. I seem to do well in my level 4 speaking, it feels much better for me than 3 since I've already learned it and the challenge level isn't high enough for me. Sure, my speaking ability isn't that great but the reading and writing part is decent. I need to do well tomorrow!
It been fun. I can all ready tell my speaking ability has gotten better. The most obvious way to tell is that I'm speaking more and able to communicate better with my host family: especially the people who don't know much English. It's been fun, running into people and meeting new people. It's weird going to class knowing I'll speak more English there than at home... we celebrated a little bit of Setsubun yesterday but since Toru-san didn't come home for dinner from work, I think we held off. Chihiro-chan and Gakuto are cute as always and silly as any 8 and 9 year old would be. I think after this week I'll be able to sleep more and better because I won't be stressing about these tests and needing to memorize an obscene amount of information. I'm not sure how enthusiastic I am about my Culture and Everyday Life class but I definitely like my Psy class. Miwa-san painted my names to practice more before she opens her nail salon. They're pretty but pink... I guess they're in season since they've got hearts on them too. I forgive her because she doesn't know I don't like pink but it's funny seeing it on my hands. It doesn't seem to fit the rest of my persona. -_-*
I think I've... nope, I know I've worn a hole in my pajama pants... uh oh... I'll have to figure out how to sew it closed. >.<
I've made a lot of plans lately- I've met both my speaking partners and have more plans with them. I'm chatting with people from home on Friday and Saturday. I'm going to a flea market in Kyoto on Sunday, getting my alien registration taken care of on Tuesday with Miwa-san, and going to Nara with Mai and hopefully some friends! It'll be fun! Mai is like a more asian version of Kimmy without the benefits. I think that's a fair assessment. I mean Kimmy's not from Asia so I'm not being mean or anything. It's some of the personality and energy. Oh and I just finished making plans to go with Ayano to Osaka to go shopping too! I actually haven't bought many crazy Japanese things yet, it's basically been food and transportation and school stuff.
In case you didn't know, it's expensive to live here.
But yeah, I think this is good for now. I'm going to continue with my homework and study!
It been fun. I can all ready tell my speaking ability has gotten better. The most obvious way to tell is that I'm speaking more and able to communicate better with my host family: especially the people who don't know much English. It's been fun, running into people and meeting new people. It's weird going to class knowing I'll speak more English there than at home... we celebrated a little bit of Setsubun yesterday but since Toru-san didn't come home for dinner from work, I think we held off. Chihiro-chan and Gakuto are cute as always and silly as any 8 and 9 year old would be. I think after this week I'll be able to sleep more and better because I won't be stressing about these tests and needing to memorize an obscene amount of information. I'm not sure how enthusiastic I am about my Culture and Everyday Life class but I definitely like my Psy class. Miwa-san painted my names to practice more before she opens her nail salon. They're pretty but pink... I guess they're in season since they've got hearts on them too. I forgive her because she doesn't know I don't like pink but it's funny seeing it on my hands. It doesn't seem to fit the rest of my persona. -_-*
I think I've... nope, I know I've worn a hole in my pajama pants... uh oh... I'll have to figure out how to sew it closed. >.<
I've made a lot of plans lately- I've met both my speaking partners and have more plans with them. I'm chatting with people from home on Friday and Saturday. I'm going to a flea market in Kyoto on Sunday, getting my alien registration taken care of on Tuesday with Miwa-san, and going to Nara with Mai and hopefully some friends! It'll be fun! Mai is like a more asian version of Kimmy without the benefits. I think that's a fair assessment. I mean Kimmy's not from Asia so I'm not being mean or anything. It's some of the personality and energy. Oh and I just finished making plans to go with Ayano to Osaka to go shopping too! I actually haven't bought many crazy Japanese things yet, it's basically been food and transportation and school stuff.
In case you didn't know, it's expensive to live here.
But yeah, I think this is good for now. I'm going to continue with my homework and study!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Nani? 3 & 4?
So today I had the biggest headache I've ever had! ALL DAY!
I didn't sleep very well last night, partially because I went to bed so late and partially because I was a light sleeper and was scared I'd miss my alarm, bus, class, etc. Of course, I don't sleep enough and am exhausted all day.
I make it plenty early for my Japanese class- about 40 mins early... oops. So I just sat around for a bit and checked my mail. I went to class and saw that I had already learned everything in there and everything we were going to learn. Crap! So I asked the teacher if I could move up and she set up an appointment with me at 4:30. I successfully participated in class and only was a little bit nervous speaking in front of everyone. I need to get better about that quickly.
So I had nothing afterwards and luckily found Lindsey and Cassie and we wandered to the bookstore for a bit where I got money and bought a grammar dictionary for Japanese. It WILL be useful. I then remembered I had a meeting with my second speaking partner at 11, not 12... So I ran to meet her and got there early again. We chatted for about 2 hours over lunch with her friend and someone from my Japanese class but my brain was fried and exhausted so my Japanese was in shambles. Complete Shambles... I was also falling asleep and had 2 classes afterwards.
Well, the Anthro class sounds fun and so does the psych but hopefully, I'll be more mentally conscious for them. I made friends with a German guy who's in both of them with me and this other girl who's from Kansas. After going through the intro's for both classes, I was faced yet again with the imminent danger of speaking in Japanese to my professor and hopefully sounding coherent enough to get her stamp of approval to attend a level 4 class. Somehow I managed it, even though I was all over the place mixing up how to form causative, potential and something else which I cannot even remember right now. Not bad for extreme mental exhaustion. So now I've got to get up for another 9 am and basically go to 4 Japanese classes in the morning, maybe 3. My sensei wants me to ask the other RWJ sensei about level 4 too for kanji... KOWAII. I didn't ask for that but we'll see what happens tomorrow.
My afternoon is pretty much free afterwards though because I don't have class Tues or Fri afternoons. It's nice. I am going to meet my first speaking partner so hopefully, I manage better after going through 3/4 Japanese classes and already seeing a speaking partner. We shall see.
Oh, Gakuto was taken to the doctor today because he's still sick. I think he's okay though since they (Toru-san & Miwa-san) came back and seemed fine. He spoke to me today so maybe he is feeling better. It was just Chihiro-chan and I for dinner and we practiced some Japanese and English and watched Fairy Tales(?) some crazy anime that actually looks interesting. I made some flashcards for review and got to have my first use of the o-furo! It was really relaxing and soo cool! I want one in my house! It almost made my headache go away. Speaking of that. I'm going to bed now.
oyasumi!
I didn't sleep very well last night, partially because I went to bed so late and partially because I was a light sleeper and was scared I'd miss my alarm, bus, class, etc. Of course, I don't sleep enough and am exhausted all day.
I make it plenty early for my Japanese class- about 40 mins early... oops. So I just sat around for a bit and checked my mail. I went to class and saw that I had already learned everything in there and everything we were going to learn. Crap! So I asked the teacher if I could move up and she set up an appointment with me at 4:30. I successfully participated in class and only was a little bit nervous speaking in front of everyone. I need to get better about that quickly.
So I had nothing afterwards and luckily found Lindsey and Cassie and we wandered to the bookstore for a bit where I got money and bought a grammar dictionary for Japanese. It WILL be useful. I then remembered I had a meeting with my second speaking partner at 11, not 12... So I ran to meet her and got there early again. We chatted for about 2 hours over lunch with her friend and someone from my Japanese class but my brain was fried and exhausted so my Japanese was in shambles. Complete Shambles... I was also falling asleep and had 2 classes afterwards.
Well, the Anthro class sounds fun and so does the psych but hopefully, I'll be more mentally conscious for them. I made friends with a German guy who's in both of them with me and this other girl who's from Kansas. After going through the intro's for both classes, I was faced yet again with the imminent danger of speaking in Japanese to my professor and hopefully sounding coherent enough to get her stamp of approval to attend a level 4 class. Somehow I managed it, even though I was all over the place mixing up how to form causative, potential and something else which I cannot even remember right now. Not bad for extreme mental exhaustion. So now I've got to get up for another 9 am and basically go to 4 Japanese classes in the morning, maybe 3. My sensei wants me to ask the other RWJ sensei about level 4 too for kanji... KOWAII. I didn't ask for that but we'll see what happens tomorrow.
My afternoon is pretty much free afterwards though because I don't have class Tues or Fri afternoons. It's nice. I am going to meet my first speaking partner so hopefully, I manage better after going through 3/4 Japanese classes and already seeing a speaking partner. We shall see.
Oh, Gakuto was taken to the doctor today because he's still sick. I think he's okay though since they (Toru-san & Miwa-san) came back and seemed fine. He spoke to me today so maybe he is feeling better. It was just Chihiro-chan and I for dinner and we practiced some Japanese and English and watched Fairy Tales(?) some crazy anime that actually looks interesting. I made some flashcards for review and got to have my first use of the o-furo! It was really relaxing and soo cool! I want one in my house! It almost made my headache go away. Speaking of that. I'm going to bed now.
oyasumi!
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