November 1st, 2007
Two Months In Japan
Went up the hill early today to get on the computer and get everything current. I could only upload a few of the 122 photos I took yesterday because they have to be done one at a time from Mrs. Y’s computer. I’ll fill up the gallery with all of them on Saturday’s library trip. I did get all the blogs posts updated, emails answered, a few message board posts, and of course I won at trivia (although not for the whole month since I can’t play every single day) in the Arcaneum Trivia Game.
Mastery
I have often joked about my trip to Japan, asking “Can I become a Zen Master in six months? I’m in a hurry!” Of course not, we all know it takes at least eight months to become a Zen Master. But I did learn today that my Master’s Paper was accepted and passed, so now in about three weeks, I will graduate with my Master’s Degree in English Composition and Rhetoric. As far as I know, all the paperwork and administrative stuff is completed, so from my point of view I really am done with it all. I’m Free!!! The best part is that now that I know where I stand on school, I can actually start making plans for spring now.
Finishing the online catch-up, I then went to K-Sensei’s class and discussed an essay on bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Yay, that was fun… or not. Still, it’s about the easiest class that I have because it’s really mostly just a lecture with little interaction from the students. They listen to me for thirty or forty minutes and then discuss my lecture with the teacher for the remainder of class. Again, it’s my easiest class. Then it was off to Happy Town to restock on the essentials and hurry back before Japanese class.
Enough Nagging, Get On With Class Already!
Japanese class was mostly OK today, but Y-Sensei was riding Marc so hard I was just about to stick up for him. Nagging is OK, but she’s going far enough to be obnoxious about it. I did mention in class that I wanted to split up; at this point it can only be a good thing for us both and even Marc knows it. He’s getting tired of comparisons, and so am I. I’m studying because I want to learn this stuff, not to be a role model or example to use against slackers. Leave me out it. But today’s class was mostly a day for “listen to the CD and answer questions” listening comprehension questions. Nothing too hard, but they sure do speak fast on that CD!
Three Big Boys In One Room?
Because I am such a nice guy, I suggested to Marc that we go to Big Boy after class, and he thought it was a good idea. Today was payday, so he had no problem with that, and after the pounding from Y-Sensei, he wanted something good to eat. He was impressed with Big Boy and actually told me it was “a good catch” finding the place. He was particularly thrilled when he saw that they are open till 2am every night.
I ordered exactly the same thing as the other day, only with the addition of the drink bar this time. They don’t have diet anything in their machine, so I had a coffee and a real Coke. I’m not sure about the coffee, but it may have actually been espresso; I couldn’t read the buttons. It was awful. Next time, water will be fine. Marc got a hamburger steak like mine only instead of cheese on top, he went with mushrooms and instead of the steak fries, he got the salad bar. The salad bar is a little unimpressive compared to American salad bars, but you can go back for all you can eat just like at home, so it does have good points. The bill came out to around 1100Y each, which isn’t bad. Then we rode home in the dark, which I never enjoy, but got home without incident.
And that’s about it for today. Tomorrow is Marc’s day to go to the elementary school and watch all day, while I get the day off. I’m tossing around the idea of going to that pool that I went to way back. It was too crowded then, but it hot outside and a Saturday then. On a Friday morning in November, things might be different. I was pretty uncomfortable there before, but it didn’t kill me, so it might be worth another try. Or I could stay home and read or explore somewhere; I still want to explore some of those high-rise department stores downtown. I am not going to the library Friday; I want to make one time do it this week, and that day will be Saturday. I can always add Sunday if necessary, but I’m hoping to be organized enough not to need that.
Two-Month Summary
So, I’ve been here two whole months now. What have I done?
• I’ve mastered hiragana, katakana and learned a handful of kanji as well as quite a few words; probably not thousands of words, but hundreds of words at least. I am better able to understand the subject of what people are talking about, but I still can’t actually say much that is useful.
• I’ve taught all my classes multiple times, and I am no longer nervous about any of them. Some are easier or harder than others, but I can handle all of them. For the most part, I can even say that I like all of them. I have even come to a sort of uneasy truce with the Kindergarten.
• I have a selection of restaurants and food places now, so I can eat what I’m in the mood for most of the time. McDonalds, Freshness Burger, Co Co Ichiban, Big Boy, Honke Kamadoya, Happy Town, Mos Burger, and probably some others. Not the healthiest menu, but there’s enough variety to keep me going.
• Marc and I are basically getting along, although we both have our grumpy days. I, of course, am always blameless in all disputes and flawless in all other regards as well.
• I’ve seen all the major tourist sites in both Okayama and Hiroshima and have full photo galleries to match. My explorations and adventures have become fewer as time has passed. There are a few places I still want to see locally, but I am in no rush. Other cities await possible exploration when the holiday breaks come along.
• I have mastered trains, buses and bicycles. I haven’t really done anything with taxis, but haven’t really seen the need.
• I can buy books at the Maruzan bookstore or get loaners from the library, so I have no end to reading material, even though the selection is still somewhat small.
• My TV watching, on the other hand, has declined dramatically since my first few weeks here. What used to be a nightly novelty has just gotten boring. It’s OK as a simple time-waster, but it’s not all that entertaining or educational. I am most definitely not going to learn Japanese from watching TV.
• I can get on the Internet any time I want (in theory anyway) with the various Internet cafes, the library, Mrs. Y’s computer, or the Hiroshima Community Center. In reality, all of these options are still fairly inconvenient and still have problems, but I am not going to be able to do any better than this, so it’s either take it or leave it.
• Laundry. Yes, I’m doing it once or twice a week, and it’s pretty easy. I have little bleach tablets now, and my whites are actually white again. From closer examination of the washer, I see only one water hose going in, so I’m assuming there just isn’t any hot water. Again, clothes are coming out OK, so I guess it’s not necessary. Drying clothes are going to be more and more of a challenge as it gets colder outside.
The bottom line is that everything is going just fine. Things are going well in general, and I’m happy that I came over here. I don’t know that I want to stay longer than March, but I’m not regretting doing it so far.
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