I am in the middle of my first week of classes!
噴火(funka): Volcano
Two days ago: I played some piano for the sisters today. Yuka has a terrible sounding casio keyboard.
Yuka made another great dinner too, we all three ate together. Miso with squash and onions, salad, fried pork and veggies, and rice (of course). Yummy. After, Yukina went to her room as usual and Yuka and I watched more TV. Then I gaver her an english lesson (after studying for my Japanese placement test tomorrow). I mainly try to focus on pronunciation with her. She can learn grammar and vocab and boring stuff in a class, but only a native can teach pronunciation. Besides, because of the misguided alphabet they use for english words Japanese people are all mixed up as to how to say our words. We had to spend some extra time on ‘Fox’ because I guess in Prison Break (her fav show) there is a place called Fox River and Yuka’s ‘fox’ sounded suspiciously like another word that begins with F that I wont print here. Unfortunately, that meant I had to spend a significant amount of time pronouncing said word veeeery slowly and clearly for her to hear. Many times. It was………… interesting. (omoshiroi). But better I say it like that now than she says it to her american friend’s dad someday when describing her favorite TV show!
~~ Apparently there is a confidential terrorist watch hotline you can call in America if you see someone engaging in suspicious activity. Well, in Japan, there is a confidential foreigner hotline. and this isn’t a line for foreigners to call. If a Japanese person sees a ‘gaijin’ (rude word for foreigner) being weird in any way, they can call the number and the police will subsequently come and arrest you. I guess I will do my best not to do………. whatever bad things it is that we foreigners do!
Last night Yuka made OmuRice. It is my favorite dish. Ever. You thought I liked mexican food? No way, OmuRice is way way way way way way way better. I didn’t know such a delicious dish existed. Mom it is kinda like that fried rice I made, except perfected into a recipe. And it comes with awesome potato ham salad on the side. It was just…. I could cry thinking about it. Maybe i’m just hungry cause it is past lunch time right now lol.
Last night I also had brilliant and vivid dreams about going to Nagoya and seeing my friends there again… Maybe I am looking forward to that more than I thought. I think I may go down there in two weeks because there is a national holiday that monday so it will be a 3 day weekend!
“It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I might learn your decrees.”
Psalm 119
Man, I realized this today. Temple makes SPU look like the promised land. This place is as organized as my and Mike Hensley’s dormroom.
Still, I think that it has been valuable for me to have to attend so many poorly put together institutions. I think that I am finally getting the hang of squeezing resources. If I had gone somewhere where everything fell into my lap, I would have learned nothing. But today when I forced my way into the Career center without an appointment and made a lady answer my questions about non temple related job opportunities, I realized that I have really learned an invaluable skill. The resource squeeze. No matter how poorly accessible, no matter hidden the information, I think that I am pretty good at grabbing what humble resources are available to me and making staff sweat until they give me straight answers.
I just hope my face doesn’t stick in a stern serious expression, cause I kinda feel like that is the road I am heading down :S :S :S
Still, even through the terrible structural organization of this place, my teachers seem knowledgable and classes seem valuable. You can tell the teachers are expecting most students to skip class all the time, and they don’t really care — but they still seem like they are prepared to make the classtime valuable for those who attend.
Oh! Last night I met my brother Fumiaki. He strolled into the living room in his underwear. I don’t know when he arrived. I said “Hey nice to meet you I’m Dan!” (In Japanese of course) he said “Dan?” I said “Yeah.” Then he strolled out and I haven’t seen him since!
LOL
