How are you all doing?
After a traumatic end of the week last week, what with my Japanese placement test on Thursday and Friday, things have smoothed out very well.
Well, Thursday's part of the test wasn't very bad. I walked out, feeling proud of myself for having done so well for just two and a half hours of sleep, and realising how much better my Japanese was since last semester.
Friday, however, I had to re-do a writing test, take my speaking test, and do another grammar test.
By the end of it, I was having a miniature panic attack, terrified that I'd have to repeat the level that I had been in last.
But, the good news is, I don't have to. I'm in the first level of intermediate, meaning that I can theoretically pass the JLPT's N4 level exam. Baby steps! I can do this.
The panic may have forced me to make what may or may not be a really good decision, however.
That evening, after I got home, I realised how little that I had practised my Japanese over the summer. All of my friends have been too busy or live too far away to visit very frequently, and so I haven't had much chance to really speak with other people and learn. Strangers never talk to each other here, so that part of communication is out, too.
Naturally, I felt a little frustrated. I had studied, of course, but it's massively easier to study when you're speaking to someone or some people whom you really want to be able to converse with. You try harder, and you're more willing to make mistakes, all for the sake of getting your point across.
And then I remembered. About six or seven years ago, I met one of my best friends, a Japanese girl currently studying in the US, on a friend-search website. I went back, and surprisingly, the website is still running.
So I made an advert, and set about making some new friends. In the advert, I explained what all was happening and why I was having so much trouble with making friends, and not only did I get an influx of new people to talk to, there are still a couple of really interesting people once I weed out all the creeps. Of course there are creeps, though. It's the internet; you can't just blindly trust people. I think I've met one or two people, though, who stand the potential to become genuine friends, and so I'm very excited about that. I may try to meet one in the near future, but not yet, because it's the internet and it scares me. Sooner or later, though.
So that is what I did on Friday and Saturday--reply to e-mails in Japanese and see about getting as much study in the language as I possibly can before school starts next week. Eeehhh. Registered for classes today! I'm taking my core classes, Japanese Literary History, Pronunciation, Intermediate Grammar, another Tutorial Class, and Kanji~
I'm only taking one content course, courses taught in English, this semester, though. I intend to buckle down on my Japanese and learn as much as possible before I leave. I've got five months.
Sunday, I went back to Aikawa and went on a picnic with a couple of friends.
After we ate and played in the river for a while, we walked to Miyagase Dam. The view from the top, and just the scenery in general, is absolutely breathtaking. I remembered to bring my camera this time! So, we have some photos of reasonable quality. Ready?
Let's do it.
Going to pause mid-way through, to break up the wall of photos with some text. Give you all a break from looking at things.
A really interesting house that we saw just after getting off of the bus in Aikawa.
What a swell little fellow. I approve.
This is where we ate lunch. Not in the river, of course, but on the side of it. There were lots of people fishing.
I want to go fishing.
The mountains sometimes felt like walls around us, they were so huge. It's a fascinating feeling.
Another view of the river, on our way to the dam.
Stopped at a shrine along the way--they were having a festival, and the inside of the shrine was proudly on display.
So I couldn't resist taking a photo.
We found two along the road.
It was interesting.
The petals make a stunning pattern. I was flabbergasted.
Almost to the park near the dam, now!
This was one of my favourite views along the way.
We had gone into the park, and this was on display in one of the areas. I thought it was really pretty.
This was almost overwhelming enough for me, I wasn't ready at all for the top of the dam.
This was a stunning enough view for me as it was.
I wish my camera was able to capture just how massive those mountains were, just so that you could all feel the sense of awe that you get from a view like that.
Made it!
My feet hurt so badly by this point.
There's the dam!
The water was a really pretty colour, I thought.
Surprise!
This was on the inside of the tunnel to get to the elevator to go to the top of the dam.
Number six, number six!
Well, number six is my favourite, anyway. Haha.
It was at this point that we waited on the elevator in the freezing-cold underground tunnel. It carried us up to the top, and oh my gosh.
The view from there. Of course, I completely swamped my memory card with photos. You could see Yokohama from the top! It was... Wow. Just, wow.
The first picture I took from the top.
If you look way off into the distance, which my camera didn't capture very well, Yokohama is out there.
Which, Yokohama from Aikawa is a little bit of a trip.
It's so green!
They had a gondola you could ride on to get to the top of the dam, but that costs money.
Why spend money when you get the same end result?
Want to take the stairs back down?
No?
Well, we're at the bottom now. You want to take the stairs back up?
"Dangerous! You can't enter here!"
That dragon there is incredibly intimidating, isn't he?
A pretty shrine my friends and I spotted on the way back to Aikawa.
After walking back, we decided to stop and eat at the Taiwanese restaurant that we had gone to last time--the one with the incredible ramen.
We ate our dinner, I had my sweet-chilli shrimp again, and it was just as fantastic as it had been the last time. I was famished, but I'm still pretty sure that it was very good.
Once we finished eating, we went to wait on the bus, and then caught the wrong one. We wound up going to Hon-Atsugi, which would have been about a three-hour walk back home. It was late, I was limping, and my friend's back was acting up. We had to catch the train, which I had to beg money from my friends for, since I had brought just enough to make the trip there and back without mistakes. Haha. We managed, though, and made it home later on.
It was a good time, but my feet had blisters and I had a bad sunburn on my back, arms, and legs by the time it was all over.
I can't say I regret it, though. I had a blast.
Monday, another couple of friends and I had been intending to go see the new Rurouni Kenshin movie that I mentioned earlier, but I wound up sitting in their apartment with them all day while they tried to set up their wi-fi, borrowing my laptop. I didn't mind at all, of course--that's what friends are for, and besides. I had a really good time, just sitting there and doing nothing but talking to them and catching up on lost time. We went to see the movie yesterday night.
It was awesome. I only understood about 15% of the dialogue, of course, but that didn't stop me from really enjoying it. It was a blend of the first season, somehow mashed together to make sense when mixed all together. Some of the things had changed, but the characters and general idea was the same, and from that, I was able to understand the basics of what was going on. I was pretty grateful that I'd watched the first season of the anime earlier this summer, though. Had I not, I would not have known at all what was happening.
The actor who played Kenshin is stunningly handsome to me, so that made the movie all the better. The cast in general was pretty good, though--I really admired Sanosuke's actor. He really made the character come alive, with all his quirks and silliness. When it's out, if you're not in Japan or anything, see about finding it somewhere [with or without subtitles, depending on how much you can understand, of course], and watching it, if you like that kind of stuff. It was very enjoyable.
Things to note about Japanese theatres that I haven't thought to mention, though, if you ever plan on going to them. The seats are assigned, unlike American theatres, and everybody sits through the end credits, no matter how long. It was awesome when I went to see the Avengers, though, because there is stupid hilarity at the very end of the credits that had me and my friends nearly crying from laughter, and a nice little hint at a sequel in the middle.
You can sometimes get student discounts at movie theatres, though! So there's a way to save money. Look for the places that give discounts.
Once the movie had finished, my friends walked me back to the train station, and I caught one of the last trains getting home. Small miracles, I didn't get stuck in the middle of Machida or anything while I was transferring.
Today was spent being lazy. My internet hadn't been working yesterday, so I had to go up to the fourth floor lounge and connect to a different network that worked. I was only able to put a small dent in what I was doing, however, and didn't have the time to register for my classes.
Fortunately, my internet was working again by the time I got back home--well. It was connecting to a different network. So, it was working again. I was able to connect and get what I needed done between this evening and today.
And, I have just found out that it looks like they're making a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance. Well, colour me excited. I hope it's not just rumour.
That's all that's going on, though!
So, for now, I will sign out and catch you guys later.
Have a good week!
Talk to you Wednesday.
TTFN,
-RD
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