Classes have started up again, so there really isn't much in the way of photographs today [though there probably will be next week], but I can at least let you all know how things are going.
Actually, I do have one picture.
Guess what I found on a super-sale yesterday?
Oh yes.
And the best part is, they were delicious. It was about $2.50 for the bunch, but not only is that really cheap for Japan from what I can tell, they were incredible. Had I known they were this good, I probably would have bought some for a much higher price before. I don't know about those from other countries, but grapes from the States taste, at best, usually like sweetened water. These grapes tasted like honest to goodness grape juice. I ate an apple the other day (a friend gave it to me), and it was huge and delicious. The strawberries I had at the beginning of my time here were fantastic, too. I just--I don't know what the people back home do the fruit, but before my time here, I'd never had any fruits with so much flavour before in my life. I am not looking forward to having to go back to US fruits. I might not get these often, but quality over quantity any day. My friend said she'd buy me some oranges at the store today. I can't wait to try those.
Oh, and one more picture! A present I got from a friend of mine last week.
It's a sarong.
Or a sheet.
Or a wall hanging. Or whatever I feel like it should be.
Since I'm pretty interested in Hindu mythology, my friend gave me this. It's a bit of a hand-me-down, but I don't mind. Makes a nice makeshift robe after a shower, and I've also used it as a blanket a couple of times. Super pretty.
Okay, back to my weekly recap, then, shall we?
Thursday was my first day back in school. I started off with Core, my main Japanese class, and Tutorial, which is the self-study class. It might not be the most practical class ever, but it makes me sit down and actually study, whereas I might get too lazy otherwise. Core went well enough, I like my teachers and I usually understand what's going on. They're strict, but it seems as if you actually do your best, they're more than willing to help you along. The only difficulty I have is actually being able to say what it is that I want to say, or sometimes, when I'm nervous, I jump ahead and think the person said something entirely different then what s/he actually said. It's a little troublesome, but in the next couple of weeks, I expect I'll be fine.
Friday's classes were Core, Beginner/Intermediate Grammar, and Japanese Folklore. Grammar was okay, but it was a little bit painful. Because it's a combined beginner and intermediate [designed to pound the basic rules into the heads of the intermediate, which is a good thing], the teacher speaks really slowly [all of my other teachers speak quickly, so I've acclimated] and asks if we understand all of the time. It's considerate of her, but after an hour and a half of it, it gets a little frustrating.
This weekend... I didn't do much. It rained throughout most of it and there was a cold front, so I wound up primarily lounging around the house and not doing much of anything. Monday, my day off, I went to go buy my books from school. There's one more that I just found out today that I need to get, but I'll be able to get it next week Tuesday.
Tuesday was just my Core class, and today was Core, Kanji, and Pronunciation. The Kanji teacher is the same as mine from last year, so I'm already fully aware of what to expect, and then Pronunciation is last year's Tutorial teacher. I didn't have much interaction with her last semester, but she seems quite kind, and the class seems as if it'll be at least somewhat enjoyable. We had to write a self-introduction to present in class today, and one of the questions was "If you were anything or any animal, what would it be?" Well, I couldn't think of anything, but a friend of mine suggested to me last semester that I'd be a cat. I thought about it, and it made sense. I don't like loud noises [I hate vacuum cleaners], I'm relatively tidy [but not perfect], and around new people I get shy and taciturn.
So it made sense enough. Not for the reasons that most people might think [well, I'm lazy, too], but I made it work.
One of my friends said that if she could be anything, she'd become a boy. Wish I'd thought of that one--I'd love to be a boy. That's probably just the tomboy in me speaking, though.
Fewer classes have earned my expected result--I have more time, and it is fantastic. We'll see how it goes as the semester progresses, but while I'll be busy, I don't expect I'll get swamped, and that is really exciting. Having Mondays off, too, is really nice. The extra night of sleep seems like it will be beneficial.
Didn't do anything last weekend, but this weekend I'm going to meet up with my favourite person from that website I mentioned earlier. Hopefully it'll be all right--I'm pretty nervous. But, it seems like it'll be really fun, and we're meeting up in Shibuya, which is painfully crowded, and by a police box. So, I think it'll be okay. I'll take pictures if anything good happens. Wish me luck, guys!
That's really all I've got for now, though, so I'll start cracking down on my homework.
Catch you all next week, okay?
Tips, again, are to wait for things to come in season. Oranges and things, now that they're coming off the trees, are significantly lowered in price, which is really nice. So, just remember to buy things in season, and it helps save a lot of money. It's also when the fruits and vegetables taste best.
Have a fabulous weekend, all!
-RD
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