Sumimasen…(Sorry)

Blog activity has been light lately, as you no doubt notice thanks to the lack of posts on here, particularly those with pretty pictures.  That probably won’t change in the immediate future, because midterms are next week already.  My exam for Japanese is over three (!) days, with two speaking components and a writing component.  After that, the midterm paper for my Japanese Culture and Art class is due next Friday, October 19.  If I haven’t exploded by then, the floodgates will open wide and there will probably be a massive post the size of the first ever on the blog, so get ready.  There will be plenty of pretty pictures, I promise.  I’m still planning on going to the Nagoya Matsuri (Festival) this Saturday, which should be MASSIVE.  I’ve got to work something in to keep my head clear, and that sounds like a good way to break from studying.  I just won’t be able to guarantee that I have time to update the blog in the middle of all the midterm craziness.  I hope you all have the site bookmarked and don’t forget about me in the meantime!  If you’d like an e-mail reminder as to when the new entry is up, just drop me a line here or via e-mail and I’ll be more than happy to let you know when I’m back up and running.

Mata, ne!

Jeff

Speech! Speech! Speech!

Just a quick little update between classes here. Today we had a different kind of exam: a two-minute long memorized introductory speech using very set language as well as descriptions of our hobbies, hometowns, and the things we want to do in Japan. I had the honor of timing everyone with a stopwatch to make sure they made the +/- 20 second cutoff and also knew when they had 30 seconds left, etc. I did EXTREMELY well with mine (I feel) considering that I didn’t take my sheet up because I didn’t want to read from it (that would be dame), and I finished between the two and two-and-a-half minute mark. All in all, I feel it went pretty well, and everyone else seemed to agree (though there were smoother, more grammatically complex speeches than mine). At lunch, however, Schmidt-san from Stuttgart, Germany informed me that I had forgotten Kore kara jikoushoukai wo shitai to omoimasu (I now want to introduce myself) at the beginning. D’oh! Ah well, the rest of it went well, and I’m still pleased with how smoothly it all seemed to flow from my head out into the room. I was sure to make plenty of eye contact, and got a good laugh when I told everyone that I wanted to ride the Shinkansen Bullet Train while I’m here (What? There aren’t any trains that travel that fast in America! Besides, I said I wanted to go to Kyoto; can you think of a better way to travel?).

I’ve decided that this weekend’s trip is definitely going to be to Higashiyama Kouen’s Monkey Park. From what I understand, Little World is also close by, which is another park that appears to be something like Epcot’s countries of the world section if it were expanded to fill Epcot.

The Origami Anniversary

Follow the logic: a one month anniversary is paper in the States (as determined by my family and I), so the Japanese version is a cute little paper crane, right? Makes sense to me.

Let’s see; Dickinson’s money has arrived, which means that I won’t go broke in the immediate future! Hooray! I also used a little bit of it to take care of some nagging issues that have prevented me from keeping in touch with people…but more on that later.

This last week went pretty well. I’m settling into IJ 400 and my quiz scores have finally evened out, although the grammar quizzes still stump me at times. Japanese Foreign Policy remains fascinating and Japanese Culture and Art I is giving me new insight into the Japanese way of life and why certain things are the way they are. For instance, the long roofs of old-style Japanese houses and temples allowed the inhabitants to leave doors open even when it rained, which allowed them to feel closer to nature. Given that most Tanka poems from long ago are written about nature and beautiful moments in nature, this was quite important. It’s also a pretty darn good idea. Score one for 24/7 fresh air! Also, I have now completed all the forms that the Center for Japanese Studies needs to make sure I won’t be deported, etc. Things are finally calming down, which is good. Having time to breathe is nice.