Wednesday, September 07, 2005
B.F.D.
Typhoon #14 never really came through. It hit Kyûshû pretty hard but then it moved north and kept going. Sure, it was windy today but not a drop of rain fell from the sky. Indeed, the weather was quite beautiful and, thanks to the wind, surprisingly comfortable!
This morning's kanji quiz went off without a hitch. We have a "lesson test" tomorrow which is more review. I'm a bit surprised at how nervous some of my classmates appear to be over these tests. Lots of "what do we have to know" questions were hurled at the teacher today (many of them quite specific) and to be frank, I don't think she speaks enough English to fully understand them. The students, in turn, were frustrated by her lack of straightforward answers. I don't want to sound cynical or arrogant here, but IT'S A TEST!! She doesn't have to tell you everything about the test in advance, that's the point. Besides, this is all review! Sometimes I wonder how these students got placed in Level 2 at all.
I ran into Kazu today on campus. He has been trying to buy tickets for us to see the Hanshin Tigers and things haven't gone well. Apparently all the tickets are sold out for the rest of the season! There is a glimmer of hope though; his father actually works for Hanshin Railway who owns the Tigers (Japanese baseball teams are named for the companies that own them instead of the cities where they play). So maybe we can score some inside tickets, otherwise, there's always next year.
I had lunch with Megan (from OR) again today. This is quickly becoming a regular part of my day since we are in the same Japanese classes and we typically head straight to cafeteria afterwards. I think we are very different people but I am grateful for the company. She raised an interesting point at lunch today: do the Japanese celebrate Halloween? I've always heard "no," especially from Kazu and the other Japanese students I've asked, but Megan seemed pretty sure that they do. If so, I'm in kind of a spot since I didn't pack much odd/funny clothing that could be worked into a costume. I certainly can't afford to buy anything. Maybe I can just slather some make-up on my face and pass as some kind of ghoul or ghost.
My afternoon classes went pretty smoothly. Rather than hurry home at 4PM, I hung around in the computer lab for an extended period of time, checking e-mails and such. This way, I could eat dinner someplace new on the way home. I had pretty much eaten at all the local spots near the dorm and I had yet to try most of the places near the campus.
This restaurant, Bikkuri Ramen, is located very close to the main gate of the campus. As you can see, they advertise some very low prices and since I hadn't had any ramen yet on this trip I figured this would be the perfect time and place to start! I didn't opt for the super-cheap deal they had posted outside, but I got a nice bowl for less than 300 Yen. The best part of the deal was the free seasonings on the counter. Of course, they had plenty of ground red pepper, but this place also offered self-serve minced garlic! Mmmm, I spooned a generous amount into the broth and enjoyed my meal. It was very filling and a bargain to boot, but I can't do this very often because ramen is definitely no good for me; way too many carbs and not much else.
Tomorrow is a light class day so we'll see what I can get up to in the afternoon. The weekend is just around the corner and I haven't made any plans yet!
This morning's kanji quiz went off without a hitch. We have a "lesson test" tomorrow which is more review. I'm a bit surprised at how nervous some of my classmates appear to be over these tests. Lots of "what do we have to know" questions were hurled at the teacher today (many of them quite specific) and to be frank, I don't think she speaks enough English to fully understand them. The students, in turn, were frustrated by her lack of straightforward answers. I don't want to sound cynical or arrogant here, but IT'S A TEST!! She doesn't have to tell you everything about the test in advance, that's the point. Besides, this is all review! Sometimes I wonder how these students got placed in Level 2 at all.
I ran into Kazu today on campus. He has been trying to buy tickets for us to see the Hanshin Tigers and things haven't gone well. Apparently all the tickets are sold out for the rest of the season! There is a glimmer of hope though; his father actually works for Hanshin Railway who owns the Tigers (Japanese baseball teams are named for the companies that own them instead of the cities where they play). So maybe we can score some inside tickets, otherwise, there's always next year.
I had lunch with Megan (from OR) again today. This is quickly becoming a regular part of my day since we are in the same Japanese classes and we typically head straight to cafeteria afterwards. I think we are very different people but I am grateful for the company. She raised an interesting point at lunch today: do the Japanese celebrate Halloween? I've always heard "no," especially from Kazu and the other Japanese students I've asked, but Megan seemed pretty sure that they do. If so, I'm in kind of a spot since I didn't pack much odd/funny clothing that could be worked into a costume. I certainly can't afford to buy anything. Maybe I can just slather some make-up on my face and pass as some kind of ghoul or ghost.
My afternoon classes went pretty smoothly. Rather than hurry home at 4PM, I hung around in the computer lab for an extended period of time, checking e-mails and such. This way, I could eat dinner someplace new on the way home. I had pretty much eaten at all the local spots near the dorm and I had yet to try most of the places near the campus.
This restaurant, Bikkuri Ramen, is located very close to the main gate of the campus. As you can see, they advertise some very low prices and since I hadn't had any ramen yet on this trip I figured this would be the perfect time and place to start! I didn't opt for the super-cheap deal they had posted outside, but I got a nice bowl for less than 300 Yen. The best part of the deal was the free seasonings on the counter. Of course, they had plenty of ground red pepper, but this place also offered self-serve minced garlic! Mmmm, I spooned a generous amount into the broth and enjoyed my meal. It was very filling and a bargain to boot, but I can't do this very often because ramen is definitely no good for me; way too many carbs and not much else.
Tomorrow is a light class day so we'll see what I can get up to in the afternoon. The weekend is just around the corner and I haven't made any plans yet!
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I do especially appreciate hearing about what you are eating over there. I'm still dreaming of that squid you had last week. Looked delicious. Keep those photos coming.
Oh, I so want to come visit. Sounds like you are settling in quite well. That's good news.
As for Hurricane Katrina, even if you don't know anyone down there, I do think there are things worth commenting on i.e. the slow response by authorities. Did you catch footage of the New Orleans mayor and other politicians who had lost it, cursing the government out, getting pretty rowdy. It was refreshing seeing a politician display some real emotion and not a speech, and it was kind of funny, too. I was personally shocked by a lot of the images of the refugees. Those are things I am not used to seeing in the U.S.
コメントがあります？ Type something, please. It's less work for me.Oh, I so want to come visit. Sounds like you are settling in quite well. That's good news.
As for Hurricane Katrina, even if you don't know anyone down there, I do think there are things worth commenting on i.e. the slow response by authorities. Did you catch footage of the New Orleans mayor and other politicians who had lost it, cursing the government out, getting pretty rowdy. It was refreshing seeing a politician display some real emotion and not a speech, and it was kind of funny, too. I was personally shocked by a lot of the images of the refugees. Those are things I am not used to seeing in the U.S.
When leaving comments, please don't remain Anonymous. Click on "Other" and pick a name!
Be sociable! No sign-up is required!
unpaid advertising...I'm no sell out!
