It’s been so long since I’ve updated this. Sorry, everyone. Where did I leave off? Ah, yes, I should be on Saturday, December 3rd. One problem there. I can’t remember too much of what happened between the 3rd and the 11th. About that whole taking notes thing… I took some, but I didn’t date everything. So for now we’ll just say that week happened. I can remember a few tidbits, I believe, so I will include them here.
One out of those two Saturdays, the 3rd, was the day the Matt-tachi and Jason took the JLPT. It was another rainy Saturday, so I decided not to go on the final culture class trip. I still didn’t have proper shoes for that kind of weather. By the time the boys were finished the exams, the rain had ended, and we all decided to go out to eat in celebration. We went to the Indian curry place again, with “we” including those three, Jay, Jess, Jil, and myself. We had a lot of fun, and I was able to finish my meal that time. That made me really happy, as it was pretty good food. The service was just as excellent as the last time, too. The people there are so very nice. ^^ They gave us extra drinks and some cheese naan. At the end, some were having difficulty finishing their nan, so a large chunk was handed to Matt (the US one). He made the best face as he bit into it and cried, “Nooooooooo,” because he was already full. It was highly entertaining, and there may be a picture of that face somewhere. XD
As for Sunday the 4th, I don’t remember too much about what I actually did that day. I think I stayed inside for most of it, though. That morning I did tell Gotou-san I would be getting a package, and it happened to arrive later that same day. x.x Talk about timing. I was in my room when someone rang my bell, so I picked up the phone to see who it was. It was the delivery guy! I wasn’t sure exactly what to say to him, so I just answered his question affirmatively and ran to the door. I signed for the big box and thanked him for bringing it all the way up the stairs for me. ^^ And thanks again, mom, for the package! Extra clothes that I should have brought to begin with, a new pair of boots, a coat, and tons of shampoo and conditioner! So helpful! Oh, and my umbrella, too; it’s nice to have, considering the one I bought here was taken. Also, let’s not forget the nail polish Aunt Lisa sent for my teacher (that was so sweet. I think she really likes it). As I was unpacking everything, Jess had gotten back from purchasing tickets for Disney with the other girls, so I gave her the PJs ma sent for her. She likes them very much, she says. ^^
On to the week. Monday… I can’t remember Monday for the life of me, except that whoever was available for the song class took part in a practice for a very odd event on Wednesday. Tuesday we had Konno-sensei again, and it was during that class that she gave out the schedule for our speeches. Duke was to go on the first day, Friday. As soon as Konno-sensei announced it, he turned to me and said, “I called it.” Ever since he had accepted to be one of the MCs for Wednesday’s event, he knew his week would be made even busier. We were to have the 楽しみ会 (which translates literally to “fun meeting”) on Wednesday, a test Wednesday, a test Friday, and then the speech for Duke on Friday. It was shaping up to be a hectic week. I raised my hand and explained his situation to Konno-sensei, and she laughed as she realized how busy he’d be. She offered for me to switch my Monday slot with his, but then I’d have been in the same boat. He insisted that he’d be fine and didn’t need anyone to switch with him. Stubborn fool doesn’t know when he’s got too much on his plate.
Wednesday was a day I could have done without, if we’re being honest. I was not looking forward to singing the insanely slow, lengthy song that Saitou-sensei asked us of the song class to perform. I would have preferred a more energetic piece, but it was what it was. I didn’t mind watching/listening to the other performances, though. I especially enjoyed a piece done on an instrument I’ve never seen before. I have been informed it is called an Erhu. It was a stringed instrument, but there was only one string (I thought it was one string, but according to wiki it has two). There was also a bow, like for a violin or cello, but this little instrument was not at all shaped like either of those. The bottom end was very small and rather circular in shape. It was one of the most amazing things I’d ever seen, and the student played ridiculously well. ^^
Unfortunately, the song class did eventually have to sing. I didn’t like having the sheet of lyrics, as I had done my best to memorize them, but I suppose it was just as well. We moved to our places as the MCs gave our intro, which was a lie, by the way. Whoever wrote that part said that we’d been practicing for three months. One, the class didn’t start three months prior, nor were many of us even in the country at that point. It was two months. Two, we were told about that event two weeks in advance, and we were only given our song one week in advance. There was essentially no practice. But I digress… We sang the song, and then had to sing Jingle Bells. It was only the chorus, but I may never want to hear that song again. Finally, the event was over, and there was a little bit of time before class. Rather than study for our test, Jil and I remained on the 8th floor as she played the piano for a few minutes. It was fun. After that we did run off to our class and take the test. Don’t remember what chapters were on that one, but I got at least a 90. ^^
Thursday… again I don’t remember too much. Oh, but that day, and the few before, during class we had to practice our speeches with a partner. My partner was none other than Junso-san. I think these were the only times he didn’t tease me, probably because he was just as frightened to do a speech as everyone else was.
Friday we took another test, and the first three speeches were given. Mokuhou-san had to start the line. Poor girl was nervously laughing like crazy before she started speaking, and for a second it looked like she was gonna take off into the hall. Duke brought up the idea that perhaps these students never had to speak in front of a class before. Most of the US students are used to things like that, but if the Koreans and Chinese students never had to, it’s no wonder so many of them were really nervous. In any case, she ended up doing okay once she got started. For every speech, each student had to fill out a small sheet scoring the speaker on grammar, content, and performance (such as whether or not they brought visuals). I gave her a good score because she was first. ^^ Duke was second. He stood up there and spewed lies about Canada, and Konno-sensei was about to fall over laughing. I couldn’t look at him or listen, for fear I might also laugh. It was so bad. I should’ve given him a zero for being a liar, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that. x.x He had a ton of pics, the content was all lies, but they were funny lies, and the grammar was accurate. And he wasn’t nervous, or didn’t show it at least. I think Teyan-san was third. He forgot part of his speech and asked the kid sitting next to his desk for help. XD It was pretty hilarious.
Saturday… Right, during the day on Saturday, I hung out alone in the lounge on my computer. Chatted on IRC, talked to mom, and maybe got some studying done. For lunch I had McDonalds. The walk back from that was entertaining. I was walking beneath an overpass, singing along to my ipod when I heard some really bad, high note from above me. A group of Japanese boys, likely high schoolers, were grinning at me. I smiled at them and continued on my way. Thinking back on it, I should’ve waved too. Or said hi, haha. It would’ve been pretty entertaining. Ah well, it made me laugh anyway. After my meal I began to draw in my sketch book so I would have pictures to bring in for my speech on Monday. There are three really funny pictures that I’ll have to somehow scan eventually. X.x During my drawing, though, I fell asleep with the book in my lap.
I woke up to Duke entering the room; he had come over as per usual. Itunes was still playing on my computer, and no one else had come down to hang out. We chatted for awhile, and I tried to nap at some point. Failed, by the way. Just as well, we had fun talking, and I showed him the ridiculous drawings I made for my speech. I think his favorite is Nyanko no Hikouki; yes, I drew a picture of me in a chibi form with my kitty ears hat and waving my arms. I will show everyone at some point. So we went out and got curry for dinner, I think. Brought it back to the lounge to eat and watch more episodes of HunterxHunter. It was fun. ^^ I can’t remember if I finished my curry all by myself or not. o.o Frequently, I can’t finish my food. My stomach is so tiny. Luckily, I hang out with enough hungry boys that it never goes to waste. XD
At ten it was time to leave the lounge again. I decided to walk with Duke to the Book Off where he bought a volume of a manga for his host sister, Chiyo, for her birthday that was coming up that week. He could’ve gotten on a train there, but apparently I can’t get back to the dorm by myself. (Yes, mom, I know you will be annoyed at that statement. I didn’t walk back alone, so don’t kill me.) By the time we got back, I was warm and actually enjoying the cool air. I wanted to go for a walk, so we decided that I would walk with Duke to the Ikebukuro station instead. We passed the vending machine with the pepsi, and I won that round by preventing him from buying one. XP Then he realized he left some books in the lounge, so we headed back to see if the room was still open. Again, I blocked the soda machine. Heh. We were on the brick path close to the dorm when Duke remembered that there was a lunar eclipse that night. It was pretty cool. Like geeks, we sat and watched for a few minutes, until being reminded of the need to grab Duke’s books. We ran into Gotou-san on the way back, and I asked her if I could go get said books. She opened the door for me, and I grabbed them and took them back to Duke. He didn’t live at the dorm, so he wasn’t allowed in after ten. He finally went home, and I walked up the stairs only to stop and stare at the eclipse a bit longer. It was really cool. ^^
So, I remembered a lot more than I thought I did. ^^ I’m gonna go to bed now, though, so I’ll include Sunday next time… if I can remember Sunday. XD On second thought, I can't remember Sunday. It's just kind of mixed up with Saturday a little in my mind, so I'm not really sure about that. I'll just start with Monday next time.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
What Happens at the Museum Stays at the Museum
November 24, Thursday, happened. I seem to be unable to remember much from that day, though. I feel like the whole day I was just hoping for the weekend, and sighing at the thought of another day in between. I love class, don’t get me wrong, but the weekends are just so much fun that I find myself looking forward to them more and more. Friday was fun, thanks to Konno-sensei, but again my memory is failing me. I’m really doing a terrible job of jotting things down as they happen. I’ll have to get better at that.
More on the Pepsi wars, and I’m not sure if it is chronologically accurate to include this here, but it’s funny, so whatever. I had a fabulous win by placing one 100yen coin in each of the pockets of Duke’s jacket. How? I was told to borrow it again, as I’m always freezing. It was a great success. Of course I had to start losing again, though. One night, likely Friday, Duke enlisted the help of Matt (Jil knew too) to sneakily place a Pepsi in front of my door with 500yen sitting underneath. The reason… I was trying to give him a 500yen coin all night, probably for all the soda he’s paid for thus far. Only, I did not succeed in giving him said money, so he gave me way too much. I told him he had to take his 500yen back the next day, as he would be at the dorm anyway. Thankfully, he accepted that condition. Sigh.
As for Saturday, I went to the bakery for breakfast and to attempt a bit of studying. It was another bakery trip with Duke, not a race this time. We decided that was a bad idea. I think that punk paid for my food too, as I didn’t think to grab a tray before telling him what I planned on eating. At least it was only one thing. So I did get some kanji studying/homework finished, but we didn’t stay long. Heading back to the dorm, I think I ended up with another soda. Really, this guy shouldn’t feed my Pepsi gluttony.
That day was mostly an all day hang out again. Some homework was done, but mostly we were having fun just talking. We need to turn these talks into Japanese more, haha. Oh, that night my first real package came. A big thanks to aunt Kathleen for that! I promise I’m sharing the candy! ^^ Even gave some to friends I only see at school. Junso-san and Teiyan-san liked the Halloween eyeball gummies. I should probably give Jess a Reese’s though. I still have five, so I suppose giving up one or two wouldn’t hurt, haha. Duke loved the cookies n’ cream Hershey bar; I thought he was gonna die of happiness. XD Oh, and the hat is great! I am now known as “Nyanko no Hikouki” because of it. That basically translates to Airplane Kitty. I put my hands in the pockets and spread my arms out like an airplane. It’s fun, but some people at school think I have issues. XD
I believe Sunday morning was laundry time for me, heh. Two full loads, and I was so happy to have everything cleaned! I really should have brought more T-shirts and the like (read: thanks, mom, for sending me stuff; can’t wait to get it). At some point, Duke came over again, as he and Matt had plans to go get pictures taken for their visa applications for future semesters. Jil and I tagged along, and Jess stuck around the dorm to watch anime. She watched Big Windup! XD I knew I’d get her to like it, muahahaha! It’s such a good series.
Anyway, let’s dodge that tangent. So after some wandering through the train station to find a photo booth, we ended up in Sunshine City. We went to the Book Off there to check out pricing on a DS for Duke, but we didn’t stick around long. For dinner we had decided on Saizeriya (that Italian place with the name I couldn’t remember). Much to our delight, there was one right across the street from the Book Off. It was totally packed, but we got in without too much of a wait. Mmmm… now I want that spaghetti again. And we were seated right next to the fountain drinks, woot! It was such a win. The rest of the night was spent hanging out in the dorm lounge, as we have a habit of doing. It’s a shame that we get kicked out at 10pm every night, heh.
On to the week! I really need to catch up with this blog o’ mine. Monday was a kanji quiz, and I aced that one too! Hooray! Tuesday we got back sakubun to review, fix, and return. Wednesday we had class with Okada-sensei again, and it had been awhile since we’d seen him last. The previous two Wednesdays were midterm then holiday.
Thursday we went over a text about Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize, because Friday’s class was a trip to a museum including exhibits about Nobel. That part of the museum mostly bored me, except for the fancy lights and interactive displays of information. However, I couldn’t read most of it… And we had to fill out some dumb worksheet too. Bleh. Also at the museum were exhibits on many, many different kinds of animals. And my favorite? The dinosaur fossils! That part was so much fun! There was a velociraptor skeleton on a pole that could be rotated to view from different angles. It was phenomenal. Jil loved the sea creatures’ exhibits, especially the squid model that was hung from the ceiling. We continued along to a section with more interactive screens. You could select a species or family from those screens, and the floor lit a path to show where in the room it was! I had fun walking along the path. XD
Friday morning, Duke came over to the dorm early to hang out until we had to leave for the museum. That way, none of us would be late. We ended up leaving later than planned anyway, but made it just in time to meet everyone. Me, being the smart person that I am, forgot to bring my camera along. However, many other students took pictures, so I shall find them on Facebook or something. XD
Once the adventure was over, I was pretty exhausted. I was like the energizer bunny for the dinosaur display, but I lost that energy pretty quickly, sigh. We met up with the teacher again to be dismissed, essentially, and I was finally allowed to drink the water I had brought along. I tried to chug it like a loony, but Duke stole the bottle from me to force me to breathe between sips. I was fussy about that. XP As we walked back outside, I pulled my usual “I want to fall over” nonsense, because that’s how I get when I’m tired. I go to fall over, and someone has to catch me. I should stop that, as it makes said person panic, but I’m so unreasonable when I’m tired. XD
The train ride home was insanely crowded. And the ride was rather rough. I lost my balance a lot, and almost took out another person at one point, sigh. Again, needed catching, which Jil thought was really funny. I did kind of look terrified at the time. >.> Falling over in and of itself is fine, but falling into a stranger would not be cool. I don’t like it when my clumsiness inconveniences people I don’t know.
In any case, we got back without much more trouble, and ate at McDonald’s, I think. That’s all I can remember for now. I’ll try to update again this weekend. Sorry this post was kind of lacking. x.x
More on the Pepsi wars, and I’m not sure if it is chronologically accurate to include this here, but it’s funny, so whatever. I had a fabulous win by placing one 100yen coin in each of the pockets of Duke’s jacket. How? I was told to borrow it again, as I’m always freezing. It was a great success. Of course I had to start losing again, though. One night, likely Friday, Duke enlisted the help of Matt (Jil knew too) to sneakily place a Pepsi in front of my door with 500yen sitting underneath. The reason… I was trying to give him a 500yen coin all night, probably for all the soda he’s paid for thus far. Only, I did not succeed in giving him said money, so he gave me way too much. I told him he had to take his 500yen back the next day, as he would be at the dorm anyway. Thankfully, he accepted that condition. Sigh.
As for Saturday, I went to the bakery for breakfast and to attempt a bit of studying. It was another bakery trip with Duke, not a race this time. We decided that was a bad idea. I think that punk paid for my food too, as I didn’t think to grab a tray before telling him what I planned on eating. At least it was only one thing. So I did get some kanji studying/homework finished, but we didn’t stay long. Heading back to the dorm, I think I ended up with another soda. Really, this guy shouldn’t feed my Pepsi gluttony.
That day was mostly an all day hang out again. Some homework was done, but mostly we were having fun just talking. We need to turn these talks into Japanese more, haha. Oh, that night my first real package came. A big thanks to aunt Kathleen for that! I promise I’m sharing the candy! ^^ Even gave some to friends I only see at school. Junso-san and Teiyan-san liked the Halloween eyeball gummies. I should probably give Jess a Reese’s though. I still have five, so I suppose giving up one or two wouldn’t hurt, haha. Duke loved the cookies n’ cream Hershey bar; I thought he was gonna die of happiness. XD Oh, and the hat is great! I am now known as “Nyanko no Hikouki” because of it. That basically translates to Airplane Kitty. I put my hands in the pockets and spread my arms out like an airplane. It’s fun, but some people at school think I have issues. XD
I believe Sunday morning was laundry time for me, heh. Two full loads, and I was so happy to have everything cleaned! I really should have brought more T-shirts and the like (read: thanks, mom, for sending me stuff; can’t wait to get it). At some point, Duke came over again, as he and Matt had plans to go get pictures taken for their visa applications for future semesters. Jil and I tagged along, and Jess stuck around the dorm to watch anime. She watched Big Windup! XD I knew I’d get her to like it, muahahaha! It’s such a good series.
Anyway, let’s dodge that tangent. So after some wandering through the train station to find a photo booth, we ended up in Sunshine City. We went to the Book Off there to check out pricing on a DS for Duke, but we didn’t stick around long. For dinner we had decided on Saizeriya (that Italian place with the name I couldn’t remember). Much to our delight, there was one right across the street from the Book Off. It was totally packed, but we got in without too much of a wait. Mmmm… now I want that spaghetti again. And we were seated right next to the fountain drinks, woot! It was such a win. The rest of the night was spent hanging out in the dorm lounge, as we have a habit of doing. It’s a shame that we get kicked out at 10pm every night, heh.
On to the week! I really need to catch up with this blog o’ mine. Monday was a kanji quiz, and I aced that one too! Hooray! Tuesday we got back sakubun to review, fix, and return. Wednesday we had class with Okada-sensei again, and it had been awhile since we’d seen him last. The previous two Wednesdays were midterm then holiday.
Thursday we went over a text about Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize, because Friday’s class was a trip to a museum including exhibits about Nobel. That part of the museum mostly bored me, except for the fancy lights and interactive displays of information. However, I couldn’t read most of it… And we had to fill out some dumb worksheet too. Bleh. Also at the museum were exhibits on many, many different kinds of animals. And my favorite? The dinosaur fossils! That part was so much fun! There was a velociraptor skeleton on a pole that could be rotated to view from different angles. It was phenomenal. Jil loved the sea creatures’ exhibits, especially the squid model that was hung from the ceiling. We continued along to a section with more interactive screens. You could select a species or family from those screens, and the floor lit a path to show where in the room it was! I had fun walking along the path. XD
Friday morning, Duke came over to the dorm early to hang out until we had to leave for the museum. That way, none of us would be late. We ended up leaving later than planned anyway, but made it just in time to meet everyone. Me, being the smart person that I am, forgot to bring my camera along. However, many other students took pictures, so I shall find them on Facebook or something. XD
Once the adventure was over, I was pretty exhausted. I was like the energizer bunny for the dinosaur display, but I lost that energy pretty quickly, sigh. We met up with the teacher again to be dismissed, essentially, and I was finally allowed to drink the water I had brought along. I tried to chug it like a loony, but Duke stole the bottle from me to force me to breathe between sips. I was fussy about that. XP As we walked back outside, I pulled my usual “I want to fall over” nonsense, because that’s how I get when I’m tired. I go to fall over, and someone has to catch me. I should stop that, as it makes said person panic, but I’m so unreasonable when I’m tired. XD
The train ride home was insanely crowded. And the ride was rather rough. I lost my balance a lot, and almost took out another person at one point, sigh. Again, needed catching, which Jil thought was really funny. I did kind of look terrified at the time. >.> Falling over in and of itself is fine, but falling into a stranger would not be cool. I don’t like it when my clumsiness inconveniences people I don’t know.
In any case, we got back without much more trouble, and ate at McDonald’s, I think. That’s all I can remember for now. I’ll try to update again this weekend. Sorry this post was kind of lacking. x.x
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