Rush Hour, Class, Yasukuni Shrine
Rush hour sucked. A lot. I don't really like being that close to people and I really don't enjoy being that close to 80 of them. There was guy who pressed his way in and was barely missed by the doors (which have pictures of a cat getting it's tail caught) only to the doors open again in a few seconds and get pushed back out train by the swell of the commute. There was another guy who was enormous but I'll talk about him some other time because I'm so goddamn tired and it's probably not important. And I get to do it all again tomorrow and the day after that.
First day of class was today. I thought I had bombed the (most) placement test and apparently I did. Today we learned hiragana and that there are two classes of adjectives. It would've been a great class if I hadn't known those things five months ago. Everyone talked after class, and it seemed to have been a common experience. On the other hand, Joseph, who was in the beginning class at Evergreen has been placed in a class with a few of the kids from the intermediate and advanced classes. I don't think that everyone is satisfied with where they placed, but we're all shocked that many of the other students who have studied for as long as we have at different schools don't know all of the kana. We went through all 92 over the course of maybe six weeks, and it wasn't easy at first, but six months?! Tomoko-sensei told us at the time that we should feel lucky because many Japanese kids get two nights to learn them, one night for each set. Other than, I found a really good soba/udon joint that puts out quite the meal for the equivalent of three dollars (which is about how much cigarettes cost as well.) P.S. I'm never coming back.
After class Harumi-sensei took us to Yasukuni-jinjo, which there's much to write about, but I don't think I can take it as I'm tired and in a bunch of pain. I took pictures, I think that some of might be interesting. The weather was crap so I didn't take very many. On the first nice day I plan on going back and I just hope that not everyone in the city has the same idea. That might not be a problem due to controversy that surrounds the shrine (because Shinto steps on so many toes). Riê-san said she's never been there despite the fact that's right near the school she went to and where she currently works. Part of the problem is that the shrine museum has collected the letters written by kamikaze pilots and that stirs some things up. I said I wasn't going to do this right now.
Then we went to an arcade and I played the original Taiko Drum master and rocked it. Japanese TV is weird, but you knew that. The end.
First day of class was today. I thought I had bombed the (most) placement test and apparently I did. Today we learned hiragana and that there are two classes of adjectives. It would've been a great class if I hadn't known those things five months ago. Everyone talked after class, and it seemed to have been a common experience. On the other hand, Joseph, who was in the beginning class at Evergreen has been placed in a class with a few of the kids from the intermediate and advanced classes. I don't think that everyone is satisfied with where they placed, but we're all shocked that many of the other students who have studied for as long as we have at different schools don't know all of the kana. We went through all 92 over the course of maybe six weeks, and it wasn't easy at first, but six months?! Tomoko-sensei told us at the time that we should feel lucky because many Japanese kids get two nights to learn them, one night for each set. Other than, I found a really good soba/udon joint that puts out quite the meal for the equivalent of three dollars (which is about how much cigarettes cost as well.) P.S. I'm never coming back.
After class Harumi-sensei took us to Yasukuni-jinjo, which there's much to write about, but I don't think I can take it as I'm tired and in a bunch of pain. I took pictures, I think that some of might be interesting. The weather was crap so I didn't take very many. On the first nice day I plan on going back and I just hope that not everyone in the city has the same idea. That might not be a problem due to controversy that surrounds the shrine (because Shinto steps on so many toes). Riê-san said she's never been there despite the fact that's right near the school she went to and where she currently works. Part of the problem is that the shrine museum has collected the letters written by kamikaze pilots and that stirs some things up. I said I wasn't going to do this right now.
Then we went to an arcade and I played the original Taiko Drum master and rocked it. Japanese TV is weird, but you knew that. The end.