school and stuff
Well, this semester is just about over. Didn`t do as great as I wanted to, but writing essays in Japanese is difficult. But my last exam, was for a Western culture class that discusses culture through the ethics of that Michael Sandel book went okay because we were allowed to bring in notes and a dictionary. But reading that book in Japanese is a pain in the ass. It's an older edition so certain things I`m used to seeing written in kanji are in hiragana and vice-versa for whatever reason, the print is small, and even Japanese kids in the class get the reading of certain words in the book wrong. For example 夫妻 (ふさい) was read wrong by a classmate.
So I had to write about the ethical dilemma concerning the runaway train and whether to kill 1 worker to save 5 other workers or kill 1 onlooker (ie the fat man standing on the bridge above) to save 5 workers on the tracks. And the second prompt was about the goat herders. Let them go and risk being found out and killed, or kill them even though they`re probably just civilians. Because I had notes on the subject it wasn`t too bad, but it`s difficult to write in Japanese. Even if I have what I want to write already prepared, copying it onto the test paper takes a bit of time. 日本語で書くのが遅くてちょっときつい。
Besides that, in the middle of working on my paper. I don`t even want to talk about it until after it`s finished because it`s such a pain in the ass.
What else? Hmm...
I have lost some weight. I`m in the middle of what Japanese refer to as a "diet." Sure, I have changed how I am eating, but I am also working out a lot. I swear it`s an ongoing thing, which isn`t so bad, because Japanese women do love to talk about dieting.
From tomorrow on I want to turn it up a notch at the gym. But I`m already kind of infamous for doing weird and difficult looking stuff at the gym. だからストイックってよく言われる。If I happen to be at the same in event, in the same restaurant/bar as someone who goes to my gym, they also have to tell me something like, "We go to the same gym! You`re really ストイック!" In 1 week, I ran into at least 4 guys who approached me and said something like that. Kind of off topic, but ストイック in Japanese has a different meaning than "stoic" does in English (ie "A person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining."). In Japanese, it has more of a meaning of someone that seems disciplined or self-controlled as in 克己的な人, like instances of working out. Because it`s not that I pretend that it`s not hard, I`m all gross and sweaty and complain to fellow gym acquaintances who ask how I am with "I`m soooo tired!"
And I`m getting in shape for the beach. I have less than a month left before we go. M invited me and some girls. He was being weird about getting people together when I asked him about it the other week and suggested just the two of us go. Dude, the beach thing was his idea, plenty of other people have mentioned wanting to go with me to the beach.
And I really think the more the merrier but he doesn`t even want a group big enough to need more than one vehicle. Right now 4-6 girls are going (including myself) and and M and a new part timer are the only 2 guys so far. I complained about the numbers and said that at least 4 guys was good. Of course everyone but me is Japanese, and I don`t mind since the girl ratio isn`t bad. But will they wear bikinis??? I bet they will wear tops and shorts to cover up.
According to some recent survey of several hundred Japanese girls, on average a lot of girls in their 20s believed that 23 was the cut off where bikinis were still okay to wear. Apparently the majority of 24 and up really want to wear one piece suits. What is that all about? Too many girls are overly concerned with how their bodies look. Too strict.
Dude, I don`t freaking care if I`m the biggest girl or whatever, I`m wearing a freakin` bikini. Just like last year, I`ll just suck it up.
So I had to write about the ethical dilemma concerning the runaway train and whether to kill 1 worker to save 5 other workers or kill 1 onlooker (ie the fat man standing on the bridge above) to save 5 workers on the tracks. And the second prompt was about the goat herders. Let them go and risk being found out and killed, or kill them even though they`re probably just civilians. Because I had notes on the subject it wasn`t too bad, but it`s difficult to write in Japanese. Even if I have what I want to write already prepared, copying it onto the test paper takes a bit of time. 日本語で書くのが遅くてちょっときつい。
Besides that, in the middle of working on my paper. I don`t even want to talk about it until after it`s finished because it`s such a pain in the ass.
What else? Hmm...
I have lost some weight. I`m in the middle of what Japanese refer to as a "diet." Sure, I have changed how I am eating, but I am also working out a lot. I swear it`s an ongoing thing, which isn`t so bad, because Japanese women do love to talk about dieting.
From tomorrow on I want to turn it up a notch at the gym. But I`m already kind of infamous for doing weird and difficult looking stuff at the gym. だからストイックってよく言われる。If I happen to be at the same in event, in the same restaurant/bar as someone who goes to my gym, they also have to tell me something like, "We go to the same gym! You`re really ストイック!" In 1 week, I ran into at least 4 guys who approached me and said something like that. Kind of off topic, but ストイック in Japanese has a different meaning than "stoic" does in English (ie "A person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining."). In Japanese, it has more of a meaning of someone that seems disciplined or self-controlled as in 克己的な人, like instances of working out. Because it`s not that I pretend that it`s not hard, I`m all gross and sweaty and complain to fellow gym acquaintances who ask how I am with "I`m soooo tired!"
And I`m getting in shape for the beach. I have less than a month left before we go. M invited me and some girls. He was being weird about getting people together when I asked him about it the other week and suggested just the two of us go. Dude, the beach thing was his idea, plenty of other people have mentioned wanting to go with me to the beach.
And I really think the more the merrier but he doesn`t even want a group big enough to need more than one vehicle. Right now 4-6 girls are going (including myself) and and M and a new part timer are the only 2 guys so far. I complained about the numbers and said that at least 4 guys was good. Of course everyone but me is Japanese, and I don`t mind since the girl ratio isn`t bad. But will they wear bikinis??? I bet they will wear tops and shorts to cover up.
According to some recent survey of several hundred Japanese girls, on average a lot of girls in their 20s believed that 23 was the cut off where bikinis were still okay to wear. Apparently the majority of 24 and up really want to wear one piece suits. What is that all about? Too many girls are overly concerned with how their bodies look. Too strict.
Dude, I don`t freaking care if I`m the biggest girl or whatever, I`m wearing a freakin` bikini. Just like last year, I`ll just suck it up.