Body Types and Grilled Cheese Frustrations

This morning I had a test in reading and writing, and I did really, really well on it. It was one of those tests that was exactly like I thought it would be, and I was prepared. I love it when that happens. Speaking class also went fairly well, although today's second grammar point (ironically, "It's easy/hard to...") just didn't stick with me for some reason. It's not that complicated, so I don't know why it's not clicking. Maybe I just need practice. It's hard to understand this "it's hard to" construction. >.<

We started on Daoism in Asian Psychologies today, and had a really interesting discussion about Taoist vs. European concepts of the ideal body type. We compared a 16th century Belgian anatomical drawing with a 14th century Chinese drawing. The European artist was really concerned with musculature and support structures and how the body moves voluntarily. But the Chinese artist showed someone who, to me as a 21st century American, looked terribly out of shape. It was a man with, basically, a beer belly, and all these little lines and circles written in on him. So it turns out that Western thinking about the body, pathology, and psychology is more focused on voluntary actions and controlling intentions, while Daoist thinking is more about using techniques to facilitate involuntary processes. It was pretty fascinating, especially because there were a few students who really were holding on to the idea that a fit person is a muscular person; the prof was trying to get us to see that as a culturally-influenced point of view. It was a really fascinating discussion.

Monday is a holiday, and a lot of people, including William, are going to Tokyo for the long weekend. Sounds like fun, but I'll be glad to stay here and do some local sightseeing. I'm thinking of going to Kyoto on either Sunday or Monday to see Ginkakuji and the Path of Philosophy. (Wow, that sounds like a Harry Potter title: "Ginkakuji and the Path of Philosophy.")

Tonigh for supper I heated up leftover curry, which was so-so. It had lost a lot of the flavor, unfortunately. I also made some grilled cheese. I had mentioned before that the bread here is really thick, so that complicated things a bit. I had to cook it on really, really low heat to make sure the cheese melted. Also, cheese slices here are a little smaller than the cheese at home. I bought an 8-slice pack of Kraft cheese (white American, it seems, although it wasn't specifically labeled) and had to use four slices for my sandwich! Two slices to cover one piece of bread, and I like my bread=cheese, so since the bread was so big and the cheese so small I used half my pack of cheese for one sandwich. But it was very tasty, to tell the truth, and quite filling. I was rather proud.

I've been really sleepy lately, although I have been sleeping much more soundly. I think it's all because of my medication; I'm coming down on the dosage after it started to take effect, and the side effect of needing very little sleep is starting to decrease. It's nice not waking up every hour and a half, but I also feel like I'm really dragging compared to my super-hyped state of about a week ago. Oh well.

Here's an example of what NOT to do in Japan, in case you haven't seen this story yet.

Oh, and just to let you know, on my Monday (which is Sunday/Monday for most of you), the school will be doing some computer server maintenance, so if you try to email me anything on Sunday or Monday, there's a good chance I won't get it.