Gosh, Tuesdays are long. I’m exhausted. I arrived on campus about twenty minutes before class so I could grab some stuff from the convenience store, and went to speaking class. I have my oral midterm exam for that class tomorrow morning, and I’m a bit nervous. I have to go into Sensei’s office for seven minutes and carry on a conversation using keigo, all those complicated verb forms I wrote about a while ago. I just need to get myself to sit down and review; it shouldn’t be bad, really, as long as I don’t freak myself out.
I ate at the middle size of the three cafeterias today for lunch, which I really enjoyed. I had curry rice, and the portion was more filling than the curry rice I get at the other cafeteria. It was a bit more expensive, but worth it. Plus, this cafeteria sits in a nice garden area with pretty views, and it’s not as crowded as the other.
In reading/writing class after lunch, we reviewed for our midterm exam that will be on Friday. That one really shouldn’t be a problem at all; until now, everything in that class has been a review from last semester for me. Plus, I really like practicing my kanji and particles. It’s fun.
Asian Psych was frustrating today because we spent so much time going over the format of our midterm debate and paper projects that we barely got to any of the Taoism material. I really like this Taoism section, so that was disappointing. On the bright side, I got a 5/5 on my paper comparing translations of The Thirty Verses, and there were some really nice comments on my paper.
In Film and Fiction we talked about Japan leading up to WWII, and we watched The Battle of China, a Frank Capra propaganda film from the Why We Fight series. It was really interesting how they drew such clear lines between the gentle, cultured Chinese under attack from the savage Japanese collective warrior-state. Super interesting. It makes me wonder, though, sixty years from now what presently popular movies will be shown in film classes as examples of the horribly skewed nature of our present thinking.
It was 4:00 and I was finally done with class, so I grabbed a snack of some udon at the cafeteria, went to the QQ to grab some juice and eggs, and came home to nap. I had okonomiyaki and tater tots for supper, and now I’m here.
Yeah, so that was my day. Nothing really exciting to speak of. Now I’m going to study for that exam, I think.
Oh, tomorrow afternoon should be fun. At 2:30 I’m meeting Jessica, my friend from Michigan, and Yukari, my speaking partner, to go to a hot spring in nearby Ibaraki City. I’m a little nervous because:
- I’ve never bathed in public, unless you count being like two years old and taking a sponge bath in the lake when camping
- I’ve never been to a hot spring and I don’t know what it’ll be like
- Yukari has been in charge of planning all of this, so I hope she knows what she’s doing. As a control freak, this is scary.
- I don’t speak really good Japanese, and I’ll be with my speaking partner and the friends she’s bringing for a long time
- I’m not exactly in the best physical shape and I’m pasty white with terrible tan lines and I need to shave my legs and I don’t particularly want to be standing there naked in front of people
- I don’t know what to bring—Towel? Washcloth? Extra shoes? Soap?
- I hear that the water at these places is really, really hot, and I don’t want to burn myself
- Sitting in near-boiling water with naked strangers who could be talking about me in Japanese and I wouldn’t know it just inherently has the potential to be awkward
But hot springs were one of the things I was most looking forward to doing in Japan, and it’ll be a nice little day trip. I think we’re going to have dinner after the soak, so that should be fun, too. I’m just really, really thankful Jessica is coming! Anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes.
Oh, and last night I got to talk to Betsy on Skype. She's doing really well and having a total blast here, like I knew she would. Yay! It was so nice to see her. I really miss sitting in her room in Polis and watching Good Luck!! and being really goofy together at half apps and such. ;_; Miss you, Betsy!
Um, please send me emails and comments and such. I didn't get a single non-spam email today. Please? I wanna hear from you!
4 comments:
Well, if you have a backpack, I'd roll up a towel, some soap, and a hand towel/wash cloth. I looked this morning, and it seems that if you're actually staying at the Onsen, they provide you with everything. But nothing said what visitors need to bring, even though I'm sure that a lot of people only go to visit. Anyhow, a hand towel/wash cloth seems to be the essential thing, so you can cover yourself while walking to the spring. And then when you get in you can put it on your head. Apparently, a lot of people do that. I even read an account of a man who wrapped a beer in his towel and put both on his head.
Make sure not to stay in too long! You might get dizzy. Also, apparently if you bring glasses, they sometimes break from the difference in air temperature by the spring and back outside the onsen!
Um, what else. The geology drama is reaching a critical point. In fact, Katie even referred to one of our options as our nuclear threat, and it's about as extreme, in a non-violent and Quakerly sense, if everyone reaches consensus about it. Otherwise, the geology department is still a happy happy place, with likeable people (except that one person who's the focus of the drama) and trilobyte molds. Seriously. Today is the earth's birthday, so they're planning to celebrate over mid-sem break with bad geology movies and chocolate trilobytes.
Today I stood in a very cold creek for quite a while. Creek wading involves either really high waterproof boots or sandals. And also, since the water comes up to the knee, shorts. It was rather cold, though getting out of the water was the worst part. Not only is cold wet skin making contact with cold air, but leaving the you get little bitty stones in your shoes.
Did you ever have a chance to watch the SNL with both Tina Fey and Sarah Palin? I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I really want to see it. I bet it's on YouTube. I also bet that "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" is on YouTube.... Oh, and that picture from FailBlog that Aymiah posted? Did you see that one? It was really, really funny.
Okay, I think that's it for the rambling. I couldn't quite match the length of your post, but one of these days I'll write a comment that's novella length. Enjoy the onsen!!
Very good advice on the onsen; that all seems to be in keeping with what I've heard from other people, too.
Unfortunately, Yukari got sick, so we're not going today. But I'll write more about that later.
So, geo!drama...sorry to hear about that. It sounds, though, like you all are taking a very responsible route about the whole thing, which is good. I hope you can get things worked out without much hostility. And I'm sorry you had to stand in a cold stream.
Nope, still haven't seen the SNL sketches. I dunno, at this point I actually feel kinda bad for Sarah Palin, like she's way out of her depth. At first it was fun to laugh, but now I'm starting to feel a bit guilty.
Still looking forward to Dr. Horrible, though. I'll have to try again soon.
I really cannot write a short entry, can I? Sorry about that. But some day you'll outdo me, I'm sure.
Fun fact: the windows in the hallway are open because it's a nice day, but someone has been smoking those cigarettes that smell like pot, and now my room is stinky. Yuck.
Too bad Yukari got sick. :-(
Yes, the route we're taking with the geo drama seems to be pretty responsible, though interactions in class between Katie and Steve have gone down to plain rude.
I don't really know what to think about Palin. I saw an article with a title something like "Could Palin save McCain?" but also saw a shirt that said "Palin: Restoring America's Confidence in Bush". In any case, she went onto SNL of her own will. I think she's not afraid to poke a little bit of fun at herself.
ZOMG smokers outside the windows! They drive me nuts. They're supposed to stay 15 feet away from the buildings, but of course they sit right in front of it.
BTW, the website OMFG.com actually belongs to the "Official Meeting Facilities Guide". A real company with unfortunate initials. I think they even have an OMFG magazine.
Kristen-
Well it sounds like your having a super fun time. Being stranded in the rain at a deserted bus stop--it sounds like a movie and I'm just waiting for tall, dark, and Japanese to show up :) But what I really wanted to mention is the onsen. Have no fear, the Japanese do NOT gape and stare so don't feel awkward. Also, having been to an onsen, I can tell you right now that you don't need to bring anything. They have lockers to put your clothing in, they give you towels, and the soaps and everything are in there designated area which you do before you go and soak. It's super relaxing and you'll have a great time. Hopefully, you get this before you go to relieve your worries. Enjoy!
Jaclyn Morgan
(the psychotic New Yorker you prolly forgot :P )
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