Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
December 20: MAGICAL BOX
This blog is going to be all out of order....but I guess that's ok. I'm pausing in my re-cap of November/December to talk about my day today. After starting out the morning with kanji class and finding out that I made a 63/100 on that IMPOSSIBLE kanji test I took last week, I wasn't feeling so happy. But not even kanji class can keep me down for long when Taka's around. He met me for lunch in Takadanobaba and we had ramen. I was fully prepared to be made fun of for my failtastic ramen eating, but I was actually able to do it right this time (much to Taka's disappointment haha)! Anyhoo, after we ate, he gave me a late birthday gift (<3) Lots of bath salts that smell aweeeeesoooome....AND....a box. Not just any kind of box mind you. A box that makes things disappear. While we were at the restaurant, Taka put a toothpick in it and demonstrated it for me and I was baffled. He had to show me how to do it and even then I still wasn't sure exactly how it worked! So needless to say when I got home it provided with amusement for much longer than it probably should have, but I was trying so hard to figure out how it works! I'm still not sure I completely understand..... but anyway on to the .....
*drumroll~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
DEMONSTRATION VIDEO
Sunday, December 11, 2011
勉強 - studying
My brain hurts....
I think I have done more studying today than I have in the entire last month.
Not to mention I am pretty sure I consumed enough coffee to keep me awake for days O_O''
I lost count after 5 cups....
But the important thing is that I got some serious studying done.
I'm pausing for a break now before I go get food and then continue for another couple of hours.
I've been such a good student lately!
I even went to the library and figured out how to check out a book!
The library here really scares me though because it has the bookshelves that move and I have this terrible fear that I'm going to get trapped and squished in between them.
I think I have done more studying today than I have in the entire last month.
Not to mention I am pretty sure I consumed enough coffee to keep me awake for days O_O''
I lost count after 5 cups....
But the important thing is that I got some serious studying done.
I'm pausing for a break now before I go get food and then continue for another couple of hours.
I've been such a good student lately!
I even went to the library and figured out how to check out a book!
The library here really scares me though because it has the bookshelves that move and I have this terrible fear that I'm going to get trapped and squished in between them.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
There are still kind people in the world
Ok so I haven't updated in forever.
I really intended to keep a regular blog, but I just don't seem to have the time.
What free time I do have I tend to spend it sleeping or going places.
But today I feel like writing and I have something specific that happened that I wanted to talk about.
Whenever people ask me why I like Japan one of my common responses is "because people in Japan are so kind." Yesterday, I experienced a perfect example of that.
In my classroom where I have my Japanese language class almost every morning, the desks have a cubby where you can sit books or your papers or whatever. For me personally, it's a place where I sit my cell phone so I can access it easily to check the time (which is frequently because I'm usually starving and dying to be done with class). Yesterday when Molly and I got to the cafeteria after we were done with class, I realized that my phone wasn't in my purse and we determined that I most likely left it in the classroom. Instead of rushing immediately back to the room in a panic, praying that no one had found it and stolen it already, I remained sitting and talking with my friends until 3rd period was almost over. Then Molly and I made our way back to the classroom and waited for the class that was in there to leave. When the bell rang, we went in and began looking in the desks, but my phone wasn't in the desk I usually sit in. As I began to retrace my steps of where all I had gone that day in my head, a guy walks over, reaches into another desk and hands me my cell phone. This guy had not only walked away from his group of friends to help me, but also stopped in the middle of a phone call to show me where my phone had been moved to. In America, my phone would have more than likely been gone long before I ever even realized it was missing. And I -highly- doubt it ever would have been hand delivered back to me when I went looking for it even if it was still there. That guy probably has no idea just how much he made my day.
I realize that there are good and bad people everywhere, but I feel like in general people in Japan just care more. I've seen a woman drop her wallet as she was getting off a train and a man pick it up and chase her down just to give it back to her. In the cafeteria everyone finds a seat and then leaves their purse or bookbag there to hold their seat while they walk away to go buy food without fear of someone stealing it. There can be no one sitting at a table, but if there is a single folder sitting in the middle of it no one will sit there because it is claimed already. In the dining halls at UGA you would come back to find your folder, purse, bag, whatever shoved off to the side and four people sitting at the table you were hoping to save.
There have been several times since I got here that I have been lost or confused about how to do something and had a complete stranger come up and, despite language barriers, attempt to help me. It amazes and inspires me every time. And I just wanted to share with everyone one of the many reasons I love this country so very much.
I really intended to keep a regular blog, but I just don't seem to have the time.
What free time I do have I tend to spend it sleeping or going places.
But today I feel like writing and I have something specific that happened that I wanted to talk about.
Whenever people ask me why I like Japan one of my common responses is "because people in Japan are so kind." Yesterday, I experienced a perfect example of that.
In my classroom where I have my Japanese language class almost every morning, the desks have a cubby where you can sit books or your papers or whatever. For me personally, it's a place where I sit my cell phone so I can access it easily to check the time (which is frequently because I'm usually starving and dying to be done with class). Yesterday when Molly and I got to the cafeteria after we were done with class, I realized that my phone wasn't in my purse and we determined that I most likely left it in the classroom. Instead of rushing immediately back to the room in a panic, praying that no one had found it and stolen it already, I remained sitting and talking with my friends until 3rd period was almost over. Then Molly and I made our way back to the classroom and waited for the class that was in there to leave. When the bell rang, we went in and began looking in the desks, but my phone wasn't in the desk I usually sit in. As I began to retrace my steps of where all I had gone that day in my head, a guy walks over, reaches into another desk and hands me my cell phone. This guy had not only walked away from his group of friends to help me, but also stopped in the middle of a phone call to show me where my phone had been moved to. In America, my phone would have more than likely been gone long before I ever even realized it was missing. And I -highly- doubt it ever would have been hand delivered back to me when I went looking for it even if it was still there. That guy probably has no idea just how much he made my day.
I realize that there are good and bad people everywhere, but I feel like in general people in Japan just care more. I've seen a woman drop her wallet as she was getting off a train and a man pick it up and chase her down just to give it back to her. In the cafeteria everyone finds a seat and then leaves their purse or bookbag there to hold their seat while they walk away to go buy food without fear of someone stealing it. There can be no one sitting at a table, but if there is a single folder sitting in the middle of it no one will sit there because it is claimed already. In the dining halls at UGA you would come back to find your folder, purse, bag, whatever shoved off to the side and four people sitting at the table you were hoping to save.
There have been several times since I got here that I have been lost or confused about how to do something and had a complete stranger come up and, despite language barriers, attempt to help me. It amazes and inspires me every time. And I just wanted to share with everyone one of the many reasons I love this country so very much.
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