I have internet in my room! Yokatta! This morning around 11:00, Maki came over and dropped off a LAN cable for my computer. Now I have internet all day, everyday, whenever I want it! Whoohoo!
Not much else really exciting occurred today. I had one class at 1:00, my "sports law and politics" class. I vaguely understood the general idea of what was going on... sort of. I at least understood the part where American sports were mentioned.
After class, I went back to my room and worked on studying some Japanese. I am trying to look over some of the homework I have for my Japanese class on Monday, which requires looking up a TON of kanji on the internet. I think I would be lost without Denshi Jisho. It allows you to look up the kanji using the radicals (if you don't study Japanese, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but trust me-- it's a big deal). So I worked on that for about two painstaking hours, then went to meet up with my friend Hiroko at school. I really enjoy speaking with Hiroko because she talks clearly, slowly, and has an electronic dictionary. She also seems genuinely interested in what I have to say.
We took our time asking eachother questions. We talked about music, hobbies, sports, our families-- and finally, we went out to eat. I must say that ramen has been ruined for me. Ruined in the sense that I will never eat American "ramen" again. In addition to ramen we had gyoza and shupan (not sure on the spelling). Everything was delicious, of course. Towards the end of our time at the restaurant, Hiroko asked me what I liked about Japanese culture. I told her that the Japanese attitude really interests me, particularly the respect they show for people and nature. Hiroko then went on to say that because the Japanese highly value "wa" (harmony), they often don't speak directly or say what they really feel. She told me that she really admires how Americans and other foreigners speak directly (you know exactly how they feel and what they want.) I then said that I was worried about offending someone because of my blunt speech. What she told me really meant a lot. "I think differences are interesting. And I know you will be all right."
So here's to differences! Kanpai!
Not much else really exciting occurred today. I had one class at 1:00, my "sports law and politics" class. I vaguely understood the general idea of what was going on... sort of. I at least understood the part where American sports were mentioned.
After class, I went back to my room and worked on studying some Japanese. I am trying to look over some of the homework I have for my Japanese class on Monday, which requires looking up a TON of kanji on the internet. I think I would be lost without Denshi Jisho. It allows you to look up the kanji using the radicals (if you don't study Japanese, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but trust me-- it's a big deal). So I worked on that for about two painstaking hours, then went to meet up with my friend Hiroko at school. I really enjoy speaking with Hiroko because she talks clearly, slowly, and has an electronic dictionary. She also seems genuinely interested in what I have to say.
We took our time asking eachother questions. We talked about music, hobbies, sports, our families-- and finally, we went out to eat. I must say that ramen has been ruined for me. Ruined in the sense that I will never eat American "ramen" again. In addition to ramen we had gyoza and shupan (not sure on the spelling). Everything was delicious, of course. Towards the end of our time at the restaurant, Hiroko asked me what I liked about Japanese culture. I told her that the Japanese attitude really interests me, particularly the respect they show for people and nature. Hiroko then went on to say that because the Japanese highly value "wa" (harmony), they often don't speak directly or say what they really feel. She told me that she really admires how Americans and other foreigners speak directly (you know exactly how they feel and what they want.) I then said that I was worried about offending someone because of my blunt speech. What she told me really meant a lot. "I think differences are interesting. And I know you will be all right."
So here's to differences! Kanpai!
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