Mondays are still my favorite.
So, I looked out my window when I got up and it was a sunny, beautiful day. Five minutes outside and it started downpouring like a hurricane had hit Nara. Of course, as soon as I stopped to buy an umbrella it decided not to rain anymore. Why was I outside, you ask? Well, today I had to turn in my temporary residency permit for my official green card. Nguyen, Mao, and I all took the bus downtown in the morning to pick them up.
The first thing I said when I saw mine was, "Ooh! Shiny!" Apparently, the word for "shiny" in Japanese is "kira kira," which is actually an onomonopoeia. (No need to thank me for the vocab lesson.)
After we got back from picking up our cards, Nguyen gave me the Viatnamese version of ramen for breakfast. (It was also very delicious.) Afterwards we went to Japanese class along with Bea. You know that vocab quiz I thought I failed last week? I actually did better than both Nguyen AND Bea by simply guessing. Ironic, I know. Apparently we have one of these quizzes every week. I guessed on everything again today, but this time I felt no shame in doing it.
The lunch room was so crowded that I couldn't even sit with my friends. I found Yoonkyung and Hana in the chaos and Yoonkyung offered me her seat since she was finished eating. Once we were both finished, we went to Budou where I found my jacket (I thought I had lost it!). Today everyone got to wear hakama, the traditional clothes worn during most Japanese sports. My sensei had a blast teaching me how to put it on and shamelessly pointed out that I was the chubbiest of the girls (for your information, all of them are skinny and shorter than me.) My Budou sensei is probably my favorite teacher because she has a crazy sense of humor. I don't really believe she's Japanese at heart since she doesn't take anything seriously.
After Budou, Bea and I hopped over to the tennis courts for our gym class. We had fun breaking in to tennis. I haven't played since I was maybe in middle school so it was interesting to say the least.
Oh-- some news about Golden Week. Apparently Bea's friend isn't cool with letting someone he doesn't know stay at his house, even with Bea vouching for me. That means I'm out of a place to stay so I can't afford to go to Tokyo like I planned. I don't think this is a coincidence though. I know Tokyo experienced another earthquake recently so it may be for the best that I don't go next week. Instead, I will be hitting up Osaka with Yoonkyung and Maki and playing a soccer match in Kyoto. Sweet! Yes, I am a little disappointed that I won't get to go to Tokyo, but I have plenty of other things to do with my friends around Nara so I'm not worried : )
After classes were over I showered and went to Yoonkyung's office to study. She and her Chinese friend were kind enough to make dinner and share it with me while discussing my Japanese homework. I was able to translate everything I need for my next class so I felt productive.
I got back to my room just in time for my floor's hall meeting at 10 PM. I don't know why I went-- I didn't understand a word! Oh well, at least I can say I was responsible. In other news, I am out of food in my room. I should probably do something about that. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day because I'll be starting my other two Japanese classes (yikes!). I am excited and nervous. Wish me luck!
So, I looked out my window when I got up and it was a sunny, beautiful day. Five minutes outside and it started downpouring like a hurricane had hit Nara. Of course, as soon as I stopped to buy an umbrella it decided not to rain anymore. Why was I outside, you ask? Well, today I had to turn in my temporary residency permit for my official green card. Nguyen, Mao, and I all took the bus downtown in the morning to pick them up.
The first thing I said when I saw mine was, "Ooh! Shiny!" Apparently, the word for "shiny" in Japanese is "kira kira," which is actually an onomonopoeia. (No need to thank me for the vocab lesson.)
After we got back from picking up our cards, Nguyen gave me the Viatnamese version of ramen for breakfast. (It was also very delicious.) Afterwards we went to Japanese class along with Bea. You know that vocab quiz I thought I failed last week? I actually did better than both Nguyen AND Bea by simply guessing. Ironic, I know. Apparently we have one of these quizzes every week. I guessed on everything again today, but this time I felt no shame in doing it.
The lunch room was so crowded that I couldn't even sit with my friends. I found Yoonkyung and Hana in the chaos and Yoonkyung offered me her seat since she was finished eating. Once we were both finished, we went to Budou where I found my jacket (I thought I had lost it!). Today everyone got to wear hakama, the traditional clothes worn during most Japanese sports. My sensei had a blast teaching me how to put it on and shamelessly pointed out that I was the chubbiest of the girls (for your information, all of them are skinny and shorter than me.) My Budou sensei is probably my favorite teacher because she has a crazy sense of humor. I don't really believe she's Japanese at heart since she doesn't take anything seriously.
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| Our class! Photo by Yoonkyung :) |
After Budou, Bea and I hopped over to the tennis courts for our gym class. We had fun breaking in to tennis. I haven't played since I was maybe in middle school so it was interesting to say the least.
Oh-- some news about Golden Week. Apparently Bea's friend isn't cool with letting someone he doesn't know stay at his house, even with Bea vouching for me. That means I'm out of a place to stay so I can't afford to go to Tokyo like I planned. I don't think this is a coincidence though. I know Tokyo experienced another earthquake recently so it may be for the best that I don't go next week. Instead, I will be hitting up Osaka with Yoonkyung and Maki and playing a soccer match in Kyoto. Sweet! Yes, I am a little disappointed that I won't get to go to Tokyo, but I have plenty of other things to do with my friends around Nara so I'm not worried : )
After classes were over I showered and went to Yoonkyung's office to study. She and her Chinese friend were kind enough to make dinner and share it with me while discussing my Japanese homework. I was able to translate everything I need for my next class so I felt productive.
I got back to my room just in time for my floor's hall meeting at 10 PM. I don't know why I went-- I didn't understand a word! Oh well, at least I can say I was responsible. In other news, I am out of food in my room. I should probably do something about that. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day because I'll be starting my other two Japanese classes (yikes!). I am excited and nervous. Wish me luck!
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