I think I have the best Mondays out of any college student I know. Today in particular was especially awesome.
It started out with my Japanese class being cancelled-- again. It was the same teacher that I usually have for my Thursday class, which was also cancelled last week, so we think she might be sick or something. Since we were already on campus, Bea, Rafael, and I sat in the cafeteria and drank coffee. At lunch time, we ate together and had a nice conversation with a random Japanese girl sitting at our table. She started talking to us first, which I found pretty impressive. I get the impression that most of the girls at our school don't have the guts to speak with foreigners.
From lunch, Bea and I met up with Yoonkyung in our Budou class. Today we did naginata drills to music from Ponyo. Since Ghibli is the equivalent of Disney in Japan I have heard a lot of the music used in various places since I have been here. They couldn't have picked a more annoying song for us to practice to, but it was still a lot of fun. I think today might have been our last day for naginata, which made me sad, but our sensei video taped everyone doing the routine we learned so I am hoping I can get a copy from her.
After class was over with, Bea and I had P.E. The weather cleared up long enough for us to go outside for tennis. Honestly, I am already bored with tennis. Maybe because I am not that good at it and there are too many people for me to participate throughout the entire class. Next week we will do ping pong again so I am excited for that.
Immediately after class, Bea and I went to Konami. I know what you are thinking-- "You had two sports classes and went to the gym afterwards?!" Well, yeah. My sports classes aren't really that physically demanding, so I ended up running on the treadmill again and doing some ab exercises. I was able to run about 5.4 kilometers in 35 minutes-- almost as good as when I ran over 6 kilometers (4 miles) in 40 minutes on Sunday.
The best part of my day though, was when Bea and I got back from Konami. We met with Yoonkyung and Hana at the Nara train station and rode a few stops down to a mall where they had a movie theater so we could see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. We went to the fourth floor to buy our tickets, and I was surprised to find we had assigned seats. Like in a real theater, we were able to select where we wanted to sit based on a chart they provided. Although I found it strange, I really liked it because it meant we didn't have to wait in a long line to get good seats. Lucky us! Because we came on a day when women got a discount, we only had to pay 1,000 yen for the initial ticket, but because the showing was only in 3D, we paid an extra 400 yen. (I hate 3D! It's just a gimmick that makes you spend money!) Basically, this meant I had to pay about $15 for a movie ticket. Ouch! We had time before the movie started, so we walked to the food court and ate dinner. I had takoyaki (my favorite!) and then bought Baskin Robbins for dessert. Delicious! At 8:50, our movie started. I noticed that most of the previews were for English movies. I think it's interesting that Japanese movie theaters import so many American films. Maybe that's why the movies are so expensive? Or maybe it's just because no one goes to the movies that it's expensive? I'm not really sure.
Watching 2.5 hours of Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz really made my day that much better. For someone who frequently goes to the movies, it was a real treat to be able to go today, especially since I haven't seen a film since I've been here. And you have to admit, Johnny Depp may be strange, but he is one of the best actors out there! I thought the story was interesting and much, much better without Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom. We all know that everyone only comes for Johnny Depp anyway, right? ; )
After the movie was over, we caught one of the last trains back to Nara and said good night. Another day has already passed--and how!
It started out with my Japanese class being cancelled-- again. It was the same teacher that I usually have for my Thursday class, which was also cancelled last week, so we think she might be sick or something. Since we were already on campus, Bea, Rafael, and I sat in the cafeteria and drank coffee. At lunch time, we ate together and had a nice conversation with a random Japanese girl sitting at our table. She started talking to us first, which I found pretty impressive. I get the impression that most of the girls at our school don't have the guts to speak with foreigners.
From lunch, Bea and I met up with Yoonkyung in our Budou class. Today we did naginata drills to music from Ponyo. Since Ghibli is the equivalent of Disney in Japan I have heard a lot of the music used in various places since I have been here. They couldn't have picked a more annoying song for us to practice to, but it was still a lot of fun. I think today might have been our last day for naginata, which made me sad, but our sensei video taped everyone doing the routine we learned so I am hoping I can get a copy from her.
After class was over with, Bea and I had P.E. The weather cleared up long enough for us to go outside for tennis. Honestly, I am already bored with tennis. Maybe because I am not that good at it and there are too many people for me to participate throughout the entire class. Next week we will do ping pong again so I am excited for that.
Immediately after class, Bea and I went to Konami. I know what you are thinking-- "You had two sports classes and went to the gym afterwards?!" Well, yeah. My sports classes aren't really that physically demanding, so I ended up running on the treadmill again and doing some ab exercises. I was able to run about 5.4 kilometers in 35 minutes-- almost as good as when I ran over 6 kilometers (4 miles) in 40 minutes on Sunday.
The best part of my day though, was when Bea and I got back from Konami. We met with Yoonkyung and Hana at the Nara train station and rode a few stops down to a mall where they had a movie theater so we could see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. We went to the fourth floor to buy our tickets, and I was surprised to find we had assigned seats. Like in a real theater, we were able to select where we wanted to sit based on a chart they provided. Although I found it strange, I really liked it because it meant we didn't have to wait in a long line to get good seats. Lucky us! Because we came on a day when women got a discount, we only had to pay 1,000 yen for the initial ticket, but because the showing was only in 3D, we paid an extra 400 yen. (I hate 3D! It's just a gimmick that makes you spend money!) Basically, this meant I had to pay about $15 for a movie ticket. Ouch! We had time before the movie started, so we walked to the food court and ate dinner. I had takoyaki (my favorite!) and then bought Baskin Robbins for dessert. Delicious! At 8:50, our movie started. I noticed that most of the previews were for English movies. I think it's interesting that Japanese movie theaters import so many American films. Maybe that's why the movies are so expensive? Or maybe it's just because no one goes to the movies that it's expensive? I'm not really sure.
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| English, with Japanese subtitles-- in 3D! |
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| On the left is the theater seating chart |
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| Movie prices |
Watching 2.5 hours of Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz really made my day that much better. For someone who frequently goes to the movies, it was a real treat to be able to go today, especially since I haven't seen a film since I've been here. And you have to admit, Johnny Depp may be strange, but he is one of the best actors out there! I thought the story was interesting and much, much better without Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom. We all know that everyone only comes for Johnny Depp anyway, right? ; )
After the movie was over, we caught one of the last trains back to Nara and said good night. Another day has already passed--and how!
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| Rocking our 3D glasses on the train |
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