Summer has arrived in Nara, Japan-- and boy, is it HOT. Hot AND humid. And yes, people are still wearing long sleeves and pants here. I don't know how they do it.
Bea and I rode our bikes down to the city hall on Friday morning to work out some kinks in our health insurance bills. They had originally charged me for a year, but because I am only living in Japan until mid August I now only have to pay about 5,000 yen instead of 20,000 yen. Hooray! Bea was able to clear up the misunderstanding with her bill, too, so we were both pretty happy by the time we went to lunch. We stopped at the restaurant we went to together some time ago (the fast food place that is popular for it's gyudon.) Once we were both stuffed, we returned to school and went to class.
I actually listened in Inoue sensei's class (shocking, I know), but it's really because I felt guilty for skipping Inoue sensei's other class on Monday. Plus, we don't have class next Friday so I figured I might as well apply myself to learning something. After we got out of class, Yoonkyung and I met Bea and walked to Paket to buy some ice cream. I figured this was a fitting way to deal with the suddenly hot weather we were having. I think a month of cold rain spoiled me because I am totally dying in the heat and it's only the second day we've had it!
We gorged ourselves on ice cream, and it was good, but then I had to get serious. I spent some time studying in Yoonkyung's room until I had to meet Aron, a Chinese graduate student who is going to have me check her master thesis for her (yes, it is written in English.) We met for maybe twenty minutes to discuss what she wanted me to do and how much she would pay me (and yes, she is paying me.) I'm really happy to say that I will be getting 1,000 yen an hour for editing her paper. That's 1,000 yen per hour more than what I have now, so no complaints from me!
Once we finished our discussion, I studied for a bit longer in Yoonkyung's office and then returned to my room to do... absolutely nothing the rest of the night. Seriously, I was on the internet the whole time. Although I did manage to get my laundry done, so that was a plus. I also bought (and ate) some onigiri that Yoonkyung and Bea recommended. They were delicious and filling so I think I will buy them more often. Speaking of food, Yoonkyung and I managed to work out our differences concerning eating. Previously, I was annoyed that she asked me everyday if I had eaten, etc., but she explained that the queston is actually a common greeting among Koreans and wasn't meant to insult me. Now that I know where she was coming from, it doesn't bother me anymore. (And I really should try to eat a little better so I am going to try harder from now on.)
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Today was another hot one. Unfortunately, I had soccer practice in over 90 degree weather with 70% humidity. Yikes. Luckily, we drank a lot of water and took breaks inbetween drills, but it was still pretty painful. I could tell that no one really wanted to be there. We practiced from 1:30 to 5:00 (as usual) so you can imagine that I was pretty much dead by the time we finished. The good news is that I am now a few shades darker than yesterday. I also learned that I won't be able to participate in our big game next month since I am an exchange student. It really sucks because I am pretty sure that is the last game of the semester so I have basically been practicing just for the heck of it. Oh well, at least I am staying in shape, right?
After soccer practice I ate, showered, and took a short nap before going to the last ESS musical practice (hallelujah). We basically ran through everything as if it were the real thing, but I feel like my group still isn't ready. Even so, I am not that concerned. I'm just happy that it will be over with after tomorrow.
I met up with Bea after we both finished with our respective groups and we went to the cheap Italian restaurant by Nara train station called Sazeria (spelling?). I like it because the food tastes good, but is affordable. We got full meals for around 700 yen each, talked for a bit, and then returned to the dorm.
Today was absolutely exhausting because of the heat. I hate when I go outside and immediately start sweating! Plus, the sun makes me a lot more tired than the rain does. However, now that is is officially summer, I don't think I can really avoid it. It just means I have to buy some more weather appropriate clothes, but again, that takes money. Sunday is just an hour away, and my last full month in Japan is fast approaching. I need more time and energy-- help!
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Bea and I rode our bikes down to the city hall on Friday morning to work out some kinks in our health insurance bills. They had originally charged me for a year, but because I am only living in Japan until mid August I now only have to pay about 5,000 yen instead of 20,000 yen. Hooray! Bea was able to clear up the misunderstanding with her bill, too, so we were both pretty happy by the time we went to lunch. We stopped at the restaurant we went to together some time ago (the fast food place that is popular for it's gyudon.) Once we were both stuffed, we returned to school and went to class.
I actually listened in Inoue sensei's class (shocking, I know), but it's really because I felt guilty for skipping Inoue sensei's other class on Monday. Plus, we don't have class next Friday so I figured I might as well apply myself to learning something. After we got out of class, Yoonkyung and I met Bea and walked to Paket to buy some ice cream. I figured this was a fitting way to deal with the suddenly hot weather we were having. I think a month of cold rain spoiled me because I am totally dying in the heat and it's only the second day we've had it!
We gorged ourselves on ice cream, and it was good, but then I had to get serious. I spent some time studying in Yoonkyung's room until I had to meet Aron, a Chinese graduate student who is going to have me check her master thesis for her (yes, it is written in English.) We met for maybe twenty minutes to discuss what she wanted me to do and how much she would pay me (and yes, she is paying me.) I'm really happy to say that I will be getting 1,000 yen an hour for editing her paper. That's 1,000 yen per hour more than what I have now, so no complaints from me!
Once we finished our discussion, I studied for a bit longer in Yoonkyung's office and then returned to my room to do... absolutely nothing the rest of the night. Seriously, I was on the internet the whole time. Although I did manage to get my laundry done, so that was a plus. I also bought (and ate) some onigiri that Yoonkyung and Bea recommended. They were delicious and filling so I think I will buy them more often. Speaking of food, Yoonkyung and I managed to work out our differences concerning eating. Previously, I was annoyed that she asked me everyday if I had eaten, etc., but she explained that the queston is actually a common greeting among Koreans and wasn't meant to insult me. Now that I know where she was coming from, it doesn't bother me anymore. (And I really should try to eat a little better so I am going to try harder from now on.)
>>>
Today was another hot one. Unfortunately, I had soccer practice in over 90 degree weather with 70% humidity. Yikes. Luckily, we drank a lot of water and took breaks inbetween drills, but it was still pretty painful. I could tell that no one really wanted to be there. We practiced from 1:30 to 5:00 (as usual) so you can imagine that I was pretty much dead by the time we finished. The good news is that I am now a few shades darker than yesterday. I also learned that I won't be able to participate in our big game next month since I am an exchange student. It really sucks because I am pretty sure that is the last game of the semester so I have basically been practicing just for the heck of it. Oh well, at least I am staying in shape, right?
After soccer practice I ate, showered, and took a short nap before going to the last ESS musical practice (hallelujah). We basically ran through everything as if it were the real thing, but I feel like my group still isn't ready. Even so, I am not that concerned. I'm just happy that it will be over with after tomorrow.
I met up with Bea after we both finished with our respective groups and we went to the cheap Italian restaurant by Nara train station called Sazeria (spelling?). I like it because the food tastes good, but is affordable. We got full meals for around 700 yen each, talked for a bit, and then returned to the dorm.
Today was absolutely exhausting because of the heat. I hate when I go outside and immediately start sweating! Plus, the sun makes me a lot more tired than the rain does. However, now that is is officially summer, I don't think I can really avoid it. It just means I have to buy some more weather appropriate clothes, but again, that takes money. Sunday is just an hour away, and my last full month in Japan is fast approaching. I need more time and energy-- help!
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