I think the time has come for another straight-from-Japan entry that takes a break from the steady flow of events, and covers my overall status at the time. This one was written in mid-October, and on this blog I've already completed all but one of my events before that point (the one being Owariasahi Matsuri, but it's coming), so if you've read those then you're pretty well caught up on where I was. Once again, I'll be keeping the wording intact for authenticity. Enjoy!
２００８年１０月１６日 [10/16]
I've been really horrible about using this journal. In addition, I've not even updated my online blog about Japan once [haha], and have only occasionally put up pictures and videos on Facebook. However, this is not due to a lack of material. On the contrary, as I thought could happen before coming to Japan, I'm involved in so much that I just haven't had time to sit back and write about my adventures.
I've done a lot lately, and whenever I think about updating this I also think about the million other tasks I've given myself. "You're in Japan, so get to it and study Japanese, or go places that are only in Japan." Even now I'm itching to get back to studying Japanese by working on either reading the text closer from the beginning, compiling vocabulary to create a list on a program I downloaded [Anki, great for virtual flashcards], or play a kanji game that organizes them by grade learned [Tadashii Kanji Kakitori-kun].
One of the things that I expected when coming to Japan is that I would get culture shock, but it hasn't come. Not to say that I don't miss everyone back at home, but perhaps that I'm too busy to think about the things I would normally do in Maryland. And at the same time, I wonder whether I'm integrating myself into the culture enough. I hang out with American friends, watch American shows online [Heroes], and talk to Jasmin and other friends [from back home] all the time. Being with a host family has forced me to be on my toes with Japanese, but I'd like to have more 日本人友達 [Japanese friends] to hang out with.
Like usual, I've let my work get out of control. Perhaps I just give myself too many tasks, but for a long time now I've noticed that I simply don't have the time to be bored. So much for leading a simple life! The key here, of course, is prioritizing, and the assignments due in the short term almost always come first, so everything else that takes a little more time is pushed to the side and contributes to the dreaded list.
Class has been going relatively well in Japanese. I got out of my oral test today with a 100%. The other tests and quizzes are probably the easiest I've encountered in the 2 years I've been studying, but that's probably due to the difficulty of Nadayoshi 先生 [sensei]. Class times are extensive, but they're broken up in such a way that we're always in a rush and don't have time to realize we've been sitting there for 3 hours. However, though homework is also relatively short and simple, I've come to dread it, since there are all these other projects I want to work on, and sometimes I'll just blow it off since I'm so tired. Perhaps my 1 hr. commute contributes to that as well.
As for my other classes, History is extremely easy and the most I have to do is take notes; we haven't even had a test and won't be getting a midterm. But with Foreign Policy, next month we have a book review due on a book I've barely started. I have a feeling the pressure close to that date is the only thing that will bring me to get it done, but Jasmin is coming for 9 days and I doubt I'll be reading much then. Maybe I should have taken some art classes... but I can't think about that or I might regret my decision.
Off the top of my head, here are some topics I'd like to cover:
-Tokyo Game Show [done!]
-Nagoya Matsuri [actually Owariasahi Matsuri, and like I said it's coming]
=Kodomo Matsuri [done!]
-Nagoya Castle [done!]
-Whatever other event pics I've taken [done?]
-Neko Matsuri [done!]
There you have it! As you can see, I had reasons for not updating this blog as often as demand was probably there. And now with no demand whatsoever, here come the posts, right? :p As you'll see I got better about doing things with Japanese people, but still not to the extent I would have liked. Expect another one of these style posts in the near future.
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