Keep Yourself Busy
What a day. There was no school for me because 3rd year students were taking tests so all my 3rd year classes were cancelled. However, today was my first class at the Okayama Institute of Languages in Okayama city. I got to sleep in, and then took the 10:09 bus with Shoko to Okayama. For lunch she surprised me with reservations at “Ume no Hana” which means plum blossom, a fancy restaurant on the 21st floor of the Credo building in Okayama. She told me that it is her mother's favorite restaurant, and specializes in tofu dishes. The restaurant could be easily described as beautiful, with private tatami tea rooms overlooking the bulk of Okayama city, Asahi River, and surrounding mountains. The food was also outstanding, with tofu incorporated into every dish. I am not a very adamant tofu eater, but this restaurant would convert even the pickiest eater. Five courses were served, including a tofu salad, tofu and salmon, tofu soup, fried rice tofu, and other dishes which I could not define but were nevertheless delicious. The meal finished with tea and mango sorbet.
After lunch we had a few minutes before my language class started, but as we went up the escalator one of Shoko's friends spotted us so we talked for a while then went to a nearby coffee shop. They would not accept that I was full so Shoko and I split a piece of raspberry cake. We chatted for a bit then I left for my lesson.
The Okayama Institute of Languages is located close to the bus station and, as its name suggests, provides instruction in various languages including Japanese, Chinese, French, German, and English. When I entered the building I was greeted by a crowd of Japanese students and the secretary directed me to one of the couches in the room where Cori, the exchange student from Canada, was sitting with Kimura-sensei, who was to become our Japanese teacher. Janna, the exchange student from Virginia, showed up with her host counselor and the three of us went with Kimura-sensei to another building. We got our own personal classroom and for the next few hours introduced ourselves to our new teacher and started with some basic Japanese lessons. I had already become familiar with some of the basic concepts of Japanese, as well as Hiragana and Katakana, so I got a good chance to test my skills. We were also provided with many textbooks which look like they will be very helpful in learning Japanese. Our teacher is also very nice so I will look forward to the weekly classes.
After the lesson Janna's counselor invited the three of us to another welcome party October 16th in Tsuyama, where Janna lives. Tomorrow I am also going to some sort of welcome party. The parties abound in Japan! After the counselor left I talked with Cori and Janna about school and we all seem to be having a good time. We also agreed that Rotary takes excellent care of us both physically and financially.
I took the 5:08 bus home to Tamano. The sky was a deep pink and a good evening song was playing in the background through headphones among the sea, clouds, and silhouetted mountains. After returning home, I had just enough time to eat before it was off to Kyudo practice with Shoko, Yamashita-san, and Andee. We got to shoot at real targets again, and Andee and I both scratched our hands in the exact same place. Now I am very tired but get to sleep in again tomorrow because I don't have to go to school until 3rd period.
After lunch we had a few minutes before my language class started, but as we went up the escalator one of Shoko's friends spotted us so we talked for a while then went to a nearby coffee shop. They would not accept that I was full so Shoko and I split a piece of raspberry cake. We chatted for a bit then I left for my lesson.
The Okayama Institute of Languages is located close to the bus station and, as its name suggests, provides instruction in various languages including Japanese, Chinese, French, German, and English. When I entered the building I was greeted by a crowd of Japanese students and the secretary directed me to one of the couches in the room where Cori, the exchange student from Canada, was sitting with Kimura-sensei, who was to become our Japanese teacher. Janna, the exchange student from Virginia, showed up with her host counselor and the three of us went with Kimura-sensei to another building. We got our own personal classroom and for the next few hours introduced ourselves to our new teacher and started with some basic Japanese lessons. I had already become familiar with some of the basic concepts of Japanese, as well as Hiragana and Katakana, so I got a good chance to test my skills. We were also provided with many textbooks which look like they will be very helpful in learning Japanese. Our teacher is also very nice so I will look forward to the weekly classes.
After the lesson Janna's counselor invited the three of us to another welcome party October 16th in Tsuyama, where Janna lives. Tomorrow I am also going to some sort of welcome party. The parties abound in Japan! After the counselor left I talked with Cori and Janna about school and we all seem to be having a good time. We also agreed that Rotary takes excellent care of us both physically and financially.
I took the 5:08 bus home to Tamano. The sky was a deep pink and a good evening song was playing in the background through headphones among the sea, clouds, and silhouetted mountains. After returning home, I had just enough time to eat before it was off to Kyudo practice with Shoko, Yamashita-san, and Andee. We got to shoot at real targets again, and Andee and I both scratched our hands in the exact same place. Now I am very tired but get to sleep in again tomorrow because I don't have to go to school until 3rd period.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home