February 24

I wish I had time to write this entry on the actual day it happened, but (you’ll see that) I ran out of time.

At breakfast today, okaasan told me I had an omoshiroi hairstyle, and I explained that I had not dried my hair the night before, so it was a mess (despite brushing). I told her I could get it to work if I wore a hat for a bit, but she was determined to help me, so she showed me her Japanese secret; you put a damp towl in the microwave, then press it over your hair to make it lay flat. I was very grateful.

It was drizzling when I got started. When I got to school, I decided to go to Valor’s before class to get my lunch (since Tuesdays are tight in terms of free time around lunch time). After I had made the (slightly long) walk from the train station to Valor’s though, I found that it was closed, so I hiked the 25% grade hill to school only to realize it was Tuesday, and class would not start until 10:05 (later than I expected) so I walked back to Valor’s, thinking that having passed 9:00 in the process of coming to school, it might be open. When I got there, the blinds were open (unlike the first time I came by) and I read a sign that said Valor’s would open at 9:30 and 10:00, depending on the day. Not looking very closely, I assumed the grocery store worked like an American one, in which it would open earlier on week days and a bit later on weekends. So, I waited until 9:30, and when the store did not open, I looked again at the sign, and realized that Sunday is the only day that they open at 9:30. So, I hiked the hill (again) to class, having wasted quite a bit of time (almost an hour).

I did have a bit of time left before class started, so I went online to see if I had e-mail, and I found Cheryl’s e-mail about coming to Nagoya from Singapore. I called her to confirm our plans (since she would not have a phone by the end of my Japanese class). I had to call the front desk three times because the first time, I was disconnected, and the second time, after making my request to speak to a hotel guest, I was redirected to the front desk and startled by a man’s voice. Unfortunately, I was two minutes late to class as a result and I did not realize I was supposed to turn in my kanji homework. Technically, it will have 50% of its value deducted, so I’m a bit worried.

Class was boring, as we were reviewing for the upcoming oral exam portion of our mid-term. When the first period of Japanese was over, we stopped reviewing and had to write our speeches. I’m not sure why this assignment was given just before the mid-terms, but it was, so we had to write in one class perod, or finish our speeches (as homework) while studying for our mid-terms. Luckily, I got done in time, but since the subject of the paper was the place where I lived/grew up/was born, I had a hard time coming up with what Raleigh is famous for, etc.

When Japanese class (finally) ended, I raced to Valor’s (a third time) to get my lunch before my hanga class began. Hanga was quite uneventful, but afterward, I was able to meet with Cheryl!

I had asked her to meet me at Yagoto Nisseki, but as I made my way to the eki, I realized I had told her that it was on the wrong chikatetsu line (it is on the Meijo, but I told her it was on the Tsurumai) and was worried she would be confused because there is also a Yagoto station which is at the intersection of the right chikatetsu and the one I mistakenly mentioned. Luckily though, Cheryl had remembered Nisseki, so we met right on time! It was really great to see her. We went to Jusco and ate American-Japanese food. I had a fried fish sandwich with egg salad on it and fries. She had spaghetti on a flat scrambled egg (tamagoyaki) with fried ebi on top.

It was raining then, so we didn’t go to Osu. We walked around the university area, going to the giant jinja I had found when I explored earlier, the book-off, and the arcade. As we were leaving the jinja, we saw a guy come out of the woods, pointing a handgun (90º from us), so we turned around to leave through another exit, but as we were walking, we heard the gun go off and what we heard was a bb-gun. We felt very stupid (Cheryl called it a very American reaction) for being scared. As we walked down the street soon after (where the exit we took and the exit we were going to take meet) we passed the guy, who appeared to be a middle-school kid, and his buddies.

It was really nice to talk with Cheryl (though I kept using Japanese words inadvertantly) about my homesickness and getting used to Japan. We even passed a lot of my classmates as we walked, which doesn’t seem to happen outside of school. Before we parted, we walked to Nagoya Daigaku eki. We got a Japanese guy to take our picture by the subway map, and I realized where my okaasan works (the kokusai center is on the map).

Once I boared my chikatetsu and parted from my friend, I began to worry about the time. I had tried to schedule myself to be on the chikatetsu by six so I would be home for dinner, but since my Toyotashi chikatetsu doesn’t come all the time, I was worried I would become late, so I reverted to sending okaasan a text message (since you are not supposed to use your phone in the train). I still don’t know if she got it because she never said anything (nor about the other text message I sent earlier).

When I got home (about 7 before 7), I think I alarmed my (already eating) host family because I was a bit out of breath (from walking fast from the eki). In trying to communicate with my host family (which they want), I told them that my American friend had come from Singapore to Nagoya for one day. They asked a few questions, but for the most part, they were not talkative. I’m trying though, so I hope they will not be so concerned. It’s hard to “communicate” when your host parents don’t say much back.

For the rest of the evening, I studied for my mid-term, since Wednesday is the bunpou an yomimono part of the mid-term.