April 8

No post for yesterday, just some highlights. On the way to school, an imparred Japanese man (slightly shorter than me with my boots) got on, saw the curry pan (bread) from okaasan that I was holding, and decided that he would talk to me until his stop. I couldn’t understand him well because he seemed to have a speech impediment, but I think he was explaining his commuter pass to me. All of the other people on the train seemed to be acting like their normal unseeing selves in fear of also being talked to. I honestly tried to listen to the guy, though I had to stare off into space a few times to make sure he didn’t think I was too interested, but I repeated the things he said that I understood (a few eki names) and I think he was just happy not to be ignored. I had to laugh it off (literally) afterward though because it was truly an “only in Japan” experience.

At dinner, everyone made a small mistake; I dropped my hashi on the floor, otousan spilled my macha, and okaasan also dropped something. The interesting part of dinner though was when okaasan got her revenge on otousan. Last night, otousan had apparently asked for the total remaining amount of macha, but okaasan wanted part. Today, she decided to give all of it to him, despite the fact that it didn’t really fit in his cup. She filled it literally to the brim so he would have to spill it when he picked it up. Otousan seemed genuinely amused though, so it’s all good. I felt a bit bad about wasting macha, but really, it’s just water with (delicious) leaves in it, so it’s not too bad...

As for today...

I thought it would be a boring day today, but it turned out pretty good. I did have a lull in productivity for a while that wasn’t helped by the overheated computer room, but other than that...

I woke up a half-hour early today for unknown reasons. I really don’t have anything to do with myself if I work outside my host parents’ schedule, so I went back to sleep. When I did wake up and went down to breakfast, otousan had breakfast with okaasan and I, which is mezurashii because he usually eats later. That, of course, meant I got to be sent to school by both of my parents. (:

Today was the day to get my Lawson’s plate because, on the way to class, Dan gave me the last point I needed. I was ecstatic throughout our class. Before I could get my plate though, we took a practice Level 3 Japanese proficiency test (Level 1 is the hardest). I screwed up, I think, because I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have, but if the real test is that easy, I might as well take it one time (you only need 70% anyway) to put on my resumé. Our second class was with Fukatomi Sensei (I’ve gotten over her ne’s and I really like her as an instructor now) and we discussed holidays in Japan and America.

After class though, it was straight to Lawson’s, where the clerk (surprisingly slowly) counted my points and handed me the plate. I went to put it in my locker, and on the way, a Japanese guy with flippy hair came running after me to give me a handball club flyer. That was pretty awesome because none of the other club representatives (except the one I met at coffee hour) would give me flyers when I walked by, let alone chase me for it. When I got to the locker room, I found the 50en I thought I had lost (my coat pocket emptied itself yesterday), yatta!

Many hours later, I went to represent my school at the study abroad fair. I thought it would be lame because I hadn’t brought any memorabilia, and yappari, the materials I was provided with (a false saving grace) were for UNC. What!? (If you don’t know, that’s our rival school). It was okay though, because the girls who came to hear about my (and Eric’s Canadian) school were more interested in American (continent) customs and sight-seeing. It was fun to just talk (in a mix of Japanese and English) about dialects, food, scary movies, etc. I must hand it to Eric though for being pretty smooth because he succeeded in giving his e-mail address (and almost his phone number) to the girls, as well as inviting them to ‘just hang out some time’ without them running away. Stay away from Canadian guys.... D:

After that fun, I rode the chikatetsu home with Daun and her roommate, who are far better at Japanese than me. They’re really nice and I like hanging with them, but I wish I didn’t seem so inadequate by comparison.

When I got home, there was a little confusion about the donuts I had bought for my host family (I felt bad for eating okaasan’s curry pan and the last donut, though they were offered to me) because my host mom asked me if she had to pay me. It was okay though. She seemed a bit confused too though when I came in just to show her the plate I had gotten.

When I came to help with dinner, I ran out of things to do, so I tried cleaning the dishes, and okaasan explained her scorched pan to me. She had her once-per-year mistake of burning the cabbage into the pot. She thought the damage was irreversible, but I saved her pot for her. (:

At dinner, we talked about the previous host students (I’m about number 10). Okaasan and otousan have hosted a lot of types of people. Okaasan thinks guys are too much trouble to host (especially French ones). She made cheeseless quiche again (: and pulled out a book from a previous student which was of Outer Banks recipes. I had a slightly hard time explaining to otousan what the outer banks were. We talked so much (and I ate so slowly) that I think okaasan excused herself from the table before otousan (and definitely I) were bored of talking. I’m glad though that we’re talking more. (: