First Day of Classes!

Yes, my semester starts on a Friday. This means that all my classes will be fun from now on right?

Anyway, the above picture is the School's Path of Flowers that extends right from the Main Gate. I took this in the morning, before first period, while the picture I will post at the end of this article was taken around six pm, as I was heading home.

Fridays are my busiest days, with four periods in a row of classes. I was so excited during my first two, which were Japanese language. One half of my brain was saying "focus on the lesson and introductions" while the other half was having a parade with thoughts like "OMGS OMGS OMGS" "I'm actually in a Japanese class in Japan!!!!!" I was able to understand the lessons, thankfully.

Then came lunch period. You see, every single student has the same lunch period at this school since classes are put into blocks of first through fifth period with semi-long breaks in-between, the longest of which is a 50-minute lunch break between second and third period. There are two cafeterias, smaller than the one we have at my home university (which is not huge), a subway, a tiny restaurant in a corner, and a convenience store. I was with a group of friends and we ended up trying each of the places, waiting in long lines at the convenience store for food, by-passing the packed global lounge, and finally sitting down in the few available seats in a sitting room behind the global lounge...with about twenty minutes before class started. We were all shocked (possibly the first culture-shock moment for each of us). I'm not sure what I will be doing from now on. Either grabbing food on my way to school for lunch later or eating by myself (snagging a single island of a chair in the midst of the crowded eateries). On the up-side, I had some really good sushi from the convenience store.

After that adventure, I went to Japanese Art class which turned out to be awesome. I really like the professor. He is enthusiastic, intelligent, direct, and reminds me a bit of an actor...but I can't put my finger on it. I also feel like this class will help me review what I learned in Japanese History along with deepening certain parts and, of course, expanding my knowledge of Art. A class I was very excited about turned out to be not what I expected nor what I needed: Geography of Japan. This semester is not focusing on the environmental aspects of geography but rather the human aspects and urban studies. I guess this was a good things because A. I did not really care for the teacher's style (going from a fast-paced, fun professor to one that is incredibly slow and is more like talking about his ideas rather than actually teaching was almost painful) and B. this means I can switch to another course I almost chose - Manga: a Cultural History. Thankfully, Geography and Manga were both options for me to get an Honors credit back home, so it will all work out. AND the Manga course teacher is the same as the Art course. I am not sure about having the same teacher for two periods in a row, but I feel this will work best.

This first day was quite tiring but also extremely interesting. I bought two of my Japanese course textbooks (since I knew what they were), then went with a friend on a spontaneous adventure to the Go Club (or I-go club in Japanese). They were really relaxed and were fine with just playing without any sign-ups or commitment. I told him I knew the rules but had only played about three or four times...he's been playing for three years. I felt like I held my own the first round though (still lost by a huge margin). The second round, he gave me a handicap and showed me a bunch of methods and points I did not know. He still won, which made it even cooler - even with giving me a handicap and helping me choose good spots, he still won (but by a smaller margin this time). As a cultural note, it was interesting how they counted score once the game was finished. He pushed and rearranged here and there so the scattered pieces made neat squares and then the intersections within those squares were counted. On a side note, since he knows his name is difficult, he told us his nickname is Potato. All I could think of was the owl named Potato from the owl cafe. It was a lot of fun!

Then I rushed home and met my host dad's older sister, who is passing through to go cherry-blossom viewing in Kobe. She is about her brother's height, and is very sweet with sophisticated style. Apparently she lived in Germany for a while (though cannot speak German). She also brought us delicious cake, so I liked her. I know this blog post is late, but I've been looking through course materials and writing up a Master Syllabus. I'll probably be getting busier so may not post everyday (though this weekend should be fun!).

• Betsubara: the second stomach people have with reserved room for the foods they like, no matter how full their actual stomach is (learned this from my host parents at dinner tonight - thought it was funny, neat, and nifty!)