Wednesdays and Night Lights

Wednesday is the middle of the week and so it is apparently not coincidence that we've been having Chinese-style food for dinners on Wednesdays (in Japanese "China" is basically "middle/center country")
Also in Japanese Wednesday is "water day" and for the past two Wednesdays it has been cloudy and rainy. Hmmmmmm

Yesterday, after a long day of classes, homework, studying, and an intense leg day, I went on a short night hike with a group of about five other people to see the night view of the city. It was gorgeous! It was a little spooky walking to the view spot, but we were a good-sized group with flashlights in a small park in the middle of a city so it was safe. But once we got to both the views, it was completely worth it. I also got to play with my camera settings and got some decent pictures! Trying to minimize shake without a tripod was interesting. And, in this case especially, the in-person view and atmosphere was just so much more amazing than any picture I could have taken. It reminded me of Vegas a bit, with city lights extended to the horizon, backed by mountain ridges. Of course there were many differences. For instance, sometimes, we could see a line of lights moving through the city - the Hankyuu train line. It was super cool! On a note of serendipity, a Japanese dance-club student joined us on our hike. She was walking up to us and I was shocked - she was wearing a UNR shirt and I got so excited! Apparently, her boyfriend is in an exchange program there. She was super bubbly and peppy and it's so nice that we met the day after I was worrying about not talking to Japanese students enough.

There was one incident of excitement as we were walking along the road going back to school. Half of us saw one of the wild boars that live in the forest. They alerted us and we all immediately huddled together and turned on flashlights - apparently the boar fled pretty quickly (especially since I didn't see it). Some of us were excited while some of us were more slightly shaken up only because night time reduces visibility and helps increase fear and nervosity, right? Add in the factor of a creature that we are not familiar with and it led us to be shaken up. However, that was the only negative part of the night. What was nice was whenever someone started to say something scary (purposefully or not), they would stop as soon as someone mentioned that this was for fun or that they weren't comfortable with that conversation. In the past, people I hung out with would continue anyway - I really appreciated everyone's cooperation.

Today was another day of academia but also some fun things! It seems Wednesdays will be tough in class because my first class of the day has to do with reading (which, today, meant the teacher trying for some time to get me to understand tone and intonation and me apparently not executing it correctly - but I'll keep trying) and then Kanji. Oh my goodness. I got a 100% on my first test and feel really confident about this week's quiz and homework - it's just when we have to read the new example sentences that I feel lost. I know it shouldn't be this frustrating but there are two students who try to answer my questions for me (in the example sentences with blanks that we fill in - maybe I'm just not fast enough for them?) or, when I ask the teacher something, they try to answer me instead. Gah. But I really love the teacher - he is so animated and nice. Also, he sometimes uses charades and noises when explaining definitions and it just makes class fun.

Then, of course, homework and study but I did it in the K-ON (light-music) club room. This led to many fun happenings. For one, I spent about an hour or hour and a half playing electric guitar and getting tips! Secondly, I got to practice Japanese with fellow students by conversing with them and listening to them. I'm feeling a similar atmosphere with this club as with Manga club (which is interesting, because the rooms are right next to each other). They are both very open and willing to converse; but, they also don't mind if you come in to study and eat.

Had spring rolls, tofu salad, short-necked clams, rice, and take-no-ko soup for dinner and a dessert of tea with traditional Japanese sweets kakki.Super delicious! And, as I'm realizing with many foods, I prefer the Japanese-style sweet-and-sour sauce for the spring rolls.

In other news, I have decided to give a speech on the history of Manga for ryuugakusei Week (study abroad student week) and I have booked a hostel room with some friends for a weekend trip to Tokyo in May!! So excited!


Good night y'all!