This sign (left) is for a store selling a favorite of mine, unagi (cooked freshwater eel). I love the aesthetics of it. The sign on the left is also for unagi, and I love it because you can see the white lettering is in the shape of an eel. The word in Japanese is うなぎ, if you look closely you can see these letters. I love it.
Some people describe Japan as a paradise, and while it is wonderful, I wanted to share this picture because it shows that things are very much the same everywhere. I've posted a lot of pictures of wonderful things, and it really is lovely here. Still, they still have the problems we have at home here in many cases.
This shrine is less than a five minute walk from my dorm. It is very beautiful.
Recycling is a little mind boggling at first here. You have to separate your trash carefully. There's burnable recyclable trash (cardboard), burnable nonrecyclable trash (garbage, scraps, etc), nonburnable recyclable trash (cans and bottles), nonburnable nonrecyclable trash (plastic wrap, styrofoam), hazardous waste (batteries, etc)... yes, I do need the chart they gave me to figure it all out. I'm getting the hang of it though.
I will make this cat my friend. Right now it runs when it sees me. Most cats seem to be strays or at least very skittish here. I'll get it yet though. I bought some dried fish to make it like me. Not too many animals other than birds run around here, but we did see bats over the stream on our way to the 7-11 last night. They were flying around by the cherry trees, which are blooming, and it was a beautiful sight in the half-darkness. I think what I enjoy most so far about being here is all the little pockets of natural beauty mixed in with the urban, modern buildings and conveniences, like wildflowers around the street signs.
Below are some more pictures of the area around campus. You can check the album for more info. Classes have started here, but we're still learning the ropes. Our actual language class should be good. It's just the English speakers, and the sensei seems keen to tailor the class to our abilities. The other class we've had was difficult... the instructor writes in a lot of kanji and scribbles, and he speaks very quickly. That class we have with all the foreign students, including the extremely intelligent and skillful Chinese and Taiwanese students who speak very good Japanese. We'll catch up, though. We've been spending a lot of time studying, but I am annoyed at the inability to get internet in my dorm. It may well be another month, and I am quite ticked, since that means I cannot use my WordChamp flashcards at home... or play WoW. One step at a time I guess. Enjoy the pics!
It seems that they have changed the teachers! Also, don't feel bad, the Chinese students are actual students at the school and have been living in Japan for several years. That's why their Japanese is good. The Taiwanese have been there a half year and I have been pressing them (but they've been mainly doing it on their own) to use more and more Japanese or create situations to use it because there is just so many people that speak Chinese that they rarely get chances if they hang out with the other exchange students to speak Japanese. Also, their culture has kanji and they studied kanji throughout their lives. Sure, it might be a little different, but it is similar and is easy to them. It doesn't seem fair, but if everyone was actually in Spain learning Spanish, you and the other English speakers would have an easier time with the language because Spanish has many similarities to English. That and many of the words are similar to their English counterparts. It's the same with kanji to the Chinese/Taiwanese. The strokes might be a little different and such, but they only have to learn really the pronunciation versus all the english speakers having to learn how to write, what the readings are, and how to read them when they're with other characters.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't focus on that, but more towards listening and speaking. Listening comes in handy (and you won't feel lost in your classes as much) and speaking is important to convey your feelings (and to make many Japanese friends). But, it usually takes 3 to 4 months for your brain to finally kick in and work it's ass off in the listening department. Good luck.
~SamuraiKurisu
Thanks for that, I appreciate it. And you are right, when I studied French for four years in high school, I had a much easier time navigating in Paris when we went for a week. I'm trying now to spend as much time as possible out fumbling my way through daily interactions at the grocery, etc, just to hear as much as possible. I still feel like an idiot a lot :)
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