Greetings all, I'm not sure how I managed not to update for so long, but this week has gone by rather quickly. But not much has happened.
On Monday, I had my second calligraphy class, and we were given grades for the work that we had done the previous week (we had to hand in what we thought was our single best attempt, then bin the rest). I got a 70. For some reason, this encouraged everyone in the class to try really hard, and so most people spent over an hour trying to perfect the character 月 (moon) which is actually very difficult, and then three others after that. Our teacher hasn't actually given us any direction as yet, except for when he showed us how to grind the ink, so I'm not sure if he's planning to or whether we just have to figure it out for ourselves, but calligraphy is harder than it looks.
White yogurt flavoured juice. Looks and sounds disgusting, but it's actually cute and tasty. And it has nothing to do with calligraphy.
On Tuesday I went for a random wander and as always ended up on a main road with lots of giant buildings after 10 minutes or so, because that's just what happens, no matter how isolated the area. So I went into the department store that I'd come out in front of, and just browsed every floor (there were 6 I think) and eventually bought a new pair of very cute slippers for £2, to replace the 50p pair that I bought that weren't too comfy. My new slippers have owls on them :) I also found small blocks of cheese in the supermarket level on the ground floor, which pleased me.
Nearby fields, with, of course, the mountains in the background.
Generic Japanese high school.
Uzumasa Driving School, which is two minutes away from I-House
I-House 1. Yes, this is where I live, at last! Well, half of it has been cut off, it's quite a big building. My room is the first window from the left on the top floor there (the open one), but there are actually 3 more windows before it. I just wanted to get the mountains in too.
On Wednesday I got soaked horribly in the very heavy rain as I cycled to uni. I could have attempted to hold up an umbrella while I was cycling, but I think that would have just put me in danger, as I needed both brakes for the slippery road, and it also would have just slowed me down. And I don't think anything could have saved me from the way it was raining. So I was quite miserable for the first couple of hours, my jeans just wouldn't dry and I was all shivery and wet, but then I met up with Gon for a couple of hours and that cheered me up a bit. I then went out to lunch with my speaking class at a Japanese restaurant (sensei took us out instead of actually going to class) and luckily by 16.30 the rain had stopped and so I could get home nice and dry and go straight into a hot bath :)
A rainbow, as seen from my bedroom window
On Thursday I decided that it was a nice day, and so I went downtown because I hadn't been in a week. There's so much to explore, it's an ongoing project.
Mm, zaibatsu.
Kawaramachi-dori
Close-up of Hankyu Dept. Store
This one's for Dave *hint hint*
(Only joking!)
On Friday I went for another walk after class, just in the area surrounding I-House. I headed north, in the hope that i wouldn't encounter a busy road for once, and I actually managed not to! The area around here is so pretty, and unlike anything I have ever seen. In the evening, Mat and I volunteered to participate in the Exchange Fair, which basically meant that we sat at a table and answered questions about Edinburgh University in broken Japanese for a few hours. We did, however, steal and set up a computer so that we could show Edinburgh on the webcam, reducing the need for much attempted adjectival use.
A house with an amazing roof.
I'll admit I don't know exactly what the purpose of these gates are, but I'm going to find out.
These pretty trees are everywhere, usually at the entrances to people's homes.
Chilli is alive and well, growing in the wild next to a river. I have one of these growing in my room at home, except this one here is maybe a bit more alive.
On Monday, I had my second calligraphy class, and we were given grades for the work that we had done the previous week (we had to hand in what we thought was our single best attempt, then bin the rest). I got a 70. For some reason, this encouraged everyone in the class to try really hard, and so most people spent over an hour trying to perfect the character 月 (moon) which is actually very difficult, and then three others after that. Our teacher hasn't actually given us any direction as yet, except for when he showed us how to grind the ink, so I'm not sure if he's planning to or whether we just have to figure it out for ourselves, but calligraphy is harder than it looks.
White yogurt flavoured juice. Looks and sounds disgusting, but it's actually cute and tasty. And it has nothing to do with calligraphy.
On Tuesday I went for a random wander and as always ended up on a main road with lots of giant buildings after 10 minutes or so, because that's just what happens, no matter how isolated the area. So I went into the department store that I'd come out in front of, and just browsed every floor (there were 6 I think) and eventually bought a new pair of very cute slippers for £2, to replace the 50p pair that I bought that weren't too comfy. My new slippers have owls on them :) I also found small blocks of cheese in the supermarket level on the ground floor, which pleased me.
Nearby fields, with, of course, the mountains in the background.
Generic Japanese high school.
Uzumasa Driving School, which is two minutes away from I-House
I-House 1. Yes, this is where I live, at last! Well, half of it has been cut off, it's quite a big building. My room is the first window from the left on the top floor there (the open one), but there are actually 3 more windows before it. I just wanted to get the mountains in too.
On Wednesday I got soaked horribly in the very heavy rain as I cycled to uni. I could have attempted to hold up an umbrella while I was cycling, but I think that would have just put me in danger, as I needed both brakes for the slippery road, and it also would have just slowed me down. And I don't think anything could have saved me from the way it was raining. So I was quite miserable for the first couple of hours, my jeans just wouldn't dry and I was all shivery and wet, but then I met up with Gon for a couple of hours and that cheered me up a bit. I then went out to lunch with my speaking class at a Japanese restaurant (sensei took us out instead of actually going to class) and luckily by 16.30 the rain had stopped and so I could get home nice and dry and go straight into a hot bath :)
A rainbow, as seen from my bedroom window
On Thursday I decided that it was a nice day, and so I went downtown because I hadn't been in a week. There's so much to explore, it's an ongoing project.
Mm, zaibatsu.
Kawaramachi-dori
Close-up of Hankyu Dept. Store
This one's for Dave *hint hint*
(Only joking!)
On Friday I went for another walk after class, just in the area surrounding I-House. I headed north, in the hope that i wouldn't encounter a busy road for once, and I actually managed not to! The area around here is so pretty, and unlike anything I have ever seen. In the evening, Mat and I volunteered to participate in the Exchange Fair, which basically meant that we sat at a table and answered questions about Edinburgh University in broken Japanese for a few hours. We did, however, steal and set up a computer so that we could show Edinburgh on the webcam, reducing the need for much attempted adjectival use.
A house with an amazing roof.
I'll admit I don't know exactly what the purpose of these gates are, but I'm going to find out.
These pretty trees are everywhere, usually at the entrances to people's homes.
Chilli is alive and well, growing in the wild next to a river. I have one of these growing in my room at home, except this one here is maybe a bit more alive.
posted by Lisa @ 9:26 am
2 Comments:
At 14 October 2006 at 11:11,
Anonymous said…
Not so....!! (home)chilli is very alive, but maybe not so well....well as good looking as that one I must admit, but looks aren`t everything! x (mater)
At 15 October 2006 at 16:31,
Anonymous said…
Always with the owls...
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