I love GOOOOOOOOLD!

Just finished reading the tale of King Midas.
In Japanese.

I wish all my kanji assignments were that interesting.

Midterm in 7.5 hours. Going to get some sleep before then.
Hopefully I'll be able to wake up.

Awesome-Sensei

Today I learned that one of my teachers is truly awesome.

I'll spare the long story at the moment for the sake of sleep, but here's the short of it:

I was unable to make it back to school early enough to pick up a graded assignment that I need to study for my final, so he dropped it off at my apartment for me.

Nanri-Sensei, You. Are. Awesome!

Middle of Finals

Just 3 more final exams and one speaking test to go, and then I'm done with Finals!

Actually, despite having the most tests of any given college semester, this is probably the least stressful finals period I've ever had.

And just because I feel like uploading a bit more then just text today, here is a shot of what my desk looks like at the moment.

(I clean my desk about every week, yet it still almost always looks like this)

 Also, thanks to the awesomeness of my mother, I was able to enjoy burritos. This may be directly effecting my mood in a positive manner.

(They were quite tasty. Many thanks to Mom for sending me Beans and Tortillas)

Next post will probably be after finals.

Oh yeah, I'm working at an intensive English summer program each day after school for an hour to earn money at the moment. They're paying me like $50 an hour to teach pre-prepared material to students with a good level of comprehension. It's quite fun, and I'm making a hunk of change to boot. I'm pretty happy with it, even if it is in the middle of finals.

Ok, Later all!

~Daniel

Mobility

I lent my bike out to a friend today because his had a flat. On his way to school My bike also got a flat. When he went to get it fixed, they discovered that my rear wheel was cracked. It cost him 4,000 yen to replace the tire (with the current exchange rate, about $48). I only paid 3,000 yen for it in the first place. My friend also remarked that after 5 minutes of riding my bike his back hurt. Based on this, it's possible that my bike is in fact perpetuating my back problems.

I've recently been considering getting a car for the rest of my stay here. (The bike thing is one more mark in favor of it) Apparently you can get a car for about 100,000 Yen (About $1,200 at the current exchange rate). I have my international drives license, and that would be good until I leave. It would make my travel options much more open, and over all save me some money perhaps (depending on mileage..... Or since they use metric here killometerage). I still need to talk to somebody about the process though.

Meanwhile, during finals....

So in the midst of all this heavy rain we've been having here in Oita, I managed to leave my umbrella on a train on Friday. I didn't realize it until after I'd already left Oita station on my way to Saga to visit Mary for the long weekend (That turned into a 6 hour trip because of rain based delays. Normally it takes 3). Today I asked around the station for the lost and found, and inquired about my missing property. Sadly it had not been turned in. And although I shall mourn the loss of my little pink and brown umbrella, I did find it in a gutter in San Francisco, so it's not like I paid any money for it. Hopefully somebody is keeping a little more dry because of my mistake, just as I have been kept dry because of somebody else's.

Finals have also started up. This morning I gave a presentation in Japanese, and took my Level 3 Grammar and Conversation final. Although both could certainly have been better, I'm not disappointed with either (Which is a rare thing when it comes to Japanese tests). Finals (And regular classes) will be going on until August 3rd. After tomorrow I'll be completely done with two of my classes, and preparing for the finals in the other 7.

Amid all that crazy stuff I have been doing some fun stuff too. I've been learning how to dress in traditional Japanese clothing. There's quite a bit of knot work (Which I rather enjoy), enough that when Japanese people want to dress up, they often have to go to a dresser, because young people don't learn how to do it anymore. Fortunately one of Mary's friends is a professional dresser, and teacher of dressing, and I have been able to learn from her.

(This is me in a Yukata and Hakkama. Tied them both myself)

I have also been learning how to do the Women's knots. Well, one of them so far anyway. There are lots. (I learned it first actually.) Sadly I didn't get a picture of the bow in the back, but I did the knot work for the girl in the black and pink Yukata with the red and yellow Obi (Belt)

(Mary's friends getting ready for a fireworks festival)

Anyway, I'm up way past my bed time. Hope everybody is doing well. Until next time, take care.

~Daniel

Flooding

So it seems that the flooding we've been having here in Oita has been broadcast at an international level. I just wanted to put out a quick update to say that other then some delayed trains (some very very delayed trains), I have not really been affected by it. I'm safe and sound. I actually kinda wish I had some pictures to show people, but I'm reluctant to bring out my camera during heavy rain. So much for the rainy season being over I guess.

Life Path

The walk to school has become really interesting lately. The rainy season seems to be over, so lots of little critters are coming out of hiding. Yesterday I was up super early (Actually I just didn't get to sleep, but that's a different story) so I decided to take the first train to school and hang out on campus while I waited for class to start. (I forgot I only had second period though, so I wound up waiting for three and a half hours.) But on the way to school I took a lot of time checking out the wildlife, since I wasn't pressed for time like I usually am. The walkway is lined on both sides by a double rail. Between these rails spiders have set up their webs. These webs are interesting to me because they're all somewhat 3 dimensional. Each web has two main layers, with interconnecting strands. Kind of like an Oreo cookie, except the creamy center is replaced by sticky strands of certain insect doom. Also on the walkway I noticed a walking stick. Not the kind we use to aid us in walking, but the little bug things that look like a twig with legs. I didn't know they had them here in Japan, so I was kinda surprised. I'm glad to see them though. I always found them rather fascinating. Also on the walkway I noticed that a couple ant hills had made entrances in the path. Perhaps not the most ideal place for an entrance considering the amount of foot traffic that walkway gets. I wonder if the colonies clear out the entrance every morning, only to have it stepped on by students later on? The critter I saw that I was most pleased with though was a lizard with a long blue tail. Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved reptiles, so I'm really glad I get to see them at school now. I know that there are snakes around, but I have yet to see one. (I should really learn which ones around here have poison though).

Anyway, no pictures today. In an effort to save my back I've not been carrying it at school, so I don't have pictures of any of these guys. Though my camera card is virtually full with other stuff. I just haven't sat down to upload them yet. I'm heading into finals starting next week though, so I don't know if I'll be updating much for a while. (Finals is spread out over the next 3 weeks, so it could be a while) But who knows, I may use updating the blog as a method of taking a study break.

Until whenever next time happens to be, Take care.