The last days...

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As of tomorrow, there are only four more days of school left until I leave for home. And, sad as I am to be leaving Japan, I will be so very, very, happy to be on my house with my oven again. Ecstatically happy to be reunited with my oven again. Sorry everyone. >_<
Also, as a result of of the short time span I have left here, Naganuma-sensei has been planning my days like mad to include various club activities and electives. She's so considerate, especially since she has a lot of grading to do being the end of the semester! Arigatuou gozaimashita!!!! *^_^*

Today I was able to participate in kendo club, which is taught by Naganuma-sensei. =D It was really fun, but also super tiring. Swinging a bamboo blade up and down for an hour is a sweaty workout. >_< And I was moving pretty slowly too! Sensei said that they usually move at least twoce as fast, of course, everyone has been doing it far longer than one day. Footwork was also super tricky. They don't step or glide across the floor. Instead they jump a lot. Or perhaps a better word would be hopping and galloping, as the right leg is always ahead of the left. ALWAYS. I'm definately not coordinated enough to do this. >_< However, if you ever want to win (practically, not legally in an actual kendo match), the footwork makes it very easy to trip someone. ^_~
The kendo club's senpai was super weird though. After saying hello to me, he immediately warned me that he was hentai, or a little perverted. >_< Then, of course he wanted to take a picture with me. I obliged, all the while thinking to myself, "Oh God, oh God, get the perv away from me!" However, I am unsure how perverted one actually is when one openly says that they are "hentai." I guess it's like admitting to watching movies like American Pie, or reading novels which include slightly graphic scenes? (Think the Kushiel Quartet, or even Memoirs of a Geisha.) But that's just a guess. Still, it was somewhat unnerving to have him be the one to help me out with things. >_< (Naganuma-sensei helped out equally of course, they are the two seniors I guess).

I'm also afraid to say that I've been in a bit of a sarcastic mood today, although I didn't actually say anything sarcastic, just thought it. For example, our classes English teacher, Toyosawa-sensei, happens to have a bit of a case of nationalistic pride. >_< So, all during English class today, he was going on about Hokkaido is famous for this or that, etcetera. For example;
"Do you have nice skiing areas in Canada?"
"Yes, the Rocky Mountains are very popular to go skiing."
"Ah, but Australian skiiers no longer travel to Canada to train. They now come to Hokkaido because of our good facilities."
"Oh, is that so? Many people still love to skii in Rockies, whether they are athlestes or tourists. They're very picturesque."
"But the Australians still come to Hokkaido to ski."
Meanwhile, I just thought "Whether or not Japan has better skiing facilities than Canada, it's probably a shorter flight from Australia to Japan and thusly a bit cheaper, "and, "I care about skking facilities why?" >_>

Or;
"Did you know Dr. Nakamatsu created the floppy disk." Toyosawa-sensei says this very proudly and has a large, kind of stupid grin on his face, plus my already sarcastic mood only increased after the better skiing facilities comment.
"No, I didn't"
"It is fact."
"Okaaaay. That's very interesting." I did not say that the floppy disk is dead.

I suppose I have a bit of nationalistic pride too. >_> Or perhaps I was just in a bad mood, because I usually find Toyosaawa-sensei much more likeable than I did today. >_<

During long homeroom, aka, a free period, our class played dodgeball. It is SO different here than in Canada. I didn't have a clue what we were doing when I saw one volleyball being tossed around, and thought I misheard Mioka. However, we did indeed play dodgeball. In Japan, the game only uses one ball compared to the many which are flung about in Canada. The group is divided into two teams, and each splits into a larger and smaller group. The smaller group surrounds the opposite team's larger group and throws the one ball to other team members, and tries to hit the people in the middle (opposite team). If someone in the middle catches the ball, it is thrown to one of their team members which are surrounding the previous team's larger group of people. In case you haven't gathered it already, the people in the middle are dodging, and the people on the outside are trying to hit the people in the middle. If you're hit by the ball, you move to the outside and try to hit the other team. The team with the most people left in the middle wins.
Holy, the guys are just a tad bit aggressive! Most of them are willing to whip the ball at you, and will aim for your head (mind you, this makes it very easy to dodge). In other words, dodge, or be in a lot of pain. A volleyball hurts when whipped at you face! >_< Thank goodness I have some innate fear of being hit by flying objects, and my reflexes are proof of this. Actually, most of the time I only sidestepped and pivoted in order not to be hit, compared to the rest of my team which tended to run around the area clustered together. Personally, being in the open as I was makes it a lot easier to dodge the ball, rather than being cloistered in a small group. Of course, some of my team mates thought I was being to easy a target. 😉

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