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Published: August 21st 2004
Hendrix Campus
I took some pictures of Hendrix before I left for the summer. By the time I return, I won't have seen it in person for 8 months. I believe that I was going to study outside with a friend when I took this picture.Despite my impending departure into what may as well be another planet, I am not in the least bit nervous. I have never lived outside of the southern United States. Certainly, I've travele all over the US, but I have never stayed in most of those places for any length of time. One would think, then, that I would be at least slightly nervous about living with a family that I know nothing about in a culture with a million nuances and in which I cannot help but stand out. Perhaps my lack of anxiety stems from the my chosen perspective, that is, to see every bit of this experience as an adventure, and to take even the seemingly negative experiences as part of an unraveling story in which I am the main character. This story is real, however, and thus I am excited; I am just not anxious.
I have studied enough of the spoken language beforehand such that I have the ability to communicate basic needs, replies, and desires, and I understand its structure in such a way that I am not intimidated by the language. Even though my vocabulary is extremely limited, I have managed to develop a "feel" of the Japanese language during my year of self study. The written language is another story entirely. I've managed to learn the meanings of around 300 Japanese characters in my spare (or not-so-spare) time. This isn't very much, and I still haven't learned the ponunciations -- but I plan to continue studying them. For the moment, though, my primary concern is learning as much from Kansai Gaidai's textbook as possible. I found the name of the textbook not long ago and bought a used copy. (It was incredibly hard to find.) I'm going to study it on the plane with the hope of placing out of the first language classes.
My Game Boy shall be my friend on the airplane. I stop in Chicago (Lateville), of all places, and then shoot straight to Osaka at Kansai International Airport. I've done a bit of research and it is apparently beautiful. It is all one building and the longest structure in the world. It is built atop a man-made island, as well. I'll try to get a few pictures when I arrive...17.5 hours after I leave.
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BRunk1
Wow!
Wow!