Advertisement
Published: August 12th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Warming Up
WE made signs with our names on them for when our host families arrived. So we got to sit in nervous anticipation in this lounge for a while. Awesome! Alright well classes have officially begun for us. Its kind of strange though, because its just a language class - so we just have class from 9:30-12 monday through friday, and then the rest of the day is free, and so far not too much homework. It doesn't really feel like classes have actually begun.
Right now we're just doing some review, so its a little slow, but I have to do a few presentations, so that should help pick up the pace a bit. We're basically making a little show and tell speech, so I think I'm going to do that on fencing, so I can make SOME use of all that equipment I brought (basically everything except knickers and a weapon)...
We're all falling into a bit of a routine here. Part of that routine is making/buying lunch every day, which has become a very foreign concept for me in the past year and a half or so. I walked into the cafeteria kitchen and asked if I could get some lunch, but they just yelled something in Japanese. I guess it's not quite the same as Catering (Malie if you could just save me some lunch
My Host Family!
Fun fact: I cannot understand a SINGLE word those children say in Japanese. for when I get back......)
I'm excited because, on Friday, i bought two books in Japanese and am going to try to read them. So far I think I read four lines in about twenty minutes, but one sentence I understood on the first try! Books in Japan are surprisingly inexpensive. I got a book of five short stories in paperback for about three and a half bucks. Beats going to Canada for books!
The real news though is that I finally met my host family on Friday. The people at the school set up a little party for us in the international lounge, where everyone met their host families together. We're not actually going to be living with them, but they are around to help us get used to life in Tsuru and get out and do some activities. Mine already invited me to a BBQ at their house and to go bowling!
We were all pretty nervous before meeting them. Our host families were all very nice and complemented all of us on our Japanese, which was a huge relief. My host family is a young couple (it seems), with two small children. The kids
The Par-tay
This is everyone right before we played an icebreaker game. There were quite a few people, since only one or two families don't have kids. are three and five, and I cannot understand a word they say. Mostly they were fidgeting and playing with each other but every once in a while they would say something to me and I would nod and smile, and look a little confused. At one point I had to confess to the parents that I couldn't understand them at all - a little embarrassing! Another fun thing was I actually went the whole night without learning my host families names. And I wasn't about to ask! Luckily, before they left they'd asked if they had ever told me their names, and then wrote them down for me. lucky!
There were some fun things at the party - we all introduced ourselves (not fun for us... ), and then there was an icebreaker game. Five people from each table were on a team, and each team had to put one foot on a piece of newspaper and we all had to hold each other up. It gets interesting when one of your teammate's feet takes up most of the paper and another is holding small child.
For me, the real
Icbreaker Game
Can you see the little kid the guy on the right is holding? Yeah. He was MVP. This is us mid-struggle highlight though was the performance! Toby, who is from UC Davis, plays jazz trumpet, and Crystal, one of the tutors plays clarinet. One of the directors of the study abroad program asked us to perform, so we put a couple of songs together and played in front of everyone - I posted a video of it. The first tune is "Sakura", which everyone should recognize. Toby came up with the arrangement. The second one is little Blues jam in E - the bass line is mine 😊.
Afterwards we had a little get-together at our apartments, and some kids from Tsuru U who had studied abroad in CA came along, so we made some new friends. Saturday was spent studying and cooking - I made pineapple curry fried rice, with yellow japanese curry. It was pretty interesting!
So that brings us to Sunday. So far I have talked on the phone and written this blog. The wonders of the orient never cease! There are yet family members to be called, essays to be written, and I'm sure things to explore in this town (which almost makes Poughkeepsie look like a bustling metropolis....).
I'm starting to get a
New Friends!
These three had all studied abroad in California. One in Berkeley, and two at UCLA LITTLE homesick, though. I miss fencing, having a real kitchen, and seeing everyone! Speaking Japanese all the time is starting to give me a bit of a headache, but learning so much from just talking to people is a lot of fun. Between classes and meeting new people, I'm muddling through living in Japan somehow...
make sure to let me know what you think of the music!!!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.159s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 6; qc: 25; dbt: 0.1299s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Mum
non-member comment
Sounds great - but I really think it could have used some cow bell!You rock, Dave! Love, Mum