Classes and Miscellaneous

Hey y'all
Hope everything is going well wherever you are. Not a whole lot has happened this week so far minus the beginning of classes. I figured I'd give you a rundown of how those are going right now. First, I have Spoken Japanese. I ended up placing into a spot a little lower than I expected, mainly because I asked to "consolidate my skills in a lower course" on the placement test. As a result, my class has been pretty easy so far, but it might be a little too easy. I'm probably going to talk to my Sensei to decipher whether I should be in the level above me or not. The same goes for my Reading and Writing Japanese class, although I'll probably stay where I am in that class because I think I should make sure I have all the basics covered. Moreover, I would be able to challenge myself in one Japanese class while I could review in the other. I know that I could take both courses at the lower level and enjoy a semester of review to get ready for Tufts next year, but the overachiever inside of me is slightly eating away at my innards. I think in the end, I'll leave the decision up to my Sensei. Either way though, the Japanese classes have been really fun, and it feels really good being one of the more knowledgable students in the room. Oh, and I forgot to put this up but here is a picture of my room. I don't think I'll ever get used to sleeping on the floor. I'm a notorious cover destroyer (phrase?), so every morning I wake up with a blanket on my left, a blanket on my right, my sheet at the end of the bed, and my pillow somewhere else altogether. No worries though, it keeps me honest by making my bed everyday (I know you're loving that Mom and Dad).

As for my lecture classes, they have also been quite enjoyable. The cinema class has a ton of great movies lined up for the semester, and I actually just saw Kurosawa's Stray Dog earlier today and it was terrific. Par for the course for Kurosawa though. Only downer for that class is that the professor is a little out there, and I haven't heard fantastic things about him. That being said, with my favorite Japanese movie of all time (Ikiru) coming up next week, I look forward to having lots of insightful discussions since I know a lot about it. My sexuality class is wicked awesome. We are basically going to go through the semester examining how social practice in Japan creates sexuality and identities, which sounds amazing. Not only that, but the professor seems very invested in the material. Finally, after introducing myself and telling him that I took a sexuality course last semester, he asked me to discuss it with him sometime in our spare time, sweet.

Besides that, not much else is going on right now. I hit the gym to polish the guns (vomit) and what not. I had sushi for the first time here too! It was at this restaraunt where the sushi goes around all the tables on a conveyer belt, and you pick up the type you want. It's pretty insane. Sorry, but I forgot my camera so I don't have a picture for you, next time I go I'll definitely get one though. I also had another rendevous with my speaking partner Ayuna today! I had emailed her a week ago and she hadnt responded so I figured she was either busy at home or done with the whole speaking partner thing, and then today as I'm walking back to the student lounge she ran up and grabbed me to say hello. Turns out her mother is in town, and she really wanted to introduce me to her. Her mom was really nice, and since she couldnt speak English I was able to practice my Japanese a lot. I think the three of us will be getting dinner within the next week so that'll be fun. I would've got a photo, but I've been pretty bad at remembering my camera, especially because now I have a cell phone, I have no room for my camera >_<

This weekend should be fun though. I think tomorrow night I will be either going to my friend's homestay for a little bit (we might go to a whale restaurant, and while I don't condone killing whales, how many opportunities will I have to try it?) and do some Karaoke, but those plans aren't concrete yet. Saturday will be spent in Osaka, checking out the city during the day and what the nightlife is all about in the evening so be sure to check back on Sunday morning for a much more exciting post. To make up for this somewhat bland episode, enjoy a picture of my puppy Evy! Talk to you all soon!