Week In Review

I survived the first week of classes! I am excited about the class subjects, but I am definately not thrilled about the times. My schedule is different every single day, due to Japanese reading & writing classes only being offered 3 time a week, while speaking classes are every day. And, although Japanese classes are always in the morning, they can fall anywhere between 9am and noon depending on the day. I have English lecture classes in the afternoon, each class twice a week(with no regularity, of course). This makes things quite nuts (for example, on Wednesdays I have a 9am Japanese class, and then nothing else until 4pm)! I will most likely be carrying around my class schedule for the entire semester---I do not see myself ever fully memorizing it. With that said, I should probably tell you what classes I signed up for. Besides Japanese (they stuck me in level 5 of 6, which I am a little scared of at the moment, but I think it will be good for me), I am taking: a class called Peace Development, with trips to Osaka Peace Museum, Hiroshima, and a local prison, plus five international guest speakers involved in peace-related activism(!). Second, a class on Japanese architecture, with trips to Nara and Kyoto--we get to study old castles, shrines and temples! Finally, my last English class is on globalization in Japan, which has a trip to Kobe's Chinatown, but I have to miss it because it is on the same day as the Hiroshima trip. Notice that I picked ALL the classes with field trips :-) That's definately the way to go! I will let you know how it all unfolds...

I know I have only been here for two weeks, but it sure seems like a lot longer. I think it is because I am really enjoying myself and I make sure to take everything in. I like my morning train commute, even though I am completely sweating by the time I arrive at school at 9am(GROSS!). At home, my favorite part of the day is taking a bath in the ofuro and just relaxing for those few minutes. Spending time with the kids is also fun. They caught many more pet crabs today and brought them back. Now I don't feel so bad about having maybe accidently killed one of them (that story for another time).

In other news, I have a Japanese friend at the university who wants to help me find my old elementary school classmates! I am not sure how successful this will be, but she called the school and is waiting for a call back. Her name is Saya and she is really enthused about the whole thing. I will let you know if anything further develops.

Post cards should be coming your way in the next few weeks. I haven't forgotten!