well, it's been awhile, hasn't it?
quite awhile. to date, i haven't set foot on canadian soil in over six months. but the internet only just finally arrived and i was never quite comfortable with the idea of keeping an online journal that i had to update from friends' houses or internet cafes. so here we begin.
i flirt with the idea of using this as an eventual novel or chronicle or simply choosing to let this exist as it will, which of all things shall attempt to remain honest but never claim to be objective. i'll even give you some pictures.
i need to do some redecorating. who would want to read anything on this site if i can't even stand to look at it.
i have been traveling a lot. highlights thus far include kyoto, nara, osaka, awajishima, shikoku, sannomiya, kobe, nagoya, himeji and the outskirts. all deserve mention but all will be recalled in anecdotal ways in no time. is this kind of thing an ideal way to practice your writing? do people become authors or journalists out of this? i lack blogsperience.
and well, one story at a time i suppose. tomorrow we start teaching the summer school curriculum which requires us to be working for eight consecutive days, though there is the possibility of a typhoon. i could use a rainy day but don't want to have to forfeit other days off later in the month over a plan that was not of my design. i'm supposed to be climbing mt. fuji in two months. i think i am ready. i need to go running tonight to measure my current fitness level. old people can do it; shouldn't then, i? has my grammar come undone as a result of speaking in tones of part japanese-part truncated english in true 101 form in hopes that someone else's children will pick it up?
most of them seem to like light blue. i mean, given the options.
splendid. japan hosts the best food i have ever eaten. i make a habit of eating as regularly as possible. even the convenience store food is delicious and fresh and occasionally healthly. it's difficult to describe is except as i have already done, countless times. i am going to miss it if/when i depart from this country and anticipate spending a lot of money eating out.
instead of that, i am inspired to take a japanese cooking class. my comprehension is still quite limited and if i am not feeling confident in my ability i will miss a lot of what's being said to me. i also find that many old men speak japanese in a particularly fast manner to me, and i have the most trouble talking with them. some of them know to slow down for me, but the experience is sometimes unnerving for both parties.
today, i was able to understand that i almost accidentally offended someone. i was trying to explain that a book i had borrowed was overdue, but she interpreted my statement as an accusation of her taking too long. i was able to sense the uneasiness and corrected myself. sometimes using a lot of japanese is a difficult thing, because what you say is so often misinterpreted.
here dies the mass email, because god, are they ever a hassle for all of us. comment if you will. communicate.
