Testing & Fun

Sunday I woke up late and biked in the rain to the Lutheran church in Tsuchiura. I went because I wanted to talk to the minister about my family and exchange organization, to help me get a handle on some problems I’ve been having. After the service he invited me to his house for lunch, which in addition to being a delicious meal with English conversation, it was interesting to see how American the house was. There were games everywhere and evidence of crafts lay about the kitchen. Glue and tiny bits of paper covered parts of the carpet. And of course, the hallmark of an American house with children, they had an entire shelf full of Disney VHS tapes. The kids played. Not studied, but played on Sunday afternoon. That doesn’t happen in my house. The family has four girls from 3 to 8. They took to me right away. It was really sweet when they made me doughnuts out of a paper-folding book. Not edible but very cute.

After the service, but before lunch, I talked with some of the Japanese members of the church. This one guy was really interested in me and what I thought of Japan. He asked what sports I like, and if I know any martial arts. I said no, but I really want to get into kendo. He suggested aikido, which is a martial art based on disarming your opponent. Where Judo is about balance, and kendo is about killing the other guy with a sword, aikido is focused on putting your opponent in pain quickly. The moves concentrate on twisting wrists, bending arms, and forcing the other person to their knees. It sounds perfect. I’ve always wanted to learn a martial art, and Japan is an ideal place to do it. He told me about a free class near my house that meets every week. It’s a very small class, which works well for me because then the teacher can devote time to getting me to understand, as opposed to a large class where I would be lost trying to follow instructions. I’m going this Friday and I’m psyched about it.

I returned home with many answers and a greater understanding of the Japanese mind. It’s still a very complicated and foreign thing, but I know a bit more. It’s interesting to discover what is a Japanese trait and what is particular about my family. I have a hard time separating those two because I have nothing to compare with, but talking with someone who has lived here for a while helped. The rest of my Sunday was spent at Urala shopping center reading the newspaper and writing letters. A good day overall.

This week is another testing week so I’ve had lots of time off, although I haven’t caught up on sleep. Monday I took English and did fairly well. I was able to read much more Japanese than last time. I can figure out compound words because I know what the individual characters means. Not all the time, but more often. Today I took math, which I completely bombed. I could do the geometry problems but half the test was about something else I could not understand. I did learn the kanji for useful everyday stuff, like sphere, radius, surface area, inscribed circle, you know, stuff I really need. Other than that I didn’t feel like trying because I was really tired. Tomorrow I have Oral Communications which should be the easiest as it’s a listening English test. And I have science. I can’t remember what we’re studying in science. I haven’t had that class in a while. We’ll see how that goes.

This weekend looks to be very busy. Saturday I may be going to Disneyland or Seaworld with some friends. If I change my definition of friend, I’ve made some. I only see them at school, but we get along and I get invited to stuff when they do get together outside of school. But high school here is not designed for socializing. Some kids are better at it than others, but I imagine that plenty of students are just as lonely as I am. High school in Japan is for one purpose, to get into college. So these kids study hard, really hard, for three years. Then in college they relax and get to play. But high school, especially senior year, is hell. That doesn’t work too well for me but I’m getting used to it. I find it fun because I don’t have to study, except Japanese. And after testing usually people relax a bit. So this weekend kids aren’t studying and I’ve been invited to Seaworld. Or Disneyland, they haven’t decided. Sunday is the practice test for the JLPT. So I probably should be studying, but I think that spending time with other kids is more important.