I didn't quite finish my Christmas break in my last post. After coming back from Tokyo, I relaxed for almost a full week--meaning I was mostly unproductive. I did go with a Japanese friend to Naraijuku, a famous street about half an hour away. Apparently it looks very similar to how it used to look 400 years ago. The buildings are old and conform to that image of traditional Japan--pretty neat.
That weekend I went skiing in Hakuba, on some of the same slopes that were used in the 1998 winter olympics. I hadn't skied since high school, so at first skiing was quite a challenge. I couldn't find a bunny slope and had to make due with an intermediate slope. Fortunately I had a friend looking out for me and encouraging me. By the end of the first day I was tackling the black diamonds, only struggling when I hit moguls. These slopes were very heavy on the moguls--it was difficult to avoid them altogether if you wanted to make a run of several slopes at once.
That night we went out for dinner and then to a bar. We were on our last drink of the night when my friend thought up a way to approach other people--with an accent challenge, in which we competed in trying to imitate accents. In this bar, incidentally, probably 85% of the customers were Australian. It was a fun challenge which I lost, but at the second table we got caught up in the party atmosphere and ended up staying very late, talking to everyone in the bar indiscriminately. It was a fun experience, but not one I'd like to have regularly.
The next day we were both suffering from sleep deprivation and very sore from the previous day's skiing. After lunch we started a long run, but after the first slope I said, "My knees won't bend anymore." We finished the run and then went home. I was sore for a solid week. Overall, skiing was an okay experience. It was worthwhile, but it's not something I'm looking forward to doing again. In high school I switched to snowboarding because I felt that skiing wasn't exciting enough. Now I feel that skiing is a little too exciting. I guess I'm getting old.
In February one of my co-workers broke some bones while snowboarding and couldn't work at all for two weeks. He is only back to his normal schedule as of this week, and I had to take some of his classes while he was out, so I was busier than usual. As a result, I wasn't able to attend Japanese class for 5 weeks. I could have gone last week, but it's the end of the school year so I'm not sure that the class is even meeting. My Japanese has suffered a bit as a result, but I still get lots of practice at church. In related news, I finished learning the 2042 kanji (Chinese characters) for general use. At least, as they were before 2010. They've since added about 100 more, so I have to learn those, but for now I'm taking a break.
On Friday I took tests for a Japanese driving license. The written test was really easy. It had 10 questions with pretty clear pictures and the answers were true or false. The actual English on the test was pretty confusing sometimes, but it wasn't really necessary to understand the question. The driving test, on the other hand, was really difficult. You have to drive a course that includes a very narrow s-curve and crank as well as visual obstructions and pedestrian walkways. I failed, primarily because I ran over the curb (just a little bit!) as I was coming out of the s-curve. I also didn't slow down at an intersection with some high bushes, and didn't stay on the left side of the road when I was turning left (to prevent bicycles from trying to pass me). Yesterday I took the test again and passed! So now I have a Japanese driver's license.
I needed to get this licence because my international license expires in September. I've decided to stay until next March, but my position will change. Starting in April, I will be working in public elementary and junior high schools. I'm excited about this for several reasons. First, I'll have normal working hours--from 8:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. I hope this means I'll have a little more opportunity for social interaction. Furthermore, I'll be interacting with Japanese people in a work environment on a daily basis, at least partly in Japanese. This should improve my Japanese skills and teach me more about Japanese culture. It should also help prepare me for working in a Japanese company. Because work is so important in Japanese culture, there are a lot of social events at work, and I hope to take part in these.
There's no work next week because it's the end of the school year, but I don't know what I will do yet.
That weekend I went skiing in Hakuba, on some of the same slopes that were used in the 1998 winter olympics. I hadn't skied since high school, so at first skiing was quite a challenge. I couldn't find a bunny slope and had to make due with an intermediate slope. Fortunately I had a friend looking out for me and encouraging me. By the end of the first day I was tackling the black diamonds, only struggling when I hit moguls. These slopes were very heavy on the moguls--it was difficult to avoid them altogether if you wanted to make a run of several slopes at once.
That night we went out for dinner and then to a bar. We were on our last drink of the night when my friend thought up a way to approach other people--with an accent challenge, in which we competed in trying to imitate accents. In this bar, incidentally, probably 85% of the customers were Australian. It was a fun challenge which I lost, but at the second table we got caught up in the party atmosphere and ended up staying very late, talking to everyone in the bar indiscriminately. It was a fun experience, but not one I'd like to have regularly.
The next day we were both suffering from sleep deprivation and very sore from the previous day's skiing. After lunch we started a long run, but after the first slope I said, "My knees won't bend anymore." We finished the run and then went home. I was sore for a solid week. Overall, skiing was an okay experience. It was worthwhile, but it's not something I'm looking forward to doing again. In high school I switched to snowboarding because I felt that skiing wasn't exciting enough. Now I feel that skiing is a little too exciting. I guess I'm getting old.
In February one of my co-workers broke some bones while snowboarding and couldn't work at all for two weeks. He is only back to his normal schedule as of this week, and I had to take some of his classes while he was out, so I was busier than usual. As a result, I wasn't able to attend Japanese class for 5 weeks. I could have gone last week, but it's the end of the school year so I'm not sure that the class is even meeting. My Japanese has suffered a bit as a result, but I still get lots of practice at church. In related news, I finished learning the 2042 kanji (Chinese characters) for general use. At least, as they were before 2010. They've since added about 100 more, so I have to learn those, but for now I'm taking a break.
On Friday I took tests for a Japanese driving license. The written test was really easy. It had 10 questions with pretty clear pictures and the answers were true or false. The actual English on the test was pretty confusing sometimes, but it wasn't really necessary to understand the question. The driving test, on the other hand, was really difficult. You have to drive a course that includes a very narrow s-curve and crank as well as visual obstructions and pedestrian walkways. I failed, primarily because I ran over the curb (just a little bit!) as I was coming out of the s-curve. I also didn't slow down at an intersection with some high bushes, and didn't stay on the left side of the road when I was turning left (to prevent bicycles from trying to pass me). Yesterday I took the test again and passed! So now I have a Japanese driver's license.
I needed to get this licence because my international license expires in September. I've decided to stay until next March, but my position will change. Starting in April, I will be working in public elementary and junior high schools. I'm excited about this for several reasons. First, I'll have normal working hours--from 8:30 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. I hope this means I'll have a little more opportunity for social interaction. Furthermore, I'll be interacting with Japanese people in a work environment on a daily basis, at least partly in Japanese. This should improve my Japanese skills and teach me more about Japanese culture. It should also help prepare me for working in a Japanese company. Because work is so important in Japanese culture, there are a lot of social events at work, and I hope to take part in these.
There's no work next week because it's the end of the school year, but I don't know what I will do yet.
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