Mental Overload
There has been a lot on my mind lately, 90% of which is Japan related. Theoretically, that means I should have lots to write about, but there have been so many thoughts that it's hard to retain any for the long term after they materialize. I'll just try to put out what's on my mind right now.
First of all, I HAD TO MAKE 2 PHONE CALLS IN JAPANESE TODAY. Holy banana, that was an interesting process. Basically, in class we had been learning simple etiquette and processes for calling businesses as well as the operator. Then, around 2 PM, our teacher, Kondo-sensee, led us downstairs to the office. At first I was exciting, because I thought we were going on some fun/crazy mini excursion, but in fact we were directed to the phones, and assigned a business whose number we had to look up. That was easy enough, as operators always say the same thing, so I was able to simply recreate the conversation we practiced in class, verbatim.
Then, after verifying that we had acquired the correct numbers, we called our assigned businesses to ask for their hours and days of operation, and that's where things got interesting. I decided to be the brave guinea pig and make my call first, hoping that the person on the other end would stick relatively close to the words I had been taught to expect. I asked (roughly translated) "What time do you open and what time to you close?" and the response I got was "Juu ji" (10 o clock). Hear I had to pause, because my mind was reeling and I didn't even fully grasp the what had just been said to me. It certainly was nowhere near the length of the expected response "[insert time here] kara [insert time here] made desu" (from this time to that time, basically). I asked "mo ichido" (once more) and the response was again "Juu ji" and at this point I understood what she said, but was confused as to whether that was the opening time, closing time, or both. After a slight pause, the unexpected occured. "10" the woman said in clear English. Thrown off guard but not deterred, I asked in Japanese what time they closed, and again my response was in English: "5." At this point I realized just how absurd the conversation was. Barely able to contain myself, I asked in Japanese "What day(s) (there seems to be no distinction between singular and plural in Japanese) are you closed?" and I recieved a very English "Monday" response. Having lost self-control at this point, I said "Thank you" in English, hung up, and started laughing hysterically. This elicited strange looks from my classmates, partially because of the laughter but mostly because I was supposed to say "doomo arigatoo gozaimashita" not "thank you." A quick explanation, though, and the everyone broke down laughing, which made it easier for the rest of the students to make their calls. An unsuccessful first real-life Japanese conversation, but a very memorable one nonetheless.
Other thoughts:
I am eating much healthier and in much smaller quanitities than ever before in my life, and the results are manifesting themselves quickly, as the perfect-fitting new jeans and belts that I bought mere days before the trip are already noticeably looser than before. With regards to healthy eating, that is simply the way things are done here, but in Nihon healthy food is 1000 times tastier than it is in America. A lifelong hater of cooked vegetables, every single dish I have had here has had cooked vegetables in it, all prepared in a healthy, non-fried manner, and all of which are extremely tasty for some reason. This has caused me to increasingly look forward to lunch everyday, since one of the meals at the coffee shop on campus is simply called (roughly) "full meal" and it includes rice as well as a soup, main, and small side dishes of the chef's choice. This means I get something new and different everyday, and it is always good. The variety is extremely refreshing. I really haven't had anything that I truly dislike, save for one mini-loaf of bread I bought at a convenience store which was actually a pastry in disguise, filled in the middle with...something. And everyone knows that food worthy of the title "....something" is not food worthy of consumption.
Yesterday I bought a bike from the International Center in Okazaki for ¥1500, or about $13. This was largely magical, as I went there with my non-english speaking friend Tiago-san from Brazil, expecting to rent a bike for the around the regular local price of $30 a month. This means that for lint from my belly button I get drastically increased commute times as well as a great way to further explore the expansive Okazaki and its surroundings. The dirt cheap price isn't entirely un-warranted though, as each time I get on the bike my life is arguably on the line, and when I squeeze the breaks Satan cries aloud for mercy.
It is late now, and physical exhaustion has caught up with my perpetual mental exhaustion, meaning it is time to sleep (nemas = to sleep, that is your Japanese word of the day, Remember it well). I just realized that I promised in my last entry to teach everytone how to count to 999999 (and beyond if I learned) in Japanese. Well, that's not happening right now due to tiredness/laziness, but when it does eventually happen (tomorrow, the next day, who knows) I will teach everyone how to count to 9,999,999,999,999,999 (10 quadrillion minus 1), since that is now in my capacity,
Oyasuminasai.
1 Comments:
Device used to stop a moving vehicle = brakes, not breaks
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