kokubankei
i was running a few minutes late this morning and moegi and i ended up missing the 6:23 bus. we caught the 6:38 one instead, which was packed. understandably, moegi was annoyed.
once we got to school i checked myself out in the mirror. my hair looked horrible. i tried not to stress out. japanese summers are notoriously hot and sticky, and its only april.
first, second, and third hour were spent reading norwegian wood. i heard that geisha, a life was almost unbearably sad, but so far ive found norwegian wood far more depressing. this is probably because it makes me think about pat. more specifically, the possibility of pat flat-out refusing to give a relationship another try.
but pats not the only one who has things to work on. a lot of it is up to me, too.
i read off and on fourth period. english class. everyone read an article about japanese-american immigrants in the united states. answered questions, worked on a mini assignment.
i put off lunch until 1 and instead miki gave me dance lessons.
i made more progress on norwegian wood during long homeroom. i also got around to eating lunch - garlic noodles and tater tots and apple slices. i saved the remainder of my lunch, a waffle and jam, for later.
i spent two solid hours studying japanese. before morimoto-sensei popped in, ashley filled me in on this welcoming party that had been thrown for her. i expected to feel jealous or resentful, so i was totally surprised (and pleased) when i didnt. i was actually happy for her when she gushed about what a good time she had, and laughed when she talked about the awkward speech she had to give in front of the class. plus, she gave me a piece of chocolate. i guess she had a huge stash in her bag leftover from the party.
anyway, the class was very productive. it was mostly review, but i learned a number of new verbs, the most valuable (in my opinion) being "to remember."
i also told hyemi and sue the lesbian story (ill get to that later) while morimoto-sensei was giving ashley a quick lesson on -te form.
i got back to class and a tiny bottle and an information sheet were sitting neatly on my desk. i picked up the bottle and made a big deal about it. miki, the girl who sits next to me (a different miki than the one who taught me dance during lunchtime), pulled out her japanese-english translator, typed something in, and handed it to me.
"urinalysis."
i was really embarrassed. not only that, but i am at a complete loss as to how im supposed to pee in such a little bottle. the neck is narrower than my pinky finger. i feel like i should protest or complain or something. "to whom it may concern: i have enclosed the (empty) urinalysis bottle that i received. please get back to me when you find something bigger. i.e., something that doesnt require a penis. love, kate."
i decided to finish off my waffle during short homeroom, which i soon discovered, like the urinalysis incident, was a mistake. the teacher looked right at me and blurted out something. miki looked at me sideways and said, "no eating."
i asked midori about this later. i said (in japanese), "its okay to eat during first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh hour. but not during short homeroom?" she explained that its only okay to eat during second and third hour (and lunchtime, of course). were not supposed to be eating during the 10-minute gaps between class periods.
"but thats when everyone eats!"
"yes." then she covered her face with her 3-ring binder and pretended she was eating something.
ohhh.
later, i noticed harumi rubbing an eraser against a little machine. the said little machine was sucking up air like a vacuum cleaner. i noticed that one was sitting outside each classroom.
i made a beeline for harumi.
harumi is the one who quizzed me on her name on monday, so the first thing i said was, "harumi." she got this huge smile on her face and started jumping up and down.
harumi is incredibly beautiful.
i pointed at the little machine and said in japanese, "what is this?" she made a face. like, you cant POSSIBLY be talking about this. she said, "you dont have these in america?" i shook my head. she said it was a kokubankei cleaner. apparently you wave an eraser over the top and it vacuums the chalk dust.
i also got a chance to talk to the president of the photo club. she hasnt decided when the next meeting will be. she promised to get back to me when she picks out a date. however, there will be a "photo shoot" kind of thing on the 29th.
on the way home i ran into one of the american english teachers. like ms. mrozik, shes from chicago. it was really fun talking to her. ms. mrozik is very soft-spoken and polite, and this other teacher was completely different.
she said, "so youre from minnesota, right? do you know sara?"
and i said, "yeah, of course. she gave me a lot of advice before i left."
"i was saras counselor. she hasnt emailed me since she left japan!"
"oh, uh, really? she emailed me over the weekend. i havent had a chance to email her back yet. i can let her know you want to hear from her, if you want."
"yeah, thanks. she hasnt written at all and im totally pissed!"
i guess shes been teaching at kobejogakuin for three years now. she cant wait to return to the states. kobejogakuin tried unsuccessfully to get her to renew her contract. i asked if she was fluent in japanese and she snorted. shes said the best she could do was picking out words here and there, which is pretty much where im at.
she had to go grocery shopping. after she turned the corner i said to moegi, "its so nice speaking in english!" i realized afterwards that i use english around her almost all the time.
i got pushed around a lot on the bus because of my backpack, which annoyed me, even though i knew rationally that my backpack was in the way and people were just trying to get past me.
at one point some lady stood next to me, and, for some reason, i refused to move my hand and let her hang on to the handle. consequently, we turned a corner and she went flying. she couldnt have been more than 4`5", and she looked mildly retarded. after she regained her balance i reluctantly moved my hand and held onto a bar instead. she seemed very gracious and bowed whenever she caught my eye.
i realized that i was a lot happier being kind than i was being a complete bitch, so when a seat opened up, i motioned for her to sit down. once again, she bowed several times.
for the rest of the night ive been zen. pat stayed up till 5 AM california time to talk to me online. he fell asleep at one point, so i let him go. id rather he get lots of sleep and wake up refreshed than stay up all night talking to me.
ill tell the lesbian story tomorrow. its 10:30 already. i shouldve been in bed over two hours ago.
one more thing: theres a girl in my homeroom who looks like pats friend scott, and miki (the girl who helped me out with the dance routine) looks like princess garnet from final fantasy ix.
night night.
ps - i was right. the movie i watched last night was called the bodyguard.
pps - i have gym class tomorrow first and second hour. volleyball. bah!