Keep on Trucking

Hmm, I actually don't like that expression very much. Anyway, things have been pretty good these past few days.

When moving in smaller spaces, I have encountered a curious phenomenon. If I'm not right up against the back of the person in front of me in line, someone will almost inevitably cut in front of me. This has happened getting on and off subway trains, entering escalators and elevators, and traveling up and down stairs staying to a side because there's traffic both ways. I don't know if this is because I'm a gaijin or if that's just the normal mentality of "better fill this gap." I'm getting more and more used to packing it in, though, when things get crowded. The Japanese are extremely conscientious about the feelings and space of others, but the "personal space bubble" is much larger in American culture than it is here. Here, it's perfectly normal for people in the elevator to have their bodies pressed together (not smashed, but it's certainly snug at times). I'm also trying to re-train myself in how I deal with strangers since I get a lot more attention in public places. I have likened this situation to seeing a giraffe walking down the street in America: what you are seeing makes perfect sense intellectually, it's just the last thing you were expecting. Like all of my cultural and personal experiences here, that's certainly not the case 100% of the time. That being said, I still don't have a reflexive smile-and-say-daijoubuu(Are you okay?) response prepared when someone turns around, sees me, and puts on their best "Don't scare me like that!" face.

I finally have internet access in my room thanks to the efforts of Alisha. We both did our best to configure a modem and router in Japanese but in the end, as usual, she was the persistent one. Bravo!

Classes have been going well. Wednesday was Intermediate Japanese with Ono-sensei, the second session I've had with him. It went really well. I felt like I learned a lot and got some great practice from the class. Additionally, I felt that I came off as a struggling learner, as opposed to a bumbling idiot like last week. Don't worry, mom, I don't actually think I'm an idiot. Let's just say that I was very pleased with myself. Calligraphy class was also awesome this week. We got to use brushes for the first time. It was very much a hands-on lesson. We put our hands on the brushes and started drawing characters. I have the feeling that brush calligraphy is going to stick with me for a long time. It's a very meditative exercise and, for me at least, is a great way to practice slowing down. I found that when I made a mistake (which was quite often, it being the first time) my only option was ignore it until I was done drawing the whole character. Each time I had the urge to finish up so I could try that particular stroke again, I'd just make more mistakes. It takes the phrase "haste makes waste" to a whole new level. You can feel yourself losing control of the brush each time your mind wanders from the task at hand.

Finally, when Alisha and I were waiting for the bus to leave Toyota campus on Tuesday, we kept hearing the most bizarre noises coming from a nearby building. Over and over, we'd hear a group of people screaming and a bunch of loud cracking noises. This would go a for a few minutes, stop, then resume again. We absolutely couldn't figure out what it was until I caught a glimpse through an open window of feet shuffling around in a combat stance (wide and sideways for balance and to present a smaller target) and the tips of kendo swords swinging around. It was at that point that I decided that I'm going to do kendo next semester.

Not much else to report. I did get my commuter subway pass today, so I won't have to drop $5.80 on travel every day. The way it works here, you either buy a ticket for your destination or you pre-pay 1,3, or 6 months for an entry, exit, and transfer station(s) commuter ticket that you then simply use every day like normal. This ticket saves you a lot of money unless you lose it, in which case you can't get a refund and you become a sad, sad panda.

Catch you later.