Today was a great day! (I have a feeling all my posts are beginning to start with synonymous lines.). So, we had math, Japanese, English, and PE today. In English, we took a school-wide English Vocab competition/test. I think if the teachers grade my translations leniently I will do fine (English to Japanese , Japanese to English were mostly multiple choice) but considering it is a competition I doubt they will.
Anyway, then after the Our 4th Period (we have 0 period, then home room, 1-3 before lunch, 4-6 after lunch, then home room, then cleaning time) we watched another speech contest, this time in English. The speeches were all very interesting. The two I thought were the most powerful did end up winning, though there was one I did not feel was too good but it also ended up winning. I think they are actually looking for different criteria than I would, namely English Speaking confidence, pronunciation and enunciation, etc.
Anyway, after that I came home and went to Kumon, which was pretty tedious but I can definitely feel myself getting better at Japanese.
BTW, in Tumbling we done flips today, only 3/4 which I could do. It is actually a pretty difficult tumbling class.
Oh, and I had gone to the library yesterday after school which was pretty nice (the school library, although on the weekend I had also gone to the prefectural library and the city library.). The school library interestingly enough had many of the same popular teen books as in the US, such as Eragon and Deltora. However, I noticed they were about twice as thick as the American versions. I don’t think it’s because Japanese uses more words, however, but because their novels tend to have huge margins!
Oh and I don’t know if I said this already but every morning the Vice Principal and another staff member are out by the front of the high school greeting kids! I think that it very nice.
And one thing about Japanese culture I can definitely see and feel I have very deeply internalized is Giri, or always giving and receiving gifts (giving thank-you gifts continuously.). I can see it in terms of food, and small gift items, and I honestly really like it. I have also begun giving return-gifts — you don’t actually call them return gifts but they are in appreciation for previous gifts. I really feel that is quite nice.
Ok, goodnight!
Wait, you’re in school from something like 8 or 9am until about 7pm?!?! Is that right?
a friend from Colombia just told us that they had 4 weeks of vacation MAX every summer! He is going cray with these 3 months for his kid. I guess I understand his concerns, but boy, that open time is pretty nice for older kids who can do fun things like a travel abroad or a serious outside project in a lab or something.