I rather messed up the level check on Sunday, so the class my school put me into was quite easy (introductions and how to write the kana). After telling my teacher, they agreed to re-do the level check and I had a very animated Japanese conversation with a very nice Japanese teacher about trains, planes and lost luggage.
The results were that my grammar is far too good for the beginner class, but my vocab isn't near good enough for the intermediate. The choice I was given boiled down to joining A) a far too easy class or B) a far too hard class.
Like the fool I am, I chose "far too hard".
In other news- Today I ate a Japanese apple. You poor souls back in England may find it hard to imagine Japanese apples. The things are huge, about the size of four regular Coxs crushed into a ball. The texture isn't great, but they have a very fragrant taste, and are so juicy you could use a straw. They're the kind of things I imagine Adam and Eve snacked on in Eden before they were given the boot.
Why we don't have such apples in England is anyone's guess. Probably something to do with GM trading standards....
I also visited Toubu in Ikebukuro, one of the worlds largest department stores. Toubu is a startling 29 stories high, but I only made it to number seven to pick up a notebook and a pen. After not too much browsing I found a charming and lovely notebook with a large coat of arms on the front and the heading "Guildford". The caption underneath the coat of arms reads as follows.
Guildford is the most charming and lovely town in Surrey.
It has maintained its attractive rural villages,
riverside walks, gardens and Tudor architectures.
The Guildford notebook was 50p more than all the others, but it was so charming and lovely that I just couldn't say no!
For my writing device I splashed out another two pounds fifty on the "make your own tri-colour pen". Empty pen shells sat beneath a rainbow of different pen fillings. I picked a blue, a yellow and, as it seemed to fit, a pink. So far I have not regretted my choices- if one's writing is illegible anyway, one may as well use nice colours.
Here's wishing you all a charming and lovely day.
5 comments:
How about hide-and-seek in Toubu with The Brothers? That would present a challenge (remember the story of the Irish hide-and-seek champion). I wonder if they have an undertaker's department for those that can't find the food department.
Japanese big apples and big macs sound mouth-watering. Perhaps New York should hand over its nickname to Tokyo. A big Apple Mac would never do though.
You don't happen to have a picture of one of these ginormous apples do you? Mind you, that camera eats batteries so quickly I'd be surprised if it lasts long enough to manage taking a picture.
Also if you manage to see any of these weird and wonderful fruit...: /news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1390088.stm
...be sure to let us know.
Wishing you luck at school,
Max
I think "far too hard" was the right choice. You get more words for your money that way. How long did the commute to ARC take?
When you get a chance, could you read (and even reply) to you email. Questions like "Can you Skype?', lie there. This roughly translates as 'Does your laptop have a microphone?'
It's only a week since you left and it feels like a lifetime (at least at this end, probably two lifetimes at yours).
Love Mum
(i.e. Anonymous)
Dear Mum,
I've read a lot of rough translations recently, but your e-mail isn't one of them. Are you sure it sent?!
My laptop doesn't have a microphone, but it does have a microphone socket.
Whether there is enough CPU power to run Skype is anyone's guess. It's downloading now, so we'll soon see!
Hello!!!
I'm reading this too. Paris is great. I also gave the link to my mother so watch your language etc. Though I see your mother is reading it too (hello!) so if that doesn't stop you, I doubt the thought of mine will...
Anyway, it all sounds totally amazing and you are so brave. (The biggest metro stop in the world is actually in Paris. I spend about half an hour there from time to time, going backwards and forwards on conveyor belts and feeling like a marble in a marble run.)
A plus,
Bex
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