Days 6 and 7: Falling behind

I wrote this post last night, but didn't get a chance to post it then, so here it is now.

Dinner last night was the usual rice, some white stringy stuff I didn't ask about (not the same as the fish - I think it was just the radish), and the new addition of pizza from Costco. Apparently, they have Costco here. It took a couple tries before I understood that that's what Yukie was saying, because that's not something I expected to hear.  It wasn't the gigantic pizzas you can get and eat there or have as carryout; it was just a small frozen pizza, normal enough.  The toppings were a bit odd, but nothing unheard of.  There was corn, chicken with some sort of green seasoning, and various bits of vegetables.

This morning, for some reason I slept in pretty late, even though I went to bed early last night, and got up with only 40 minutes to get to school. I hurried downstairs and grabbed breakfast, which consisted of toast with sausage (?) halves and ketchup on top, a piece of watermelon, milk, and some dried banana slices and ... some other fruit that we have in America but I don't really eat.  I think they were prunes?  Anyway, despite the late start, I still made it to school, in roughly 15 minutes.

Today's classes weren't too bad after having studied last night, but two of my classmates and I, who are all in a similar situation as far as the courses go, were called to the side by the teachers in charge and told that we should probably switch into the lower class.  We get the same credit, and we'd be able to actually learn all the stuff we've been "reviewing" for the past week and reinforce what we do already know, rather than moving on to yet more stuff we don't understand and having to try to teach ourselves the rest.  It seems like a good idea to me, considering how hard it still is for me to communicate with my host family.  I've worked so much on comprehension, and I can understand a lot of things they say, or at least the grammatical structure of the sentences, but I have a hard time responding with anything more than basic answers because I just can't think of the vocabulary I want to use, and my grammar usage isn't fluent.  I have the weekend to decide if I actually want to switch or not, but I'm pretty sure I will.

Tomorrow, about half of us are planning to go to Nanba (via train, which I have yet to ride) to do some karaoke, shopping, and sightseeing.  I was hesitant to go, considering the cost, but then they posed the argument: "When else are you going to have a chance to go to a real Japanese karaoke parlor with friends besides on this trip?" So I can't really argue with that.  It's worth trying at least once.

More pictures:

The view from the classroom

Part 2

Part 3

Some of my classmates and the teacher during a break

Lunchtime, 5/31/12 - My lunch is the one that no one is sitting in front of

Enjoying a bento and some soup

More food

My second lunch

Friday's lunch - A chocolate coronet and two pancakes

Melonpan and some jelly thing I think.  I had melonpan on Monday, but didn't take a picture

The pancakes come packaged with butter and maple syrup already included!  It tasted pretty bad cold, though.  Should have warmed it up.

A new running joke among us gaijin (=foreigners): "What's up?" "Not bad."

The daily lunch menu is posted outside the cafeteria.  Too bad I can't yet read most of it.  A Lunch that day was something about "Beef stamina."

I took this picture for the Key Coffee.  Angel Beats! fans know what I'm talking about.

Around campus

Campus 2

Campus 3. These pictures were just as the rain was stopping.

Lots and lots of people ride bikes to school.  I am among them.

Why you should never ride a bike in Japan.  See the sidewalk?  Neither do I.  And those gaping holes are everywhere.  Oh, and cars drive by within reach of your elbow.

A small lake/pond I ride by every day

Signs I mostly can't yet read.  The left one says no trespassing in red.  I think the middle one is saying not to litter.

Opposite the lake is a bunch of farmland.  The road goes between the two.

Ranmaru being Ranmaru.  He does stuff like this basically every day.  In my room.