What's up, people?

So I had this nice, long post going, but about halfway through making it I realized that it was absolutely and completely boring. See, there's this thing about blogging- you want to make your readers feel as if they were there, like they're a part of your experiences. But, while my days here and daily nothings are VERY interesting to me, they're very boring to read about. I could go on and on about Biology class and how I actually know what's going on it it (as opposed to just about every other class), but it's boring to read about. And I don't want ya'll to a) think I'm having a boring time, or b) get bored reading, so may I now present to you:

RANDOM HIGHLIGHTS OF MY SUPER-FABULOUS LIFE IN JAPAN (in no particular order):

- The other day we were getting tests handed back out, and you know what I discovered? The average score for tests here is about a 20/100. So much for that stereotype. I was shocked. So I asked the English teacher from America, "Um, yeah, what up with this?" He told me (with a very heavy sigh) that the students here really just don't care all that much about grades. Like, they may or may not do homework, maybe try a little on tests- it doesn't really matter. All that matters are the final exams and college entrance exams. The reason for the stereotype about Japanese schoolkids doing nothing but studying stems from the fact that they cram like crazy before finals so they can score highly. Like, going to bed at 4am and waking up at 5am to catch the train. But normal schoolwork? Not really. Only if it helps you study for the exams. It's VERY different (like a lot of stuff).

- Okaasan told me we were going to get me a tea bowl (there's not really a good translation for it, it's sorta like a big, fancy cup) last Saturday, so I can start tea ceremony lessons next month. I was like, "Oh, sweet, my very own (tea bowl)!" Well, as happens quite frequently here, there was a misunderstanding. We went out into the countryside to this little shop, and as soon as we entered, I was confused. We were in a pottery shop, yes, but people were making pottery, not buying it. A shop lady greeted us and sat us down in front of a TV, where I watched a video on how to use the pottery wheel (in Japanese, of course). Then I was in front of my own wheel with a slab of clay, being told to make a tea bowl. Well, let me tell you, THAT was an epic fail :) I did it eventually (though it being called a tea bowl is a bit questionable), but I had to try, like, 80 times. The workers would sometimes come and help me, and I would be stunned at their ability to magically conform the clay to their will, while when I sat down, the clay turned into something about as obedient as a cat on fire. So, did I have a good time? Of course! But how did my tea bowl turn out? Uh, we'll see...

- The ichinensei had a class field trip today (Tuesday)! I had no idea where we were going, but I had instructions to get to the buses. Still, 2 girls and I managed to get lost in Otsu Station while trying to find our class. What was weird was how I didn't freak out at all- I'm simply used to being lost and confused. It's not a very big stressor if it's something you deal with almost daily. So we asked around and found the way, and all was good. Then we had a 2 hour bus ride through the mountains around Lake Biwa. STUNNING. It was so gorgeous. Biwa is a very beautiful lake when you're seeing it from atop the mountains of Japan. And despite its beauty, I completely KO'ed on the bus and had to be woken up when we got to our destination. Being an exchange student is just so tiring, ya know?

So anyways, we got to the place- a patch of green with some (totally just forgot the word) shelter-like-thingys with cooking pits. And we cooked. My group made Chinese fried rice (one guy put the eggs in at the wrong time, so it was a little strange, but delicious all the same), while others made things like curry, yakisoba, etc. We played Uno, which was really fun. You see, as I've said before, it's a very Kansai thing to be dramatic, so when they play games, it's less of a game and more of a drama. For instance, we had this epic build up of +2 cards going on, and when the poor guy got hit with all of those cards, it was like somebody had stolen his iPod. And we all laughed and tossed cards at him and stuff. Dramatically. I'm picking up so many of these Kansai habits, you all are probably going to think I dropped straight out of a TV show when I go back to America. You know how people always have overdone facial expressions and yell really loudly and have, like, 10 different faces for different occasions in dramas? Well, it's actually real. It's in the Kansai region of Japan.

Of course there's lots of other stuff going on- meeting other exchangers in 2 weeks, prepping for my school sports festival, almost-violin-lessons, my daily trek to school, making friends- but not only is all of that sorta boring to read, but there's not a lot of time to write about it all! I'm just giving you guys some small samples of my life here. And as for a Japanese language update- it's sorta weird. Usually, in the morning I can barely make my way through simple stuff, but in the afternoon I'm having simple conversations about random things and learning a lot. Mornings are really hard for me. Afternoons are awesome. And it's getting to the point now where I could probably understand quite a bit of conversations and stuff if they weren't speaking so fast. I constantly have to ask people to repeat things and slow down, but that's all part of the process. And if you want to know something interesting- last year I took year of Spanish, but I can speak and understand WAY more Japanese than Spanish at this point. I dunno if that's good or bad, but when I shift my mind to "foreign language mode" now, the it's Japanese words that come into my head first, not Spanish. It literally took me a whole class period to remember that the Spanish verb "to speak" is "hablar" because I kept thinking "hanasu", which is the Japanese. So yeah.

Talk to ya'll later! Mata ne!