７月２日（木）

Today was long! It started in the morning when Masao picked me up to run some errands. I got to see an old friend of ours, and I even met Masao's father in passing. Even though the most common word for father in Japanese is お父さん (otousan) he calls his dad a shortened, dialect word おとん (oton). It feels a little weird being the tag-along foreigner in Japan but I learn a ton just trying to chat in Japanese. For example, I learned that パクる (pakuru) is a slang verb meaning to steal.

There's a big 祭り (matsuri, festival) in Kyoto called Gion Matsuri that goes throughout July and Masao and I heard sounds of some sort of procession or celebration while we were driving, but didn't see anything. Masao taught me that a common misconception is that Gion Matsuri happens in the middle of July, but events actually take place throughout the entire month! The biggest and most popular events just happen mid-month.

 pictures: Kamogawa

The errands Masao had ended in Kyoto, and I was meeting Etsushi there later for dinner, so he dropped me off at 四条駅 (shijyou eki, Shijo Station) in the afternoon and I walked to the スターバ (sutaaba, Starbucks) at Sanjo Station. After studying there for a few hours I had racked up enough questions to keep Etsushi busy teaching me. He's studying to be a Japanese teacher, so he's practicing teaching techniques on me, and I'm trying to speak less stupid Japanese.

We went to eat an 大盛り (oomori, large bowl) of 塩つけラーメン (shio tsuke raamen, salty broth ramen served with the noodles serves in a separate bowl from the broth) each because we were both starving. Afterward we shopped a little, then bought a couple of beers neither of us had tried at a liquor shop and sat by 鴨川 (Kamogawa) to drink and chat.

 picture: Etsushi and me with beers

 The restaurants in the above picture with balcony seating to eat at are very expensive, apparently.

picture: beer from Nagano we had never tried

 It was actually pretty good although just a tad on the sweet side

picture: Kamogawa at night

It was my first time back in Kyoto since two years ago. It was nice to see the river again.

Culture note: It's actually polite to slurp noodles in Japanese ramen shops because the implication is that you're so eager to eat the noodles you can't wait for them to cool down and have to blow on them. That way of eating is a compliment to the cook. Even after years of experience I have trouble with this way of eating, but I am practicing my slurping diligently!

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

７月１日（水）

It's July! My test is soon!
≡≡≡=(ﾉTдT)ﾉ
AAAAAAA!

Today Masao was kind enough to ask one of his employees, Sakuko, to give me and Dave a free Japanese lesson to help us prepare for the JLPT. We worked together for almost three hours and she really helped us poor, ill-prepared Americans. At the end of the lesson Sakuko said I was 優良 (yuuryou, excellent) as a student. I immediately had to look up what that meant so I think I probably have a long way to go to live up to that compliment. (T_T)

Dave had been telling me about the tutoring center in Hirakata Sun Plaza, but it looked like rain again and I had laundry hanging outside my window, so I hurried home to make sure it was safe instead.

Later in the evening, my neighbor Ted asked if I wanted to train with him after his work, so I went over and he taught me really good form on exercises with which I am less familiar. He is meticulous so he was able to teach me good form for a deadlift, and he also showed me how to do some abdominal work with a TRX suspension trainer. It's the first time I've worked out in over a week. It felt great!

After working out we went to a 回転寿し (kaiten zushi, conveyer sushi) place nearby called かっぱ寿司 (Kappa-Zushi). The waitress we had was one that a mutual friend of ours had thought was really cute, so we laughed about that, reminisced, and since Ted works here he told me about work culture in Japan. Also, I had forgotten but at Kappa-Zushi the orders you make on a screen above the conveyer belt are delivered to you on a mini shinkansen (bullet train).

picture: Kappa-Zushi's mini shinkansen

(disclaimer: this photo is from http://www.kappa-create.co.jp/en/index.html and is not my own.)

Culture note: Japanese washing and drying tends to be a little different than in the United States. Families have a tendency to do one day's laundry at a time, for all members of the family. Washers ask you to specify how many liters to use for a load (usually with 3 options between 20 and 40), instead of selecting a light, normal or heavy load. It's common for people to hang their laundry outside rather than using a dryer, so there are metal poles secured outside windows or sliding doors and on balconies for drying. Hanging underwear outside or at least in plain view is a little impolite, however, so it is best to have a place to hang those things inside.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

６月３０日（火）

Today didn't start out rainy, but as you can see, it ended up that way! Right now in Japan it's 梅雨 (tsuyu, the rainy season).

In the afternoon I brought Masao a bagel from Costco and Philadelphia cream cheese from Top World since he had never tried a bagel with cream cheese before. He REALLY liked it and said he wanted to go back to Costco for more bagels. Success! One of his clients was there and she told me that cream cheese had only come to Japan recently. I don't remember seeing it here two years ago, so maybe it's even new since then. Next is peanut butter?

I studied at Masao's workplace and Dave showed up, so we studied for our test together. He told me there was a place near Hirakata City Hall called Hirakata Sun Plaza where teachers on staff help you with your studies. It's a free service and I don't need a Foreign Resident Card. We're going to try that tomorrow to get some help before the JLPT.

It was raining when we had to leave for the evening, but on the way home we went to すき家 (Sukiya, a donburi restaurant with the image of being for salarymen) and had チース牛丼 (a beef and rice bowl with cheese) with tabasco sauce. It tasted like carbs and victory.

As you can see, I got absolutely drenched on the way home! I was riding my bike, and I don't trust myself holding an umbrella and steering like all the talented Japanese people do, so I became a victim to the elements. Great adventure!

Travel tips:

7. Be prepared for rain during the rainy season in Japan. Bring a raincoat or buy a cheap rain parka at a コンビニ (konbini, convenience store) if you're in Japan during the rainy season, especially if you need to ride a bike and don't want to carry an umbrella at the same time. It's also good to bring plastic bags with you so you can put your belongings in those. Don't be like me!

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

６月２９日（月）

picture: 飲み放題！

In the morning I put out the 燃えるゴミ (moeru gomi, burnable trash) and bummed around the house until Masao called me out to have lunch at a Chinese ramen restaurant with some of his friends and employees. One of them explained a recent news story about a cat who was hanging out at an abandoned rail station, and even though the rail line was about to close down due to lack of use, people would ride the line recently just to see the cat watch the train go by. It was a 三毛猫 (mikeneko, calico cat) whose name was たま (tama, which translates to "ball"). She explained to me that the name たま is very common for cats in Japan, I guess kind of like "fluffy" is assumed to be a common cat's name in the US. The cat died a few days ago, and now there's a memorial for it in the station.

I ate 西川ラーメン (nishikawa ramen? I don't remember) with the others, which is a Chinese spicy ramen, and it was super good. One of the people I went with was another American, Dave, who also plans to take the JLPT:N2 level test, just like me. We spoke in Japanese even when it was just a conversation between the two of us. I always think it's pretty great when I find another foreigner who will speak Japanese with me even when our communication would be smoother in English. He lives close to me, so on test day (JULY 5!) we are going to go to our test site together.

After lunch I went to see my 後輩 (kouhai, younger student) from Bennington College at 関西外国語大学 (kansai gaikokugo daigaku, Kansai Gaidai University). It was his last full day in Japan. He likes to play ultimate frisbee, and I was happy to see a good crowd of Japanese and foreign students had gathered to play with him one last time. We all played ultimate frisbee together, skilled and unskilled alike, and it was a lot of fun. Some of other of his friends showed up to give him a T-shirt they had written a bunch of inside jokes on for him. It was really great to see he had been doing so well in Japan. One friend of his was an Okinawan and she spoke with me about base protest in Okinawa. She says she understands opposition to the bases, but the people who are too outspoken about it and are always railing on about it start to bother her. There's such a range of opinions about these issues, and I'm always eager to hear the opinions of native Okinawans above all others, of course.

In the evening I returned to Masao's work and he answered some of my questions about the exercises in my 読解 (dokkai, reading comprehension) textbook. I stayed there pretty late and he asked if I wanted to go out drinking, so we went to 飲み放題 (nomihoudai, all you can drink) at a place called 土間土間 (Doma Doma) and we spoke mainly English and taught each other some new expressions and caught up. For example 大人の味 (otona no aji, which translates literally to "adult taste") is used for bitter things like coffee and beer, and 子供の味 (kodomo no aji, "childish taste") means sweet things or things children like to eat. Drinking completed, I got home at about 4 in the morning.

Culture note: Japan is serious about separating garbage, and they do a really great job recycling most things. In my area 燃えるゴミ(moeru gomi, burnable garbage) goes out on Monday and Thursday, プラゴミ (pura gomi, plastic garbage) goes out on Tuesday, and  缶と瓶 (kan to bin, cans and glass bottles) get picked up on alternating Fridays. One Sunday each month is for カルトン (karuton, cartons). It's a great system. When you're in public, though, like in front of a convenience store, there's usually just one bin for ペットボトル (petto botoru, plastic bottles), one bin for cans and glass, and one bin for everything else. So even though residential pickups are very efficient, public trash cans are less strict.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

６月２８日（日）

picture: the Terminator in Korean Town

In the early afternoon I met Etsushi again at Tsuruhashi Station and we walked to コリアンタウン (Korean Town). We got a little lost in some narrow, winding shopping streets lined with older shops. Etsushi said the little streets were like a 迷路 (meiro, labyrinth). When we got to Korean Town there were a lot of street vendors. Korean Town itself was fairly small, a couple of blocks long, but there were many food and shopping options regardless of space. I tried a chicken skewer that I can't remember the name of and a Korean rice and vegetable dish called pibinpa for the first time. Also, we found the Terminator! ... with kimchi and daikon

After that we went to a little coffee shop Salon de Amanto near Osaka Station and I ordered an 天人コーヒー (amanto coffee, which I misread as tenjin coffee because life is hard).

In the evening Etsushi went elsewhere and I decided to find my test site ahead of time so I don't follow my own time-honored tradition of losing my way to important events. Apparently doing this kind of preparation is called 下見 (shitami). Turns out I found the place, but got lost and way overshot the station on the way back. I was nearly back at the station when I finally asked a sweet family of three with their little boy for directions. The dad basically said "See the tracks? It's right there." Haha, foreigner fail.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

６月２７日（土）

In the morning I did some studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), and in the afternoon I went to watch Masao and one of his employees, Katsuo, play badminton together. They taught be a little bit but I am 下手臭う(hetakusou, really bad at it)!

After some more study I met two old friends, Tetsuya and Erica, and we went to an izakaya (Japanese-style bar) to drink and eat. I found that Kirin makes a dark beer（キリン一番：黒生）that is actually pretty good (pictured above). It was great to see them again!

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)

６月２６日（金）

I unpacked in the morning, and in the afternoon Masao took me to Costco. Among other things we bought bagels, which he said he had never tried. That sounds crazy to an American! We ate hotdogs afterward and had conversations about how to state a hotdog in a bun versus a hotdog on its own and how to count hotdogs properly in Japanese and English. That sounds simple but it's surprisingly complicated!

For example, in Japanese, if you want one hotdog in a bun you would count it 一つ (hitotsu), but if you want one out of the bun you'd count it 一本 (ippon). 一個 (ikko) might also be an ok way to count one in a bun.

In the evening I went with Masao and one of his employees, Sayano, to a yakitori (fried chicken) place, and we ate dinner and engaged in some good-natured racist jokes, mainly in English because my brain had turned to mush. Later we ate cake, took stupid pictures, and engaged in more friendly racism. Masao turned to me on his third piece of cake and said with a sad look in his eyes "I'm becoming American." I told him soon he'd be fat like me.

Travel tips:
5. Ask questions about stupid things if you don't know. You won't end up looking dumb, and if you don't learn you might look ignorant later.
6. Try not to let stereotypes offend you. Play along and make fun of them.

(All names used in this blog are pseudonyms.)