I don't normally take in much, if any, caffeine. There is the trace amount in chocolate, but I don't drink soda, or coffee, or chew any of that caffeine gum or anything like that. So it has a profound affect on me.
I'm taking allergy pills right now that make me tired. Last night I got home from an event and fell asleep at 8. Normal bedtime here is 12-2, so that was really weird. Today I took the allergy pill together with a caffeine pill, hoping they would counteract each other.
ONE caffeine pill. It says on the box that it is the equivalent of one cup of coffee. Well, all day I've been jittery and restless, but still a bit tired, which just felt weird. Part of me wanted to collapse and part of me wanted to go for a run. It actually was worse when I moved - typing for example got me all worked up at the peak of it, and when I walked it felt kind of funny because half of me was slouching and taking my time, and the other part of me was shaking. I couldn't eat much for lunch but I ate noodles when I got back at 2 and I started to feel a bit better. I think I should scale back to half a pill next time, if I even follow this strategy again.
All in all it just makes me feel really stressed out, like I do for the hour before a big speaking test or something. But it also makes me want to work on things, which is what I need right now. I scheduled all the stuff I need to do for P.A., worked some more on the Japan itinerary, figured out where and when I'm going to do my last events and my extra credit for Journalism, wrote some emails, figured out meals and events for the lake house this weekend, coordinated rides for all the people going (the number kept growing), and figured out possible times for the proseminar next year, based on my schedule and the schedules of my Figgies.
I got a high B on the last Stat exam. It would have been a high A, but I lost 10 out of the 12 points I lost on a single written answer problem which absolutely stumped me. (But since I showed my work I recovered 3 of the thirteen points the question was worth :D). I can't get an A in the class, but my B is very solid, and the same goes for Journalism. However, I'm doing extra credit in Journalism and I've been to every review section for Statistics, so there's a chance that my grades will be bumped up to B+'s, which are worth more. Poli Sci is the only class I really have to worry about my C is solid, but... I really don't want a C. :( But poor Anlan! She needs an 87% to pass the class and she hasn't done anywhere near that well on the first tests! (well, obviously.). We're reviewing together tonight. She takes great notes, so I'll come up with helpful memorizing strategies for her and steal her notes. :D German and Spanish are A's.
It's an exciting time, but very stressful, and caffeine is either helping or making it worse, I can't tell. :D
April 23, 2009
Japan Trip
The Japan trip is about 97% certain now, and we've come up with a nice itinerary. It's all very exciting and everything looks beautiful!
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400.html
I've found this site especially invaluable, and basically modified their 20 day itinerary to cut out Nagasaki and work in more nights staying with friends.
I'm wondering yet again how people with no knowledge of foreign languages plan trips. Even planning my trip to Scandinavia (Scandinavia! Where they all speak English!) I found myself grateful on numerous occasions to be able to read Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. Japan is a lot harder, and my knowledge of Japanese is less than my knowledge of Finnish, but I think even the small amount Laura and I know, in addition to having some translators on call, are making it possible.
For an example of what we're dealing with, check out this website:
http://www.sanboin.com/
This was one of the most navigable temple stay websites we found, and we think we're going to use it, although if we read Japanese perfectly we might be able to find a slightly cheaper one. As it was we used all of our Japanese just to find the site, navigate it (one of the six, seven? English words helped us find the 'stay' section), figure out that "一人様 9,500円" meant "one person... 9,500 yen", and that the little button at the bottom of that page means email reservation, or something like that. Even this little amount required knowing several Kanji. I know about 50 Kanji and Laura knows probably about 200 (I'm not sure). We are finding ourselves needing every bit of that, and still confirming most things with one of the Japanese girls.
Anyway, we are planning to email this temple in Japanese, with the Japanese girls translating "We are two American women wanting to stay in the temple on July X, for one night... we see that your prices are 9,500 per person including Breakfast and Dinner, and you are in Koyasan. Can we confirm all of this and get directions? We speak only a small amount of Japanese." and seeing if we can't get a reservation. Mostly we are staying with friends or cheapish tourist hotels, but we are staying in more authentic places 3 nights, so we expect to go through a similar process at least two more times.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2400.html
I've found this site especially invaluable, and basically modified their 20 day itinerary to cut out Nagasaki and work in more nights staying with friends.
I'm wondering yet again how people with no knowledge of foreign languages plan trips. Even planning my trip to Scandinavia (Scandinavia! Where they all speak English!) I found myself grateful on numerous occasions to be able to read Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish. Japan is a lot harder, and my knowledge of Japanese is less than my knowledge of Finnish, but I think even the small amount Laura and I know, in addition to having some translators on call, are making it possible.
For an example of what we're dealing with, check out this website:
http://www.sanboin.com/
This was one of the most navigable temple stay websites we found, and we think we're going to use it, although if we read Japanese perfectly we might be able to find a slightly cheaper one. As it was we used all of our Japanese just to find the site, navigate it (one of the six, seven? English words helped us find the 'stay' section), figure out that "一人様 9,500円" meant "one person... 9,500 yen", and that the little button at the bottom of that page means email reservation, or something like that. Even this little amount required knowing several Kanji. I know about 50 Kanji and Laura knows probably about 200 (I'm not sure). We are finding ourselves needing every bit of that, and still confirming most things with one of the Japanese girls.
Anyway, we are planning to email this temple in Japanese, with the Japanese girls translating "We are two American women wanting to stay in the temple on July X, for one night... we see that your prices are 9,500 per person including Breakfast and Dinner, and you are in Koyasan. Can we confirm all of this and get directions? We speak only a small amount of Japanese." and seeing if we can't get a reservation. Mostly we are staying with friends or cheapish tourist hotels, but we are staying in more authentic places 3 nights, so we expect to go through a similar process at least two more times.
April 20, 2009
Important Stuff
I feel like I've been sleepwalking or something the last month or so and have finally woken up - just in time to handle a mountain of administrative stuff. My grades, for example, are not at all what I would like. But the only thing that really matters is keeping my scholarships and my eligibility for study abroad, and based on my worst case scenario for this semester, I'll still do both. But if I get my 'worst case scenario' I'll use up a good deal of the grace I accumulated by doing so well first semester, which is a bit sad. Still, I think that my grades will be worst this semester and next, because I am taking a lot of Gen Ed classes I don't care about.
I am trying to figure out everything for working as a P.A. next year, and for living here independently, as my family is moving to Florida. There's a lot of paperwork, etc, involved, and I've finally started a calendar. The moment I began using it I wondered how I had gone so long without! It makes me feel so much calmer and better. Things are starting to come together but it's still hectic.
I am trying to figure out everything for working as a P.A. next year, and for living here independently, as my family is moving to Florida. There's a lot of paperwork, etc, involved, and I've finally started a calendar. The moment I began using it I wondered how I had gone so long without! It makes me feel so much calmer and better. Things are starting to come together but it's still hectic.
April 18, 2009
April 17, 2009
Jantulógin
Yesterday I passed a patch of purple tulips, with shorter orange ones growing underneath. They were lovely. There was just one tulip in the sea of purple and undergrowth of orange that didn't quite match - it was a white/purple hybrid, lovely, the two colours swirling together in a vivid contrast to the deep purples that surrounded it. It amused me, so I took pictures of it - I guess going for one of those 'be unique' inspirational posters or something. :)
Today I passed the same patch. All the top flowers were purple. From having spent a minute or two photographing them the day before, I knew exactly where the off-colour one had been. Today there were green leaves there at the base, holding up a slender, tall, green stalk which ended in a perfect, round, horribly wet stump.
Janteloven in action?
I suppose I understand that there must be some way of controlling the colours of flower arrangements, and that it's no worse, really, than picking a weed or putting together a bouquet. I realize all of this, and yet, like a bad omen, the weeping stalk, still standing, bothers me.
Today I passed the same patch. All the top flowers were purple. From having spent a minute or two photographing them the day before, I knew exactly where the off-colour one had been. Today there were green leaves there at the base, holding up a slender, tall, green stalk which ended in a perfect, round, horribly wet stump.
Janteloven in action?
I suppose I understand that there must be some way of controlling the colours of flower arrangements, and that it's no worse, really, than picking a weed or putting together a bouquet. I realize all of this, and yet, like a bad omen, the weeping stalk, still standing, bothers me.
Friend Fights
It hurts me to hurt my friends, even if it was unintended and even if I think they're exaggerating. If it's someone I care about, I don't 'get angry back' or anything like that. I just feel sick, can't eat, throw up.
I just wanted to say that. I don't do friend fights well.
I just wanted to say that. I don't do friend fights well.
April 16, 2009
Wow
This is from the list of 'best LJ posts ever written'. It's very sweet. I wish I had written it. ;)
It actually made me cry a bit to read this. :)
"I’m sitting at the Bourgeois Pig cafe on Fullerton, next to two people who are obviously on a first, blind date. You wouldn't necessarily notice them at first - they are average looking white people in a room and a neighborhood full of the same, but something about them is making the whole room hum. They are both so NERVOUS. They are both talking too fast and too much. And then they fall silent and grin, with these huge geeky grins if they happen to make eye contact. She keeps dropping things and he keeps picking them up and then they meet under the table and she blushes deep red and so does he.
He’s tall, with brown hair and thick glasses with black frames. She’s short and curvy, with thick curly brown hair. They look adorable together. As I watch them, I root for them to spend the whole day together. They should go to a movie, or walk over to the park. I want them to make out all night. I want her to say “I never do this” and undo his belt. I want him to say “me neither” and help her with the buckle. I want him to call when he says he’ll call, and cook her breakfast, and bring her daffodils. I want her to buy a new dress, in a color she’s never worn before, and wear it for him. Oh My God, they have matching messenger bags. She’s telling some story about her favorite children’s book, and he’s read it, loved it too. She looks up at him and smiles and she’s gorgeous and he just blinks out at her from behind his glasses as if he can’t believe that this girl is with him. His eyes are blue, and kind. For a few minutes no one drops anything – they just sit there and grin and blush.
A year from now I want them to be living together in the top of a 3-flat somewhere. They’ll paint all the walls in bright colors, and the space will overflow with books – her children’s book collection, his graphic novels, side-by-side on the shelf. They’ll have a housewarming party and all their friends will come. Family and friends will surround them, smiling indulgently at these two who can’t seem to stop looking at each other, to stop smiling when they mention each other’s names. Neither of them will be able to believe their good luck, how much better their lives are now that they come home to a smiling face, a pot of soup on the stove, dueling crosswords in bed on Sunday mornings, knees and elbows kissed under the quilt, surprisingly passionate sex that can still make them blush when they think about it, naps in the hammock on the back porch. For the first six months she’ll cry every time he makes her come, and he’ll hold her and stroke her hair, shocked at his own power to undo and to comfort another human being. She’ll secretly take belly-dancing lessons at the Y and surprise him on his birthday, shy bookworm transformed into a siren, unrecognizable, powerful, his.
Now they are getting ready to leave....I can see and hear the hopefulness in each of them...”Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?” “I was supposed to help my friend pack.” “Oh.” “But I can do it tomorrow.” “Oh!” “Want to just walk around for a while?” “We could go over to the zoo.” “I came on my bike.” “Really? Me too.” Already there is something protective and proprietary in the way he behaves toward her, clearing the table for her, opening the door. No one else in the world exists. They are pure static electricity. He will always open doors for her, let her have the window seat on airplanes, and cover her with a blanket when she falls asleep on the couch. She will nurse his colds with homemade chicken soup, stand in line to get a book signed by his favorite author.
All their neuroses and annoying quirks will be loveable to one another – he spends too much money on CDs, she’s always 15 minutes late. They will never, ever take each other for granted. Day jobs, the cable bill, dirty cereal bowls, global warming, international strife will become more bearable. Their first Christmas they’ll go to the pound and adopt a puppy and a kitty, and they’ll sit on the floor of their place – in long johns and pajamas and big wooly sweaters and play with their new family. When they shyly announce their engagement, no one they know will be surprised – their friends and family will laugh and laugh, because they knew all along that these two will marry and have adorable round geeky babies – this woman was made to be pregnant, this man was made to cup a baby’s head in huge, trembling hands. These two have been moving toward each other their whole lives – someone else who loves Le Petit Prince, someone who hates getting all dressed up, someone who can talk about politics without getting shrill and angry, someone who thinks deeply about things and tries to be a good person, someone who doesn’t have an easy time forming attachments but who loves deeply and lastingly when it happens.
At 40 they will be more beautiful than they have ever been, all awkwardness gone, two people in the prime of life, standing upright, still in love, both somehow more than they would ever be alone. This is what I wish for these two people who are geeking on each other across a cafe table littered with crosswords and mochas, with me sitting by, a silent fairy godmother, honored to witness love’s birth. Right now, I could believe and hope for almost any good thing."
It actually made me cry a bit to read this. :)
Study Abroad Selections (II)
Recap: These are the places I'll most likely study abroad.
A Semester in Pamplona, Spain:
Yes, this is where they have the Running of the Bulls.
A Semester in Bonn, Germany.
A Semester in Bergen, Norway.
And maybe a summer internship in Buenos Aires, Argentina:
A Semester in Pamplona, Spain:
Yes, this is where they have the Running of the Bulls.
A Semester in Bonn, Germany.
A Semester in Bergen, Norway.
And maybe a summer internship in Buenos Aires, Argentina:
Study Abroad Selections
I had a lot of ideas about where I wanted to study abroad. My final list of ideas looked something like this, in order of priority, interest:
Norway
Spain
Germany? Japan?
Italy? Finland?
Latin America?
Complicating matters significantly was the fact that most of these countries offered multiple locations for Study Abroad.
But I sat down with a chart of my remaining semesters and figured it out like an old fashioned logic puzzle.
Firstly, I have to do one of my semesters through the Journalism School, because I can only take one of my years off from the Journalism school and still get a Journalism degree, and I can only get Journalism credit on one of their programs.
So, looking at the options through Journalism, the most appealing one was Spain, because then I could kill two birds with one stone. The Journalism program in Spain is in the University of Navarra in Pamplona, and you can go there for a full year or for Spring semester. Spring Semester it is.
Next. Norway is really important to me, so I looked at it next. Mizzou has one program in Norway - an exchange with the University of Bergen. The weather there isn't great, or so I've heard, but otherwise it sounds lovely. You can go there for a full year or either semester, but Lene recommended (and it makes sense) going in the Spring - that way the weather is getting nicer, not uglier, you have the summer afterwards if you want to go on any trips, and you're there for Syttende Mai! (Not crucial, but nice)
This meant that I only had a fall semester to work with. For some reason, not many schools have a fall semester option. I started thinking about and looking at my other options. The main two are Germany and Japan. The benefits to Germany are that I could take my classes in German, becoming rather fluent in the process, and that Germany has a nice, central European location, so I could go on a lot of awesome weekend trips, etc. The benefits to Japan are that it's non-European, so I would be able to expand my cultural horizons, and gain maybe a working knowledge of Japanese.
I plugged these into search, and there was one possibility in each country for fall semester. However, the one in Japan comes with a strong recommendation that you have studied Japanese in University, and most of the classes offered at that University are about Japanese cultural studies - interesting, but not easy to apply to my degree.
So I think it makes the most sense to go to Germany - Bonn, in particular. Bonn (a former capital of Germany) looks like it has a lot of culture and great access to several cool countries in Europe (the Benelux, Austria, Switzerland...) which I'd like to go to for a weekend or so while I'm there.
So, it's more or less decided:
Pamplona, Spain
Bergen, Norway
and
Bonn, Germany
The only thing that remains to be decided are which semesters are which - since I have two fall and two spring semesters to work with. I think I'll travel the first fall, and be home the second to kind of break things up and keep myself from going crazy. Then there is just the matter of whether I go to Norway or Spain first, but I'm thinking it might be Norway because there could be advantages to starting my sequence before I go to Spain (if I go the first year I'll be admitted to my sequence but I won't have started).
There is also a possibility that I'd be able to take a summer internship in Argentina at some point, which would be great as I could expand my experiences onto another continent. (I want to be a travel journalist, so this is about more than just bragging about how many countries I have hit ;)) If that works out I might make Lucia come down at the beginning or the end of that so we can have our crazy Chile trip. :D
Norway
Spain
Germany? Japan?
Italy? Finland?
Latin America?
Complicating matters significantly was the fact that most of these countries offered multiple locations for Study Abroad.
But I sat down with a chart of my remaining semesters and figured it out like an old fashioned logic puzzle.
Firstly, I have to do one of my semesters through the Journalism School, because I can only take one of my years off from the Journalism school and still get a Journalism degree, and I can only get Journalism credit on one of their programs.
So, looking at the options through Journalism, the most appealing one was Spain, because then I could kill two birds with one stone. The Journalism program in Spain is in the University of Navarra in Pamplona, and you can go there for a full year or for Spring semester. Spring Semester it is.
Next. Norway is really important to me, so I looked at it next. Mizzou has one program in Norway - an exchange with the University of Bergen. The weather there isn't great, or so I've heard, but otherwise it sounds lovely. You can go there for a full year or either semester, but Lene recommended (and it makes sense) going in the Spring - that way the weather is getting nicer, not uglier, you have the summer afterwards if you want to go on any trips, and you're there for Syttende Mai! (Not crucial, but nice)
This meant that I only had a fall semester to work with. For some reason, not many schools have a fall semester option. I started thinking about and looking at my other options. The main two are Germany and Japan. The benefits to Germany are that I could take my classes in German, becoming rather fluent in the process, and that Germany has a nice, central European location, so I could go on a lot of awesome weekend trips, etc. The benefits to Japan are that it's non-European, so I would be able to expand my cultural horizons, and gain maybe a working knowledge of Japanese.
I plugged these into search, and there was one possibility in each country for fall semester. However, the one in Japan comes with a strong recommendation that you have studied Japanese in University, and most of the classes offered at that University are about Japanese cultural studies - interesting, but not easy to apply to my degree.
So I think it makes the most sense to go to Germany - Bonn, in particular. Bonn (a former capital of Germany) looks like it has a lot of culture and great access to several cool countries in Europe (the Benelux, Austria, Switzerland...) which I'd like to go to for a weekend or so while I'm there.
So, it's more or less decided:
Pamplona, Spain
Bergen, Norway
and
Bonn, Germany
The only thing that remains to be decided are which semesters are which - since I have two fall and two spring semesters to work with. I think I'll travel the first fall, and be home the second to kind of break things up and keep myself from going crazy. Then there is just the matter of whether I go to Norway or Spain first, but I'm thinking it might be Norway because there could be advantages to starting my sequence before I go to Spain (if I go the first year I'll be admitted to my sequence but I won't have started).
There is also a possibility that I'd be able to take a summer internship in Argentina at some point, which would be great as I could expand my experiences onto another continent. (I want to be a travel journalist, so this is about more than just bragging about how many countries I have hit ;)) If that works out I might make Lucia come down at the beginning or the end of that so we can have our crazy Chile trip. :D
Romaji?
I have a made a potentially naughty decision. I am going to use some Romaji in learning Japanese. This is because I have to learn Japanese quickly, and I think that vocabulary, grammar, etc, will come more quickly to me if I use some Romaji. I hate to do it, because I know that for long term study it's a bad idea. However, I'm not planning to become a Japanese scholar or anything like that. I'd like to have some basic read/write ability in Japanese too, but trying to do them together is just slowing down my grammar acquisition too much. If I find myself getting ahold of the grammar, I can always go back to learning, practicing exclusively in the Japanese script, but for now I think it's slowing me down too much. For example, I look at a page of grammar to review - and I can't 'review' - I can't skim. I can read Hiragana now, but I can't skim it.
Anyway, I will still be using Hiragana sometimes to make sure it doesn't disappear, and I will still be learning Kanji (and maybe I'll go ahead and knock out Katakana sometime before I go), but if my book or my brain wants to work on grammar in Romaji, I'm going to stop fighting it.
Anyway, I will still be using Hiragana sometimes to make sure it doesn't disappear, and I will still be learning Kanji (and maybe I'll go ahead and knock out Katakana sometime before I go), but if my book or my brain wants to work on grammar in Romaji, I'm going to stop fighting it.
April 14, 2009
It Had Flowers...
As of right now there is no longer a tree outside my window. I woke up to the sound of chainsaws and looked outside and thought for a moment that they were only trimming some of the branches, and then they bit into the main trunk, and now the tree is gone.
It bothers me. The tree wasn't the healthiest on campus, it had a branch or two that were maybe dead, but it had green leaves all over it, and even a few flowers, and it was my tree, right outside my window...
I don't know what they'll do with the spot now, but surely even a struggling tree with a nice wood shape would have been better than an empty circle of mulch?
It had flowers...
Ich Will Etwas Sagen -
Du bist mein Lebenskompass. Ich orientiere mich an dir unabsichtlich, und das ist in Ordnung. Bisherig gehe ich gute Wege. Auch gab ich den Versuch auf, dein Angesicht von fallendem Schnee, der Sonne, und klarem Wasser zu löschen- oder deine Stimme von dem Wind in den Föhren oder dem Dröhnen des Flugzeugs zu trennen. Aber es gab diesen Traum, diesen Trost - ich stöße ab, und es war gut.
Old Acquaintanceships
We do begin to become accustomed to always sound, always light, to the thick clouds of micropop vapor that drift through the halls, so thick in places we imagine we could lick the trans-fat straight out of the air. To janitors passing, complaining loudly on their cell phones at the crack of dawn - which is to say, before eleven on weekdays and two on weekends. To the indistinguishability between wet and moldering carpet, the drinking fountains whose filters no one bothers to change, and fresh Kimchi. All the early questions, the easy conversations are worn thin, the jokes are all tired... there's no more fun in these old acquaintanceships.
But now I eat seaweed. I can list at least 20 flavours of Ramen. With my eyes clothes I can hear and understand that Mayumi is making coffee and rice with her bottled water, pulling out her dry red pepper seasoning and sitting down to study. I know every resident by their laugh, their cough. And I see memories pass like motion blur ghosts from doorway to doorway, remember lying on the hard tile floor and laughing until we cried, ducking under raindrops as we ran to Subway, making footprints in the snow on Stankowski, an awkward spot or two worth a smile from a distraction... unfulfilled and fulfilled promises, that took physical form at some point and left footprints.
I should have blogged more when it was new. These things cease to be so fascinating but isn't that interesting in and of itself? Living here for a year, we've already painted the campus with enough sweat, tears, blood, colours of exhaustion, excitement, plans to make it ours.
But now I eat seaweed. I can list at least 20 flavours of Ramen. With my eyes clothes I can hear and understand that Mayumi is making coffee and rice with her bottled water, pulling out her dry red pepper seasoning and sitting down to study. I know every resident by their laugh, their cough. And I see memories pass like motion blur ghosts from doorway to doorway, remember lying on the hard tile floor and laughing until we cried, ducking under raindrops as we ran to Subway, making footprints in the snow on Stankowski, an awkward spot or two worth a smile from a distraction... unfulfilled and fulfilled promises, that took physical form at some point and left footprints.
I should have blogged more when it was new. These things cease to be so fascinating but isn't that interesting in and of itself? Living here for a year, we've already painted the campus with enough sweat, tears, blood, colours of exhaustion, excitement, plans to make it ours.
April 13, 2009
I Will Learn to Photoshop!
I thought I was pretty good at Photoshop. After all, I could compile pictures and make a wicked looking siggy. Or banner.
But I realized that I couldn't even do something as simple as adding water to a scene in Photoshop.
That's going to change.
Ignore the fact that I photoshopped myself here into the Swiss Alps and that I 'Posterized' the whole scene. The point is that I followed a tutorial to add water. That water in the foreground? Yeah, that's completely my invention. I'm going to keep practicing this.
Slightly Disheartening Japanese Update
I have a confession to make. My announcement that I had broken down the first wall of Japanese was a bit premature. I did feel something break (two?) weeks ago, but I'm now pretty sure it was the writing system - the idea of balancing three of them, no spaces, and how to look at Kanji without screaming in pure terror. Japanese vocabulary and grammar are still giving ground very, very slowly.
But I'm not worried. At the moment I'm taking it one construction at a time, substituting different things in to make new meanings. My book is running more and more against my learning style the further I get, but I'm just going to put up with it for a while. Next weekend I can pick up one of my other Japanese books if I want - but I think the other ones are even worse about showing Romanji than this one, and I don't really know how they treat grammar, etc yet. Laura told me I could borrow her textbook over the summer if I wanted to, and it looks pretty nice, so I may take her up on that.
But I know more than 50 Kanji now, and my knowledge of Hiragana is rock solid!
But I'm not worried. At the moment I'm taking it one construction at a time, substituting different things in to make new meanings. My book is running more and more against my learning style the further I get, but I'm just going to put up with it for a while. Next weekend I can pick up one of my other Japanese books if I want - but I think the other ones are even worse about showing Romanji than this one, and I don't really know how they treat grammar, etc yet. Laura told me I could borrow her textbook over the summer if I wanted to, and it looks pretty nice, so I may take her up on that.
But I know more than 50 Kanji now, and my knowledge of Hiragana is rock solid!
April 12, 2009
Easter as an Exile
私の気の卵 (My Egg of Power... has the Kanji for Power on it.)I'm still in the States this year, but I might as well not be. Tabitha and I are just about the only Americans left at Mizzou. The parking lots are deserted as most of the student body has headed home to be with their families for the holiday. My parents called this morning and I talked to each of them a bit, which was nice... Still, I better get used to experiencing these holidays as an exile, eh? :)
I bought some egg dye last time I was home, and so Mayumi, Mitsuki, Mimi, Tabi and I decided to dye some eggs. Mayumi bought a dozen and we accidentally cracked one, then we raided the downstairs fridge and stole four more that expired only a few weeks ago. We boiled them in two rice cookers, and it seemed to work pretty well. Laura and Elvina showed up later and each dyed an egg. Considering that it was the first time most of our group had dyed eggs, they caught on really fast and made some really cute and creative designs and colours!
April 11, 2009
Why I'm Partial to Bad Weather
Today the weather is beautiful. The sun is shining and the grass is green, and it's nice and perfect cool - the spring still working on it's comeback from the aftershock of winter that hit last week and even brought a bit of snow to the pear blossoms and daffodils.
And when the weather's nice, I just can't rest. There's an itching inside of me screaming, "Don't delay! Go out as soon as you possibly can! Walk, run, climb, wade... enjoy!"
And that's just the problem. Quite often, I can't. Or the rest of me doesn't want to. And then I can't make all of me happy with the new plan, because the itch won't go away.
Today my friends are all out of town and I'm a bit sick and feel somewhat miserable, and I'd love to study some Japanese and I need to clean my room and do a lot of schoolwork. But this itch wants me out and about. It's ridiculous. Alone? Leaving all responsibilities behind? Sneezing the whole time?
If it was raining and dreary out, like it was last week when I felt fine, I'd relax completely, knowing it was a Saturday - I could rest and not waste a thing. Take a nap. Read. Do laundry. But instead I want out and don't want out. I'm miserable.
And when the weather's nice, I just can't rest. There's an itching inside of me screaming, "Don't delay! Go out as soon as you possibly can! Walk, run, climb, wade... enjoy!"
And that's just the problem. Quite often, I can't. Or the rest of me doesn't want to. And then I can't make all of me happy with the new plan, because the itch won't go away.
Today my friends are all out of town and I'm a bit sick and feel somewhat miserable, and I'd love to study some Japanese and I need to clean my room and do a lot of schoolwork. But this itch wants me out and about. It's ridiculous. Alone? Leaving all responsibilities behind? Sneezing the whole time?
If it was raining and dreary out, like it was last week when I felt fine, I'd relax completely, knowing it was a Saturday - I could rest and not waste a thing. Take a nap. Read. Do laundry. But instead I want out and don't want out. I'm miserable.
April 10, 2009
Winterbells
http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/bells.htm
This game is so cute and sweet. :D I love it! Can't help but feel that I could do much better with a mouse, though. ;)
My High Score:
This game is so cute and sweet. :D I love it! Can't help but feel that I could do much better with a mouse, though. ;)
My High Score:
Life in the Faroes
I realized that I haven't yet mentioned my other blog, Life in the Faroes. I am the secondary writer/translator of this blog, which is primarily written by my friend Uni. Uni is from the Faroe Islands and he is the one who helps me with Faroese when I have time to study it! :D (Wish I had more, I love the language and Uni is so nice and helpful!)
Anyway, we started writing this blog together because we realized that, despite recent increases, the internet isn't exactly saturated with information about the Faroes, especially daily life there... and there is a marked lack of bilingual English - Faroese resources online.
The blog can be found at:
http://roskur.blogspot.com/
Anyway, we started writing this blog together because we realized that, despite recent increases, the internet isn't exactly saturated with information about the Faroes, especially daily life there... and there is a marked lack of bilingual English - Faroese resources online.
The blog can be found at:
http://roskur.blogspot.com/
April 09, 2009
Liisa! (And Johan and Zahra)
I bought Liisa's birthday present today, but it cost more than it should and so I have to go back and get the card another time. The card I was looking at was nice, but it wasn't absolutely irreplaceable. I like the gift. It's very much black humour, so I think Liisa will appreciate it. :) It's a bit late for me to send it to her, but then, her present to me is going to be more than a month late... so... I have some leeway. XD We've been awful penpals lately... really since I visited her. But that's maybe because we're more like ordinary friends now - we find out about big things on Facebook, so that removes the urgency for emails... and we know that we'll remain friends if we miss a month or two or twelve of our correspondance.
But I do need to send her an email. Perhaps this weekend, since it will be my last free one for a long, long time? On that subject I should send one to Johan too. It's not that I don't think of them! I just get super absorbed when I start writing emails. Speaking of which I have a pseudo penpal right now through the university. Her name is Zahra and she is from India - she's been accepted into the Journalism school here and will arrive in the fall. Since I'm on a five year plan we'll actually be graduating together... and I think we're the same age! :) So there's potential for this to turn into a very real friendship. ;)
I've been answering her questions and worries about coming here. She seems very smart and her English is great, but some of her questions still make me laugh. "Are there any trains and busses that go from New York to Columbia?" O.o I'm of course trying not to be bias when I tell her about the different FIGS, but I'm kind of hoping she'll be in mine. ^^ It would be great to start the year with an ally in my hall and in the class I'm teaching!
But I do need to send her an email. Perhaps this weekend, since it will be my last free one for a long, long time? On that subject I should send one to Johan too. It's not that I don't think of them! I just get super absorbed when I start writing emails. Speaking of which I have a pseudo penpal right now through the university. Her name is Zahra and she is from India - she's been accepted into the Journalism school here and will arrive in the fall. Since I'm on a five year plan we'll actually be graduating together... and I think we're the same age! :) So there's potential for this to turn into a very real friendship. ;)
I've been answering her questions and worries about coming here. She seems very smart and her English is great, but some of her questions still make me laugh. "Are there any trains and busses that go from New York to Columbia?" O.o I'm of course trying not to be bias when I tell her about the different FIGS, but I'm kind of hoping she'll be in mine. ^^ It would be great to start the year with an ally in my hall and in the class I'm teaching!
Jo'Shawn
I'm finished with Big Brothers Big Sisters. It happened like this...
Last Wednesday I went to Elementary School A at the usual time and went to the office to sign in. There was a lady in there speaking with the secretary and I didn't pay much attention until I heard a name - Jo'Shawn. How many kids can there be in that school named Jo'Shawn? How many kids can there be in the world named Jo'Shawn?
Jo'Shawn is my 'little'. I sort of lingered, wanting to know what they were talking about, thinking, "It's probably none of my business, but..." I became aware of their being aware that I was lingering, so I left. I went through the little school that's sort of split level, sort of strange, that seemed so complicated and foreign those first few weeks, but lately I've felt almost like I have a right to be there. Up the stairs.
I was almost to the classroom when I heard 'Jo'shawn' again, from a little girl just outside. She was writing a letter with big loopy second grader handwriting. She was with an attendant and the attendant asked, "Who's Jo'Shawn?" "He's that kid who's always being silly!" said the girl. I stopped, looked at her letter briefly and saw that it was addressed to Jo'Shawn. The girl turned and recognized me, I don't know how...
"Oh!" she said cheerfully. "Jo'Shawn moved!"
...
... Thanks for the notice?
I went in to talk to his teacher. Apparently she didn't know either - she had been out on Tuesday and surprise! That was his last day. And all those unfinished assignments would remain unfinished, and Jo'Shawn's desk would be cleared out abruptly and... Confusion, surprise, must have been evident on my face.
"It happens a lot here." The teacher said.
I returned to the office. The lady from earlier was still there, talking with the secretary. I returned my nametag and said, "Well, I guess I'm not coming anymore. My little was Jo'Shawn."
That excited them. They said that they were trying to get 'mobility' for him, since he had only moved within town and might be able to get transportation to continue going to Elementary School A. Either way, they said, they hoped I would continue to be his Big Sister, because evidentally he liked me a lot. They gave me directions to his new school, Elementary School B. It was a couple miles away, through unknown downtown areas I wouldn't want to be at night, but it was daytime, a nice day, and I had a reason to go there, so it wasn't too bad.
I found some strange modern art. I saw Columbia College. I passed beggers who... begged... and I'm so not used to that... I shrank several inches and wanted a dollar or two to magically go from my pocket to theirs but I was too nervous and unaccustomed to approach and do it myself and I don't think the magic worked. I want to at least smile at them - I don't hate them - but if you look their way they say it - "spare any change?" It's wicked of me but I can't help but think in a corner of my mind that 'spar' is Norwegian for save... I know enough about the varied circumstances that lead people to this that I hold off the rest of my mind from judging them, but... there is this uncomfortable tickle and on the way back I take another street, closer to construction and further from uncomfortableness.
Finally, as I was about to turn back, I saw 'children crossing' signs and knew I was just around the corner. I thought, "If Jo'Shawn moved, he'll want to see me." The thought made me smile. I hoped the transition wasnt hard on him. I went in and the people there were much less friendly than at Elementary School A. But eventually they told me that his first day was tomorrow, he wasn't there yet. I left and the way back was longer.
This Wednesday I called Elementary School A to check on mobility and whether that had worked out. It hadn't. The weather wasn't as nice but I walked all the way to Elementary School B, and waited twenty minutes to meet his teacher, and that settled things. Elementary School B only allows Big Sisters to meet with students during lunchtime. I have classes then.
After all of that - a dead end.
I cry to easily. I started to cry. I wasn't weeping, but there were tears in my eyes and my voice changed and I hated it and willed it away and they looked at me strangely. I had to say something and I said,
"I'm sorry, I've just walked a long way."
I asked if I could see him today. They said I could in a few hours (when school was out?).
"I mean, just for a few minutes... to say goodbye... because I guess I won't see him again."
That could be arranged. The short walk upstairs I tried to cut my crying out completely. I almost succeeded. Jo'Shawn was happy to see me. He gave me a tackle hug which almost made me cry again. He said, "I thought you wouldn't come!" We stood out in the hallway and I asked him about his new school but then I said "Listen, I can't come anymore because I have class during your lunch. Okay? I'll try to come next year, okay? :)" The broken smile.
He'd asked for Origami paper for weeks, and I'd kept it with me for if he finished all of his schoolwork. He never did! Got close sometimes, but I kept all the pretty paper in my Spanish book. And I had it with me. So I took it out and gave it to him then.
I wish we could have had a real last week and played a game and been happy about it, but it was so sudden and abrupt and strange. And I feel like I'm abandoning him when he changes schools, the hardest time to be abandoned. But what could I do? We hugged again, he had to go back to class, watching some movie... I went out a side door because I didn't want to see the office people again.
I walked home. It was a long walk.
Last Wednesday I went to Elementary School A at the usual time and went to the office to sign in. There was a lady in there speaking with the secretary and I didn't pay much attention until I heard a name - Jo'Shawn. How many kids can there be in that school named Jo'Shawn? How many kids can there be in the world named Jo'Shawn?
Jo'Shawn is my 'little'. I sort of lingered, wanting to know what they were talking about, thinking, "It's probably none of my business, but..." I became aware of their being aware that I was lingering, so I left. I went through the little school that's sort of split level, sort of strange, that seemed so complicated and foreign those first few weeks, but lately I've felt almost like I have a right to be there. Up the stairs.
I was almost to the classroom when I heard 'Jo'shawn' again, from a little girl just outside. She was writing a letter with big loopy second grader handwriting. She was with an attendant and the attendant asked, "Who's Jo'Shawn?" "He's that kid who's always being silly!" said the girl. I stopped, looked at her letter briefly and saw that it was addressed to Jo'Shawn. The girl turned and recognized me, I don't know how...
"Oh!" she said cheerfully. "Jo'Shawn moved!"
...
... Thanks for the notice?
I went in to talk to his teacher. Apparently she didn't know either - she had been out on Tuesday and surprise! That was his last day. And all those unfinished assignments would remain unfinished, and Jo'Shawn's desk would be cleared out abruptly and... Confusion, surprise, must have been evident on my face.
"It happens a lot here." The teacher said.
I returned to the office. The lady from earlier was still there, talking with the secretary. I returned my nametag and said, "Well, I guess I'm not coming anymore. My little was Jo'Shawn."
That excited them. They said that they were trying to get 'mobility' for him, since he had only moved within town and might be able to get transportation to continue going to Elementary School A. Either way, they said, they hoped I would continue to be his Big Sister, because evidentally he liked me a lot. They gave me directions to his new school, Elementary School B. It was a couple miles away, through unknown downtown areas I wouldn't want to be at night, but it was daytime, a nice day, and I had a reason to go there, so it wasn't too bad.
I found some strange modern art. I saw Columbia College. I passed beggers who... begged... and I'm so not used to that... I shrank several inches and wanted a dollar or two to magically go from my pocket to theirs but I was too nervous and unaccustomed to approach and do it myself and I don't think the magic worked. I want to at least smile at them - I don't hate them - but if you look their way they say it - "spare any change?" It's wicked of me but I can't help but think in a corner of my mind that 'spar' is Norwegian for save... I know enough about the varied circumstances that lead people to this that I hold off the rest of my mind from judging them, but... there is this uncomfortable tickle and on the way back I take another street, closer to construction and further from uncomfortableness.
Finally, as I was about to turn back, I saw 'children crossing' signs and knew I was just around the corner. I thought, "If Jo'Shawn moved, he'll want to see me." The thought made me smile. I hoped the transition wasnt hard on him. I went in and the people there were much less friendly than at Elementary School A. But eventually they told me that his first day was tomorrow, he wasn't there yet. I left and the way back was longer.
This Wednesday I called Elementary School A to check on mobility and whether that had worked out. It hadn't. The weather wasn't as nice but I walked all the way to Elementary School B, and waited twenty minutes to meet his teacher, and that settled things. Elementary School B only allows Big Sisters to meet with students during lunchtime. I have classes then.
After all of that - a dead end.
I cry to easily. I started to cry. I wasn't weeping, but there were tears in my eyes and my voice changed and I hated it and willed it away and they looked at me strangely. I had to say something and I said,
"I'm sorry, I've just walked a long way."
I asked if I could see him today. They said I could in a few hours (when school was out?).
"I mean, just for a few minutes... to say goodbye... because I guess I won't see him again."
That could be arranged. The short walk upstairs I tried to cut my crying out completely. I almost succeeded. Jo'Shawn was happy to see me. He gave me a tackle hug which almost made me cry again. He said, "I thought you wouldn't come!" We stood out in the hallway and I asked him about his new school but then I said "Listen, I can't come anymore because I have class during your lunch. Okay? I'll try to come next year, okay? :)" The broken smile.
He'd asked for Origami paper for weeks, and I'd kept it with me for if he finished all of his schoolwork. He never did! Got close sometimes, but I kept all the pretty paper in my Spanish book. And I had it with me. So I took it out and gave it to him then.
I wish we could have had a real last week and played a game and been happy about it, but it was so sudden and abrupt and strange. And I feel like I'm abandoning him when he changes schools, the hardest time to be abandoned. But what could I do? We hugged again, he had to go back to class, watching some movie... I went out a side door because I didn't want to see the office people again.
I walked home. It was a long walk.
April 07, 2009
Recipe Star Quizzes
Created by Recipe Star
Created by Recipe Star
Created by Recipe Star
Yay Food Websites! :D And this one has quizzes...
April 03, 2009
Juxtaposition
I'm sitting in some amazing trees outside of Laws, working on my computer. The juxtaposition between the modern technology and this little patch of nature is quite lovely. There are obviously drawbacks to using the computer outside, like the fact that it's nearly impossible to use in bright sunlight. It makes me very aware of how badly my screen needs to be cleaned. If I want to see what I'm typing I have to use my own shadow to make a portion of it readable. But it's worth it, because the rest of the screen is filled with a picture perfect reflection of the trees above, with all their new year green leaves and even a few birds flitting around.
These trees have amazing twisty branches that form a roof over your head, and little perches where one can sit and even balance a laptop. Not exactly relaxing but it's lovely, because you almost can't see the street full of cars that's in front of you, or the concrete monstrosity that is Laws rising up to your right. You know they are there, though... the deep base boom of a passing car interrupts the birdsong, all possible natural smells are blotted out as cigarette smoke wafts in from the left, laundry smells from the right, the smell of the street from up ahead, and, most distracting, the smell of food frying at Dobbs. But that almost makes it nicer, almost makes you appreciate your tiny patch of nature more - the little spider that climbs the trunk of the tree not a foot from your face, stops and blends in perfectly... the birds that fly down and under the canopy of the trees and then back up into them, disappearing in a rustle of green.
It's a small and perfect world. I sit quietly, try not to move more than my fingers and my eyes. I wonder how many things I can see, how many pictures I can take, from just this one spot, moving only eyes and, I'll allow, my neck... spiders, birds, squirrels... even ignoring the endless variety of the people who pass by.
These trees have amazing twisty branches that form a roof over your head, and little perches where one can sit and even balance a laptop. Not exactly relaxing but it's lovely, because you almost can't see the street full of cars that's in front of you, or the concrete monstrosity that is Laws rising up to your right. You know they are there, though... the deep base boom of a passing car interrupts the birdsong, all possible natural smells are blotted out as cigarette smoke wafts in from the left, laundry smells from the right, the smell of the street from up ahead, and, most distracting, the smell of food frying at Dobbs. But that almost makes it nicer, almost makes you appreciate your tiny patch of nature more - the little spider that climbs the trunk of the tree not a foot from your face, stops and blends in perfectly... the birds that fly down and under the canopy of the trees and then back up into them, disappearing in a rustle of green.
It's a small and perfect world. I sit quietly, try not to move more than my fingers and my eyes. I wonder how many things I can see, how many pictures I can take, from just this one spot, moving only eyes and, I'll allow, my neck... spiders, birds, squirrels... even ignoring the endless variety of the people who pass by.
April 02, 2009
Circumstance
In the last two months of Statistics, I've learned a great deal about margin of error, 'p hat', confidence intervals and standard deviations. But I haven't learned a thing about what makes me most curious - explanations that aren't excuses, effects that aren't correlations. I'm thinking primarily about Nature vs. Nurture. Not the specifics, just the most general view possible. It seems to me, increasingly, that the truth might look a bit like this:
--------------Personality Types--------A----B
Life Experience Types----------A ---AA---AB
--------------------------------------B--- BA---BB
With AA, AB, BA, and BB all completely different. This seems most likely to me.
Although other times I wonder if the life experience, or the personalities, one or the other, are invented... a reason invented by the human mind, obsessed with such things.
Because it's so complex, so difficult, to imagine why hard times make some people harder, some people softer, some more empathetic, some more thoughtful, some bitter, some easy to please...
And you wonder. How would my life be different if I had suffered more? If I had suffered less? Am I prone to my sensitivities or have life's circumstances handed them to me? Why have I been able to combat trouble with sarcasm and humour in some cases and not in others?
And I wonder these same things about others, but I have less license to do so, and less data to work with. I do know that numbers say precious little about infinite combinations hiding their origins.
--------------Personality Types--------A----B
Life Experience Types----------A ---AA---AB
--------------------------------------B--- BA---BB
With AA, AB, BA, and BB all completely different. This seems most likely to me.
Although other times I wonder if the life experience, or the personalities, one or the other, are invented... a reason invented by the human mind, obsessed with such things.
Because it's so complex, so difficult, to imagine why hard times make some people harder, some people softer, some more empathetic, some more thoughtful, some bitter, some easy to please...
And you wonder. How would my life be different if I had suffered more? If I had suffered less? Am I prone to my sensitivities or have life's circumstances handed them to me? Why have I been able to combat trouble with sarcasm and humour in some cases and not in others?
And I wonder these same things about others, but I have less license to do so, and less data to work with. I do know that numbers say precious little about infinite combinations hiding their origins.
Language Book Pet Peeves
I am somewhat forgiving of typos and such in ordinary books, because most of the time they don't really matter. You can understand what was intended and move on.
In language instruction books, this is not the case. Mistakes are almost unforgivable. I was quite mad at Beginner's Finnish for a while because it would pull many of the ordinary, despicable stunts - using a word in a dialogue or an exercise chapter before it was taught to you, misspelling words in vocab lists, (do they not realize that you learn words from those?) etc. In that case I was especially mad because I felt like they had neglected to proofread properly because they knew how few alternatives there were on the market.
And for the same reason, I cannot find quite the same amount of rage for my Japanese book, although it sports many examples of those same errors. I know I have other options. I bought this book, I had a choice. But I can still rant a bit, right?
Chapter Three's title is, "Talking about Family". And, okay, so you do learn enough about ages, family member names, and gender terms to have a limited discussion on that topic. But the chapter also includes a lot about months and clock time. But aside from the annoyance of a title that expresses, at best, half of it's contents, I want to rant a bit about exercise 3.7
They want you to 'ask' about the business hours of a bunch of random businesses, and then 'answer'. Okay, so we did learn time expressions. But we hadn't learned the names for any of the businesses, nor any expression that would even approach how to ask for business hours! After a second of staring at it, horrified that I had missed a rather meaty section of vocabulary from earlier on, I see another box, below the exercise, reading, "Some extra vocabulary that you may find helpful for this exercise".
No, no, no. These boxes are a great idea.... sometimes. Like when you're asking them to talk about their hobbies and you include a box with some extra hobbies that may apply in their unique cases. But not when the WHOLE exercise hinges on words only introduced FOR the exercise!
Grrr....
In language instruction books, this is not the case. Mistakes are almost unforgivable. I was quite mad at Beginner's Finnish for a while because it would pull many of the ordinary, despicable stunts - using a word in a dialogue or an exercise chapter before it was taught to you, misspelling words in vocab lists, (do they not realize that you learn words from those?) etc. In that case I was especially mad because I felt like they had neglected to proofread properly because they knew how few alternatives there were on the market.
And for the same reason, I cannot find quite the same amount of rage for my Japanese book, although it sports many examples of those same errors. I know I have other options. I bought this book, I had a choice. But I can still rant a bit, right?
Chapter Three's title is, "Talking about Family". And, okay, so you do learn enough about ages, family member names, and gender terms to have a limited discussion on that topic. But the chapter also includes a lot about months and clock time. But aside from the annoyance of a title that expresses, at best, half of it's contents, I want to rant a bit about exercise 3.7
They want you to 'ask' about the business hours of a bunch of random businesses, and then 'answer'. Okay, so we did learn time expressions. But we hadn't learned the names for any of the businesses, nor any expression that would even approach how to ask for business hours! After a second of staring at it, horrified that I had missed a rather meaty section of vocabulary from earlier on, I see another box, below the exercise, reading, "Some extra vocabulary that you may find helpful for this exercise".
No, no, no. These boxes are a great idea.... sometimes. Like when you're asking them to talk about their hobbies and you include a box with some extra hobbies that may apply in their unique cases. But not when the WHOLE exercise hinges on words only introduced FOR the exercise!
Grrr....
March 31, 2009
Details...
Stian, do you remember our most recent conversation? About looking to the details?
Last week I sat on my dorm-room floor and felt the cold linoleum fall away, revealing a deep valley, blanketed in green and weeping like the land all around Geiranger seemed to weep, all wet rocks and waterfalls and mists and impossible blue and green. For a moment I swayed, overwhelmed by the vision alone.
But it needn't be so profound, nor so imaginary. I look to the details.
I look up
See
Impossible angles
Highways
In the branches of trees.
I have been dreaming of Finland in summer. It must be the weather. Summer in Finland is some kind of paradise - the freedom of summer without it's heat, the crisp incredible perfection of spring without the scourge that keeps its joy from me.
And these few days, sandwiched between days of clouds and wind and rain, these few perfect days... they fill the air with helpless delight, and make the details shine like jewels, so that they are barely even hidden.
When the wind blows on the water,
gently,
and the sun shines through...
Can't everyone see
The world beneath the water?
There are forests, under the creek
In the middle of downtown.
The water is like a mirror, and it's coolness calls to me even on a spring day just warm enough to make you want to stretch on the rocks and smile.
I put my face in the water, staring out over its clear, mirror surface.
It embraces me, and I find another acceptable end. The one from His Dark Materials. Heretical, maybe, but nevertheless I can imagine that it might not be so bad, might not be the worst possible end... To have our consciousness drift apart, and our particles become part of everything alive again...
I think I could live with that. Die with that.
The cool wind blows and the world is filled with light, so beautiful.
Last week I sat on my dorm-room floor and felt the cold linoleum fall away, revealing a deep valley, blanketed in green and weeping like the land all around Geiranger seemed to weep, all wet rocks and waterfalls and mists and impossible blue and green. For a moment I swayed, overwhelmed by the vision alone.
But it needn't be so profound, nor so imaginary. I look to the details.
I look up
See
Impossible angles
Highways
In the branches of trees.
I have been dreaming of Finland in summer. It must be the weather. Summer in Finland is some kind of paradise - the freedom of summer without it's heat, the crisp incredible perfection of spring without the scourge that keeps its joy from me.
And these few days, sandwiched between days of clouds and wind and rain, these few perfect days... they fill the air with helpless delight, and make the details shine like jewels, so that they are barely even hidden.
When the wind blows on the water,
gently,
and the sun shines through...
Can't everyone see
The world beneath the water?
There are forests, under the creek
In the middle of downtown.
The water is like a mirror, and it's coolness calls to me even on a spring day just warm enough to make you want to stretch on the rocks and smile.
I put my face in the water, staring out over its clear, mirror surface.
It embraces me, and I find another acceptable end. The one from His Dark Materials. Heretical, maybe, but nevertheless I can imagine that it might not be so bad, might not be the worst possible end... To have our consciousness drift apart, and our particles become part of everything alive again...
I think I could live with that. Die with that.
The cool wind blows and the world is filled with light, so beautiful.
March 30, 2009
Three Funny Things about Japanese (2)
1.) If you want to say you 'love' something, as in, you 'really like it', in Japanese, you use the expression 'daisuki'. This is made of two components: Dai (Big) and Suki (Like). Big Like!
2.) Japanese uses different sets of numbers to count things with different shapes. These are called counters. For example, one is ichi, but one year - issai, one bird - ichiwa, one dog or cat or insect - ippiki, one person - hitori. Although there is a 'place holder' counter for use when the counter is unknown, and some counters are not in common use, unique counters exist for such things as: paragraphs, footsteps, nursery trees (and stocks), bows during worship at a shrine, cannons, and theatrical acts.
3.) These names themselves can be made up from two different original systems - Chinese and Japanese. The basic words for four, seven, and nine, however, are problematic. Four is Shi, a word which also means death. This is unlucky, kind of like our number 13, so they replace it with the euphemism Yon sometimes (and in some cases you HAVE to say yon, such as Yoji (four o'clock)). The same goes for Ku, which means suffering and it often switched out with Kyu. Seven is Shichi, which Japanese people sometimes worry gets lost floating around next to shi (four) and ichi (one), so they sometimes say nana instead. :)
2.) Japanese uses different sets of numbers to count things with different shapes. These are called counters. For example, one is ichi, but one year - issai, one bird - ichiwa, one dog or cat or insect - ippiki, one person - hitori. Although there is a 'place holder' counter for use when the counter is unknown, and some counters are not in common use, unique counters exist for such things as: paragraphs, footsteps, nursery trees (and stocks), bows during worship at a shrine, cannons, and theatrical acts.
3.) These names themselves can be made up from two different original systems - Chinese and Japanese. The basic words for four, seven, and nine, however, are problematic. Four is Shi, a word which also means death. This is unlucky, kind of like our number 13, so they replace it with the euphemism Yon sometimes (and in some cases you HAVE to say yon, such as Yoji (four o'clock)). The same goes for Ku, which means suffering and it often switched out with Kyu. Seven is Shichi, which Japanese people sometimes worry gets lost floating around next to shi (four) and ichi (one), so they sometimes say nana instead. :)
March 28, 2009
Three Funny Things about Japanese (1)
1.) Japanese people worry a lot about being polite, and in Japanese this includes using different words to refer to things you want to honor, and things you want to be neutral, or humble about. Sometimes these 'honourable' version of words simply add a prefix. Other times they are completely different words. And sometimes there are even more categories than this, showing different degrees of honor!
2.) One way this manifests itself is in the names for family members. Obviously, you can't use the same word to talk about your mother or your friend's mother. You want to show your friend's mother respect, but since you are talking about your mother in connection to yourself, it would be rude to honor your mother (and, by connection, yourself!). So your friend's mother is (anata no) okaasan -- (your) mother, and my mother is (watashi no) haha -- (my) mother.
3.) The Japanese word for Manufacturer is Meikaa. Sound it out. This is an import word. Television Manufacturer is Terebi Meikaa. Sound it out. :D
2.) One way this manifests itself is in the names for family members. Obviously, you can't use the same word to talk about your mother or your friend's mother. You want to show your friend's mother respect, but since you are talking about your mother in connection to yourself, it would be rude to honor your mother (and, by connection, yourself!). So your friend's mother is (anata no) okaasan -- (your) mother, and my mother is (watashi no) haha -- (my) mother.
3.) The Japanese word for Manufacturer is Meikaa. Sound it out. This is an import word. Television Manufacturer is Terebi Meikaa. Sound it out. :D
March 27, 2009
Japanese
Finnish is now open for me - a broken language, and we look each other in the eye. This doesn't mean that I have a mastery over it. Far from it. My vocabulary is laughable, my knowledge of the grammar rudimentary and mostly theory. But the language is broken, broken open, and what I mean by that is this:
When I look at a page of Finnish text, it is foreign, yes. Foreign and yet not nonsense. My mind accepts it as language, and scans over it seeing not an impenetrable wall of barely pronounceable symbols but words. Words I may not know, but which I can nevertheless look up in a dictionary or even guess from context because I know enough about the language to wrestle the words down to their searchable form, identify singular or plural and cases, and I even have possession of a surprisingly large though still modest collection of root words and components, some of which I don't fully understand but which nevertheless occasionally manifest as intuition. The words, the sentences, they fall apart in my mind - and even when the meaning is hidden to me, I am fully confident that the meaning exists and can be found. Before the language broke, they didn't, I wasn't.
Someone once said, after a week or two of intensive effort with some language or another, "I have learnt enough to continue to learn more." Perhaps I am making it sound as though the breaking of a language is some single moment, one turning point. There are more turning points than that, of course. At some point, perhaps the next big leap for me in Finnish, the language begins to yeild itself from primary sources. A little closer in there is confidence, and new words come more swiftly, attaching themselves to a growing structure in the mind which is the grasp of that language, instead of hovering weakly and tenuously in midmind.
The very first stage, the first crack, when you learn enough to continue to learn more - the language retains it's foreigness but suddenly, magically, gives up it's utterly impossible and alien quality - you look over the landscape of the language and, gasping at the breadth and depth of the challenges ahead, but accepting them, looking the language in the eye - that first crack sounds, and changes everything, opens those doors that at first seemed impenetrable and are now, startlingly, not.
Japanese broke tonight, just that first tiny crack. Yes, after years of halfheartedly circling it, coming in every once in a while for the softest and weakest of attempts: a charge at the hiragana, perhaps, as I forced the syllabary's 46 characters into my head for a brief time before letting them leak out again. I would learn to say, "I am learning" half a dozen times and each time almost magically forget it the moment it became untrue.
It has to be said that I don't really experience this breaking with the Indo-European languages. (Maybe a tiny bit with Faroese, but starting after the first crack, perhaps? :)) Finnish was the first, and a self discipline I rarely find drove me to that second stage. I had a timeline, and a long, empty summer, and every morning before temptation set in I'd pack my bag with Beginner's Finnish (hehehe), nothing else. If I failed - tossed in the newspaper, Anna Karenina, my calculus book (jk), almost anything... alongside it, then I failed. Suddenly Finnish was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to learn Finnish, but I didn't want to study it. It was hard.
Then that first layer broke, I heard that first crack, and it became a joy. The language was mine. It was broken. It didn't yet have much to show for it, but I felt it and I knew it!
Three days at Kiser's. Danny, a television, a pantry, two crazy dogs, and Colloquial Japanese... Colloquial Japanese won about 1/4th of the time. Hours passed as I fed myself phrases. But I didn't want to learn them as phrases! I wanted to learn them as words. I wanted to build that first structure in my mind that the rest of the language could build from. But it was hard. I swallowed the words, but they were alien and didn't want to mean anything, or be remembered. I told myself the langauge would crack, like Finnish. It would give me a glimpse of it's landscape so I could face the road ahead. It bent, and bent, but didn't crack...
I came home today and I had to pack for the move. I packed and packed and out of nowhere, searing hot, crimson, a hiragana character would blaze through my mind. I would suddenly feel に (ni) so strongly that I could hardly keep from calling it out. I wanted to write に, type に, paint に... then it was gone. Talking to my mom I almost said, か (ka). "That was weird," I thought for a moment, my true puzzlement stillborn as か began to emerge onto my mental field.
After the rest of them went to bed, I sat at the kitchen table and wrote Kanji to the sound of the washing machine. 男 - Otoko - Man. I kept getting the stroke order wrong when I just wrote it 'naturally'. I filled a page with little 田's, determined to form some muscle memory around it. I filled a page with them. A college ruled page, with ten on each line.
I heard a crack. A long time in coming, if you count all those half hearted years. But I buckled down on Monday. And tonight I heard the first crack.
I know exactly 25 Kanji. I am on chapter 3 of a beginner's book. I'm only halfway through Katakana. And it doesn't matter one bit.
No spaces. Three writing systems. Counters. Particles.
It's not lunacy. It's not alien. It's merely foreign. Merely as-of-yet unknown. It's waiting for me. I know that now. And for the next three months, as often as I can spare a snatch of time, it shall be my pleasure to rip the secrets of the language limb from limb. And be humbled by it. Alternatively. It has begun.
When I look at a page of Finnish text, it is foreign, yes. Foreign and yet not nonsense. My mind accepts it as language, and scans over it seeing not an impenetrable wall of barely pronounceable symbols but words. Words I may not know, but which I can nevertheless look up in a dictionary or even guess from context because I know enough about the language to wrestle the words down to their searchable form, identify singular or plural and cases, and I even have possession of a surprisingly large though still modest collection of root words and components, some of which I don't fully understand but which nevertheless occasionally manifest as intuition. The words, the sentences, they fall apart in my mind - and even when the meaning is hidden to me, I am fully confident that the meaning exists and can be found. Before the language broke, they didn't, I wasn't.
Someone once said, after a week or two of intensive effort with some language or another, "I have learnt enough to continue to learn more." Perhaps I am making it sound as though the breaking of a language is some single moment, one turning point. There are more turning points than that, of course. At some point, perhaps the next big leap for me in Finnish, the language begins to yeild itself from primary sources. A little closer in there is confidence, and new words come more swiftly, attaching themselves to a growing structure in the mind which is the grasp of that language, instead of hovering weakly and tenuously in midmind.
The very first stage, the first crack, when you learn enough to continue to learn more - the language retains it's foreigness but suddenly, magically, gives up it's utterly impossible and alien quality - you look over the landscape of the language and, gasping at the breadth and depth of the challenges ahead, but accepting them, looking the language in the eye - that first crack sounds, and changes everything, opens those doors that at first seemed impenetrable and are now, startlingly, not.
Japanese broke tonight, just that first tiny crack. Yes, after years of halfheartedly circling it, coming in every once in a while for the softest and weakest of attempts: a charge at the hiragana, perhaps, as I forced the syllabary's 46 characters into my head for a brief time before letting them leak out again. I would learn to say, "I am learning" half a dozen times and each time almost magically forget it the moment it became untrue.
It has to be said that I don't really experience this breaking with the Indo-European languages. (Maybe a tiny bit with Faroese, but starting after the first crack, perhaps? :)) Finnish was the first, and a self discipline I rarely find drove me to that second stage. I had a timeline, and a long, empty summer, and every morning before temptation set in I'd pack my bag with Beginner's Finnish (hehehe), nothing else. If I failed - tossed in the newspaper, Anna Karenina, my calculus book (jk), almost anything... alongside it, then I failed. Suddenly Finnish was the last thing I wanted to do. I wanted to learn Finnish, but I didn't want to study it. It was hard.
Then that first layer broke, I heard that first crack, and it became a joy. The language was mine. It was broken. It didn't yet have much to show for it, but I felt it and I knew it!
Three days at Kiser's. Danny, a television, a pantry, two crazy dogs, and Colloquial Japanese... Colloquial Japanese won about 1/4th of the time. Hours passed as I fed myself phrases. But I didn't want to learn them as phrases! I wanted to learn them as words. I wanted to build that first structure in my mind that the rest of the language could build from. But it was hard. I swallowed the words, but they were alien and didn't want to mean anything, or be remembered. I told myself the langauge would crack, like Finnish. It would give me a glimpse of it's landscape so I could face the road ahead. It bent, and bent, but didn't crack...
I came home today and I had to pack for the move. I packed and packed and out of nowhere, searing hot, crimson, a hiragana character would blaze through my mind. I would suddenly feel に (ni) so strongly that I could hardly keep from calling it out. I wanted to write に, type に, paint に... then it was gone. Talking to my mom I almost said, か (ka). "That was weird," I thought for a moment, my true puzzlement stillborn as か began to emerge onto my mental field.
After the rest of them went to bed, I sat at the kitchen table and wrote Kanji to the sound of the washing machine. 男 - Otoko - Man. I kept getting the stroke order wrong when I just wrote it 'naturally'. I filled a page with little 田's, determined to form some muscle memory around it. I filled a page with them. A college ruled page, with ten on each line.
I heard a crack. A long time in coming, if you count all those half hearted years. But I buckled down on Monday. And tonight I heard the first crack.
I know exactly 25 Kanji. I am on chapter 3 of a beginner's book. I'm only halfway through Katakana. And it doesn't matter one bit.
No spaces. Three writing systems. Counters. Particles.
It's not lunacy. It's not alien. It's merely foreign. Merely as-of-yet unknown. It's waiting for me. I know that now. And for the next three months, as often as I can spare a snatch of time, it shall be my pleasure to rip the secrets of the language limb from limb. And be humbled by it. Alternatively. It has begun.
March 26, 2009
Japanese from Anime!! (Not)
"Japanese is only easy in the sense that it's actually very hard and it takes a lot of work!"
These are very funny. :D Good thing this isn't my plan for learning Japanese.
Feelings on the Move
We're moving to Florida, quite officially by now, and the house in St. Louis is on the market. My emotions about this change almost by the minute, but can be summed up fairly well just by a sense of suddenness. When people ask me how I feel and I explain it in this way, they think that I mean that it hasn't sunk in yet. Oh, it has. And sometimes I feel sad or nostalgic or something else, but mostly just distant from it, in a way. And there's no sense in trying to approach it more closely, in dwelling in memories.
Am I even really moving? I've already moved out, after all, and this move has nothing to do with me. I won't really make friends or any sort of networks in Florida. I will go there for long months with just the family and I. And yes, it will be nice to go there in winter and spring break - it is the ultimate vacation destination, after all, and it almost seems wrong to move there permanantly.
But it is what it is. I'm clearing out my room. I get to keep most of my stuff, at least, the half that means something to me. Right now about 1/4th of my room is completely sterile and no longer mine. The "Miranda's Room" sign my Grandmother painted is gone, and my pictures are replaced by some strange paintings of jazz musicians Pam gave us to cover nail holes on the wall. Some of my furniture now stands completely empty, except for a handful of dust bunnies.
The rest of my room is getting there. Bookshelves stand half empty, the books getting loaded into laundry baskets to take away. I have a collection of crates to load everything I want to keep into. Most of them are for clothing, then there is one for electronics, one for movies and music, two for nostalgia... I know we oughtn't be defined by possessions, but that last category does tell a story... I attach memories to things easily, and seeing holiday cards, correspondances, accomplishments, events, vacations, schoolwork, and more packed into these crates reinforces this growing sense of finiteness.
I remember once playing a video game, and after so much work and striving and caring I realized how small my save game file was, how few variances there really were between my save game and all the others the game was made to generate. I experience this funny creeping feeling that these crates are my save game.
My second ever Facebook status is, "Miranda is scattering her posessions to the four winds. At least, it feels that way." So I guess the way I feel is windblown. It just seems like such a radical change, even though it affects me much less than the others. I do hope it will make my mom happy. :) The weather, if nothing else, should agree with her.
But the change, especially for me, seeing it through the window of a brief spring break, seems sudden and strange, and brings me face to face with finiteness.
Am I even really moving? I've already moved out, after all, and this move has nothing to do with me. I won't really make friends or any sort of networks in Florida. I will go there for long months with just the family and I. And yes, it will be nice to go there in winter and spring break - it is the ultimate vacation destination, after all, and it almost seems wrong to move there permanantly.
But it is what it is. I'm clearing out my room. I get to keep most of my stuff, at least, the half that means something to me. Right now about 1/4th of my room is completely sterile and no longer mine. The "Miranda's Room" sign my Grandmother painted is gone, and my pictures are replaced by some strange paintings of jazz musicians Pam gave us to cover nail holes on the wall. Some of my furniture now stands completely empty, except for a handful of dust bunnies.
The rest of my room is getting there. Bookshelves stand half empty, the books getting loaded into laundry baskets to take away. I have a collection of crates to load everything I want to keep into. Most of them are for clothing, then there is one for electronics, one for movies and music, two for nostalgia... I know we oughtn't be defined by possessions, but that last category does tell a story... I attach memories to things easily, and seeing holiday cards, correspondances, accomplishments, events, vacations, schoolwork, and more packed into these crates reinforces this growing sense of finiteness.
I remember once playing a video game, and after so much work and striving and caring I realized how small my save game file was, how few variances there really were between my save game and all the others the game was made to generate. I experience this funny creeping feeling that these crates are my save game.
My second ever Facebook status is, "Miranda is scattering her posessions to the four winds. At least, it feels that way." So I guess the way I feel is windblown. It just seems like such a radical change, even though it affects me much less than the others. I do hope it will make my mom happy. :) The weather, if nothing else, should agree with her.
But the change, especially for me, seeing it through the window of a brief spring break, seems sudden and strange, and brings me face to face with finiteness.
March 18, 2009
Yahoo!!!
Dear Miranda:
Congratulations! After carefully reviewing the evaluations of your performance and the staffing needs within the halls, we are pleased to offer you a position as a Peer Advisor for the 2009-2010 academic year.
Your tentative assignment for next fall is Cross Cultural Journalism (A) in South Hall. Although it is unlikely to change, there have been times in the past where we have had to adjust staffing assignments based upon demand for Freshman Interest Groups which is why your assignment will remain tentative until the end of this term.
So, it's official. I got the job and will be a P.A. next year. I didn't get my top choice of location - Pangaea, but I also didn't know that Cross Cultural Journalism existed. And the more I think about it, there is a distinct set of advantages and disadvantages to being placed there instead.
Disadvantages:
Worse location - another year of Dobbs meals
Not living with the foreigners... :(
Advantages:
Getting involved with journalism
Being able to go to international parties
Being able to be real friends with the international students, if I can manage to meet them, since there won't be a conflict of interest.
Nicer dorm.
March 17, 2009
It Looks So Innocent
I finished my lovely, if unorthodox, tomato-chicken-noodle-rice soup, so it was time to cook again. The other day at the grocery store I bought mushrooms and green beans, so I knew I wanted to use those, and that was about it. I also thought it might be nice to make an Asian soup.
I came home and started working. It is beginning to astonish me that we are allowed rice cookers in our dorm rooms. For the record, anyone who thinks that it is impossible to cook things in a dorm room has not realized the potential of their rice cooker. I still haven't figured out a way to make pizza or pie here, but just about anything else is possible. :D
Today I sauteed mushrooms. In my dorm room...
This worked remarkably well. I decided to season it with some chili pepper. And I added some rice.
Juices started leaking out everywhere and it started to smell good. I was a little bit terrified because I had no idea where this was going. I haven't even really cooked mushrooms myself before.
After the mushrooms seemed sort of done (didn't know what to look for), I added water so that the rice could puff up. And I decided to use some curry and ginger.
Then I added the green beans, and a can of coconut milk that I had lying around. It tasted too creamy then, almost like dessert. I wasn't sure how much spice I would need to get it back to the pre-coconut milk flavour level. The answer - 1 Heckuvalot. I added curry, pepper, salt, sugar, red pepper, garlic, and ginger in copious amounts.
And then, it was perfect... :D
It makes me sweat all over the place, but it's really yummy. Mayumi likes it too.
I came home and started working. It is beginning to astonish me that we are allowed rice cookers in our dorm rooms. For the record, anyone who thinks that it is impossible to cook things in a dorm room has not realized the potential of their rice cooker. I still haven't figured out a way to make pizza or pie here, but just about anything else is possible. :D
Today I sauteed mushrooms. In my dorm room...
This worked remarkably well. I decided to season it with some chili pepper. And I added some rice.
Juices started leaking out everywhere and it started to smell good. I was a little bit terrified because I had no idea where this was going. I haven't even really cooked mushrooms myself before.
After the mushrooms seemed sort of done (didn't know what to look for), I added water so that the rice could puff up. And I decided to use some curry and ginger.
Then I added the green beans, and a can of coconut milk that I had lying around. It tasted too creamy then, almost like dessert. I wasn't sure how much spice I would need to get it back to the pre-coconut milk flavour level. The answer - 1 Heckuvalot. I added curry, pepper, salt, sugar, red pepper, garlic, and ginger in copious amounts.
And then, it was perfect... :DIt makes me sweat all over the place, but it's really yummy. Mayumi likes it too.
March 16, 2009
The Birth Pangs of Spring
Spring is coming! Alright, so it's mostly here, but the weather is so fickle in Missouri that one can never be certain it's here to stay. For three weeks now we've alternated between cool, very wet days, warm perfect slice of heaven days, and freezing days when it feels like we're back in the heart of winter and all the rain from the day before freezes. It's a treacherous time of year. Check the weather before you go out!
Spring break is next week, which means a lot of work for us now. I wrote no less than three essays over the weekend. Two are for a pass fail class, so I didn't put much into them. I also slacked off a bit on the Spanish one, as I gave that professor some of my best work with the last essay and he didn't appreciate it at all. Surprise, I got the same grade on this one (93%), but he docks points without any explanation and he's too scary and wrathful to ask about it. (4/5 on content... what more was he looking for? I know I was the only person to pick the harder topic, and I spent an hour or so planning the content alone!)
Oh well. Tonight I have a Statistics Exam. And a Prom. Don't ask how that is going to work out.
But today I saw some little white flowers poking out of some mulch outside of Arts and Sciences. And after the rains, all the lichen on the trees glows an almost painful green. Observe...
Coincidentally, this is my answer. Look to the details...
Spring break is next week, which means a lot of work for us now. I wrote no less than three essays over the weekend. Two are for a pass fail class, so I didn't put much into them. I also slacked off a bit on the Spanish one, as I gave that professor some of my best work with the last essay and he didn't appreciate it at all. Surprise, I got the same grade on this one (93%), but he docks points without any explanation and he's too scary and wrathful to ask about it. (4/5 on content... what more was he looking for? I know I was the only person to pick the harder topic, and I spent an hour or so planning the content alone!)
Oh well. Tonight I have a Statistics Exam. And a Prom. Don't ask how that is going to work out.
But today I saw some little white flowers poking out of some mulch outside of Arts and Sciences. And after the rains, all the lichen on the trees glows an almost painful green. Observe...
Coincidentally, this is my answer. Look to the details...
March 15, 2009
Rice Cooker Soup Adventure!
Edit: Since this post was published, I have made much better soups in my rice cooker. Almost anything I can make in a pot over a stove (noodle mixes, for example) I can make in the rice cooker with very few adjustments - perhaps a bit more time, since the temp is a bit lower. You might also be pleasantly surprised if, in a pinch, you try using your rice cooker in the capacity of a very small skillet. I've cooked eggs and mushrooms and chicken breasts in mine.
Back to the original post:
------------
I dropped my meal plan down to seven. This means it's time for me to get SERIOUS about dorm room cooking. My meal plan was previously 10 a week, and I do just fine on two meals a day (lots of snacks ;), so generally it would work out just right so that I'd eat out or cook something small for four meals a week. But seven meals is a bit harder. So I thought I'd experiment with the possibilities of a rice cooker. I've heard you could cook soup in them, and the other day I bought some campbells chicken noodle soup. Still, online I only found 'rice cooker soup' recipes, as if there is some magical formula to making a soup well in a rice cooker. And nowhere did anyone mention having prepared canned soup in a rice cooker.
Well, I was about to change that. :D But then I decided that I've always wanted to put rice in my chicken noodle soup, and when using a rice cooker seemed like the perfect time to try that. So first I cooked some really short grained Arabic rice.
While that was cooking I got really sad, imagining the vegetable free final product. A lot of people think I don't like fruits and vegetables. This is because I am allergic to most of them in their raw form. But vegetables cooked... as in soups... are definitely my friends. I had an intense longing for carrots. I don't happen to have any carrots lying around, (hopefully remedied by my next trip to a proper grocery store), but I do have a few cans of tomatoes (w/ basil). Better than nothing, right? :)
Right. Then I added the soup, and, because I evidently am a very hyper cook, some garlic and some Mrs. Dash, which I bought yesterday on a whim and haven't ever used before.
Nom nom nom!! :D For me, this is about 6-8 servings. Perhaps 2-4 for an ordinary person? XD I really don't know. And the whole thing was pretty easy, low maintenance, and cost about 3$.
Back to the original post:
------------
I dropped my meal plan down to seven. This means it's time for me to get SERIOUS about dorm room cooking. My meal plan was previously 10 a week, and I do just fine on two meals a day (lots of snacks ;), so generally it would work out just right so that I'd eat out or cook something small for four meals a week. But seven meals is a bit harder. So I thought I'd experiment with the possibilities of a rice cooker. I've heard you could cook soup in them, and the other day I bought some campbells chicken noodle soup. Still, online I only found 'rice cooker soup' recipes, as if there is some magical formula to making a soup well in a rice cooker. And nowhere did anyone mention having prepared canned soup in a rice cooker.
Well, I was about to change that. :D But then I decided that I've always wanted to put rice in my chicken noodle soup, and when using a rice cooker seemed like the perfect time to try that. So first I cooked some really short grained Arabic rice.
While that was cooking I got really sad, imagining the vegetable free final product. A lot of people think I don't like fruits and vegetables. This is because I am allergic to most of them in their raw form. But vegetables cooked... as in soups... are definitely my friends. I had an intense longing for carrots. I don't happen to have any carrots lying around, (hopefully remedied by my next trip to a proper grocery store), but I do have a few cans of tomatoes (w/ basil). Better than nothing, right? :)
Right. Then I added the soup, and, because I evidently am a very hyper cook, some garlic and some Mrs. Dash, which I bought yesterday on a whim and haven't ever used before.
Nom nom nom!! :D For me, this is about 6-8 servings. Perhaps 2-4 for an ordinary person? XD I really don't know. And the whole thing was pretty easy, low maintenance, and cost about 3$.
March 11, 2009
Tired...
In the morning I woke up begging, as if there was some higher power who held my fate in his hands, who could decide to let me out of my commitments for the day, four classes and afterwards the long walk to the elementary school to see Jo'Shawn... and today, when I was tired, still so tired, and my room was cold.
Last week it hit 26 (80 fahrenheit) degrees, and they turned the heat off for the spring, prematurely... Today it is -7 (20). The rain that fell so recently and tore through grass and mud to form rivers on sidewalks and turn gutters, briefly, into raging torrents was now frozen, I knew from long experience, like glass preserving our world for a museum.
So tired. So cold. The minutes on my microwave's clock flew away two by two, each time I closed my eyes.
Last week it hit 26 (80 fahrenheit) degrees, and they turned the heat off for the spring, prematurely... Today it is -7 (20). The rain that fell so recently and tore through grass and mud to form rivers on sidewalks and turn gutters, briefly, into raging torrents was now frozen, I knew from long experience, like glass preserving our world for a museum.
So tired. So cold. The minutes on my microwave's clock flew away two by two, each time I closed my eyes.
March 10, 2009
AMG Presentations
I spent all day at the local high school today, mostly giving presentations. 10 in all, half an hour each... and by the end of it my throat was sore, my legs felt as if they might collapse under me, my back ached, and I felt as if I was using the very last of my powers to keep a smile on my face and keep talking about why kids should study languages as if it was the first presentation, as if I was still thrilled and passionate and... ahhh...
It was a long day, but good, and those few good students have the power to encourage you as much as the sleepers discourage you.
One of the teachers actually asked me whether I had taken a speech class! She said that I did a brilliant job with the presentation. :D And the Latin students were really friendly, asking tons of questions, so I felt comfortable around them and it became less of a presentation and more of a conversation. They asked me where I was from with a sort of awe at one point, and I came down to earth a bit and laughed, saying, "Over in St. Louis".
"She seems almost like an alien, doesn't she?" Said the teacher.
But she said it like a compliment. :)
Ah, I came home tired to the bone... you're welcome, AMG!
It was a long day, but good, and those few good students have the power to encourage you as much as the sleepers discourage you.
One of the teachers actually asked me whether I had taken a speech class! She said that I did a brilliant job with the presentation. :D And the Latin students were really friendly, asking tons of questions, so I felt comfortable around them and it became less of a presentation and more of a conversation. They asked me where I was from with a sort of awe at one point, and I came down to earth a bit and laughed, saying, "Over in St. Louis".
"She seems almost like an alien, doesn't she?" Said the teacher.
But she said it like a compliment. :)
Ah, I came home tired to the bone... you're welcome, AMG!
March 09, 2009
Like Nails on a Chalkboard
There's a sort of voice the females here use. Especially the sorority and sorority type girls, especially when talking to boys, or when speaking in front of class, but all of us, really, some time or another. It's horrible to me, like nails on a chalkboard. I don't know how to describe it...
It's one part whining, one part hypocritically mixed phony self doubt and confidence, one part sickly sweet.
There are times when I think that I simply can't listen to it anymore. And then, now and then, I catch myself doing it.
Surely such a habit would have been even more widespread at Parkway West? But now I notice it, now more than ever. I don't know whether it is living with foreigners, and becoming accustomed to strange accents and speech patterns as a part of people's voices, or whether it is some other unknown thing...
But when I hear someone talking like this, my stomach twists and I would prefer anything - a nice Germanic accent, a soft Mediterranean accent, a funny Asian accent, a twangy Texan accent, a hick accent like Laura and Tabi and I indulge in now and then, a striking city accent... anything but this voice...
Slightly screwed up, Jashen? Hahaha. You're right, of course. And I'm willing to bet that my dislike of this voice, whatever fancy words I try to use to turn the world against it, is initially rooted in some hurt. But there it is. And I have to get away.
It's one part whining, one part hypocritically mixed phony self doubt and confidence, one part sickly sweet.
There are times when I think that I simply can't listen to it anymore. And then, now and then, I catch myself doing it.
Surely such a habit would have been even more widespread at Parkway West? But now I notice it, now more than ever. I don't know whether it is living with foreigners, and becoming accustomed to strange accents and speech patterns as a part of people's voices, or whether it is some other unknown thing...
But when I hear someone talking like this, my stomach twists and I would prefer anything - a nice Germanic accent, a soft Mediterranean accent, a funny Asian accent, a twangy Texan accent, a hick accent like Laura and Tabi and I indulge in now and then, a striking city accent... anything but this voice...
Slightly screwed up, Jashen? Hahaha. You're right, of course. And I'm willing to bet that my dislike of this voice, whatever fancy words I try to use to turn the world against it, is initially rooted in some hurt. But there it is. And I have to get away.
Six Very Sweet Birthday Wishes
"Happy 19! I'm so glad I have such an amazing roommate like you! You like cold weather, shrimp noodle, and stupid games... and I like hot weather, beer, and staying up late! However, we love chocolates, sleeping, and talking together. <3 <3 Love you, by sweet roommate. <3"
- Mayumi
"Dear: Mira Chan
Happy Birthday *
As I often say, I really like you very much. I like many people here, but you are the most friendly person in Laws Hall, I think.
Though I am not good at talking with people, but you are always cheerful and kind, so I like to talk with you.
You always give me a lot of knowledge and vigor. Thank you for them!
Please keep being what you are now, from now on.
P.S. - Sorry for my bad English!"
- Tomomi
"Hey, and happy, happy birthday! You're 19, crazy! Anyway, this is in a
way a birthday card, I just wrote down 19 random memories we shared
last summer :P Hope it makes you smile!
Lots of love,
Liisa
1. Sitting on the floor in my room and reading the "My First 1000
Words in Finnish" kids' book and laughing at the most idiotic
pronunciations possible: hamsteri becoming [ham-ster-aye]
2. "...wanna buy an another one?" after the lovely spinach-feta
pastries at Suomenlinna.
3. The anthill. No need to say more.
4. The frustration because of the lack of public bathrooms! Shame on you, Suomi.
5. You analysing Karelian pastries: "It's funny how something
resembles cardboard so much but is still good"
6. Råg Fras.
7. The safety nets in Moominworld and comparing them with the American
ones: "Yes, you could fit a child there, we would have that covered as
well..."
8. Hemingway-picnic in the rain, on the rocks :D
9. You never got tired with playing with the fridge magnets. Sweet!
10. The ode-like praise for Maria cookies.
11. "What if we just... bought the 3-day tickets?" after some four
hours of youtubing and diplomatic "quarter of a smiley face" -ranking.
12. The beauty of the Texas accent: "'course, if I was talkin' like
this, I wouldn't even know what a diftong was..."
13. "You are such a cute new driver" when my driver's license was like
three hours old :)
14.Your affection to rocks. Naww!
15. "Flight cancelled"
16. Hullu sonni rakastaa puuroa.
17. Ordering in Finnish, ice cream in Moominworld ("Yes, I understood"
x)) and hot dog in Ruisrock. <3
18. The pretty, shiny, tiny pieces of glass at Skansen.
19. Your facial expression and high voice "Two things: Firstly, your
latrine has windows, that is really inappropriate! Secondly, THE
TOILET JUMPS!""
- Liisa
"MI-RAN-DI-TAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
HAPPY HAPPY CUMPLEAÑOS!!!!!!!
amiga d mi corazon! estas mas vieja hoy! ejejejejeje... espero que tenga un dia muy lindo.. y q a pesar d q no vas a estar tan acompañada, disfruta tu dia sea como sea!!! =D yo estare contigo en espiritu... ok?
mñn te llamo para q hablemos un rato... ok?
luv ya girly girl! take care! ^^"
- Lucia
"Happy Birthday, dearest friend! I hope it's a wonderful one! I love you and miss you :)
love,
your twin"
- Stephanie
"Bonne anniversaire, Cumpleaños feliz, grattis på födelsedagen, Felichan Naskightagon, Gute zum Geburtstag, 生日快乐, გილოცავ დაბადების დღეს, ᓇᓪᓕᐅᓂᖅᓯᐅᑦᓯᐊᕆᑦ, जन्मदिनको शुभकामना, Yumi selebretem de blong bon blong yu, Quchjaj qoSlIj, Hyvää synttäriä, Fortuna dies natalis! :P"
- Mikko
Jashen's was also very sweet! Thank you, everyone! I feel very loved today!
- Mayumi
"Dear: Mira Chan
Happy Birthday *
As I often say, I really like you very much. I like many people here, but you are the most friendly person in Laws Hall, I think.
Though I am not good at talking with people, but you are always cheerful and kind, so I like to talk with you.
You always give me a lot of knowledge and vigor. Thank you for them!
Please keep being what you are now, from now on.
P.S. - Sorry for my bad English!"
- Tomomi
"Hey, and happy, happy birthday! You're 19, crazy! Anyway, this is in a
way a birthday card, I just wrote down 19 random memories we shared
last summer :P Hope it makes you smile!
Lots of love,
Liisa
1. Sitting on the floor in my room and reading the "My First 1000
Words in Finnish" kids' book and laughing at the most idiotic
pronunciations possible: hamsteri becoming [ham-ster-aye]
2. "...wanna buy an another one?" after the lovely spinach-feta
pastries at Suomenlinna.
3. The anthill. No need to say more.
4. The frustration because of the lack of public bathrooms! Shame on you, Suomi.
5. You analysing Karelian pastries: "It's funny how something
resembles cardboard so much but is still good"
6. Råg Fras.
7. The safety nets in Moominworld and comparing them with the American
ones: "Yes, you could fit a child there, we would have that covered as
well..."
8. Hemingway-picnic in the rain, on the rocks :D
9. You never got tired with playing with the fridge magnets. Sweet!
10. The ode-like praise for Maria cookies.
11. "What if we just... bought the 3-day tickets?" after some four
hours of youtubing and diplomatic "quarter of a smiley face" -ranking.
12. The beauty of the Texas accent: "'course, if I was talkin' like
this, I wouldn't even know what a diftong was..."
13. "You are such a cute new driver" when my driver's license was like
three hours old :)
14.Your affection to rocks. Naww!
15. "Flight cancelled"
16. Hullu sonni rakastaa puuroa.
17. Ordering in Finnish, ice cream in Moominworld ("Yes, I understood"
x)) and hot dog in Ruisrock. <3
18. The pretty, shiny, tiny pieces of glass at Skansen.
19. Your facial expression and high voice "Two things: Firstly, your
latrine has windows, that is really inappropriate! Secondly, THE
TOILET JUMPS!""
- Liisa
"MI-RAN-DI-TAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
HAPPY HAPPY CUMPLEAÑOS!!!!!!!
amiga d mi corazon! estas mas vieja hoy! ejejejejeje... espero que tenga un dia muy lindo.. y q a pesar d q no vas a estar tan acompañada, disfruta tu dia sea como sea!!! =D yo estare contigo en espiritu... ok?
mñn te llamo para q hablemos un rato... ok?
luv ya girly girl! take care! ^^"
- Lucia
"Happy Birthday, dearest friend! I hope it's a wonderful one! I love you and miss you :)
love,
your twin"
- Stephanie
"Bonne anniversaire, Cumpleaños feliz, grattis på födelsedagen, Felichan Naskightagon, Gute zum Geburtstag, 生日快乐, გილოცავ დაბადების დღეს, ᓇᓪᓕᐅᓂᖅᓯᐅᑦᓯᐊᕆᑦ, जन्मदिनको शुभकामना, Yumi selebretem de blong bon blong yu, Quchjaj qoSlIj, Hyvää synttäriä, Fortuna dies natalis! :P"
- Mikko
Jashen's was also very sweet! Thank you, everyone! I feel very loved today!
Birthday Eve and Birthday
Birthday Eve:
I did not cook Singaporean food. I went to Dan and Sam's house with Aviel. They are all new friends. :D We made brownies instead of Singaporean food. Then I tried out a blow gun for the first time, and also played with a bow and arrow, and I wasn't too bad at either one! I was, however, pretty bad at nunchucks and Japanese hackeysacks, which I also tried out. We listened to some Spanish music, trying to translate it as we went. I am terrible at understanding Spanish in music! At first I figured that it would be the same for all languages, but it really isn't! XD German, Norwegian, and Japanese, for example, are usually almost as clear in a song as in speech. Ah well.
Later, we went to the potluck, which was fun. It was strange as always to eat lots of fried rice, some very spicy curry, fish in tamarind sauce, and other asian dishes alongside some good, old fashioned American food such as a western-tasting vegetable soup and corn bread. And for dessert, guava paste alongside brownies! :D I didn't know too many people there, but I find that I am getting more brave about things like that every day! Ju and Prite were there, and so was Linh.
Linh's English is still terrible! Poor girl. :D At one point I was being a bit silly and stood up on a stool so that I was as tall as an American girl I was talking to. Then later I was talking to Linh and I ended up patting her on the head. One second later I realized what I had done and said, "Ah! Linh! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have patted you on the head!" I know that it is impolite in some places to touch people on the head... and I was sure Vietnam was in that region, although I wasn't certain as to whether that custom applied to Vietnamese. She told me it wasn't a big deal, though, because we are friends. :) Okay, I guess...
I entered an eating-with-chopsticks competition with some Asians. This wasn't as bad of an idea as it sounds, because they were Thai, mostly, and therefore only used to eating noodles and such with chopsticks. We ate rice grain by grain. :D I actually won! Haha...
Later we played a game that was essentially the childhood game of Telephone, but with drawings. It was really fun, if I get a FIG next year I'm going to make them play it as an ice breaker. :) Each person takes as many slips of paper as there are people in the group. Then, on the first piece, each person draws a simple picture. Then everyone passes their stack of papers to the next person. The next person looks at the picture and describes it in three words. Then the papers are passed again, and the next person looks only at the words, not the original picture, and draws a picture based on the words. The next person looks only at this second picture, and... you get the idea. :D There were really some hilarious things that came out of this! It was exacerbated by having foreigners that didn't know some words, but even in a group of native speakers a bad artist will mess things up considerably! Plus, one can always take more time and make more complex pictures if the group is doing too well. ;)
Birthday:
I slept in, rolled out of bed, (not literally, my feet is three and a half feet (1 meter) off the ground now), and went to Dobbs at 1, expecting Brunch. No such luck! Daylight Savings Time has begun here, so I ate nothing and liked it. XD Well, actually, cereal was still out, so I ate a few bowls of frosted flakes. I didn't expect to find anyone to sit with, but I saw Pat, Clint, and Maria, and thought... why not sit with them while they finish up? Pat left after a while, but even after I had finished eating Clint and Maria and I were still talking... we ended up talking for two hours, and then it was dinner time at Dobbs! We could have eaten for free, haha. But, we weren't hungry anymore, so I just stole a bit of milk and went back home.
I got some really sweet birthday wishes via the net. :) And otherwise just mosied around. Jorge actually came to see me, which was really sweet. And it wasn't overly awkward, like normally when we see each other now. I told him about adventures from last night and then he left, saying, "Smile, be happy!" I think that might be his new motto or something. Dunno why he needs a motto, or why that should be fitting, because he's normally rather gloomy, but there it is!
Parents called. Lucia/Lydia called. Both Grandmas called. :)
Then Tabi came home, and we hung out for a bit (she made me brownies! How sweet! :D), and then just as Laura got home too we had my birthday party. :D My cake was delicious! I think it was the best birthday cake here yet! Even though it was Spongebob Squarepants themed... and, erm... I happen to hate Spongebob Squarepants. XD Certainly I never once imagined that I would have a Spongebob Squarepants themed birthday cake, and I certainly thought that the window of opportunity for that was closed by now, but surprise! I am generally the cake cutter here, I dunno why, normally because they use my knife (one of the few big chef knives that we own), and I even cut my own cake! I almost cut Spongebob in half doing so... and actually all the Japanese girls squealed and complained! XD
Both Lauras and Tabi and I went to Laura's room for a while. We played with a plastic bag, which Laura said was my Christmas present from her. Laura T. made some lovely fashion statements with it after Laura W. ripped it. :( It was such a lovely pillow before that! Then something interesting happened... Jiyoung facebook chatted Laura.
She never facebook chats us. She never /talks/ to us.
Jiyoung: Um... can I ask you favour?
Laura: Okay?
Jiyoung: This sounds weird...
Jiyoung: But I am locked in room.
Jiyoung: The door is not able to open.
I went out of the room quickly upon hearing that, even though for some reason Laura called behind me, "no, Miranda, stay here!" I went to Jiyoung's door and knocked, and asked if she was okay. She told me she was trapped and the door wouldn't open. I was playing with the door handle a bit when Laura, Laura, and Tabi joined me in the hall. After a minute, none of us could do anything with it. The handle wasn't engaging. So I ran upstairs to get Ben. Ben came down and started playing with it. I ran downstairs to tell the desk supervisor. He called some other C.A.'s and soon we had a crowd playing with old credit cards, wire clothes hangers, and screwdrivers trying to find a way in. Unfortunately the doors here are all but break in proof, from the inside or out.
Jiyoung kept shouting, "I want to pee! I want to pee!" We were worried that she would have to pee in a cup, and word arrived that we had to wait 30 minutes for anyone who knew anything to arrive. Finally they did, and they had to remove the doorknob, piece by piece, with metal cutting tools, until they could pull of the twisty part and pull the... erm... stoppy part out from the inside. A full hour after the adventure started, Jiyoung was finally free to pee! Everyone clapped. It was quite an adventure, but Laura and Tabi and I stayed for the whole thing, partly because we felt responsible, having received her cry for help, and I partly because I am hoping to 'be' Ben next year and deal with similar issues.
Back in my room, Mayumi gave me a very sweet birthday card from Mitsuki, Mimi, Richard, and herself! :D Then I wrote this blog post... XD And it wasn't my birthday anymore. What a shame. :P
Edit: Then Tomomi came in. She had hand made me a beautiful... erm... paper thing saying, "Happy Birthday Mira Chan!" She also gave me a box of Glico caramels and a tiny book in Japanese about the Zodiac animals. Since it is all written in Hiragana (which I can read, albeit very, very, very slowly), and it is a story that I am familiar with, we joked that it was at my reading level. XD Of course, I really know less than ten percent of the words, so it would take a while to read! Anyway, a really sweet gift!
I did not cook Singaporean food. I went to Dan and Sam's house with Aviel. They are all new friends. :D We made brownies instead of Singaporean food. Then I tried out a blow gun for the first time, and also played with a bow and arrow, and I wasn't too bad at either one! I was, however, pretty bad at nunchucks and Japanese hackeysacks, which I also tried out. We listened to some Spanish music, trying to translate it as we went. I am terrible at understanding Spanish in music! At first I figured that it would be the same for all languages, but it really isn't! XD German, Norwegian, and Japanese, for example, are usually almost as clear in a song as in speech. Ah well.
Later, we went to the potluck, which was fun. It was strange as always to eat lots of fried rice, some very spicy curry, fish in tamarind sauce, and other asian dishes alongside some good, old fashioned American food such as a western-tasting vegetable soup and corn bread. And for dessert, guava paste alongside brownies! :D I didn't know too many people there, but I find that I am getting more brave about things like that every day! Ju and Prite were there, and so was Linh.
Linh's English is still terrible! Poor girl. :D At one point I was being a bit silly and stood up on a stool so that I was as tall as an American girl I was talking to. Then later I was talking to Linh and I ended up patting her on the head. One second later I realized what I had done and said, "Ah! Linh! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have patted you on the head!" I know that it is impolite in some places to touch people on the head... and I was sure Vietnam was in that region, although I wasn't certain as to whether that custom applied to Vietnamese. She told me it wasn't a big deal, though, because we are friends. :) Okay, I guess...
I entered an eating-with-chopsticks competition with some Asians. This wasn't as bad of an idea as it sounds, because they were Thai, mostly, and therefore only used to eating noodles and such with chopsticks. We ate rice grain by grain. :D I actually won! Haha...
Later we played a game that was essentially the childhood game of Telephone, but with drawings. It was really fun, if I get a FIG next year I'm going to make them play it as an ice breaker. :) Each person takes as many slips of paper as there are people in the group. Then, on the first piece, each person draws a simple picture. Then everyone passes their stack of papers to the next person. The next person looks at the picture and describes it in three words. Then the papers are passed again, and the next person looks only at the words, not the original picture, and draws a picture based on the words. The next person looks only at this second picture, and... you get the idea. :D There were really some hilarious things that came out of this! It was exacerbated by having foreigners that didn't know some words, but even in a group of native speakers a bad artist will mess things up considerably! Plus, one can always take more time and make more complex pictures if the group is doing too well. ;)
Birthday:
I slept in, rolled out of bed, (not literally, my feet is three and a half feet (1 meter) off the ground now), and went to Dobbs at 1, expecting Brunch. No such luck! Daylight Savings Time has begun here, so I ate nothing and liked it. XD Well, actually, cereal was still out, so I ate a few bowls of frosted flakes. I didn't expect to find anyone to sit with, but I saw Pat, Clint, and Maria, and thought... why not sit with them while they finish up? Pat left after a while, but even after I had finished eating Clint and Maria and I were still talking... we ended up talking for two hours, and then it was dinner time at Dobbs! We could have eaten for free, haha. But, we weren't hungry anymore, so I just stole a bit of milk and went back home.
I got some really sweet birthday wishes via the net. :) And otherwise just mosied around. Jorge actually came to see me, which was really sweet. And it wasn't overly awkward, like normally when we see each other now. I told him about adventures from last night and then he left, saying, "Smile, be happy!" I think that might be his new motto or something. Dunno why he needs a motto, or why that should be fitting, because he's normally rather gloomy, but there it is!
Parents called. Lucia/Lydia called. Both Grandmas called. :)
Then Tabi came home, and we hung out for a bit (she made me brownies! How sweet! :D), and then just as Laura got home too we had my birthday party. :D My cake was delicious! I think it was the best birthday cake here yet! Even though it was Spongebob Squarepants themed... and, erm... I happen to hate Spongebob Squarepants. XD Certainly I never once imagined that I would have a Spongebob Squarepants themed birthday cake, and I certainly thought that the window of opportunity for that was closed by now, but surprise! I am generally the cake cutter here, I dunno why, normally because they use my knife (one of the few big chef knives that we own), and I even cut my own cake! I almost cut Spongebob in half doing so... and actually all the Japanese girls squealed and complained! XD
Both Lauras and Tabi and I went to Laura's room for a while. We played with a plastic bag, which Laura said was my Christmas present from her. Laura T. made some lovely fashion statements with it after Laura W. ripped it. :( It was such a lovely pillow before that! Then something interesting happened... Jiyoung facebook chatted Laura.
She never facebook chats us. She never /talks/ to us.
Jiyoung: Um... can I ask you favour?
Laura: Okay?
Jiyoung: This sounds weird...
Jiyoung: But I am locked in room.
Jiyoung: The door is not able to open.
I went out of the room quickly upon hearing that, even though for some reason Laura called behind me, "no, Miranda, stay here!" I went to Jiyoung's door and knocked, and asked if she was okay. She told me she was trapped and the door wouldn't open. I was playing with the door handle a bit when Laura, Laura, and Tabi joined me in the hall. After a minute, none of us could do anything with it. The handle wasn't engaging. So I ran upstairs to get Ben. Ben came down and started playing with it. I ran downstairs to tell the desk supervisor. He called some other C.A.'s and soon we had a crowd playing with old credit cards, wire clothes hangers, and screwdrivers trying to find a way in. Unfortunately the doors here are all but break in proof, from the inside or out.
Jiyoung kept shouting, "I want to pee! I want to pee!" We were worried that she would have to pee in a cup, and word arrived that we had to wait 30 minutes for anyone who knew anything to arrive. Finally they did, and they had to remove the doorknob, piece by piece, with metal cutting tools, until they could pull of the twisty part and pull the... erm... stoppy part out from the inside. A full hour after the adventure started, Jiyoung was finally free to pee! Everyone clapped. It was quite an adventure, but Laura and Tabi and I stayed for the whole thing, partly because we felt responsible, having received her cry for help, and I partly because I am hoping to 'be' Ben next year and deal with similar issues.
Back in my room, Mayumi gave me a very sweet birthday card from Mitsuki, Mimi, Richard, and herself! :D Then I wrote this blog post... XD And it wasn't my birthday anymore. What a shame. :P
Edit: Then Tomomi came in. She had hand made me a beautiful... erm... paper thing saying, "Happy Birthday Mira Chan!" She also gave me a box of Glico caramels and a tiny book in Japanese about the Zodiac animals. Since it is all written in Hiragana (which I can read, albeit very, very, very slowly), and it is a story that I am familiar with, we joked that it was at my reading level. XD Of course, I really know less than ten percent of the words, so it would take a while to read! Anyway, a really sweet gift!
March 08, 2009
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