May

Already end of May. Time flies so fast, but it feels like one week takes ages.

University is far too busy here. I often have to go there on the weekends as well. I feel overwhelmed.

The weather is a bit annoying as well. I should really start getting ready for the rainy season and buy some rubber boots (and a better umbrella). I've already spent some days with totally wet feet.

Today was pretty nice tough. Quite warm and sunny. I have actually got a bit of a tan, although nothing too noticeable it seems. If I was in Latvia, I'd be pretty happy about it. But in Japan, white skin is considered more of a beauty standard, so you can see many girls and women walking round with parasols. Because of this, now that I finally don't look like a zombie, I'm afraid of getting too tanned. Ridiculous! Oh, the dilemma :)

In general, I think, I'm getting accustomed to university life. The biggest problem, of course, is the language barrier. There are only 2 people in my lab who speak English, some more people who can understand some amount of English, and the rest can't make out even a word.
One of the lectures has debates. Today we had the first one. It was pretty awful. I prepared for it a lot, but when it came to asking or answering questions, I couldn't help, because I couldn't understand when was the time to ask the question or what was the oppositions question to which I know the answer. Soooo frustrating.
But some of the students do sometimes express a desire to speak more English. And many help me by typing some of the stuff that's being said into a translator. I am infinitely grateful to them for that.

I keep forgetting about the blog. Plus, I rarely get a lot of free time. But maybe now I'll try tracking my study process more, so that'll give me more opportunity to write :)

おやこどんぶり

Recent stuff

I haven't written in a really long while. Since February in fact, and it's already April.

I have been to Latvia and back. Spent only about a week there, running around the place. I think that week we got all the yen out of Rietumu Banka.

Currently awaiting my papers to go through to change my status to 'Student'. Yes, I am going to study at a university here. For now it's been a bit of a disaster really :) I feel very out of place on a campus that is predominantly made up of asian kids. Been getting too emotional as a result - no idea where I'm going, how to ask where to go, and what to do.

I also miss my parents a lot. Knowing that I won't see them for at least a year and a half makes me very sad. At the same time though, I'm pretty happy here. So maybe it balances out in the end.

I got my hair cut. It cost quite a bit for what you get. Next time I'll try explaining more what it is that I want. Maybe even in pictures. I doubt that my hairstyle is so unusual in Japan that the hairstylist couldn't understand the idea. So now I have a fringe... :D It's not too bad, but very hard to style and looks hilarious in the morning.

For now the days are peaceful. The weather is great - it's already 20C. Dreading Summer. Mostly I just lazy around and occasionally do useful stuff, like cooking, washing and cleaning. Very housewifey :)

I found this great site with easy and quick recipes - http://www.japanfoodaddict.com/

I've been trying them out a bit. Even with my culinary skills they are achievable. And with practically all ingredients I used to use at home unavailable in Japan, these recipes help out enormously. A sort of a guide for beginners into Japanese cooking.

That's about it. I suppose starting next week I'll have a more busy university life. がんばります。

Valentine's Day

Woke up - raining - very gloomy.

Chatted with my cousin for an hour or so. She lives in America, so there's a massive time difference. While I was busy doing that, Shiv got up and left for work.

Ate breakfast. Tried out the new cheeses we bought. Pretty tasty.

Practiced some kanji.

Tidied up. Vacuumed.

Washed the dishes.

Practiced some more kanji.

Got a message from Shiv. Went to the university. We ate at the canteen - nothing fancy.

Came back home. Drinking tea now.


I know, very romantic. :D

Recently I have quite a bit of free time, alas I am not being productive. Must be the winter blues. It's really cold in the flats at this time of year as well - no central heating.

I'm hoping that after the Valentine's day I can buy lots of cheap chocolate.

It's getting warmer again, unlike in Latvia where it's anywhere from -10C to -20C...

Snow bombs?

It's been a while again - a whole month.

Winter here is more like autumn. Not much snow (I think I've only seen it twice here), but it does rain from time to time.

Valentine's day is marketed much more than in Latvia. One of the department stores even has a 'Valentine's square'. At least half the floor is dedicated to chocolate. Kind of awesome, though extremely expensive. On  the other hand, there are virtually no flower shops. Perhaps girls are more wares driven. I would love to get some flowers. Unfortunately, like everything else, flowers are expensive. Maybe because of the rarity or because of the occasions on which they are given - mainly big events.

Today I found out I did get into Kumamoto University. Yay for me. Excited and terrified. My Japanese is horrible.

No way is anyone going out today. It's been snowing forever. Doesn't seem to let up at all. The snow is around 50cm, I am told. But obviously in places it's much more than that. It's the return of real winters here.