Wally's Yamasa Journal

Now that I am part of the everyday school crowd, though, I thought things would be more hectic an hour, hour-and-a-half before classes started. There was some activity happening but not fifty students' worth. I guess everybody's got their own morning routine. I did encounter one of the missing new students from the orientation the day before. Chi en is a young Taiwanese woman living in New Zealand who arrived on Thursday. I gave her a brief idea of what happened the day before on the way to the school.

The new students were to find their class by checking the lists posted outside the classrooms. They were also supposed to discover their grading level at that time but I already was told that yesterday afternoon. My class had eleven students, four short of the maximum, this time with more Taiwanese students (Kaku, Ko, Ran, and Tei), an American from New York (Yale), a German (Kai), a Brit (Paul), a Brazillian (Honda), an Aussie (James), and an Irish (James).

This being a Friday, The school day was to be a review of the lessons done throughout the week. Friday seems like an odd time to start a full-week school program but since I am joining a class in progress, it is a good way for me to start. It also helped ease my doubts about starting with the higher level class since I had some familiarity with the material. Having the classes in three 50-minute blocks with 10 minute breaks also felt about right. They are the same as I had back in high school though I don't remember them going by this quickly back then. The lessons themselves were a good blend of teaching, discussion, and role playing.

Sugino-sensei, the teacher for the morning, was quite good, as I was told she was beforehand. About two months before coming here, at a grain industry dinner reception in Vancouver, I mentioned my upcoming venture to a Japanese delegate. To my surprise, he gave me a startled reaction when I mentioned Okazaki at which point he introduced me to Lisa, a manager also at the dinner from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who had attended the school two years before. She had great things to say about the school and gave me a list of names to say "Hi" to (including Sugino-sensei) when I see them here. I don't think I've met Sakai-sensei yet, though, and I don't know if I'll give her the hug Lisa asked me to give her. It turns out many of the Yamasa personnel I mentioned Lisa's name to remember her well and were happy to hear she got married in October (Omedetou!).

After class finished, I was to meet with Declan over lunch so he could discuss with me the nature of my work in the International office. I waited at the office for about 20 minutes, continuing to read the web page design book, before he arrived. At this point, he explained to me how I was to write a daily journal of my stay at the Yamasa Institute for me to publish on the Yamasa website.

I just love it when things like this come together:

1. I like trying to keep a journal of my trips (though after awhile, the entries get shorter or get skipped);
2. I've wanted to learn how to publish on a web page;
3. The work will be good writing practice, (of which I'm always looking to improve upon);
4. I can share my journal with my family and friends without writing a ton of e-mails;
5. The digital camera my family gave me before I left will be perfect for this work.

It did help that I started a little of the journal already for Tuesday but I already have some catching up to do.

The first thing I noticed when Declan arrived, though, was that he was eating a sandwich. I didn't bring a lunch, assuming we were going to talk over a bought meal. Fortunately, some of my classmates in the morning invited me to join them for lunch if I was available.

I remember walking by the "Baikingu" (By-keen-gu) place on Tuesday because I first thought it was a bike store, not a restaurant with a Norse name ("Viking"). People from "Bankuubaa" are familiar with the Japanese language problems with V's.

My classmates mentioned that they may be there for awhile no matter how late my meeting with Declan was. No wonder. It was a 1000 yen buffet lunch. They were getting to their second or thirds by the time I got there. It was a good variety too, bigger than what I usually see in buffet restaurants including the Japanese standards (sushi, udon, ramen, tempura), shabu-shabu (with a grill at the table) and plenty of desserts. I get the feeling that this will be a regular Friday lunch habit.

Well-stuffed, I was back in the office for the rest of the afternoon, doing more reading and playing a bit with the computer. It was the end of a long week and I was very tired but with the shopping I had planned to do on the weekend, I felt it was time to get a bicycle.

I've seen a few bike shops in the neighbourhood already (not counting the 'Baikingu') but the Nonomiya bike shop is the one usually referred to here as the best place to get a decent used bike. I actually tried to check it out on Tuesday but found it closed (I usually find stores closed on Mondays).

It didn't take me long to find a bike there I would be satisfied with. I didn't want the traditional style bike that the vast majority here ride. I also didn't expect to find many mountain bikes either (not in my experience from previous trips) so when a working one was shown to me and I found it decently rideable, I bought it. The colour was certainly different but considering how many bikes there are here, having one with a colour that stands out well isn't a bad thing.

I didn't haggle over the price of 6000 yen though I did get them to agree to pay me 2000 if I brought it back at the end of my stay in Okazaki. I also bought a lock (700 yen) and a light set (2000), the latter of which actually was giving both me and the bike shop people hassles.

I swung by the Furo bar on the way back to the village on my bike to see if anything was happening. Declan, who was bringing in the tables and chairs from outside, immediately observed that my bike had no mud flaps, something that never occurred to me since I've had the same bike back home for 10 years.

It was about 8:00 by the time I got back to the student village and, again, I was beat. With the huge lunch, I didn't feel like I needed dinner. Chris, one of my new classmates, invited me to the bar, but I decided to hit the sack early.

It's only been four full days here and I already feel like I've been here a month!

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