Declan essentially told me not to lose any sleep over the test but I did have
to prove somewhat that I could stay with the current class for my last two weeks of school after the session ended the next
day. I did not do as well as I had hoped in the test but apparently, it was still enough for me to continue to the next
level. It just as well may have been because I was able to convince Fukuda-sensei that the subjects were ones that were
in my better interest.
It impressed me that the two-hour test included an interview component and again, it showed my lack of practice with the
lessons. I was later told that I was able to communicate what I wanted in the interview test (sometimes eventually) but
I wasn't using the skills taught in the classes enough.
The test proved that compiling review notes and doing the homework alone wasn't going to be enough. There are two
textbooks (companions) used in my SILAC class. One is descriptive, providing vocabulary summaries and grammar rules,
while the other provides models and practice exercises. The former is more to my style of thinking so I've probably
relied on it too much. Practice is certainly the key to mastering the lessons if you commit the time for it. I also
need it to break some bad habits I've carried over the years.
This means I am going to have to find some friends outside of Yamasa while I am here. Outside of the classes, I
really haven't had a lot of conversation practice. Most of my work time in the
International office is spent in front of a computer writing in
English (as seen here). I've been making a lot of new friends amongst the Yamasa students but we too often fall back on
our mother tongues outside the classroom. It'd be nice if I can find some local runners. A regular one-two hour run
would give me plenty of conversation practice time provided I'm not pushed so hard that I'm out of breath.
Having cable TV at the student village is certainly handy for listening
practice but I'll have to find something outside of a couple of anime shows to watch. Sometimes it can be too noisy in
the lounge to hear it anyways. I'm also looking forward to when I'll have the time to rent or go to a theatre to see some
Japanese movies (even at the 1800 yen price).
One thing I have had a surprisingly frustrating time buying is a radio which would be great to just at least heighten the
Japanese atmosphere in my spartan room. A local radio station broadcasts from the school but I have yet to listen to it.
I brought a small radio with me but it can't pick up the station (FM radio frequencies are lower than in North America -
the station here broadcasts at 76.3 MHz).
It seems the only place locally I can pick up a decent radio will be at a electronics supermarket called Eden (pronounced
A-den, with 'A' as in 'face'), near the central post office. I thought if I walked through enough stores and shopping
centers, even in Nagoya, eventually a decent selection would catch my eye without having to search for it. I guess that
there are some things, like electronics, that are sequestered only in specialty shops or shopping districts, like
Akihabara in
Tokyo. I may have to wait until I go to
Tokyo next weekend to buy that radio. Eden has a
second-hand electronics store here too but I wasn't happy with the radio selection.
I did manage to get the Christmas cards out, hopefully in time to reach North America before the holidays. The simple cards
cost me 110 yen to send while some of the fancier, thicker cards cost 190 yen. For my friends and family in Japan, I
thought it would be nice to take part in the tradition of sending New Year's cards. Turns out this is one thing that is
definitely a lot cheaper to do here than back at home, at least versus sending out Christmas cards.
The New Year's cards are mostly like postcards and the ones I remember seeing before are very plain. I found there was
actually a variety to choose from including ones that had lottery numbers on them for prizes. I bought some with references
to the year of the monkey in 2004. A pack of eight cards with a simple design cost me 200 yen. Sending them in Japan costs
only 50 yen, overseas, 70 yen.
With the test out of the way, another two-week term ended at Yamasa, my first but, for a couple of my classmates, their
last. This meant, not only that Thursday would be their last day, but also that they would have to walk up front of the
class and make a speech in Japanese. We were losing two that day, James from Australia and Paul from England. Kai, from
Germany, we found out earlier in the week that he found a job in Tokyo and had his last class a week before. Maybe he
took the job to avoid the speech. When it comes to public speaking, Seinfeld said it best - many people are more afraid
of speaking in public than they are of dying which means, at a funeral, you're better off being the one in the coffin than
being at the podium delivering the eulogy.
The whole process, at the end of class, was semi-formal, with the presentation of a laminated certificate as well in front
of the class. Of all days I didn't bring a camera, though. Lots of pictures were being taken by everyone else as well as
group photos in the lounge. Fortunately, I'm able to get Honda-san, from Brazil, to provide me a few for this website.
It'll all happen again anyways in a couple of weeks when it will be my turn. I better start thinking of what to say.
With the end came another beginning so it was interesting to see another five new students get their orientation on the
Thursday as well, one from the U.S., another from Australia, China and the last two, I couldn't remember. The school does
post a welcome sign out front for them so it's a curiosity for the current students to see where the new batch was coming
from.
On Friday, I was still with the same class, just below the intermediate level. Most were still returning but we also had
three new students, one from China, another from New Zealand, and the other from Taiwan. They went through the same
process I had two weeks earlier but it was interesting to see it from the other side.
There's a few students without any Japanese background who are impressive with the language skills they already bring into
the classroom. The ones from Taiwan and China certainly have an advantage when it comes to dealing with kanji, but one of
the new students, from Australia, had no problem stepping right into the class. Another one, from New York, has been
studying Japanese for only a year but is quite sharp in the classroom. It makes me think that in order to break some of my
old bad habits, I should start fresh, at least when it comes to grammar.
Between the test and its review, the 'sotsugyoushiki' ceremony, the Christmas cards, and work, I was again, drained at the
end of the week. Some of my classmates were going to the bar and talked about going to karaoke bar later but I was too
tired for it and had to do some work and chores before taking part in a couple of tours on Saturday and Sunday.