Today was a good day.

Captain's Log,

So, in typical Steve-O fashion, today started off poorly. I woke up extra early (6:40am) so I would be all ready for my first day of school and prepared. Well, despite stereotypes of Japanese punctuality, we end up being 40 minutes late because Okaasan took too long getting ready. So I show up 15 minutes late for the placement test that will determine what level Japanese class I will be put it. I caught up pretty quickly because I wasn't able to answer half of it.

Tony sensei, I know you're reading this, and before you facepalm, remember that there are 6 levels of classes here, the highest being able to take regular classes. So that being said, my abilities are that of a toddler, so I'd expect to be placed in level 1 or 2. Most likely level 2, but we'll see, I hope I'll be put in that level, because by the end of the year, I'll be in 4th level, and I won't have to take 4000 level when I get back to school.

I will also say this, with being here just these few days, I'm already starting to think in Japanese. When I started typing this, my brain kept wanting me to type out Japanese words. So hooray for improvement! On an even better note, which was the best part of today:

I made friends!
















These are my Nihongo partners (Nihongo is Japanese for the Japanese language), they volunteered to help us while we are here, and these two - Yuki and Moe (pronounced Mo-eh) are mine. They were very nice and helped me get a 6 month commuter pass for the trains around here. Tomorrow they are going to help me register as a alien, and getting a cell phone.

On top of that, I met some more of the exchange kids. A lot of them are really cool, and they are from everywhere! I had never met a Finn or a Norwegian until today. It's funny how your perspectives change depending on your location/situation. There was this one guy from Texas A&M, who was wearing cowboy boots, the stereotypical massive belt buckle, and a large cowboy hat. In America, I would have shook my head, but here - I found myself saying "hell yeah."

My nihongo partners also invited me out tomorrow, I'm excited. I'm very happy things turned around so quickly. Today was a good day.