You know, a few years ago, or even last year come to think of it, I would've been perfectly fine with spending a few days alone or without really talking to anyone, but since I've been in Japan and have basically only been hanging out with people and exploring Hikone and other places, I've gotten used to it and almost prefer it now. Or maybe it's also because I'm in a country where I don't speak the language very well yet, and it's just not fun to explore by myself, so I like being around people. Nah, I think I honestly like being around people more now, now that I've been able to experience making a ton of friends/acquaintances and stuff. Anyway.
As for this weekend, I now have plans to go to Kyoto on Saturday with the same two friends I went to Viva City with today, along with a couple of Japanese friends from the hiking thing on Monday. One of them actually lives in Kyoto, so I think we're going to meet them at the Kyoto station. And then on Sunday, I think a group of us are biking back to Nagahama to explore all the shops more thoroughly, in the same place we "hiked" in on Monday.
New topic: I think I've already gotten used to a few things here. I have to wonder if I've unconsciously picked anything up yet, too. Well, I know I bow, or at least nod my head, to people a lot. When talking, I've picked up the habit of nodding and saying something like "oh" and "un". Oh, and when I'm trying to say something but I forget a word or sentence structure or something and I know it, I stop talking and there's this way of kind of tilting my head a bit, and then again, and again, looking up a bit higher each time, and saying "eh? eh?" as I try to figure it out. I picked that one up by the end of my first week, what with having a Japanese roommate and all that. Another thing: within my first semester of taking Japanese last year at MSU, I got into the habit of always turning papers and other things so that they're facing the person I'm handing it to.
Here's a big-ish one: so in Japan, people drive on the opposite side of the road, which means bikes also ride on the opposite side of the road than we're used to. Yeah...they drive/ride on the left side of the road here. Well, I'm already in the habit of riding on that side. This could be a problem when I get back to the US this spring...
Also, it'll be weird to not have to switch into indoor slippers. Even at the end of this semester when I get back to the JCMU dorms, it'll be weird not having to slip into the bathroom slippers every time. Yes, in Japanese homes, they generally have slippers they leave in the bathroom. Hmm, maybe I'll just end up buying those Totoro slippers I saw today and wear those around even at home...They were $20 though, so I probably won't buy them. Oh, by the way, I think I already said this, but the whole thing about switching into indoor slippers, and also into bathroom slippers, comes from the native Japanese Shinto religion (Buddhism came from China, as did a lot of stuff in Japan, and before that I believe Buddhism came originally from India), and the idea of the outside being dirty and keeping the inside clean.
Real quick, someone else from JCMU posted this link on our group page about doing homestays or being a host family, and I thought I'd share it here. By all means, please try and take a look at it. It's really interesting and makes some good points. Ah, sorry about my English...I'm starting to say things either backwards, just horribly wrong, or in the way Japanese sentences are translated into English. Anyway, please read it!
http://athome.nealrc.org/what.html
What else...Well, it's normal to have some bad days, even studying abroad (or maybe especially with studying abroad), but you have to get over them. My point was, on the good days so far, with my host family, I've already gotten used to speaking and listening only to Japanese. Well, maybe not so much since classes started this week, but I know Monday (we didn't have class, it was a holiday, but I'd signed up for the hiking thing) when I finally got to JCMU, it felt kind of weird speaking in English again. Maybe if I wasn't going to be around English-speaking friends this weekend, I'd get more used to it again.
So I just got back from having dinner and then showering, and tonight at dinner I really tried to talk more. For various reasons, I'm not good at being nosy and questioning people about everything; rather, I tend to think that I'll say something and then the other person can maybe comment on it, or sometimes not, and say something about themselves relating to the topic, and so on. I'm not sure about in Japan, but isn't that how conversations generally work in the US? Anyway, even though it's kind of repetitive, but every day I try to remember to say a few certain things: ask how their day went; always tell them what I'm doing (going to shower, etc.) and what my plans are for the next day or the week, if I have any; and ask if I can help with anything. I know they're busy, and therefore I can come back later in the evening, but at least at dinner I try to talk to them a bit more. I think they were maybe kind of laughing/ talking about me after I went off to shower, or maybe they were just discussing something about me, but I definitely heard my name. I feel like it may have been because of my terrible Japanese skills or something. I know it's not good at all yet, but I'm trying. Well, but they were probably just talking just like I know we would in the US about a host student or whoever. In fact, I know we do. Pretty sure it's just a part of human nature, though, that one is.
So yeah, we managed to hold a broken conversation type of thing tonight--a bit of English here, mostly easy Japanese there, a couple hopeless misunderstandings, and quite a few awkward silences. Well, though I read the Japanese don't mind silences like that, whereas we Americans feel the need to fill every silence with words.
Oh, so I may not be able to understand a lot of Japanese yet, especially in the real world, but in class our teacher only uses words and stuff that we know. So, I've gotten to the point where I sometimes don't have to concentrate on what he's saying to understand. You know how you can kind of zone out a bit but still half pay attention and you're still able to catch what they're saying? Well, I found myself doing that today and yesterday, and I realized that unless it's something I don't know really well yet, then I often don't need to think about what he's saying too much, like translate it or anything. There may be hope for me yet!
Well, so I think that's it for now. Also, I haven't even looked at what I need to do for tomorrow and it's already ten...So, I'm going to sign off.