The calm after the storm.

Sorry for the delay in updates. It has been a couple of busy weeks. I really haven't had much time to work on this thing in between school, meetings with the health care people, other appointments, and being social with my classmates. So, I'll summarize my past two weeks with this: Placement Exam, Classes, and Typhoon.

Last week I took a placement exam to figure out which level of Japanese I should be taking. I got a 40 out of 100 which put me into level 2. I'll be learning new grammar and vocabulary. The exam was rough. There was two writing parts, a listening comprehention part, and an oral interview. I totally choked on the oral part (hush Reya). Anyway, I am so glad I made it into level 2. There are a few students who have had more Japanese taught to themthan me, but placed in level 1. So, I am happy about that. I really do need to practice my conversation skills. Fortunately, I'll have several helpers every morning and evening who speak little or no English. I'm hoping I'll learn quickly.

I've had one week of class so far. It is, as the syllabus describes, intense. Aizawa-sensei is the main teacher for my level. He is pretty intense himself. He speaks at a faster pace than I'm used to, but his intonation is exaggerated so I can understand most of what he says. The fact that he is very active, and is (I think) an ex-boxer is a bit intimidating. When he calls my name in class, any answer I have prepared just flies out of my brain. I do homework for at least 2 hours every weekday. That's not including studying. I'm hanging in there.

A few days ago Typhoon Fitow rolled through the Tokyo area. Thankfully, we were only in the outer edge of the storm. We still got plenty of rain and some wind, but not the 80+ mph they got around Tokyo. I can now say that I've been through a Typhoon! Hopefully that's the only one I'll have to weather. Anyway, I have to go meet with Dr. Reagan soon, so I'm going to run. I'll try and update pictures soon.

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