Omiyage

First thing this morning was to take the "are you really sure you should be in this level" placement test.  It was three pages long and not terribly difficult, but having done it, I'm reassured that I've made the correct choice for what class to take.  Immediately afterward was reading and writing.  We reviewed more and played a kanji game.  I did fairly well, I guess.  Kanji's still my weakest part.

Daniel was waiting outside when I was done and gave me his Genki text.  I waited in the lounge for him and Arianna before going to lunch.  More oyakodon (chicken and egg over rice) and a doughnut ball.  We went to the convenience store afterward because I needed a highlighter and I saw something that reminded me of a commercial I saw the other night and meant to write about.

The commercial was for Docomo, a Japanese phone company.  It featured a man (who I assume was a customer/average Joe) and Darth Vader seated in futuristic chairs, talking about the iPhone 4.  I did a quick YouTube search for it but couldn't find it to share, so this wonderful picture will have to do.  It's the catalogue for the different phones the company offers.  It was in the convenience store.

Then it was off to Shinto.  Kenney is... unique.  She bounces around quite a bit but it isn't too difficult to follow her train of thought (maybe that's a skill I'm picking up reading Ulysses).  We discussed purity and fertility, ending on the wonderful images of fertility shrines.  Google search "shinto fertility festival."  I dare you.  You'll also know why most of the class was reduced to giggling idiots.

History was after that.  Hlawatsch is quiet when he speaks and not a lot of the inconsiderate students realize this for the first five minutes or so.  He's a bit dry but seems to have picked up that I know most of what he's talking about already because I'll be nodding as he's going along.  Greenwood really covered a lot of history with the Art and Architecture class.

Daniel taught me how to play Magic: The Gathering while we waited for Arianna.  When we actually started playing, I won, 32 to -6.  You begin the game at 20 life.

At home, I did my history reading for next week and started on Shinto when Misa got home.  She made what I would almost call Mexican rice with a fried egg over the top, like an omelette.  Okaasan returned from her trip to Tokyo during the meal and gave us gifts (omiyage) of chopsticks for Misa and a couple phone charms for me.  I watched Vantage Point with them and finished my Shinto reading before bed.