Nihon-ga

Up early today to go to a japanese culture class. It's supposedly designed for foreign students interested in learning more about daily life, which would be good, expect the class is completely in japanese and designed for students who have studied the language for two years intensively. So, myself and Kristine (classmate from Massart) sat there looking lost. For a school that accepts inquires in both japanese and english, theres not a whole lot of english language resources available to students. Still, it will get better. After class, went to the used-bike shop nearby but the bikes he had were too small for me.

My afternoon class was a basic japanese painting class designed as an introduction into the art. It was exactly what I was hoping for as it involved hands-on instruction and demonstration. The sensei is very cheerful and boisterous, and though he can't explain much in words, he had made a list of key english words and made sure I was welcome in the class.

Evening time, went to the same ramen place as yesterday, this time actually got ramen, and it was very good and filling, with seafood and vegetables and flavorful broth. Since then I have been studying, talking to classmate, and planning somewhat for tomorrow. Thursday and Friday are apparently special days for the incoming freshman class, so everyone else has it off. I intend to take the train into Kyoto, do some sightseeing, visit the Kyoto community center, look for a used bike, visit a japanese language school to inquire about classes, and visit an onsen (public bath). Friday I'll probably go hiking, a 4 hour loop from Kyoto which heads up into the mountains and provides scenic views of the city and temples.

Oh yes, and I can't figure out why so many of the parking lots have bottles of water stacked along their perimeter.