January 29, 2004

• I Feel Like an Elephant on the Subway

  
  

  But it’s not all the time; nor is it too bad. Sometimes it can even come in handy looking like an outsider. One day coming back from school I was in a hurry to get home to the City Council to register as an alien resident. Out in front of –¼ŒÃ‰®‘åŠw‰w:

  
  

  ƒGƒ”ƒ@ƒ“ƒWƒFƒŠƒXƒg—«F@Hi, how are you? Where are you from?
  ‰´F@Um… Nashville *continue walking*
  —«F@Ahh, that’s nice. Have you heard about this magazineH*begins to pull booklet from bag*
  ‰´F@ƒAƒ@A‚·‚Ý‚Ü‚¹‚ñA‹}‚¢‚Å‚é‚æ@*step livelier*

  
  

  I tend to learn from the past; for not ten steps later:

  
  

  ’j«F@Hi! How are you? My name is ****, from France
  ‰´F@*gives semi-puzzled expression*
  ’j«F@I would like to know if you have a moment to spare?
  ‰´F@I very sorry. Amar English ki bhalo na
  ’j«F@Oh, ƒjEƒzƒ“EƒSH
  ‰´F@‚·‚Ý‚Ü‚¹‚ñA‚ ‚܂蕪‚©‚ç‚È‚¢@*walks into station*
  ’j«F@Oh okay! *gives up*

  
  

  So anyway, my daily life… well, usually I have that commute in the morning–that ain’t too bad, either, provided I bring a book along on the subway. Classes are usually from 9 or 10 about ’til 12, then on Mondays and Thursdays I have an afternoon class or two. Thus far, my workload is pretty light, and the professors are quite all right. I placed into IJ400, and ever since the placement test I really think I might should’ve aimed at IJ500… but now it’s so difficult to move up, it’s better that I stay. See the problem is there’s one class–Japanese Writing II–that’s far too easy; but, I can’t switch out of it because everything either requires 500 or conflicts with my schedule. Žc”O‚³‚ ‚Ÿ`

  
  

  Friday classes are likewise out because, fortunately, I managed to meet with other Muslims in the area at a mosque over in Meito-ku. That’s about a usual 230 on the subway from here, plus the Imam’s brother comes to pick me up from the station. The people there are incredibly friendly, also; I was even a little surprised at their openness–the Imam and his brother also invited me to dinner at their house next week. I’m going this afternoon right after classes again, of course.

  
  

  In other good, but complicated, news, Eid-al-Adha is next Monday insha’Allah. That’s the day marking the end of the Hajj. That and Eid-al-Fitr (at the end of Ramadan) are the two most important holidays on the Muslim calendar–those are really the only two days that I’ll normally miss classes for the services. I plan, as usual, to be celebrating it with other Muslims in the area; so now that I found many, I’ll be able to pray with them in the morning and celebrate the day properly.

  
  

  Why is it complicated? Well, that day there’s also a kanji quiz. The staff here, though quite friendly, isn’t used to absences due to religious holidays (unlike, say, GW, where a quarter of the class is gone around Yom Kippur). I’m working on getting the situation resolved; so we’ll see how that works out.

  
  

  Anyway, class starts in not fifteen minutes, and I need me a Boss Coffee beforehand. This whole no eating in class thing is killing me, I swear. Oh! And don’t forget, my Engrish section is now open! Check the link to the right below those photos.

  
  

  By the way, I believe ‰ÔŒ©æ¶’s comment translates roughly to: “Also, you can say it [onigiriman] that way, but ‘Onigiriman’ is in all hiragana. Katakana is no good!” The only thing I had to look up was •½‰¼–¼. But, I’m going to make an educated guess that ƒRƒbƒRƒƒŠ[!!!@is not in my dictionary…

  
  

  ‘Til next time; have a good weekend everyone. KF

  • 6:53 pm
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