Ogino san & Company

10.15.07
Monday, and what a good Monday it was. Usually Mondays carry a negative connotation, but I prefer to think of them as a fresh start. I woke up bright and early today in order to get some of the planning done that I had put off during my busy weekend; Sunday is my weekend. I finished planning and decided to go to talk to some of my good 'ol American friends online, check my email, and see what was going on in the world.

Around 10:30am I dashed out of my apartment and headed to Marine Fort Community Center, which is about a 5 minute bike ride from my school in Kaihin Makuhari, to attend my first session at the Japanese Class for Foreigners. I had emailed a lady by the name of Ms. Ogino (Ogino san) about participating in the class a few weeks ago. Because of some holidays, today was the first Monday that I could actually go. The class was from 11am-12:30pm, and I was partnered up with two ladies from the Baytown/Kaihin Makuhari area (they both live near my work). Their names were Matsushita san (Ms. Matsushita) and Nakamura san (Ms. Nakamura). They were both very supportive and taught me a lot of new phrases. Ms. Ogino stopped by our table a few times to explain things and pat me on the back. Everyone was so welcoming and kind!

There were about 10 or 11 students, and out of them all, my Japanese skills were the lowest. I really didn't mind. If you think about it, everyone was once in the same situation as I am in now; they knew very very little. Some of the students were Korean, some were Chinese, and one was from Tunisia. I thought it was really interesting to find out that one of the volunteers (the class is free) learned English from a man who was from Buffalo, NY. When Ms. Ogino explained that to me, I couldn't help but smile. This world is so big and yet so small at the same time. What a paradox.

I really enjoyed myself and although my self introduction was a little shaky, I did my best. When it was time to go, everyone helped clean up and waved goodbye. Here are some of the phrases I learned. Some of the spellings/spaces maybe slightly inaccurate but I did my best. Japanese is written in hirigana, katakana, or kanji and there are no spaces between words.

watashi no namae wa sheila desu. buffalo kara kimashita. watashi wa sodegaura ni sunde imasu. nihon ni wa ichi nenkan iru tsumori desu.

This means:
My name is Sheila. I come from Buffalo. I live in Sodegaura. I will be in Japan for one year.

By 12:30pm it was about time for me to get some nourishment. Since I had to run out of the house, I only had time to pack a tangerine (mikan) and my first daifuku. Daifuku is a dessert/snack made of mochi (rice paste) on the outside with anko filling (sweet red bean) on the inside. Daifuku dai suki desu! (I love Daifuku!) I also stopped at the convenient store (combini) and bought some onegiri and some "refreshing and exciting mango tea beverage" as the packaging on the carton said. I was so proud of myself when I found out that I had bought my favorite onegiri (tuna and mayo in the middle) without Lauren's help reading the katakana on the wrapper. I had a really nice lunch by myself in the park.

I went to Carfour (a store like Tareget or KMart) to get a new notebook for my Japanese lessons. I also wanted to pick up a protective screen sticker for my cell phone because mine is starting to peel off. I couldn't find one I liked, but I did have the courage to ask a saleswomen for help. And, I did all in Japanese! I thanked her and bowed many times after she pointed the way to the cell phone accessories.

My lessons went well. This week I'm going over family, reviewing adjectives, and trying to get my kids to use more English and less Japanese. It's a constant battle, but I'm determined to win.