Autumn Escape
Here we are, one last big push to go to clear out the backlog...
You might recall that last October I used two years' worth of my accrued holidays to take a month off work to go and do a Japanese language course. Perhaps it's not exactly what I would most like to have done with a month off, but considering that I've been here two years (as of last Thursday, anyway) and barely gone further than "This is a pen" and "I like apples", I thought I would go for the shock treatment of a full-time intensive course. It certainly was a shock and a good kick in the pants to get my study going again, but it also highlighted the huge gap between classroom language and the everyday stuff. Part of the reason why my attempts at learning by osmosis hadn't worked is that in the casual conversational Japanese I'd picked up in the bars, half the grammar is missing. Now, I had to figure out what all those annoying little particles were doing, and remember to use desu "be", ka (a verbal question mark, which can be replaced with intonation), and the polite verb conjugations, which I had ignored from the start since they are only used regularly by old people and shop assistants (and Japanese teachers and textbooks). So, for example, where I could get my point across just fine with Toire doko? "Toilet, where?", I now had to use Toire wa, doko desu ka? "In regards to the toilet, where is it?". Annoying, especially when no-one else (except foreigners who learned in a classroom) uses it.
But enough of my griping. After that month, I was ready to face the world and ask those questions, even if I couldn't understand the answers, but at least now I'm starting to get the gist of them. Before I knew it, though, the month was over, and as desperately as I wanted to continue for another month, I just as desperately didn't want to spend the winter surviving on boiled rice and natto. At this point, I'll cue the teary farewell pic.
As a postscript, I'll just add that, just like most English schools, there's a lot of dodgy outfits out here, but this place (Yamasa in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture) is top-notch, so if anyone's looking for a place to study Japanese, you should definitely look into it. No, I'm not getting paid to say that, but you can give me your own review over beers in Nagoya sometime. :)
As consolation (of sorts), I and my best girl went to spend a day in the wilds of eastern Nagoya the following weekend, at an onsen in the mountains whose name eludes me for the moment. It was just starting to get cold by mid-November, and we were curious to see if Kouyou had started yet.
A short hike up the hill led to a nice little lake...
...full of monster-sized koi...
...as well as some pleasant trails through the woods.
Climbing back down...
...we reached the onsen area again, with its waterfall...
...and elaborately sculpted waterway.
They say that going to an onsen is one of the quintessential Japanese experiences, and indeed it is an experience. The various baths are certainly relaxing, especially after a bit of a hike, and the outdoor pool was very refreshing - sitting in a warm bath staring up into the branches of the trees waving gently in the breeze. Call me a barbarian if you will, but I will never get used to sharing such an experience with so many naked Japanese men, all staring to find out if the stories are actually true...
You might recall that last October I used two years' worth of my accrued holidays to take a month off work to go and do a Japanese language course. Perhaps it's not exactly what I would most like to have done with a month off, but considering that I've been here two years (as of last Thursday, anyway) and barely gone further than "This is a pen" and "I like apples", I thought I would go for the shock treatment of a full-time intensive course. It certainly was a shock and a good kick in the pants to get my study going again, but it also highlighted the huge gap between classroom language and the everyday stuff. Part of the reason why my attempts at learning by osmosis hadn't worked is that in the casual conversational Japanese I'd picked up in the bars, half the grammar is missing. Now, I had to figure out what all those annoying little particles were doing, and remember to use desu "be", ka (a verbal question mark, which can be replaced with intonation), and the polite verb conjugations, which I had ignored from the start since they are only used regularly by old people and shop assistants (and Japanese teachers and textbooks). So, for example, where I could get my point across just fine with Toire doko? "Toilet, where?", I now had to use Toire wa, doko desu ka? "In regards to the toilet, where is it?". Annoying, especially when no-one else (except foreigners who learned in a classroom) uses it.
But enough of my griping. After that month, I was ready to face the world and ask those questions, even if I couldn't understand the answers, but at least now I'm starting to get the gist of them. Before I knew it, though, the month was over, and as desperately as I wanted to continue for another month, I just as desperately didn't want to spend the winter surviving on boiled rice and natto. At this point, I'll cue the teary farewell pic.
As a postscript, I'll just add that, just like most English schools, there's a lot of dodgy outfits out here, but this place (Yamasa in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture) is top-notch, so if anyone's looking for a place to study Japanese, you should definitely look into it. No, I'm not getting paid to say that, but you can give me your own review over beers in Nagoya sometime. :)
As consolation (of sorts), I and my best girl went to spend a day in the wilds of eastern Nagoya the following weekend, at an onsen in the mountains whose name eludes me for the moment. It was just starting to get cold by mid-November, and we were curious to see if Kouyou had started yet.
A short hike up the hill led to a nice little lake...
...full of monster-sized koi...
...as well as some pleasant trails through the woods.
Climbing back down...
...we reached the onsen area again, with its waterfall...
...and elaborately sculpted waterway.
They say that going to an onsen is one of the quintessential Japanese experiences, and indeed it is an experience. The various baths are certainly relaxing, especially after a bit of a hike, and the outdoor pool was very refreshing - sitting in a warm bath staring up into the branches of the trees waving gently in the breeze. Call me a barbarian if you will, but I will never get used to sharing such an experience with so many naked Japanese men, all staring to find out if the stories are actually true...
posted by Ia Ftaghn at 8:16 pm
2 Comments:
At least at the onsen they didn't chase you off with various farm implements for being a hairy barbarian plus tattooed!
True enough. I'm kind of surprised it hasn't been a problem yet. My boss, who also has tats, has been to dozens of onsen with no problems, too, but just recently, he got refused gym membership because of them. Weird...
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