15 11 2004
I haven't felt like writing recently. I wouldn't say I've been in bad
spirits, because that would be too extreme - just a little bereft of
energy.
I fell off the horse with my Japanese study a couple of weeks ago.
Whenever I stop studying for a few days I find it hard to pick up
again, because the seemingly insurmountable amount of work left ahead
makes study almost seem pointless. Of course that's not the case, but
it can be difficult to snap out of that mindset.
I've still been studying, just half-heartedly. I found a Japanese chat
channel a few months ago, and I spend a reasonable amount of time
there. Speaking is much harder than listening for me, so it's good to
get some more practice with language construction. I've also been
reviewing some of my previous textbooks, but not for the amount of
time I should be.
Since I still get the occasional question from friends about my
"girlfriend", I should clear that up - we stopped seeing each other a
few months back. For no apparent reason, our contact started becoming
less frequent. She said she was busy preparing for her friend's
wedding, and eventually we just stopped talking.
She was a couple of years my senior - something that probably would
have bothered me more back in Australia. But the language barrier
meant that while we were able to communicate, differences in
experience weren't so pronounced, as we weren't able to elocute them!
I didn't think we had real long-term prospects due to this, but at the
time it was fun.
When I first came to Kumamoto I was going out a lot, because there
were so many new things to see, and I had nothing to do at home. Now
that boredom isn't such a big factor, I've tried to tone down the
number of times I head down to the local "watering hole". This is good
for my body and my wallet, but weighs heavily on my social life, as
most of the friends I've met here I see when we go out for dinner in a
big group, or when I drop by a bar. It annoys me a bit that these two
are connected, since I want to socialise more than I want to drink.
The language barrier makes activities like going out for a coffee a
bit of a challenge.
Work is a spirit-lifter in this regard - I think if I was doing the
same job I was doing in Australia, I'd feel a lot more isolated right
now. My students and co-workers are lovely and while the kids classes
remain a challenge from time to time, they mostly go okay. While the
kids can be difficult at times, they can also be really sweet, and I
must admit to getting clucky from time to time. But I don't think I'll
go down that path for a few years yet!
My lethargy for study has extended to exercise too, unfortunately, and
I've put on a couple of kilos since arriving. OT and I have decided to
race each other to drop 10kg. Getting started has proved a bit
difficult for me and he's currently in the lead, but once I get into
gear I'm going to put up a fight. You can keep track of my progress by
peaking at the image in this post - it'll continue to be updated as
the days go by.
It's finally cooled down here and the weather is comfortable for
walking in again. I spent half the day shopping today - picked up some
more bedding to keep a bit warmer and a variety of odds and ends, like
a cheese knife. On my next day off, I think I'm going to don my
mamachari and go explore.