15 02 2005
(a newly bought table and chairs - 新しく買ったテーブると椅子)
久しぶりだね。日本語でまだよく間違ってるけど、練習のために日本語でも書
こうと思ってる。で、どこから始めようかなあ。
この前のブログの書き入れは、ダイエットしてるって。あのダイエットをす
ぐ止めたんだ。忘年会があったし、新年会があったし。さぼてた。でも最近
一所懸命にがんばってるよ。痩せるためにだけじゃなくて、体のためにも。
このごろに日常生活はうまくいってる。日本語は少し喋られるようになったか
ら友達と遊びにいくとき、話の意味はだいたい分かって、ときどき簡単に答え
られる。すると、最近元気だった。もう子どもじゃないと感じてるし。
日常生活以外は。。ふん。今日友達の家で鍋パーティがあったんだ。友達とバスで
いった。実は、それは初めて熊本でバスに乗った。だから、払い方は分からな
かった。乗ったのは大丈夫だったけど、下りるときすごく大変になった。
バスに乗ったとき切符をもらった。熊本のバスは下りるときに払わなきゃいけ
ないのを知ってたけど、どうやって払うかは知らなかった。
下りるときは、まず、持ってる切符を両替機に入れちゃったんだ。バスの運転
手が顔をしかめたから僕が早くまた切符をとって正解の穴に入れた。それか
ら運転手に見て、なんか彼が両替機に指さした。分かったと思ってて、お釣り
をそこに入れた。別のお釣りが出てきたから、「ああ、安くなった!」と思って
た。新しいお釣りをとって下りた。
外にいる友達が「200えんだよ」って。しまった。100えんしか払ってなかった。ま
たバスに乗って、さっきもらったお釣りと100えんをほかの穴にいれた。それ
から、やっと下りれた。
すごく恥ずかしかった。バスは込んでいたし。僕の顔が苺みたいな赤になっ
てた。まあ。次から払い方を分かってるので、大丈夫だ^^
じゃあ、今日仕事があるからそろそろ寝る。また近いうちに書く、仕事とか勉
強とかがないときに。
It's been a long time! I'm still making a lot of mistakes when I use
Japanese, but for the sake of practice I think I'll start writing my
entries in both English and Japanese. So, where to start?
In one of my recent blog entries I said I was going on diet. That
didn't last long, due to end of year parties, start of year parties,
and me just being lazy. But recently I've been trying really hard to
be more careful about what I eat.
Life's been good recently. I can speak a little Japanese now, so when
I go out for drinks or something with friends, I can understand the
general meaning of the conversation, and sometimes reply (albeit
without prowess much of the time). So, I've been well. I no longer
feel like a child who's unable to communicate at all.
Apart from daily life - hmm. Today there was a nabe party (cooking
vegetables and meat in a pot in the middle of the table) at a friend's
house. I went there on the bus with some friends. Actually, it was the
first time I'd used the bus since I arrived in Kumamoto - partly due
to no real need, and partly because I was unsure how to go about it.
So I wasn't aware of how to go about paying for tickets. Getting on
the bus was fine, but when it came time to get off..
When I got on the bus, I got a ticket from a ticket machine. This is
used in Kumamoto to measure how much you have to pay - a further trip
costs more. I knew this much before I got on the bus, but I wasn't
vsure how to go about paying.
Anyway, when it came time to get off, the first thing I did was stick
my ticket into a coin changing machine. The look on the bus driver's
face was enough to know that wasn't the right place, and luckily I was
able to pick it out swiftly enough with a fingernail (it'd gotten
stuck). The bus driver motioned towards a bigger looking hole and I
stuck the ticket in there. Next the bus driver motioned to the coin
changing machine again. Okay, I thought, and stuck some money in. Some
change came out! Cheaper than I thought. I carelessly grabbed the
change and stepped off the bus.
A friend who was standing outside said "it's 200 yen!". I'd only put
in 100 yen and still received change. Something wasn't right. I got
back on the bus again, put my change and some more money into the
correct hole, and finally got off again.
It was pretty embarrassing - the bus had been crowded, and my face was
as red as a strawberry. Oh well. I know how to use the buses now!
Well, I've got to work today, so I'm going to sign off. I'll write
again in the not too distant future - but between work, friends and
study, it's unfortunately hard to find time for writing. Until next
time!