Analyses

Got notebooks for school this morning.  Even something as simple as that can be quite confusing in another country...
The Problems:
1.  I don't know how many I need.
2.  Do I need one for every class?  [which presents sub-problems. listed below.]
3.  Will I be taking notes in class?  [underlying issue:  what is the purpose of the notebooks?]
4.  Will I be doing homework in these books?
5.  Will I be doing homework at all?
6.  I don't know what size is normal for school.
7.  I don't know what thickness to get.  [underlying issue:  i dont know how much work i'll be expected to do, and i don't know how much japanese students use notebooks.]
Anyway, I ended up getting 3 thin little notebooks.  My host-mom picked them out-- she said they were the same as what her kids used.

I went out to the country today!  It was beautiful.
My theory about beautiful surroundings in Japan:
The nature is beautiful...mountains, rice fields, flowers, valleys, etc.
The town is not... lots of fading signs, grey buildings without any decoration.
The houses are nice-looking...those roofs that look like/ are made of bamboo, etc.
Inside traditional houses is really beautiful...sliding paper doors with paintings on them, tatami floors, art, statues, etc.
My host-mom, host-grandma and I went to an old woman's house for lunch. [I think she was my grandma's sister...she had a little area set up in honor of my grandma's dead brother... or perhaps she is my grandma's sister-in-law?]  The house as way off in the country.  The roads were clearly not made with cars in mind.  Driveways are at very acute angles to the road, and the road is very narrow.  The house had flowers all around it and gardening equipment and out back there were potatoes and pumpkins in the shade under a piece of canvas.  [We had a pumpkin at dinner].  Inside, it was cluttered and smelled like cats but the windows were open and the curtains were fluttering and there were little fascinating things tucked everywhere.  And a HUGE cat.  There were also framed pictures of various cats. We had bitter tea and sushi [i cut raw squid with chopsticks] and little grapes [but the peels are not eaten here].

lunch

Later, I walked around by myself for the first time.  I went to the little park my host-mom showed me earlier and explored and read and walked barefoot for the first time in a long time.  It was very pretty and nice.  I've always wanted to be the kind of person that reads in parks alone.  There is also a playground there.  I very much want to use the swings...but I think I'll wait till there aren't lots of little Japanese toddlers and their parents around.

in the park

I kept track of how much tea I drank today.
Today I drank less tea than usual, because I was at the park during afternoon tea time, it was really hot, and I was not at home for lunch.  But, even so, I had 11 cups of tea.

Miso soup.  At the beginning, it was scary.  Drinking chunks of tofu and seaweed and little mushrooms intimidated me.  Now, it is comforting.

My house.