Meeting our Host Family
The test went well in my Japanese Language class, and then we practiced our self-introductions because we were meeting our host families later that day. At lunch I went to the post office to exchange some traveler's cheques, it was pretty easy. Also, since there's a travel agency right inside the bookstore at KIT, we booked a pass for the trains for the long weekend to get to Kyoto and Osaka, or wherever we want to go in that area.
Origami in Space
We had Japanese for Science and Technology class today. Last time, we made an origami that was the Miura fold, created by a Japanese astrophysicist Koryo Miura. This fold is important in more things than paper crafts though. Today we talked about the 1995 Japanese-launched space craft the Space Flyer Unit. The Space Flyer Unit used the Miura fold to store it's large solar panels in a compact space for launch, and then opened them in space.
Planning the Rube Goldberg Machine
In Japanese class we had another quiz today, and then learned a few more grammatical structures. In culture class we talked about some differences in what is considered manly or womanly in American culture versus Japanese culture, many stemming from how many people commented on the Japanese men's hairstyles.
Internet Troubles
Today we started having quizzes pretty regularly in Japanese class because there is a lot of stuff we're learning and reviewing each day. Then after Japanese language class, we had another quiz in Japanese for Science and Technology on shapes and figures, and then the IJST Program Coordinator Fudano Sensei had a little chat with us about the internet in our building.
New Japanese Friends
More school again today, started "reviewing" things I have yet to learn in Japanese class at RIT, so it's good that I'm learning new things. We're learning several Kanji a day, and it comes in pretty handy. After language class and lunch, we had culture class again.
Last time we instituted a rule that if too many people were sleeping, we'd have to play loud music and run around the room to wake up. Guess what happened today? The music was supplied by one of the language teachers, a Japanese band called Elephant something. It was pretty lively.