Day 10: B Class and Earthquakes

Breakfast:

The orange stuff was pumpkin custard for dessert. It wasn't very sweet, but it was really creamy.

Today, after taking our daily quiz in B Class, John and I went over to try C class for the rest of the day. However, after the first hour of class I decided to stay in B and went back. Sitting in C, I realized that even though the reading and writing part of C were completely manageable, my speaking and listening are still somewhere around B level, and that isn't something you can just brute force study, review, or memorize. It takes time and lots and lots of practice, and we do a lot of deliberate speaking practice in B rather than speaking practice as a byproduct of doing other things. We also go through directions/requirements/expectations/etc. a little bit slower in B which makes it a lot easer listening-wise to catch the details of what we are supposed to be doing. Because of this, I think I'm going to get more out of B because I'll get more deliberate speaking practice and will be able to focus more on my classwork itself rather than spending lots of time and effort just figuring out what my classwork even is. I think that this will give me a really good foundation to build off of rather than jumping into the most difficult thing I can handle while still struggling with some of the basics.

I really wanted to be in C Class and think I could have been okay in C, but I didn't want to be somewhere out of shear stubbornness and pride if another place would be better for me. It kind of feels like I'm giving up, but I think it's the right choice overall.

Besides, if I want to study more on my own, I brought plenty of extra Japanese grammar books and projects from home I can study from. I will also have a little bit more flexibility to do more culture classes and experience more things outside of class.

During the break between the first and second hour of class I told my teacher this, that I was sorry and embarrassed, and that they were right. She was really, really happy about my decision and both teachers told me they thought I was making a good decision.

Since then, I've wondered a lot about whether I made the right choice. John and I have talked a few times since then about the pros and cons of each choice because he ended up staying in C. It seems like there wasn't really a right or wrong choice for either of us, each choice just came with its own set of benefits and drawbacks.

During our longer break, I asked the woman selling the breads what her favorite kind was and she said she liked the peanut bread, so I got that:

It was basically a bun filled with sweet, creamy peanut butter. Really simple and yummy, but I don't know if I'll get it again.

For lunch, I got curry rice and didn't realize until halfway through that I had just eaten curry rice for dinner the night before. It was still good though. It was nice and warm and it has been cold and rainy here for days.

I also got this cold coffee:

I liked this one a lot, probably because it was super cream and sugar filled.

After lunch, I went to 茶話会＝さわかい（sawakai）＝tea time again. Peiyu, Bryan, and I ended up talking with the older woman in charge. She told us about a famous zoo that she had gone to. After a while Bryan had to go, and the three of us left started playing a little board game with things like "What are two foods you don't like?" and "Talk about a time you were happy" written on the squares. I kind of felt like a preschooler which happens a lot over here with my limited vocabulary and ignorance of subtle social norms.

Then suddenly, we were on a train. Not really, but that's how my brain decided to interpret the short earthquake that happened. It only lasted a few seconds, so before I really figured out what was happening, it stopped. Then nearly every phone in the room started going off with the same alarm: "地震です。"＝じしんです。（jishin desu）＝ There is an earthquake!

It turns out the earthquake was about a 5.2 in magnitude:

Later when I got to city hall, I took some pictures of the Lego Hakodate:

Note the chatting ghosts and soccer-playing storm troopers.

In the car, I told my host parents about deciding to stay in B, and they were glad that I made a decision I was happy with and wouldn't have more double homework nights. (My mom and dad back in Washington felt the same way)

When we got back to the house, my host mom's mother showed me that Ichiro was in the newspaper because he had come up when we were talking in the car the day before.

Dinner and dessert:

Finally, because I didn't have as much homework I was able to talk with my host family for a while after dinner which was really great. Somehow, one of my favorite childhood books "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" came up, and たっくん showed me that he has the same one. This makes me happy.