Sho mo nai!

Beautiful Downpour

Suddenly at 8:20 last night it started raining. It's been so long since we had rain in Tokushima. The reservoir has been at zero for quite some time. The sound of the heavy rain on the trees is as refreshing as the aroma of the clean damp air.

At the time I was quietly sitting playing some old school snes games, having been put in the mood for some Chrono Trigger by reading 1984. Don't ask me how that works... it was the first time I had read it, and somehow I was in the mood for some good ol' time travel afterwards. Hearing the rain made me wish I was reading a book, but I had kind of exhausted myself off of books by that time. I was unable to go to church because the lack of a car means I couldn't get back before monday at like nine (or later!), and school for me starts at like eight. So between Friday night, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning I was able to finish the Harry Potter book and read all of 1984. I had no more book energy left when the rain came, sadly.

But it did make playing the game just that much more pleasant. ^__^

So now it's Monday and it's the first REAL day of school in my opinion. Last week Thursday was just cleaning the school, ceremonies, and bunkasai/undokai practice. Friday was beginning of term tests and more undokai practice. But today, today is when the classes actually start and I properly get to interact with the students again.

While I'm here I may as well comment on reading Harry Potter in Japanese.
As some may have noticed, when I watch an anime or read a manga in English, I often ask aloud, "I wonder what that says in the Japanese?" This time I found myself asking a lot "I wonder what that said in the English?" I did enjoy reading it in Japanese. It was still as much of a page turner. In fact, maybe moreso. After I read book four the first time (in English), I kinda felt like, whatever, I don't need to read these anymore. I had lost intrest.
But now I want to read book five.
My problem is this: if I want to borrow it from someone in English, I need to wait until Saturday. But if I want to read it in Japanese, I can get it from the library today. What to do? One of the things that made the Japanese easier was that I had once already formed many of the images in imagination on the previous reading two (or three?) years before. So when I was having to imagine these things again, it was probably more digging up the old mental image than it was creating a new one. Which meant I didn't have to stress over every little word. I knew the basic plot line and where things were going, so I could just enjoy the interactions in the Japanese. Which leaves me wondering if I could hack the fifth volume in Japanese. Maybe I should try to track down an English one, but start the Japanese anyway and see how it goes. Yeah.

One more thing, I will be starting the process of getting my new car today. I have to go to my local police office and get a proof of parking space issued. That will be step one. Then I need to gather some other paperwork, and somewhere in the moderately near future lies a long trip up to Kitajima again to get all the forms filled out. At the office in Kitajima, they will fill it out for me for ¥1500 (about $15). The person I am getting the car from doesn't technically own it, the place she bought it from does. They also offered to do all the paperwork for me at the low low cost of ¥20,000. Yeah, right. I guess I should begin looking into what to do for insurance. But the first step is to get the car.

At the moment the rain is continuing, and we have the doors of the office open. The soft sound of the rain on the trees makes for a lovely working and study atmosphere. I love living here in the countryside.

posted by Fletcher @ 5:42 p.m.