Sake matsuri

- on Sunday we went to sake matsuri, alcohol festival, or how V. translated - alkoholové slavnosti. what a fun experience!
- I am not sure how this picture happened but here it is.

- And the sunset in front of our dorms.

- useful vocab: 肝臓休暇 liver vacation (I learnt that from a Japanese student, F., who is now on an exchange in Olomouc and is having trouble keeping up with the beer situation in the Czech Republic)
- Japanese English: "The event will go on, rain on shine." (Information about fall festival)
         

English with Japanese elderly

- Saturday was my first time "teaching" an English conversations class at a Hiroshima community center attended by retired Japanese ojiisan and obaasan.
- Usually, the class is taught by P., one of the students living at the i-house, but since he´s finishing his master thesis, he doesn´t have a lot of time and I might be going to the class from time to time instead of him.
- In order to get to the community center, one has to take a train and a bus. P. took me there on Monday so that I would find it easily later and also drew me a map (!) so getting there wasn´t a problem.
- Only three "students" came and the old lady and man were really really nice. The third (74 year old) man was probably also nice but didn´t really make an effort to speak in English and just said very random things in Hiroshima dialect to me. The couple sometimes tried to save me but often even they didn´t understand. It was fun.
- On the way back I realized I don´t know what train I need. I only knew my station but not the direction of the train. Japanese conversation ＃1 at the train station was succesful and I got direction to the right platform.
- The train arrived 5 minutes earlier and as soon as I got in and the door closed, I realized P. told me some of the trains skip Yokogawa station where I need to get out. I thought this might be the wrong train since it even arrived on a different time.
- When the train stopped, I ran to the end of the train to ask the conductor if it stops in Yokogawa. Japanese trains are always on time and I was terrified to cause an international scandal by making the train late. I lost my shoe on the way and just yelled my question at the confused man.  Japanese "conversation" ＃2 was succesful. "Yes yes, it stops in Yokogawa. Go get your shoe."
- In Japan, you buy your ticket at the train station, then you use it to get to the platforms and then you need it once again to get away from the train station. You must not lose the ticket.
- I lost the ticket.
- Happy that I am on the train, I wanted to take a picture but I forgot I put the ticket in my cell phone case and so it fell out. Once I got of the train, I immediately realized my ticket must be somewhere on the train but it was too late.
- I was quite exhausted by this time but I knew if I don´t explain this to the train station staff I will just have to stay there for ever. Japanese conversation ＃3 was succesful and even quite long! I explained everything and in the end I didn´t even have to pay any fine. Japan <3

UNITAR visit

- UNITAR visit with Azimi sensei´s class <3 presentations about ANT-Hiroshima (http://ant-hiroshima.org/en/index.html) and Green Legacy Hiroshima (https://unitar.org/greenlegacyhiroshima)
- UNITAR´s office has a direct view on the Genbaku dome
- one of the most inspirative experiences
- trying to connect Green Legacy Hiroshima with the Czech Republic now. it looks promising!
- when I grow up, I want to be like doctor Azimi (http://www.unitar.org/fr/node/347)

more pictures from Miyjima

bad pictures of the sunset view from the i-house

More events

-          Sports festival, 運動会

-          Participants: elementary school pupils, their parents but mostly grandparents, and us留学生, the international students

-          The event started with a very long introduction as if it was a championship and then we had a collective warm-up as they show in Japanese movies, it is real. I could not believe how I got into that situation but I decided to just go with it.

-          Then we were divided into teams and mixed with the Japanese participants. Our red team lost almost everything and I would have never believed before how much fun it can be to play different sports games for eight hours with foreign children but boy was it amazing!

one of the games included running around with things, such as four balls

or a giant teddy bear in a stroller

my international crew

- word of the day: 綱引き tug war

- one more time in Miyjima! this time we also visited the 神社 and the aquarium.

- first karate practice!!! Everyone seems nice and no one speaks English (a good thing). I failed terribly at trying to remember everyone´s names and also at what kind of Japanese I am expected to speak with them but the environment of the gym was awesome. Can´t wait to go again! I really really hope to make a lot of friends here.

-          fire drill reached a completely different level here. All of us had to climb down the emergency ladder and then we yelled 火事だ　and used the fire extinguisher to aim at a traffic cone. Before the alarm started, we were supposed to try to fit under the tables in our rooms in case of an earthquake. We also got fancy emergency backpacks that seem fireproof. 

Random troubles

-          I wanted to go buy a heel lotion, looked up the kanji for heels in Japanese and mentally prepared for a difficult task. Wasn´t that bad after all.

-          Went to the library for the first time by myself and also to print out the Charter of the UN. In order to enter, people need to use their student ID. For some reason I was a little nervous and couldn’t understand why I am not able to get inside. After painfully long ca 60 seconds, one of the librarians came to save me and told me I am using my bus card instead. Here come the embarrassing moments I´ve been waiting for.

-          On the plus side, printing is for free.

-          Also, the library is awesome and I can´t wait to find my favorite places.

-          I don’t really enjoy cooking or even talking about food but it is one of the most favorite topics of conversation here. How do I answer over and over and over when people ask me what kind of Japanese food I like, what am I making for dinner and if Japanese food is tasty? I need to prepare some short but thorough answers, maybe lies, whatever works.

-          It turns out meat and fish or at least broth is in nearly everything. Trying to find advices how to survive in Japan as a vegetarian. Every single page I´ve found so far just summarizes how difficult it is and also that many Japanese people don’t even understand the concept. You don’t eat meat? Do you eat fish? Do you eat rice? What about vegetable? And crabs? What about shrimps?

-          How do they don’t see the shared category of living creatures?

-          But as always in Japan, everyone is super sweet and tries to help me <3 During one of the welcome parties I got a special plate with vegetarian food just for me, which was mostly just embarrassing but also very sweet <3 During another welcome event, four different teachers came to ask me if I have things to eat and at the end I got a bag full of beans and tofu.
- Bought a melon but it turns out it´s a cucumber?

- my buddy´s lunch box, this is Japan  <3

- -          Every morning I go to make coffee to the kitchen. Every morning the janitor comes in and asks me if I didn’t lose a knife. I will never forget the word ほうちょう　now. Is this an absurd drama? Maybe I should just steal the damn knife someone lost to be done with it.