My tutor, and my keitai (cellphone)

I finally had a session with my Japanese language tutor, Natsuka-san. A very shy but responsible girl. I felt a bit guilty that I scheduled one of our weekly meetings on a Thursday from 6:00 - 7:00 pm. Anyway, I really like my tutor in the sense that some of my classmates' tutors seem to not take the tutoring seriously.

Natsuka-san asked me to write a diary entry in Japanese every session for her to correct. I find it good so that I can practice my writing. She does talk to me in Japanese and I try as best as I can to reply in Japanese. Most of the time I don't understand what she is saying, but when I understand a word or when I see her actions, I try to get the context of it. She was so thoughtful enough to buy okashii (sweets and snacks) for both of us after the session was over. I wanted to keep some to eat in my room but I thought it might have been rude if I didn't finish it up.

After the session as well we did some small talk. She has never left Tokyo and is living very near Sumida-ku, where i used to stay for the homestay program of the Japanese Studies Program. This made me feel a bit more guilty since I had an idea how long she would need to travel by train. She also told me that her roots are in Kyoto and that she is from a samurai family! Now this fact was sooo cool for me, as a student of History. She said that her ancestors had a castle in Kyoto which was given to them by Toyotomi Hideyoshi! WOW! Anyway, I really appreciated her help.

I have decided to give my halo-halo mixes to her since she did such a nice thing for me. Also, I am a bit hesitant to give it to my adviser, Nakano-sensei, and Terada-sensei.

Yesterday, I met with Hanna and went to the AU shop to get my keitai. Everything went smoothly until I had to fill up the forms and show my IDs. My school ID is only a laminated piece of paper, so the clerk had to verify my status with their main office. That meant that if I wanted the Student Discount from AU, I had to wait 10 days. They will determine if I can avail of the discount and they will contact Hanna! I felt a bit guilty as well because I had to let Hanna do all the talking and I knew that she was a bit uncomfortable speaking in Japanese. In one aspect I thought of it as practice for her (just to make me feel good) and in another aspect, I thought it was an unnecessary burden to her. I could've opted to get the two-year plan which was relatively cheap as well but why settled when there is a possibility of getting something much more cheaper? Sooo ten day before I can load up pictures in this blog...(if I can figure out how to!)

After AU, we just happened to meet Siao and we started chatting it up on the street. (It was freezing by the way). We chatted up from 5:30 - 7:00 when Hanna suggested for us to find a place to eat. Siao recommended the bar that he frequents. It was a nice cozy, small place with no one around since it was still too early. Below the bar was a Thai restaurant which they could order from. Siao recommended the green curry which he always ordered when he was there. We tried it and it was delicious (take note that I am not a gourmand, I will literally eat anything and everything will taste delicious to me). We sat there and talked, only to realize that we talked until 11 pm!!!! We were all shocked. Time just reallly passed. I thought to myself that maybe we did so because we hardly see each other. Hanna and Siao are classmates in some classes and I have my language classes, so we don't "hang-out" as much.

But I like this type of arrangement a bit. If we saw each other too frequently, we would be like the Koreans, Thais and Chinese who are here. They would only speak in their native language. When we hang-out with our own circles, we speak Japanese, in my case "attempt to speak Japanese." So it was nice.

The bar reminded me of the TV show, Cheers. Small and everyone who was there were regulars. Siao knew everyone. If I want a drink, at a discount, Tuesdays are the best times to go.

After that, Siao and I went to our 24-hour grocery store Saeki. I bought snacks to munch on. Read a bit of Mr. Ajjiko and slept.

Today, me, Pranamita-san and Diaby-san will go to Tachikawa to buy Diaby's laptop and go around. Hopefully everything goes smoothly.

Tonight is a floormate's birthday. Frederic from Germany. Got a tip from Siao that Seiyu sells San Miguel (Y350). So I might buy it for his party.