Day 4

I forgot to set my alarm.  Oops.  At least there aren't classes today.  On a related note, did you know that if you're studying in Japan (possibly other countries) that your attendance is counted towards whether or not you're allowed to enter into the country again within a predetermined amount of time?  They take their stuff seriously, I see.  So, I decided to eat at Denny's today, because it was close and looked "enticing".  What I found was that the only similarities between this Denny's and say, one in the U.S., was the spelling of the name and design of the interior.  On the menu were such items as "chicken jambalaya" (which I actually ordered and enjoyed), and even native Japanese dishes.  It's a good thing I didn't go looking specifically for American cuisine, because really, the only American thing I found was a club sandwich (which would probably be a safe bet the next time I go there).

Afterwards, I headed off to the campus with the intent of studying, carrying along my Japanese textbook from first year, my new copies of みんなの日本語　（みんなのにほご）"everybody's Japanese".  However, I ended up spending more time on the internet, trying to find a good kanji translation site (I'll be needing my dictionary with me more often than I had thought).  However, I did learn a few things about restaurant etiquette (things which I will be practicing the next time I eat at a restaurant) and some useful phrases/words.

It started raining (very lightly, mind you), and since I didn't want to get my books ruined, I went to the Daiso (surprise surprise) to get an umbrella, and also a pillow that I've been needing for the past few days.  I managed to ask for help in finding an umbrella (because I actually didn't know where they were) in almost perfect (informal) Japanese, which made me feel good about using the language and asking for help.

On a final note, at least facebook's photo uploading process is working well again.  Everything worked on its first attempt this time, without frustration or anything.  Here's to hoping that it works that well again.  But now, off to cook dinner (beef [American beef], with some seasonings, and rice).

As always, however, a picture to leave you with, accompanied by a description.

Many Japanese houses that I've seen so far have the family name prominently displayed on the outside of the house on either the door or a stone pillar on the side of the driveway/edge of the lawn.  This particular one was on the way to the Yamasa II building; I can read the first character 岩（いわ）(iwa), but I can't make out the second one.