The Day of Enlightenment

February 2

Today had the beginning of my typical day: waking up before my alarm while the clock still read 8:xx. This was a delightful repetition of habit especially considering what happened the last time that I had a 10:00 Japanese class. Quite the contrary to that last time, I had practically nothing to do while waiting for the class.

This day in particular was a very good day to go to class. Our review topic today was the plain/short/dictionary form of Japanese verbs. Back at home, the importance of this form was never really emphasized enough as to the extent that it is used in everyday conversation in Japan. Because of that, I was kind of at a loss for not being accustomed to using the plain form of verbs. After the lecture, however, I began to understand the usage of the form and hence gained a higher understanding of how people talk here.

Aside from learning how to use casual verbs, we also discussed casual conversation more in depth. I learned that casual conversation will many times exclude some of the verbs and particles that I was accustomed to hearing. A fine example of this came from the previous day at the all-you-can-eat restaurant we went to. One of the Japanese people said "Taberu" to me while holding a piece of meat, which, at the time, meant 'eat' to me. After pondering the concept for awhile, I assumed that was meant as a question. Usually, question sentences are ended by saying 'ka,' which is similar to a question mark. As I learned today in class, causal Japanese allows the plain form to be used as a question if there is a rising inflection in tone at the end of the word. After this class, I felt like I learned a new language and understood an old one much better.

Again, I had a lovely five hour wait until my next class. Being that lunch was the only planable activity ahead of me, I decided not to initiate the process immediately since it was only 11:00. Sitting in the student lounge, I was joined by a Japanese student who I met the day prior, Keisuke. At first, he thought he was asking a stranger if he could sit at the same table, but then he recognized me and we talked for awhile. After waiting for some other people, we went to lunch at 1:00. During lunch, it snowed a little, but by the time I left, it had stopped and no snow was in sight. After finishing lunch, we went our separate ways, which led me back to the lounge. On the way there, I met my classmate/group member, Yusuke. I spent the rest of my time talking with him and practicing Japanese. Finally, it was time for class.

This was the second day of my Negotiation class. As could be expected, the teacher started us off with another scenario. In a Japanese mining company, the workers cannot work without a hat and boots. After working in the mine all day, the workers go to a bathhouse owned by the mine to wash up. They place their clothes in a wicker basket, change into their causal clothes, and go home. One day, a miner comes to work and notices that someone had stolen his clothes. At this point, the teacher asked us what we would do. After the class decided to talk to the supervisor, we had to determine what the supervisor would do. The majority of the class voted to make the miner buy his own clothes, which would make him miss a day of work as well. The teacher proceeded to explain how the miner then caused a strike which eventually led to the supervisor buying new clothes for the miner anyway. Next, the superintendent yelled at the supervisor for causing so much trouble when he ended up buying the clothes anyway. The whole scenario was to explain the concept of perspective. By giving the miner new clothes, it made everyone happy. Every other suggested method led to someone not being happy. In other words, in negotiation, there is a difference between 'right and wrong' and the best choice in a deal. As expected, the class continued to be intriguing.

The big news for the night was a party at the club Pure. This party would start around 7 PM and last into what I projected as later than I would want to be out. Not only was the party going to be an all nighter, but its focus was primarily alcohol. I also heard that many people smoked inside. Naturally, my inclination was to not go. By doing so, I was left all alone in the dorm. To reconcile this, I made dinner and watched a movie before going to sleep at my regular time.