annyong haseyo,
A belated Happy New Years to you all:)
Earlier tonight I wasn't in the greatest of moods. I managed to get to the gym, and was looking forward to just getting home and doing nothing (ah, winter, you make me so feel so pathetic sometimes). On my way in, my super, Mr. Shin (sp?) stopped me, as he often does, to help me translate something for him. He hasn't formally learned english since he was in grade school, and he is probably around 70 now. I was in NO mood to help, but, as teachers do, still attempted to help and put on a cheerful face. He wanted to know the difference between tell, talk, say, and speak. It took some time because I often write things down since he's better at reading comprehension than listening comprehension. I ended up helping him for a good 40 minutes. I helped him with some other simple phrases, too. By the end, he understood but claimed he'd forget in a few days anyhow, since "he is old and it is hard for him to learn study". I wrote down "It may be harder, but I think it can work!" and he laughed and laughed and kept repeating it. It was pretty cute and put me in a better mood. :) I like when things like that give me some perspective.
Last month I got to visit my friend Laura and her husband in Okinawa, Japan for Christmas. I'm sure most of my readers know who she is, but just in case, she is a good friend from high school. It was really beautiful (and much warmer!) there, and I'm really glad I got to see her.
Next month I will be going to Japan once again, this time to the main island- Osaka, Kobe, and possibly Kyoto. It'll be a quick trip, but I'm still stoked.
Instead of posting pics directly to this blog, I'm going to try to make a link. It might be a bit more efficient that way.
