Sunday, August 06, 2006

Can I figure this out?

I made it to school this morning fairly early. I want to make a good impression afterall. Plus, it`s incredibly boring at my apartment... Okinawa is currently in the middle of the Obon celebrations. I sat here at least 1/2 hour until a few teachers showed up. Thankfully, Taiko-sensei informed me that no one will be here tomorrow at school and I do not have to come. I hope it isn`t counted as a vacation day. I am most definitely not wasting those yet. I would rather sit here alone.

Last night I got to experience my first Eisa performance. I saw a bit in the street and then heard it for hours from my apartment. The drummers are welcoming the spirits of their dead ancestors back for Obon. Families leave food and drink for their relatives and clean the house to prepare for their arrival. I guess on the last night, they have big parties so that the relatives do not think that those they left behind are sad. Hearing the drums and chanting last night as I went to bed was amazing.

My computer at school is all Japanese. I really do not have a clue what I`m doing. Plus, if I hit the wrong button I could delete everything or have the keyboard switch to characters. Everything is a bit stressful. Nothing can be easy. I try to use my phrase book to decipher commands on the computer. It`s been a long day and it`s only noon.

It`s time to end this choppy entry. I am not suffering in the heat nearly as much as Ken is, which is strange. This weekend I`ll have my first opportunity to snorkel in Okinawa. As long as the typhoon doesn`t hit... And that`s it. Working with this keyboard has affected my writing already.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hey Rachel! I love reading about your adventures - wow! More power to ya for completely immersing yourself into something so foreign! Hang in there and I'll be sure to write more later! Aloha!