Another sunny day, but not as sunny as yesterday, and I didn’t get to see Mt. Fuji because there was a train in the way.  I got shoved into a position in the train where I had to mercilessly wedge myself through the crowd to get off, pulling my backpack behind me.  It brought a smile to my face.  Something must be wrong with me. 

It also made me think that in Japan bananaguards would sell like hotcakes.  A quick look at their page tells me they’ve already thought of that. 

On the subway I realized with pride that I recognized and was able to sound out an entire word.  A split second later, it hit me that I’d forgotten to go to my kanji lesson yesterday.  Oh the embarrassment.  Fortunately, my teacher didn’t seem to mind.  I suppose I’ll be paying for that lesson out of my own pocket… 

We had a test today and I reviewed at starbucks with the same special order frappucino as yesterday.  I think I did reasonably, I’m guessing 40 or more points out of fifty.  Just because it’s usually the answer, I’m betting on 42. 

After school I went to lunch at the smelly place again and ate grilled fish this time.  It wasn’t as tasty as the satsuma-age, and the miso soup contained fish scraps, which made the soup difficult to eat.  Even so, remember I’m only paying 70 yen more for a full meal than for my silly frappucino. 

Most of the afternoon and early evening I spent with our distributor discussing business.  It’s so much easier to discuss face to face, and them having hired a new employee who speaks excellent English really, really helps.  I had to forestall any possible dinner together, because I remembered the laundry I had to do.  And when you’re down to your last pair, that’s a good thing to remember. 

For the first time, I wasn’t the weirdest guy on the train.  A heavyset Japanese with a bulging backpack read without holding on to anything and kept bumping into me and my neighbor, to the point where I shared an understanding glance with my neighbor about a Japanese.  That is like an octopus and a fish reaching a common understanding about another fish without a word being spoken. 

It’s now obvious, but I only noticed this morning that in the bushes in front of the one big building I pass every day there are two statues, one of a lion and the other of a tin man.  I’m thinking there should be a third, but I can’t recall what it should be and can’t see any other statue. 

Well, only two more days of Japanese.  I’m tempted to let homework slide…