I'm still alive!
There has been a rather high level of quizzes, tests, homework, Nanzan planning and general studying recently, which has meant lots of staying up late and studying... until today.
Today I think my brain forgot to tell the rest of me to wake up.
After battling through classes (which is usual; very few people are excited at grammar class first thing in the morning), taking a test outside of class and forgetting the rather simple term 'blend', realizing that I had in fact missed a point on my first Japanese quiz because I misread the answer, I dragged myself off to work... an hour early.
Aside from weekends at the dining hall, I work at the juice bar at the gym, and not many people stop by. Or at least there's not a huge line like there is for the coffee stand in the morning. But I'm pretty slow too, so the juice bar is nice. There's also less opportunity to burn yourself, although I have of course managed it once or twice.
Work was extra slow today, so at least I could leaven the mundanity of my boss's day. I said hello and left to go find something caffeinated.
I have come to realize that I have a very low tolerance for caffeine. And, more recently, that I still rely on it very much. Used very carefully, caffeine can be helpful, especially when you have to deal with somewhat finicky customers (what is it with people in a gym?) and move fast. I also get a lot of homework done. And dishes. And cleaning. And random mundane things that suddenly become important tasks.
It's great until the 8-hour-long effects start to get in the way of, you know, sleeping. Or relaxing. It's just a little bit scary.
But this is why I am updating my blog at nearly midnight.
I also got my plane ticket info today! I am officially flying to Japan. Yayo!
A hui hou!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Nanzan!
Good morning!
Yesterday was the last day of the Nanzan exchange in Hilo, so the students are on their way back to Nagoya.
I, having gotten less sleep than I would have liked (yesterday I got to sleep in until 7!), did not wake up until very late in what may or may not be considered the morning. I seem to have lost my voice as well.
We were crazy busy for 4 1/2 days and I loved it all. It was a lot like being in 4-H again!
I hosted my buddies for two nights each, since I have very limited space, and we did exchange activities, went to classes, ate a lot of food, made cookies, did research, and basically hung out together a lot. Our research is on sustainability, eating habits, and local food, so we went to the farmer's market and interviewed/surveyed over 80 people! We'll be organizing and planning for a presentation when I visit Nagoya in mid-October.
As for the actual stay, I felt really bad that I couldn't take them to see the ocean or around Hilo, but it was still fun! Miki is pretty much my Japanese twin (she is in fact the same height as I am, I was rather shocked), and Eri is amazingly sweet and also gets cold just as much as I do. The other students (10 total from Nanzan, all girls, and 4 other UHH students) were so much fun, and I loved meeting all of them. I don't have a camera still, but everyone else took a billion pictures and we're going to share.
On another note, I absolutely love my roommates. My actually roommate Sharon loves Hello Kitty and cooks excellent food, as does my room-on-the-other-side-mate, a vet student (yay!), who washes my dishes when I'm not looking and made curry for us. Some of the Japanese students had trouble adjusting, so I promised Eri we'd have curry, but we didn't get back until late and it was a wonderful surprise to not have to make it myself.
And now I will go back to my normal schedule of homework and work work, both of which I got to mostly postpone during the week... which is good, because I don't know if I would have survived. So today will be a lot of catching up and reading.
It's also hot outside. I know this only because it's hot inside, and walking to the store sounds very unappealing right now. I don't mind the walking, just the heat!
Yesterday was the last day of the Nanzan exchange in Hilo, so the students are on their way back to Nagoya.
I, having gotten less sleep than I would have liked (yesterday I got to sleep in until 7!), did not wake up until very late in what may or may not be considered the morning. I seem to have lost my voice as well.
We were crazy busy for 4 1/2 days and I loved it all. It was a lot like being in 4-H again!
I hosted my buddies for two nights each, since I have very limited space, and we did exchange activities, went to classes, ate a lot of food, made cookies, did research, and basically hung out together a lot. Our research is on sustainability, eating habits, and local food, so we went to the farmer's market and interviewed/surveyed over 80 people! We'll be organizing and planning for a presentation when I visit Nagoya in mid-October.
As for the actual stay, I felt really bad that I couldn't take them to see the ocean or around Hilo, but it was still fun! Miki is pretty much my Japanese twin (she is in fact the same height as I am, I was rather shocked), and Eri is amazingly sweet and also gets cold just as much as I do. The other students (10 total from Nanzan, all girls, and 4 other UHH students) were so much fun, and I loved meeting all of them. I don't have a camera still, but everyone else took a billion pictures and we're going to share.
On another note, I absolutely love my roommates. My actually roommate Sharon loves Hello Kitty and cooks excellent food, as does my room-on-the-other-side-mate, a vet student (yay!), who washes my dishes when I'm not looking and made curry for us. Some of the Japanese students had trouble adjusting, so I promised Eri we'd have curry, but we didn't get back until late and it was a wonderful surprise to not have to make it myself.
And now I will go back to my normal schedule of homework and work work, both of which I got to mostly postpone during the week... which is good, because I don't know if I would have survived. So today will be a lot of catching up and reading.
It's also hot outside. I know this only because it's hot inside, and walking to the store sounds very unappealing right now. I don't mind the walking, just the heat!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Aha!!
The internet in the dorms (not just mine, ALL of them) has been having a lot of trouble, so I haven't been able to use my own computer for about a week. Of course I have needed to check my email frequently, use my online resources for class, get into my class schedule... but it worked out, and now the internet is BACK!
I'm not sure how much of that has to do with Labor Day and the fact that a lot of students are gone. Yesterday at work it was very empty... I got bored at my job for the first time.
So it may very well die again.
One thing I have decided is to drop a class, which takes me down to 16 units... and two jobs and a rather intense exchange research program. The exchange is the main reason I've been feeling overwhelmed, but I think even if I pulled off all of my classes this semester, I wouldn't be able to do the same in the spring.
This means that I will most likely NOT be graduating next Spring. It's disappointing, but I'm hoping to avoid the excess stress that was a large part of the reason I got so sick last semester. (Of course the other reason is the vog, which by staying I will not be able to get away from... so there's downsides any way I go.)
It's a very nerve-wracking decision, but I want to take more Hawaiian next semester, and now it will fit in my schedule. I LOVE my Hawaiian class, the language is beautiful and the entire program is just really interesting.
Plus, being a Linguistics major puts me under the Hawaiian Language College, so I feel like I should live up to that somehow.
I will now celebrate this holiday by finishing my homework early before I go pick up my first exchange student, Miki, from the airport! We're doing our Hilo-based research and projects this week, and despite getting delayed by a typhoon in the airport, the Nagoya students are coming in today!
Hopefully I can write a little more about our research later, it's really interesting!
It would be a lot less stressful if I had a car or other form of reliable transportation. I hope she doesn't mind walking...
A hui hou!
I'm not sure how much of that has to do with Labor Day and the fact that a lot of students are gone. Yesterday at work it was very empty... I got bored at my job for the first time.
So it may very well die again.
One thing I have decided is to drop a class, which takes me down to 16 units... and two jobs and a rather intense exchange research program. The exchange is the main reason I've been feeling overwhelmed, but I think even if I pulled off all of my classes this semester, I wouldn't be able to do the same in the spring.
This means that I will most likely NOT be graduating next Spring. It's disappointing, but I'm hoping to avoid the excess stress that was a large part of the reason I got so sick last semester. (Of course the other reason is the vog, which by staying I will not be able to get away from... so there's downsides any way I go.)
It's a very nerve-wracking decision, but I want to take more Hawaiian next semester, and now it will fit in my schedule. I LOVE my Hawaiian class, the language is beautiful and the entire program is just really interesting.
Plus, being a Linguistics major puts me under the Hawaiian Language College, so I feel like I should live up to that somehow.
I will now celebrate this holiday by finishing my homework early before I go pick up my first exchange student, Miki, from the airport! We're doing our Hilo-based research and projects this week, and despite getting delayed by a typhoon in the airport, the Nagoya students are coming in today!
Hopefully I can write a little more about our research later, it's really interesting!
It would be a lot less stressful if I had a car or other form of reliable transportation. I hope she doesn't mind walking...
A hui hou!
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