Japanese 111

Update on my Japanese class. I took my midterm thursday night and have to say I think I did kind of well. On the first quiz one week into the class, I wasn't ready for what was going to be on it. I studied one part and got quized on another. So to say the least I pretty much bombed it. The second quiz was much better. Now with this good grade on the midterm, which combined with the final makes up 70% of the grade I will get in the class, I'm back on track to getting an A/B. Some differences in Japanese is that the subject/verb sequence is reversed from English. If you are familiar with how Yoda from Star Wars speaks, you can get the idea. Also, almost all types of subjects have different ways of counting them, so the word for "three" would be different if you are counting pieces of paper compared to counting bottles. Alot of memorizing. However, it's going well and it's coming in handy when talking to the people around the base.

In other news....

Bowling has always been a game me and my family have enjoyed playing growing up. As a child I remember mom in the bowling leagues at Thunderbird Lanes, birthday parties at Seneca Lanes, and even an after prom get together at Northrock Lanes. It's a hobby that's been rekindled here in Japan. What once was a seemingly yearly event has now turned into a weekly staple. Every Sunday afternoon, as the weekend is dying down, I have been hitting the lanes here on base. I guess I'm getting pretty good, but still very inconsistent. Today was a milestone in a couple of ways, and I made them print out the score card because I knew no one would believe a fish story like this. On the last game of the day I miraculously started out with 5 strikes in row and ended with a personal best of 247, three strikes away from a perfect game. It was hard to act nonchalantly as the last strike came to try and convince everyone else I had meant to do it. Ha!! Now let's see if I can ever do it again. If you can't see the scorecard well enough click on it and it will blow up a little bit. Oh, and to Keith in DC, I want a rematch!!

Score Sheet from June 19th, 2005

Father's Day

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

~Clarence Budington Kelland

"The first year is the hardest." I was talking to my First Seargent after returning from bereavement. His mother had just passed less than a year ago. "Because you are missing them on occasions for the first time." No matter what he said the tears wouldn't stop. 7 months and 4 days today I got the worst news of my life. News I knew would eventually be brought, however never occuring to me that it could come so sudden. I was young when my grandparents on my mom's side passed away and only had a few distant friends leave during high school, so death is still kind of new to me. Still now I guess I'm trying to figure out how do you act when you lose the one closest to you and now how do you celebrate a day that's dedicated to a man that isn't there? The only thing I know is the first year is definitly the hardest.

I miss you a little, I guess you could say. A little too much,

A little too often, A little more every day.

~John M. Montgomery

Ikitsuki Island

This small island is located northwest of the bigger island of Kyushu. This coastal hike had some amazing views of the crashing waves, steep rocky cliffs and rice patties. After we passed the Majestic Cliffs of Shiotowara, we made a stop at a hidden bunker on top of the hill from WWII. It had grown over since the war but you could still kind of see through the trees to the water. At the northern most tip of the island, we ate lunch at the scenic Ohbae Light house. It was a nice day for the most part, a little rain when we started but it cleared up throughout our trip. I found some maps on the internet identifying the whereabouts of this island and also of where Sasebo is, I put them on the yahoo site so I could explain them a little better.

Majestic Cliffs of Shiotowara on Ikitsuki Island.

Hatten Lake

The Hatten Dake Resevoir is located on an adjoining mountain to Mt. Eboshi, which is the mountain that rises right outside the base. The lake was about the only good thing to take pictures of on this hike. The rest of the scenery was just a big forest of Japanese Red Cedars. The resevoir sits near the top of the mountain and the locals have built channels to funnel the water into their rice fields. It was really nice weather today and after the hike, I caught a nap on the rocks near the water...reminded me alot of laying on the dock in the pond back home.

Hatten Lake supplies water for rice fields like these.

Hatten Lake Behind a beautiful Stone Bridge.