Day 39 - 8th of October

9:49pm　セミナーハウス
天気：雨天、寒い
So it ended up that we every one's morning classes were cancelled due to the storm warning. It wasn't withdrawn until 8:30, so that meant that I still had my two afternoon classes. I was happy about that, cause with all the holidays we have already, we can't really afford to miss another day. The winds were really strong in the morning. When we found out that morning classes were officially cancelled, Diego went back to bed! He didn't have any classes for the rest of the day. As for me, I had to get ready for the afternoon.

I finished my project proposal for Culture and Everyday life, which I'm going to abbreviate to CEL from now on okay, cause I'm too lazy to type the whole thing, xD. I went up to the kitchen and ate a pear, while looking at the destruction the typhoon had caused on the news. It was not until about 15 minutes before hand, that I realised my class was due to start at 1; the typhoon really put me off! So I rushed to uni and made it just in time; you can actually get there quite fast if you put the effort in. We watched a video for the first 10 minutes, about a preschool in Japan. It was really interesting to see the difference in how the children are managed in Japan, compared to Western preschools. Japan has a very different set of values and beliefs. To be honest, I kinda like their style. For instance, this one kid had been playing up all day, and instead of disciplining him/punishing him, the teacher just let the other children sort out the problem. This would teach the other kids how to deal with these sorts of situations.

History class was equally enjoyable. We have now entered the Heian period (9th century). We now see a slow shift away from China as a "big brother" figure, and Japan begins to come into it's own, eventually breaking all ties with China by the end of the century. After driving the indigenous Emishi (likely ancestors of the Ainu) of the north out of Honshu, the capital now had widespread control over the main island. Through this campaign, the military style was changed from the Chinese standing-army style, to a more focused group style with a general at its head. This lead to the rise of the Shogun... The hand outs we got today were crazy. The family trees are really complicated, cause most of the Emperors had many wives, and of course, incest occured frequently. Basically though, during this century, one tribe stood out among the rest; the Fujiwara tribe.

By marrying into the imperial family, and maintaining several ties, they become a very powerful and influential family within the capital. The first child Emperor is appointed at just 8 years old; Seiwa. This leads to the need for a regent (who weilds power in the Emperor's name), and Yoshifusa of the Fujiwara family, grandfather of Seiwa takes the position. Over the course of the century, the Fujiwara family strives to stay strong, while stamping out any competition. Next time we move into Heian literature, and I've picked up the book "The Gossamer Years" to read, which should be really interesting. So after class, I got some more money, bought the book, and had a late lunch in the cafeteria. Then went to do some grocery shopping.

That was fun! I ended up going to no less than four different stores. I went to this new store that just opened, and got some bargains. Then I went to Fresco, and picked up some more stuff. Then I went to the 99円 store to get some orange juice. I walked all the way back to the seminar house, bags in hands; it was great for my muscles. I got back and put the stuff away, then realised that I didn't have any carrots. So I walked to Sanko and picked some up, along with a bunch of other stuff; it was cheap okay! Got back (again), and talked with Mum before making dinner. I had stir fry with udon noodles. It was really nice. I'm getting good at this cooking thing, :D. Still, I want to try more. Anyway that's about all I have to say, my homework's up to date, and I'm sorting out things to do on the weekend. Hopefully going to Kuzuha mall and getting my hair cut! Yay!!!

Day 39 - 7th of Ocotber

10:36pm　セミナーハウス
天気：暴風
A 暴風警報 (boufu keihou - storm warning) has been officially issued for the Osaka area, with typhoon #18 at our door-step. If the warning continues, we may not have to go to university at all tomorrow, depending on how long it lasts. It's raging out there at the moment, but I feel completely safe and unaffected in my room.;it's still really nice a warm in here too. We've been told to stay inside, so I've been basically studying, and doing homework that might not even have to be handed in, but anyway...

Today was damp and cold outside, yet warm a cosy inside; jumper on, jumper off, jumper on... I only have two classes on Wednesdays though so I got to come home at 1, eat lunch, and then have a nap. At six, we had our monthly seminar house 2 meeting. Overall we've been doing well. We've just been told to put a bit more time and effort into keeping things clean. Otousan and Okaasan are happy with us though, xD. As soon as the meeting was over everyone rushed to the kitchen to make dinner. I heated up my left over rice, and ate that, before cooking scrambled eggs. I don't want to miss classes tomorrow, it just means a lot of catching up, or missing out on something completely. If the warning is withdrawn by 7am tomorrow, it should be fine. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen. The full force of it is supposed to by over us at 6am tomorrow. Well, we'll just wait and see what happens.