Testing, testing, 1 2 3

On December 9th I headed down to Kobe to take the dreaded Japanese Language Proficiency Test, aka [and hereafter] the JLPT. There are 4 levels, 4 being the easiest and 1 being the hardest. I had signed up for level 3 thinking it would encourage me to study. I had done most of the grammar forms and even more kanji while in college, so I thought a bit of studying up would be no trouble. Woof! I was so wrong! Namely, I didn't study nearly enough. Too much time spent settling in, figuring things out. Then we were being social, or relaxing. So, about 2 weeks before the test I reconciled myself to the fact that I would fail the test. This is ok, as I still did some studying, and that my ridiculous contrary nature might find studying easier after the test.

I caught a ride down w' Sarah, a pal from my Japanese class who lives nearby. We parked in Himeji, then trained over to Kobe. I had a fantastic time on Saturday; found my face cream, met up w' Malik and Rachel from Osaka, went to Chinatown. Oh yeah, and I studied a bit. I stayed in a hostel that night. The hostel had an onsen, but you had to walk down 2 flights of stairs [while naked!!] to reach the baths. Since this was only my second time, walking up and down naked, having to ask for directions from naked people, made me a tad uncomfortable. Especially my 5 minute conversation in mixed English/Japanese from a newly widowed woman who told me all about her daughter who's a flight attendant. Yes, while naked.

The next day I got up very early [I didn't sleep well- I always forget how much I hate sleeping outside my own bed], and tried to find a cafe for some cramming. sigh. Even the Starbucks wasn't open til 7:30. Met up with Sarah, went over to the test.

The test was horrible. It wasn't too hard; if I had really studied from the moment I arrived, or been responsible and actually continued studying after I graduated, I could have passed. There is even a slight possibility that I did pass. I actually hope that I did not, because I plan to retake the test next year. I intend to truly study, and to practice, my Japanese. I won't find out how badly I failed until March-> why so long? I have no idea, as the damn test is a scantron and could be graded in a day. But this is Japan, so I'm sure there are some subtleties I don't understand about the grading process. ;P

The big, bad news about the test is that I managed to lose my keitai [cell phone]. I dropped it somewhere between the konbini [convenience store] and the university. I talked to the people in charge of the test, and after some craziness, it was determined that no one had turned it in. I went to the konbini, but no luck. Then I went to the koban [police box]. I actually love the idea of kobans- they are posted throughout cities, always have a cop or two [this one had 10! 4 inside and 6 outside sitting in a parked cop car], so they can respond more quickly to calls in the neighborhoods. I had to fill out a report about my phone. Luckily Jon was there to help- I thought I understood the questions, but my responses weren't getting me anywhere. Turns out I did understand pretty well [hurrah!], but the cops needed more info. Hurrah for Jon and his superior Japanese! Oh yeah, and I learned that "Lawsons" in Japanese is not "Rah-sonsu" as I thought, but "Roh-sonsu." You would think this would be close enough to not matter, but I assure you, it does matter! Almost as much as "San-do-wichi" [understandable to Japanese] and "San-do-wich" [not understandable to Japanese].

You'd think that losing my keitai would've ruined my day, but I actually didn't care too much. I mainly felt bad for everyone who had to search w' me; Sarah, Alicen, Jon, and Krystal. We'd planned to hit Kobe together and I screwed things up. Everyone was really nice and understanding about it, which I really appreciate! Besides taking up everyone's time, I actually don't feel too bad. It's inconvienant; I had to suspend my service, and it looks like I'll have to get a new phone soon, but hey- it could have been my wallet. And since it appears that my life in Japan is a series of ups and downs, I figure this down balanced out my fabulous Saturday. Maybe I'm learning some patience, or maybe the fact that I hate cell phones is seeping through [although they are super handy here in Japan, and I will have to get another one].

The rest of the day was spent eating- Okanomiyaki and gingerbread lattes- and travelling. Then I got home, finally saw Aaron [he was in Osaka doing more movie stuff from Dec 1 thru Dec 4], then went to bed. Huzzah!