Proud moment

I subscribed for a monthly pass at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. I took home a form to fill out (with the assistance with my colleagues) but I returned by myself to apply for it formally.

Yesterday was the first time I tackled a non-food type engagement with strangers completely in Japanese and walked out still having my dignity in tact! Usually, I would try to speak in Japanese with other people, perhaps asking for directions, or clarification on a product and they will give a weird look like, "Am I stupid or something?" But this time, the guy understood everything I said, and I understood 90% he said! These Japanese lessons are finally paying off!

After going on a high with actually being able to communicate with people in this country, I decided to brave another language engagement by taking a Hip Hop class at the gym. It was actually the most fun I've had at the gym. In fact, while the speakers were blasting Shakira, Snoop Dogg, and other hip hop artists (totally Americanized), I couldn't help but laugh in the inside that I'm in Tokyo, taking a Hip Hop class from a Japanese guy. The other funny thing is that there were 3 other people in the class around mid-30's or 40's (you can never tell age with Tokyoites) who were shaking their hips as well. But learning Hip Hop in Japanese is gonna be a trip. I've already learned how to say body parts now and the words to shake them, rotate them, and bounce them around. ;-)

I had a ridiculously good time at the Hip Hop class, I'm going to try to go more during the week.

Anna, Will, if you ever read this: you better watch out...

Things I don't like:
The Japanese are very bureaucratic and enjoy paper work. I think it gives them a sense of security. For example, the form I had to fill out for my monthly application took about 2 hours to fill out and asked all sorts of questions including my company, my position, how much I make, and that was only half of the form. The person was nice to say I didn't have to fill out the other half. In addition, I had to fill everything out in Kanji (Chinese characters), English, and Furikana (which is the writing system to pronounce in Japanese).