Be Positive

So I've been back at IUC for three weeks now and I have to say it's going pretty great! I haven't figured out yet if I have or don't have as much homework as the last two previous 学期, but in any case it's all really interesting coursework so I don't mind burning the midnight oil too much. In addition to the class on advanced grammar ~which is the one class that I'm not too thrilled about~ I'm taking courses on the Japanese legal system, "academic" speaking, and Japanese business.

Studying kanji is also going pretty well. I'm surprised by how much kanji I actually remember now. I still have to look up a lot of stuff in my electronic dictionary, but it's not nearly as bad as when I first got here. Booyeah~

In other news, I recently moved! I left the high life in Sakuragicho for a guesthouse in Shinkoyasu. The place is huge- 3 floors and an awesome rooftop porch from which I can see Mt. Fuji and the Yokohama Bayview Bridge. I thought I might mind at first that I have to share the kitchen/bathroom (with 20 other people apparently) but it's a pretty close set-up to living in a dorm at Yale- Nippon-style so it's actually kind of homey.

One thing I am having a problem with is the heating... I checked the remote control and it's not set to air-conditioning (which I've made the mistake of doing before), but it's only fanning in luke warmish air. Btw, kanji for heating is 暖房 (だんぼう) as opposed to 冷房(れいぼう air-conditioning)- make a note.

What I could really use right now is a 炬燵 (kotatsu)... what's that you ask? Only the greatest invention to beat the cold ever (excepting central heating and maybe a sauna). It's basically an add on to a low table. A blanket is sandwiched in between the frame of a table and its top, making a mini-tent of sorts. A heat source- usually an electric heater though older houses in the country have charcoal pits- is put undernearth the table. All you have to do is stick your legs in and it warms you right up. They're pretty popular here in Japan because homes tend to be really drafty and the high price of electricity makes it unfeasible to heat barely insulated rooms.

Oh well. For now at least I have to be content with wearing my winter coat to bed. おやすみ。