Dinner with Onaka-sensei

Tonight was the last night of Japanese class before a 3 month break. I am rather sad that I won't have class to look forward to on Wednesday nights, and it will probably be harder to motivate myself to study while I'm not accountable to anyone but myself. However, tonight was a pretty fun night. For the past few weeks, there have only been four people in the class: myself, Hollie (an ALT from England), Aline (a high school student from France), and Francesco (a man from Italy). There used to be two Chinese ladies in our group, but they haven't come in a while. I'm not sure why. However, class has been running fairly smoothly because the four of us are around the same level of competence in Japanese. It has been fairly entertaining since Francesco joined the group because he has a lot of personality and quite a bit to say about everything. I think sometimes he gets on Onaka-sensei's nerves a little, but it's kind of funny when he does.

Earlier in the afternoon, I got a text from Hollie saying that Onaka-sensei had invited us to eat dinner with her after class. I think Hollie has eaten dinner with her a few times before, but I never had, so it sounded like fun. After class ended, we went with Onaka-sensei to an okonomiyaki restaurant not far from where I live. I've only eaten okonomiyaki once before, and this was a somewhat different type. This time we had Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. In addition to the batter and shredded cabbage, there were also yakisoba (fried noodles) mixed in. It was very delicious. While we ate, we talked about a bunch of things. We spoke mostly in Japanese, but Onaka-sensei knows a good deal of English, so we weren't strictly limited to the things we could say in Japanese. I like Onaka-sensei; she's very smart but still has the patience to deal with the bunch of us. She's very cosmopolitan for someone who lives in Kochi, I think. She has traveled a good deal and there are still a lot more places she wants to see. I was very flattered that I was invited along for dinner. I think maybe Hollie and I are in her good graces, hahaha.

After dinner, we headed back to Onaka-sensei's car. There was a young-looking couple getting into the car next to hers, and they were smiling at us. I think I heard the lady say "Kawaii!" ("Cute!"). It's kind of confusing when that happens. I mean, it's nice that they think we're cute, but it's kind of strange to be singled out like that. Anyhow, Onaka-sensei gave me a ride back to the Kochi International Association where my bike was parked, and from there I rode home. My stomach hurts a little from dinner; I think I probably ate too much or too quickly. It was worth it, though.

Although class has only just ended, I'm already looking forward to when it starts back up again in May. I suppose having one less thing on my plate during Genki season isn't such a bad thing, though. And since Wednesdays are half days, it means I've got the entire afternoon and evening to do whatever I like. Maybe while we're having a break from Japanese class I'll try to work more on vocabulary and less on grammar. I think it's better to study grammar when you have a group to practice it with and someone to correct you when you use it incorrectly. And I could definitely stand to increase my vocabulary. I'm often frustrated that I don't know the words I need to say what I want. I guess we'll see what I can accomplish on my own.