This week in numbers
Vietnamese words/phrases I have learned: 9
Vietnamese words/phrases I have forgotten: 8
Hours of Vietnamese language listening per day: 2
Hours of Japanese conversation per day: 5
Walking distance to school in minutes: 10
Hours per weekday spent in classes: 4
People in my class: 10
Countries represented in my class: 8
Countries outside of Asia represented in my class: 1
Times I have been asked how tall I am: 250
Times I have been asked if I play basketball or volleyball: 150
Times I have been asked where I come from: 120
Times I have lied about where I come from: 6
School staff and teachers whose names I know: 9
Percentage of school days I have eaten lunch in the staff lounge: 100
Percentage of the time I understand what I am eating: 15
Apples I have bought and eaten: 6
Cost of above apples, in dollars: 11
Milliliters of unsweetened green tea per day: 800 (3 cups)
Milliliters of water per day: 500 (2 cups)
Rank of a 400g (1 lb) bag of granola among all purchases: 1
Times I have been to the ocean: 1
Meals per day that include rice: 2.5
Percentage of the time I am the only person of my race in the room/area: 98
Children who boo/hissed in unison as I went by on my bike: 200
Days completed of Oprah and Deepak's meditation series: 7
Note: Above are averages, approximates or guesstimates where appropriate.
settling in
Now that things have calmed down a bit, I have finally been able to create space in my life for a daily meditation practice. The first order of business has been a slow but thorough cleaning of my apartment/dorm room. For me, cleaning, especially the floors, is a grounding and meditative experience. It is a great way to be thankful to the space I am living in. Plus, it keeps the 2-3 inch cockroaches to a minimum (I am glaring at one as I write this sentence). They are pretty happily in residence; this place hasn’t had a thorough cleaning in, um... I have no idea how long. Maybe years. I also have been meditating for 20 minutes daily with Oprah and Deepak. Namaste, guys!
Students
![Picture](/uploads/2/6/7/9/26795560/4111167.jpg)
social skydiving, throwing the covers over my head, and fun with problems
Occasionally, I give in and do exactly that (read useless stories on the Internet). Like the time I tried to use an ATM for the first time and found out that none of my 2 debit and 2 credit cards worked. I had 500 Yen ($5) in my pocket, and it was Friday night. The banks wouldn’t open until Monday. I was NOT a happy camper. Or the time I got yelled at for swimming in the snorkeling/diving only area. Or the time I got boo/hissed by several hundred school kids for my state of (un)dress according to their cultural standards. Or the time I... ahem, anyway, moving on.
Yummy Food!!
![Picture](/uploads/2/6/7/9/26795560/1398231778.png)
School
![Picture](/uploads/2/6/7/9/26795560/1171785.jpg)
It’s been an eventful first full week in Okinawa, and I am off to bed to find out what tomorrow brings.
Peace,
Sam
p.p.s. Sakura (cherry blossom) photos below, by request! Sorry if they are slow to load; i tried compressing them but they lost too much clarity in the smaller file sizes.