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Am I proficient yet?
Dec. 5th, 2004 07:43 pmI intended to study a lot yesterday. Really, I did. But the zipper on my one pair of cream-colored pants broke, so I decided that since I needed groceries anyway I would shop for a new pair. I bought the original one when I was in Niigata, so I figured I should be able to find something similar without too much trouble.
...Boy, was I wrong. I could find the right color in a sweater or a jacket, sure. Skirts they had in abundance. But after searching at least three different stores, I came to the conclusion that there was not a single pair of cream or ivory pants in all of Moriyama. Thus my futile search came to a conclusion and I returned home, whereupon I was promptly struck with a craving for potato curry. There was nothing for it but to make some. (...Which left me with another sinkful of dishes. Why do all the things I like to eat use so many pots and pans to make? Why?!)
In essence, I didn't get around to studying until after supper. But at least it was a really GOOD supper.
I got up this morning at about 4:30. I didn't need to, of course, but once my eyes were open I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. I caught an early train to Kyoto and made it to the testing site with plenty of time to spare. One detail I found interesting: the test-takers (at least for level 1) were overwhelmingly Asian. I think there were only about three other non-Asian faces in the room with me. (I did see a lot more outside after the test got out...perhaps they were all in the lower levels?)
( Blow by blow of the exam )
After the test, I caught a bus to Kyoto Station and went shopping in the underground mall, figuring that if I couldn't find a pair of pants to my liking there, they don't exist in the entire country. It was rough searching. I found one pair that was almost what I wanted, though slightly too yellowish, but it was priced at $80. Yeaouch. Finally I located a single pair that wasn't quite the style I was hoping for but was at least the right color...and, more importantly, a decent price. So, yay.
While shopping, I was entranced by a store selling clothes from the Hitoshi Tamura Collection. The gown up front on display was absolutely gorgeous...kind of like Faire garb made out of kimono fabric. None of the clothes had price tags on them, which was a sign to me that they were probably WAY out of my price range. I ran a web search on the designer, but didn't turn up anything other than that there was a Hitoshi Tamura fashion show in Canada back in 1997.
...Boy, was I wrong. I could find the right color in a sweater or a jacket, sure. Skirts they had in abundance. But after searching at least three different stores, I came to the conclusion that there was not a single pair of cream or ivory pants in all of Moriyama. Thus my futile search came to a conclusion and I returned home, whereupon I was promptly struck with a craving for potato curry. There was nothing for it but to make some. (...Which left me with another sinkful of dishes. Why do all the things I like to eat use so many pots and pans to make? Why?!)
In essence, I didn't get around to studying until after supper. But at least it was a really GOOD supper.
I got up this morning at about 4:30. I didn't need to, of course, but once my eyes were open I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. I caught an early train to Kyoto and made it to the testing site with plenty of time to spare. One detail I found interesting: the test-takers (at least for level 1) were overwhelmingly Asian. I think there were only about three other non-Asian faces in the room with me. (I did see a lot more outside after the test got out...perhaps they were all in the lower levels?)
( Blow by blow of the exam )
After the test, I caught a bus to Kyoto Station and went shopping in the underground mall, figuring that if I couldn't find a pair of pants to my liking there, they don't exist in the entire country. It was rough searching. I found one pair that was almost what I wanted, though slightly too yellowish, but it was priced at $80. Yeaouch. Finally I located a single pair that wasn't quite the style I was hoping for but was at least the right color...and, more importantly, a decent price. So, yay.
While shopping, I was entranced by a store selling clothes from the Hitoshi Tamura Collection. The gown up front on display was absolutely gorgeous...kind of like Faire garb made out of kimono fabric. None of the clothes had price tags on them, which was a sign to me that they were probably WAY out of my price range. I ran a web search on the designer, but didn't turn up anything other than that there was a Hitoshi Tamura fashion show in Canada back in 1997.
