Today was the third day of classes. In addition to the 3 hours of class time every morning, I signed up for private lessons that take place in the afternoon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So with homework, I'm actually pretty busy. The school is on the 2nd floor of one of the tall commercial buildings in the center of town, and it has a lounge area that is great for hanging out after class, doing homework, and meeting other students. It's also air-conditioned!
Funny how different people react differently to the heat. On days when it already feels scorching hot early in the morning, some students arrive with an exhausted look, face flushed, hair stringy from sweat. Others don't seem to be affected at all. Unfortunately I fall into the former category. I've heard others say their rooms are pretty hot at night, so I'm not alone there.
Yesterday there was a fireworks competition in Sapporo, and there seemed to be a lot of excitement about it. About 40 students from the school went to attend. It was held at the banks of the river. I've often noticed that rivers that run through cities in Japan have very wide flat areas between the water and the built-up concrete banks. I guess the areas provide room in case of flood, but in the meantime they make great public spaces. The concrete banks formed seating areas and they were packed with people by the time the fireworks started. We got there quite early and put down a large tarp on a grassy area under a bridge, and we all sat there. Being under a bridge turned out to be a good choice, since there was a brief rain storm that delayed the fireworks but about half an hour. This was the first activity I attended with the school, and it was great to meet more students. They are mostly quite young and a lot of fun. I met a couple of students that are staying at the same share-house, and I was relieved to hear that they had the same first impression of the place as I did.
The fireworks show itself consisted of about twenty separate displays, each a few minutes long and sponsored by a different company. The result was one spectacular display after another - like every few minutes was a grand finale.
Funny how different people react differently to the heat. On days when it already feels scorching hot early in the morning, some students arrive with an exhausted look, face flushed, hair stringy from sweat. Others don't seem to be affected at all. Unfortunately I fall into the former category. I've heard others say their rooms are pretty hot at night, so I'm not alone there.
Yesterday there was a fireworks competition in Sapporo, and there seemed to be a lot of excitement about it. About 40 students from the school went to attend. It was held at the banks of the river. I've often noticed that rivers that run through cities in Japan have very wide flat areas between the water and the built-up concrete banks. I guess the areas provide room in case of flood, but in the meantime they make great public spaces. The concrete banks formed seating areas and they were packed with people by the time the fireworks started. We got there quite early and put down a large tarp on a grassy area under a bridge, and we all sat there. Being under a bridge turned out to be a good choice, since there was a brief rain storm that delayed the fireworks but about half an hour. This was the first activity I attended with the school, and it was great to meet more students. They are mostly quite young and a lot of fun. I met a couple of students that are staying at the same share-house, and I was relieved to hear that they had the same first impression of the place as I did.
The fireworks show itself consisted of about twenty separate displays, each a few minutes long and sponsored by a different company. The result was one spectacular display after another - like every few minutes was a grand finale.
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