This morning I cut my thumb while slicing up a persimmon. Nothing terribly deep, just enough to draw some blood and sting. The following ensued (all in English):
Me: Ow! I cut my thumb.
~Ken rushes in and has a look~
Ken: Oh, I thought ~mimes thumb falling onto counter~
Me: That’s “I cut off my thumb”.
This is the stuff you can’t find in a textbook but really should know.
Filed under: craft
No cookie. So here’s an FO instead.
Rivolo [Ravelry]
Pattern: Rivolo by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock, Impressionist Sky, roughly three quarters of a skein (~325 yards)
Needles: US 6
Ended up adding a few repeats to make up for my row gauge and the measurements came out right on the money. I finished the scarf in two weeks including blocking, which is soooo rare for me. I have a stack of things in my closet waiting to be washed and stretched but this baby got priority treatment.
It blocked like a dream – a floaty, wispy cloud dream.
Filed under: japanese
合格（ごうかく, goukaku） means “pass”. As in, I passed level two of the JLPT, the test I failed by a few points last December. Woo! No time to rest, though – on to level one!
Not my certificate - my score wasn't quite that good. :P Photo by MrWabu
Work has started and my life has been turned upside down by the change in schedule. I feel like I’m relearning how I did my job in some ways. For example I forgot what time I usually leave the house for each of my five schools. That leads me to playing it safe… and making it to school 20 minutes early. It’s been a good week overall, though, and I’m enjoying seeing the kids again after six weeks off.
Story from last week: I’m sitting at my desk during my planning period when a teacher and a fourth grader come into the staff room. The kid takes a long look at me and the following ensues (all in Japanese):
Kid (to the other teacher): Sensei, there’s a foreigner here!
Me: Yup, and I can speak Japanese, too. Good morning!
Kid: ~stunned silence~
Other teacher: Go on, greet her.
Kid: G-good morning.
I hope that gives her pause next time she sees a non-Japanese out and about – we may not “look” like we understand Japanese, but sometimes we do.
