Spring at last!
My day off from University on Wednesdays is like an island in the middle of the week, I welcome spending time with Don. but it always seems neccessary to cram the day with all the things that I haven’t managed to do on the other days of the week.
At least I can catch my breath and review all the homework that is due and try and prepare for Thursday and Friday classes.
Usually weekends are spent in much the same way as Wednesdays, but last Sunday I took part in a speach contest, organized by the Japan Foundation and supported by The Japanese Chamber of Commerce. It seemed a bit ludicrous for me to enter when I find it hard to string a sentence together in Japanese, but the interesting thing is that the monumental effort that it took to memorize a three minute speach, has in some way caused a mental breakthrough.
I always have great difficulty with grammar in any language, my saving grace is I am told, that I have a good ear. However one can get to rely on that too much and not pay enough heed to the mechanics of the language. Yesterday (Tuesday 5th) however, I suddenly found myself grasping bits of the grammar that had eluded me over the past eighteen months. Yae..! But before I get ahead of myself, I now have to practice, practice, practice, in order to consolidate that little advance.
I was treated with great warmth and respect after my brief performance and invited to take part again next year, which I will endeavour to do. The delightful entertainment by Curtin University Language students, was priceless. As Edith Cowan University students took out two of the three main prizes, John (who is in my class) took beginners and Andrew who is in third year, took the advance d prize, I think that Junko Iwasaki our Japanes language lecturer should have got a mention, she really is an amazing teacher. and in my case very patient too.
A very sad passing with the death of Steve Irwin this week, the planetary aspects this month, (Lunar eclipse, dramas at sea and Solar elcipse the passing of great personalities) numerological aspects (great achievements or victim of circumstance, especially for artitistic or media personalities) would seem to forbode such an event. My prayers and thoughts are certainly with his family.