日本語学校 - Japanese School

I've been attending Japanese classes for about two years now. I started level 1 at the beginning of grade 10, and am now finishing up level 2. I go to class every Saturday morning, from 9:30-12ish. (It tends to be more like 11:50 when the old Japanese guy walks through the halls to ring the final bell...XD.) The classes are in a public school that has Chinese classes in it at some other time, too. The school is about a ten minute walk from Chinatown on one side, and one of the city's main malls on the other side, so it's entirely convenient when I have plans downtown for the afternoon. I've learned a lot in my classes there, and I'm really happy with the place. This morning I registered for my third year there.

I tend to not be in the mood for class when I'm having to wake up early to go, but once I get there, I'm happy to be there. That's pretty much how today was. I was feeling way too lazy to study. When I got to class, I started to feel really tired (I've been very sleep-deprived this whole week), and very hungry, for some reason (you'd think the waffles I had for breakfast would've filled me up o.o). Thus, I barely used my brain or did anything during the first half of class. When my sensei came over to see how our work was going and asked how I was doing with it, I pointed at the verb on my page that seemed most appropriate for the moment: 疲れました。"I got tired," basically. Sensei understood that I had no idea about anything at that moment, and moved on to the other girls at my table. XD During recess, I went with a friend I've known since grade 5 who's in level 1 and one of his classmates to the Tim Hortons in a hospital right by the school (which is actually where my great aunt died...but apparently anyone can just walk into this cancer hospital to get Tims) and got a croissant and some coffee (a Triple Triple...really yummy, but not great for the diet). The coffee woke me right up, so I was alert and happier during the second half of class, and I was no longer starving. Our sensei gave us a test, and I did really well on it, despite having missed a lot of class lately. It was pretty easy. There were only a few things on it that I didn't know.

It's funny that I missed last week's class for Anime North. The school actually had a table set up in the Artists' Alley area at AN, though. Ryan, said friend in level 1, sat there with one of the adults from the school for awhile, signing people up for classes. The week before was the Victoria Day holiday weekend, so there was no class; the week before that, I went to school, but there was a speech contest (which I have never been in), thus no class; and the week before that, I didn't go to class because I was sick. I missed a couple of tests/exams - one on particles, the other on kanji - so my sensei gave me them to finish at home. SCORE! XD Classes are going to end for the summer soon. I didn't do any of my Japanese homework at all this year, because my sensei never collected any of it, but I kept all of the sheets, so over the summer I'm going to sit down with my friend Sharin (who has been studying Japanese for longer than I have) and do it all. I really need to start studying more. It'll be easier in the summer when I don't have school to deal with, too. We're going to have a party and watch some movie during our last class. At our Christmas party, sensei showed us the movie Linda Linda Linda, which I really enjoyed. I can't wait to see what we watch this time. And while part of me will miss classes during the summer, I will really enjoy not having to wake up early every Saturday morning for a couple of months. But I must study! FIGHTING!