Jason | April 11 My classmates

I got up at 11:00 am and heard someone cleaning outside. The vacuum cleaner was very loud. I went out to wash up. It was an old man, probably the landlord. I simply greeted him and went to wash up. There are two toilets and two bathrooms downstairs for the four rooms on the first floor. There are five rooms on the second floor, with the same configuration.

From the time we finished washing up to the time we left, we didn't see anyone else in the public area. Last night, I saw Yao Shi leaving with a suitcase. When I asked him where he was going, he said he was going to travel to Osaka to spend two days with his friends.

11:50 I rode my bike to go to class. The school is about 4 kilometers east of where I live now. It was very comfortable to ride along the way. It was probably because most of the houses in Kyoto are bungalows and two-story buildings. New buildings are scattered among traditional townhouses. The streets are narrow and you can see far away everywhere. It usually takes several kilometers to get to a place. Riding a bike is the best way. I remembered that before leaving for Dali, He Chen bought me a second-hand bicycle on Xianyu. He chose the "Dahang" P18 folding speed self-owned bicycle. I took a picture of it and said to the seller: "You are going to use it to study abroad, so check it carefully."

Today is the third day of class. The teacher is Ito. She teaches very well, pays attention to interaction, and is very attentive. For example, when doing each action, such as turning off the lights when playing the projector, she will say "電気-を-消します" word by word, which is often not the content of the course. Yesterday I moved and took a leave. It was the class of the homeroom teacher, Mr. Kuroda. Before that, it was Mr. Nomura from Osaka, and Mr. Nishide. The teacher is different every day.

The course uses "Minna no Nihongo". There are two Chinese students, Yin and Zhao, who have only learned the 50-sound chart. After one class, they felt that they could not keep up at all and were under a lot of pressure. They are applying to switch to the beginner slow class. They are about the same age as me. It seems that they live in the family for a long time. They don't go to language school for further studies or work. So if you are going to language school, you can learn some of this Japanese textbook first, so that you will not be easily frustrated at the beginning. I had a meal with a friend who has lived there for a long time in Osaka. She signed up for a language school as a hobby class, but soon gave up. She said, "The whole class is in Japanese, I can't understand it, I can't keep up, and I can't learn it."

In fact, it is very convenient to attend a short-term language school in Japan. All you need to do is add a teacher from the China Liaison Office on WeChat (WeChat isijapan5), and book the date, duration, and payment with him (about 4,500/month). Accommodation is generally not given priority to short-term students, so you can go to https://www.kyoto-apartment.com/en to book it yourself. If you don’t have any special needs, you don’t need to find an agent. There are shared apartments (single-room dormitories) and separate ones, and you can choose one. Then just come to school (there will be an online baseline test before, which is used to divide classes according to level), and there will be a freshman orientation one day before school starts. My school, ISI, was recommended by a friend who had studied in Kyoto, so I went very simply and didn’t put in much effort. I heard from classmates here that this school is serious and the most expensive. The vast majority of long-term students are here for further studies (university, vocational school)

The first two classmates I met were at the rooftop smoking area. We were not in the same class. If it wasn't for that chance, I probably wouldn't have met them: two Taiwanese men in their early twenties. They planned to find a job here after studying at a language school. They didn't mention a particular major, so it might be an ordinary job. Tobi from the UK and Bella from Brazil (a couple) were the ones who introduced me to rent a house. They wanted to move to Japan and also hoped to find a job.

The first person I met in the class was Mr. X. He was 41 years old and had lived in the United States for many years (more than ten years?). He said he had a green card, but he felt that it was not easy for Chinese or Asian Americans to live in the United States. He took a long-distance car trip in the United States with his wife and two children, and then took a car trip to Japan and returned to China by boat. After that, he also traveled in China. After a while, he felt that he was not used to the country, so he wanted to try Japan. He should not be the kind of person who stayed in the United States after studying in college, because his English language is not very good. His idea is to buy a piece of land in Japan and grow agriculture, such as strawberries, because the agricultural association will help you sell them. By the way, look for possibilities and do some farm experience.

My deskmate, L, is a very young Chinese boy, probably a high school graduate. He studied Japanese very hard and his level was at the elementary level when he came here. However, because he did not take the placement test seriously, he was assigned to the elementary level 1. So he is changing classes and wants to learn faster. His goal is to learn the language well and find a job in Japan. But his academic background is unknown.

Tom, my classmate who lives in the same corridor as me, is Brazilian, young and handsome. According to the questions and answers in class, his language skills are relatively good in the class. I asked him, "What are you going to do next?" "I want to learn Japanese cuisine and then find a job in Japan. I am also interested in bartending."

During the break, L met a Chinese man named R, 31 years old. He said that he felt that life in China was not so good, so he looked up a guide and came to Japan to study and find a job here. "I still want to go back to my major of transportation." "Do you want to continue studying?" "Yes, after the language school, I will go to a vocational school for two years." "Then you have to attend classes. It is very important to get a teacher's recommendation letter when applying to a school, otherwise they will not accept you. The attendance rate must be above 90%."

There was also a Chinese girl smoking, W, who came with her boyfriend. She was from Sichuan and her Japanese was pretty good, N3, in the intermediate class. "I want to be a hairdresser," "Do I need to go to a specialized school?" "Yes, I need to go to a specialized school for two years, otherwise I won't admit you."

There is also a Chinese, M, who started his own company in three weeks with zero foundation. However, he only used studying as an excuse, and came here mainly for fun, otherwise his wife would not agree.

Most people come here alone. There are no classmates or friends here, so we get to know each other quickly and discuss some basic life adaptation, renting a house, buying phone cards, getting a driver's license, and some experiences in buying daily necessities. If we chat in the smoking area after class, we will stay for a while.

I rode my bike home, drank coffee and ate toast at a coffee shop before going home.

At 9:30 pm, I received a message from Sun Yu: "I'm in trouble. The hotel in Kyoto cannot check in after 21:00. I sent an email at 19:50 saying I would be 20 minutes late and arrive at 21:20, but it didn't work. There was no one there."

"It seems that today is not possible. How about I take you to live in an Internet cafe?"

So, my rich experience in Internet cafes in Kyoto came in handy. I rode my bike to find Sun Yu and took her to the "Happy Club" Internet cafe. It was clean, private, and had free drinks. She was very satisfied. So she treated me to a meal at a nearby kebab restaurant that was open until 2 o'clock.