So I can make mistakes (I was low on sleep)

Well, I made my first mistake the other day (other than the time that I almost fell down in the subway because I was carring my luggage). I'm a little embarrassed to writed about it (Yes, I know I make many spelling and punctuation and sentence structure errors-I'm not learned in Engrish very good). Well, I went to get some delicious onigiri at a small shop the other day. They must slighly salt the rice on the tuna rice-balls slighly to give it a more interesting taste (that and Japanese people LOVE salt). So I go up to the counter and say "Tsuna Onigiri Onigaishimasu (Please give me the tuna Onigiri)." To which the lady behind the counter responds, "Ikutsu desu ka (how many)?" So then I say "Futsuka (two)." So she wraps 2 Tuna riceballs and says, "Nihyaku go en itadakimasu (that will be 205 yen)." So as I pulled out a 1000 yen bill, a lady behind me tapped me on the sholder and gave me a 5 yen coin. Let me explain what had happened previously before that so you can understand the reasoning that I am about to take in this story. As I was pulling out my wallet, I dropped a 50 yen coin. The change I was going to revieve from the onigiri I had planned on using at a vending machine. The lady behind me had handed me the 5 yen coin in hopes that I would give it to the onigiri shop lady and recieve 100 yen coins in return. However, she said something in Japanese that I did not understand. If you have not already guessed the rest of the story I will go ahead and write it. So my reasoning was that the 5 yen coin (less than 5 cents) had accidentally fallen out of my pocket with the 50 yen coin (less than 50 cents). Perhaps, I thought sighlently to myself, that the lady behind me had saw it and picked it up off the ground to very kindly return it to me. The result was that I basically just took the ladies money (which I was laughing at after my brain, which was working slowly that day, had figured it out-but I really felt kind of bad about what had happened). I think it's little things like this that make the Japanese people think badly of foreigners. I would have went back to find the lady and explain what happened and why I took her money, but since I cannot remeber anyone's face the first, second, third, fourth, etc... time I meet them, that was not really an option. I'm not always sure of the way things work here in Japan as of yet and I am not always sure that the next time I open my mouth to try and say something in Japanese that I won't completely and horrably embarrass myself, but I am sure of one thing. I'm sure that I can never go back to the place that serves the delicous and fresh onigiri around the corner.

It seems that most foreigners who have been here for a long time (and there are many foreigners here) still cannot speak Japanese. That worries me a little. My Fillipeano friend went to pay the rent for his room today around 4pm and said to Toyohashi-san (the lady that works in the office) "Ohaiyogozaimasu (good morning)." Ofcourse Toyohashi-san found this halarious (and so did I when he told me he had finally used his Japanese correctly-ofcourse it was not correct). Maybe Japanese is a difficult language. Be that as it may, I still plan on being fluent in Japanese (in kanji as well) before the end of 6 months. This my be difficult because I have to prepair for the entrance exam and carry out research with my research group (and we are in the lab all day). I joined a basketball circle. I thought that I would just easily beat everyone with my heigth. But since it has been so long since I have played basketball my shots were off and I was out of breath after the first few minutes. When I get back into shape I am sure that I can beat everyone, but as for the first practive I must have looked horrible. There is one student from a famous basketball high school in Japan(now he is a freshman at Nagoya University) in our basketball circle who is almost my height. I could not beat him because I was out of breath. I wish I had kept in practice. Now I have this up-set feeling (he can't really beat me, I was just out of shape). I don't know if things will be different next practice. It usually takes me a while to get back into shape. My legs feel a little weak from all the running. But all the Japanese students there were in very good shape. Every game they were very "lively." I on the other hand kept getting cramps in my legs to keep me from jumping and everything else just kept going wrong. After a few practices it will be different. But, the thoughts of the practice keep me up a night a little (role playing in my mind). It's the same way with physics and math problems. I think about them so much sometimes that I will dreams about them and even solve them in my sleep. It's interesting, because when I'm asleep I can carry large numbers and do difficult calculations in my mind. Sometimes, I will solve it in my sleep and wake up and write down what I did.
Today I revieved my Inkan (stamp) from the Co-op on campus (campus book store). Then I had to go and get it registered at the Showa (ward office). Now, I am in my lab. I will leave around 8:30 pm and get back to my room around 9pm and study Japanese for a few hours. I will probably just study Japanese all day in the lab tomorrow after class. I should have prepared better (I hate being illiterate and not understanding everything except simple Japanese). That's not all that happened, but this article is long enough.
It's time for the quote of the day.
The quote of the day is by a scientist.
I think he needs no introduction,
the legendary Benjamin Franklin:

"Ambition has its disappointments to sour us, but never the good fortune to satisfy us. Its appetite grows keener by indulgence and all we can gratify it with at present serves but the more to inflame its insatiable desires."
(I think I can understand this quote very well.)

Also, since I am in Japan, how about a Japanese quote/saying:
"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."
(-Japanese proverb)

My blog is actually suppose to be a monthly blog, however, I will probably update it more often than that. If you have any comments, feel free to post them, but please keep them clean since my little sisters my be reading this blog.
-Ben (a.k.a. blueburban)