-_-

This may be the first time ever, or at least in a really long time (which I can not remember) that I experienced a certain brand of shame that I have this evening. I had a quize in Japanese class today on vocabulary for the first lesson. I am confident that I got 100% on it, but there was an extra credit section I completely ignored. Reason being is that I have yet to be up to par with my Hiragana and could not write out the vocabulary for an extra ten points. Usually this would not bother me. I am still getting an A in the class and would have nothing to worry about, but this is not that case for this class.

My performance in this class will dictate how well I socially get by in Japan, which means I need to be the best in the class, so I can feel confident that I will not be a hopeless mute when I arrive in Nakayama. The best may seem unreasonable for a asperation, but why not? Insult was added to injury when other students were writing down the words in Hiragana with impressive speed, while I was sheepishly the first one to turn in my quiz. Thanks to my sense of competitiveness and desire to excel, I am going to rock this course. From this moment on, I am gonna eat and breath Japanese when I can until I leave and show my classmates how an American ought to speak にほんご. Wish me luck!