Payed for an 880 yen purchase with a 10000 yen note. Duuuuuh~
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Most important matter first, I was able to find a church this morning and I'll probably end up going back there next week.The church is in Doshisha Girl's Liberal Arts College, just next door to the main University where I'll be studying the other 6 days of the week. A perfect chance to practice the route to Uni as well, a previously determined 30 minute trip. It was also a good time to try out the new PokeWalker, the pedometer device that comes with the newest Pokemon, and which offers a chance to catch some rare Pokemon and collect new items, as well as boosting Pokemon experience and happiness with each step. I'm hoping for some powerful Pokemon with all the walking I intend to do!
In the end I set off a bit late, getting Pjotr on the 'Walker proved a little trickier than previously anticipated. However, with the little guy in tow, I set off with a good 30 minutes to spare. Should have left earlier, I think. Regardless, the journey there was easy and predictable, and I racked up about 4800 steps, somewhere in the region of 300 'Watts', the PokeWalker currency.
I cannot tell you how much courage I needed to walk through the gates of the college, guard's stares felt on the back on my head. Or at least, that's what it felt like. Ended up going in the side entrance, as well, which wasn't so smart of me.
Doshisha church hosts on average 75 people (this is according to the order of service I would have picked up had I gone through the right entrance. Today there were 78, as three new people were joining the church that day. At least, the leaflet said 78, to me it looked more like 20.
I cannot talk for churches across Japan at this stage, only for Doshisha's service, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was very similar. It felt to me more like a traditional Anglican service, with short, traditional hymns that always end in a two-chord 'Amen' and a very austere approach to worship. There were 2 songs and 2 readings of the Lord's Prayer, which is near impossible to read at the same pace as everyone else. Then there was the sermon. Today's sermon was on 1 Corinthians 1:7-12, a passage in which Paul calls for a renewed unity of the church. I got little bits of sermon here and there, but for the most part I was struggling over vocabulary so much that it was difficult to form any sort of cohesion. Not that I minded; it was delivered with confidence, and what little I got was good. Then there were 2 more readings, a singling of Gloria by 5 people at the front, then some notices.
Throughout it all, I was talked to by three separate people, who would come and give me a hand if it looked like I didn't know what I was doing. It was friendly and all, but I couldn't help but feel a bit pathetic not knowing where the Lord's Prayer was in the hymn books, or what verse we were reading from. I even dropped the hymn book once in my flustered-ness, which was pretty embarrassing.
After the service, however, I got to talking with a number of the regular worshippers. One, who regrettably was attending other matters soon after, was a young man also studying at Doshisha, though I didn't find out what. I also got to talking with Kio-san, who apparently lives next door to another of Doshisha's exchange student homes that I hadn't heard of, and another woman who apparently knows everything there is to know about Doshisha. Both possessed the same voracious hospitality I've come to expect from the Japanese, and were more than welcoming enough to make me want to come back again next week. Next time I'll know what I'm doing, no doubt.
Ended up getting lost on the way home; that makes 5 times, but with this time having the biggest repercussions in terms of time. It did, however, allow me to see Kamigawa, Kyoto's big river, along a much longer stretch than I'd previously seen, as well as some of the ways the people of Kyoto spend their weekends, and some of the wildlife I hadn't known existed, like this cool kestrel thing.
Anyway, after remaining inside for the last few hours, brushing up on a few forgotten Kanji, I'm feeling a bit emotionally drained, so sorry if this isn't as readable as it could have been. If you're interested, Pjotr and I have just beaten Tsugushi, the 2nd Bug Gym Leader, Pjotr is level 17 (one level off evolution), and the mysterious egg hatched the ever-lovable Togepi (named Ichigo), who is a vertiable powerhouse.
Thanks for reading, as always.
Oh, I've also been watching Eureka 7 lately. Didn't realise it was so good.
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