Amayadori

I struggled with some kanji this morning.  Perhaps I've started to think about the wrong things, looking at the spacing of the lines rather than the character of the strokes.  At least I'm noticing a difference in the way Sensei responds to these things, an emphasis on certain focuses rather than others.  I was then given a hiragana task and managed it quite easily.  It feels good to have established some competence.

She gave me another word, "amayadori," and then the entire class tried help me understand this concept.  It is the experience of the weather being sort of rainy and you don't have an umbrella and then take shelter under something.  I realized there wasn't really a word for this in English and the Japanese women in the class came to the conclusion that it is because in America people don't have the same need for umbrellas as they do in Japan.  We quite frequently make do without umbrellas and so we don't have this same sort of relationship with the weather.

But I still understand the idea behind the word.  And perhaps I have an even better concept of it now that I have a word for the feeling.  Is it going to rain on me as I'm biking???  Should we make a run for it???  It's having that sort of experience.  Amayadori, to avoid the rain with a feeling of trepidation.  My feelings have been legitimated.  Thank you Japanese!