Hello. Makoto here, on the run.
I somehow managed to make it through the first week without being expelled.
The schedule is surprisingly rigorous—hardly what you'd expect from America.
Starts at 8:00 AM and ends at 5:00 PM (sometimes later).
In all that time, the only break we get is for lunch.
We're working desperately hard, but I'm sure it’s tough for the instructors too.
Sometimes Japanese people who can't speak English show up, too (lol).
Anyway, this time I’d like to introduce the school itself.
First, the classroom?
It’s more of a factory than a classroom.
We work silently here from morning till night.
On the first day, we started welding just two hours after school began.
Everything was happening so fast it took me by surprise.
We started off with something light: attaching water bottle cage eyelets.
Since it was my first time, I burned one side.
The work keeps coming one after another, but from here on, it’s mostly practice for a while.
And then, the third day.
Finally, the design phase begins.
There's a lot on it, and it might be hard to see because it’s faint, but this is the blueprint for the frame I'm building.
When people think of building a frame, they probably picture the flashy welding parts, but most of the work is just a parade of tedious tasks like drawing, filing pipes, polishing, and aligning.
I might be perceived as a bit rough around the edges (?), but I don't actually dislike this kind of work, so I just plug away at it.
Once the drawing is done, the real work begins.
First, I have to decide on the pipes, dropouts, and small parts to use for my frame.
This part of the process is super fun.
Once that’s decided, it's back to the grind—filing, polishing, repeating—until it's welding time.
We pretty much dive right in, but we do get shown an example first.
It’s like, "Alright, you greenhorns, watch closely."
Then, it's "Okay, now you do it," and I start on my own, all nervous and hesitant.
Long live the hands-off approach.
Occasionally, an instructor will spot something and say, "That's wrong."
"Well, it's already fused, so it’s a bit late for that..." (lol).
I'm exaggerating a little, but it’s pretty much like that.
Still, somehow things come together, and today, exactly halfway through the course, I finished the front fork.
It’s scorched, and I haven't cleaned it yet, so it’s a bit rough, but I’m really happy with it.
(Note: Still no brakes yet.)
That's how I’m spending my days, and next week, I finally start on the main frame.
Who knows what kind of frame it will turn out to be? I'm filled with both anxiety and anticipation.
And tomorrow, the weekend begins.
The weather looks good, so I think I’ll head out—to those trails, that is.
Don’t mind anyone pointing out, "Aren't you going there every day?"—ignore that.