Alright, I apologize for not writing anything. It was a mix of classes starting and not getting comments that produced my slump. But I'm going to write a few entries today to sum up a few larger events!
Some of you have been wondering what classes are like. Well, first of all, I didn't get into all the classes I wanted to. The first setback was when I discovered I was placed in to Level three for Reading and Writing, when I should have been placed in four. Level three covers the end chapters of Genki kanji, and so I had already studied a majority of the material. While tempting to take that level for kanji mastery, I opted to challenge myself a little bit more.
I stayed up until 6:00AM the day of and crammed learning 45 kanji in one night to pass the level 4 review test, after reviewing ALL of the Genki kanji over the course of two days.....not the recommended course of action.
The results paid off, and now I am in level 4 for both Speaking and Reading and Writing! Level 4 is definitely more challenging, and has the most difficult Japanese material I have had to date. Let's hope I'll be okay in there!
The second setback was when I found out that I didn't make it into Sumi-e (brush painting). Out of all my classes, that was the only class I really was able to pick for my own personal preference, so I was pretty bummed out that I got locked out of it. Kaylie ended up making it in though, so I'm happy for her! She is an art minor after all. She says that by taking that class, if you choose to kneel for all of the painting, you will gain the ability to kneel longer than a large majority of Japanese people!
My speaking class is EXCELLENT! I have this teacher named Saigo-sensei, and I had heard infamous things about him from other study abroad people. I was so happy that I got him! The first day, the chalk board was full of toilet words, like "diarrhea" (げり）, "constipated" (べんぴ), "to vomit" (吐く), and "to pee" (おしっこする). We've had discussions about train gropers, what you would do if you transformed into the opposite gender for a day, and experienced the wonder of the delicacy, "焼き人" (yakihito - fried human). It's the best part of my day aside from going home!
The interesting culture class I wanted into wasn't offered, so I had to take a really dry, boring, anthropology culture course. The teacher is quite scholarly I guess. Uses a lot of antrhopological jargon that none of us really know or care to know, and he doesn't make any effort to clarify what references to certain anthropologists mean. This class makes me want to cry on the inside....
My Shinto class however is very interesting! We learn all kinds of things, a lot of which are things we see in everyday life. I've always been interested in Shinto, so it's really fun to learn about the intricate details of this unique belief system.
And that's it! Only four classes! I end up having loads of free time, and only 15 minutes of homework a night if I don't have any reading assignments. For someone like me who usually takes around 22 credit hours, this class schedule is an absolute paradise. I think that's been my biggest culture shock so far! lol
Well -- until next time~ またね！
Some of you have been wondering what classes are like. Well, first of all, I didn't get into all the classes I wanted to. The first setback was when I discovered I was placed in to Level three for Reading and Writing, when I should have been placed in four. Level three covers the end chapters of Genki kanji, and so I had already studied a majority of the material. While tempting to take that level for kanji mastery, I opted to challenge myself a little bit more.
I stayed up until 6:00AM the day of and crammed learning 45 kanji in one night to pass the level 4 review test, after reviewing ALL of the Genki kanji over the course of two days.....not the recommended course of action.
The results paid off, and now I am in level 4 for both Speaking and Reading and Writing! Level 4 is definitely more challenging, and has the most difficult Japanese material I have had to date. Let's hope I'll be okay in there!
The second setback was when I found out that I didn't make it into Sumi-e (brush painting). Out of all my classes, that was the only class I really was able to pick for my own personal preference, so I was pretty bummed out that I got locked out of it. Kaylie ended up making it in though, so I'm happy for her! She is an art minor after all. She says that by taking that class, if you choose to kneel for all of the painting, you will gain the ability to kneel longer than a large majority of Japanese people!
My speaking class is EXCELLENT! I have this teacher named Saigo-sensei, and I had heard infamous things about him from other study abroad people. I was so happy that I got him! The first day, the chalk board was full of toilet words, like "diarrhea" (げり）, "constipated" (べんぴ), "to vomit" (吐く), and "to pee" (おしっこする). We've had discussions about train gropers, what you would do if you transformed into the opposite gender for a day, and experienced the wonder of the delicacy, "焼き人" (yakihito - fried human). It's the best part of my day aside from going home!
The interesting culture class I wanted into wasn't offered, so I had to take a really dry, boring, anthropology culture course. The teacher is quite scholarly I guess. Uses a lot of antrhopological jargon that none of us really know or care to know, and he doesn't make any effort to clarify what references to certain anthropologists mean. This class makes me want to cry on the inside....
My Shinto class however is very interesting! We learn all kinds of things, a lot of which are things we see in everyday life. I've always been interested in Shinto, so it's really fun to learn about the intricate details of this unique belief system.
And that's it! Only four classes! I end up having loads of free time, and only 15 minutes of homework a night if I don't have any reading assignments. For someone like me who usually takes around 22 credit hours, this class schedule is an absolute paradise. I think that's been my biggest culture shock so far! lol
Well -- until next time~ またね！
Now, I was starting to cry inside a little because you had not updated your blog in like a week. :-(
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that the majority of your classes are going well!
- Carly!
Congrats on getting into level 4!!! :) who do you have for that class?
ReplyDeleteIs it Dr. Hester who you have for anthropology? 'Cause if so, I might've taken that same class while I was there! XD The beginning is rather dull and he talks waaay too much about anthropology, but he does talk more about culture stuff as you get further into the semester. if it's the same class at least. (that said, Joy and I did have plenty to complain about regarding that class throughout the semester >> )
And yea!!! Shinto class!! I loved that class. :) And Kenney-sensei's awesome!
I have Kawahara-sensei. She looks like she'd be a really cool, laid-back teacher, but not much fun happens in there :(
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, it's the class with Hester >_>....did you have to do some kind of interview project? :x
ReplyDelete