So Midterms are happening. I have 3 projects and received a take home midterm today. Actually, I realized I haven't told you my classes yet. So here is a quick rundown for you. Each class lasts for 1 hour and 30 minutes, and I am taking 9 total, which translates to 18 hours of credit at my University. Kendall is taking 3 classes, which is equal to 6 hours of credit (he is taking the same Japanese Language classes as me).
Monday
- Japanese Language
Tuesday
- Psycholinguistics
- What is Religion?
- Japanese Language
Wednesday
- Japanese Language
Thursday
- English Grammar
- Politics and Foreign Relations of Japan
- Peace & Human Rights
Friday
- Linguistics
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
- Japanese Language: I continue learning the Japanese Language. I have 3 of these classes a week (A, B, and C - all the same level, but different teacher).
- Psycholinguistics: This class is about how people learn languages, and mathmatical formulas that are used for people learning the language to help define how difficult each language is to learn. This class is mostly in Japanese.
- What is Religion?: A class about studying the philisophical properties of religion and emotion. So far, I have learned about how we need to be at one in body and mind, both masuculine and feminine in our thoughts, and how God is complete, but not perfect, and you must accept "evil," rather than trying to hide it, or else it will come bursting forth suddenly. Basically: do not deny or resist evil, just learn to control it. Does that make sense?
- English Grammar: This class is mostly because I wanted to meet people and help them with their English. I also wanted to see how Japanese people teach English so that I can understand what Japanese people are use to.
- Politics and Foreign Relations of Japan: I wanted a basic understanding of Japanese politics and laws, and how they interact with the world.
- Peace & Human Rights: I heard it was a good class, and it seems to help me understand Japanese people and culture better.
- Linguistics: Mostly to help me figure out how to break down a language... It is surprisingly very helpful. I expected it to not actually work out the way I was hoping, but it causes languages to make more sense.
Showing posts with label Nihon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nihon. Show all posts
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
On My Mind
(Written: Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 7:07pm on Facebook via Mobile)
I just got my new glasses. They are nice. Black frames instead of silver. I will post a picture later. But now on to the main point of this post.
I have had a lot of people asking if I am home sick or suggesting that I am because I am trying to make friends or find people to hang out with or things to do. It was silly at first, but now it is just annoying. There is an American here who reminds me daily why I hate America.
Which leads me into my next topic: The American. He can be funny and is occasionally fun to hang out with, but he does not understand how to hold his tongue. He will call me a Creepy American. A lot. It does not help in the meeting people process.
But today, he did something that trumps all: he started telling me that his friends think I am creepy. Now, what bugs me is that he tries to justify them being ok with saying that. “Well, you know it is true.” If a fat lady knows she is fat, should you bring it up constantly? Should you tell her that people she has never met think that too? It just reminds me why I hate America.
Which brings me back to point one: I want to make friends, but when I try, people accuse me of homesickness.
So, there is a good reason why I am having issues and end up depressed sometimes.
Some other random things that annoy me are his use of “Nya” and other general American-Otaku words, and the fact that if would rather spend his time reading Manga than exploring Japan.
I just got my new glasses. They are nice. Black frames instead of silver. I will post a picture later. But now on to the main point of this post.
I have had a lot of people asking if I am home sick or suggesting that I am because I am trying to make friends or find people to hang out with or things to do. It was silly at first, but now it is just annoying. There is an American here who reminds me daily why I hate America.
Which leads me into my next topic: The American. He can be funny and is occasionally fun to hang out with, but he does not understand how to hold his tongue. He will call me a Creepy American. A lot. It does not help in the meeting people process.
But today, he did something that trumps all: he started telling me that his friends think I am creepy. Now, what bugs me is that he tries to justify them being ok with saying that. “Well, you know it is true.” If a fat lady knows she is fat, should you bring it up constantly? Should you tell her that people she has never met think that too? It just reminds me why I hate America.
Which brings me back to point one: I want to make friends, but when I try, people accuse me of homesickness.
So, there is a good reason why I am having issues and end up depressed sometimes.
Some other random things that annoy me are his use of “Nya” and other general American-Otaku words, and the fact that if would rather spend his time reading Manga than exploring Japan.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Q&A
This is to answer some commonly questions.
-_-_-_-_-
Q: Why are you going to Japan?
A: Study Abroad.
Q: What are you going to Study?
A: Japanese.
Q: How long are you planning on being there?
A: 16 months.
Q: Why do you want to learn Japanese?
A: I have a large number of reasons, one of them being so that I can study about Japan without needing documents from Japan translated for me. I have a couple others, but with nothing set in stone, I would rather keep those to myself.
Q: Why do you want to learn about Japan?
A: Because it's the Asian country we have the most contact with, and yet we (the schools I went to) barely studied Asia at all, especially compared to Africa, Europe, and America.
Q: If you love Japan so much, why do you have so many issues with Anime?
A: Because they're all so similar and people who watch them can be very annoying about it (if you're offended by that, then you're probably one of those people). That is to say, it's fine to like anime, just like it's fine to like SpongeBob, but the second you start wearing Naruto headbands, you've gone too far.
Q: Do you think Japanese people will comment on your height?
A: Probably not to my face.
Q: Don't they eat dogs and cats in Japan?
A: No, but some Asian countries do.
Q: Have you ever been to Japan?
A: Yes, last May, for 2 weeks.
Q: What do you like best about Japan?
A: The food. Specifically: Hiroshima Okonomiyaki.
Q: What do you hate about Japan?
A: Nihonjinron.
Q: Do you believe in Ninjas?
A: To a degree. If you're only interested in Japan for this reason, I recommend SKH Quest. Click the "Schools" tab check out their locations.
-_-_-_-_-
If anyone has any questions that I didn't answer (regardless of whether you think they're silly or not), email them to PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com. I'll answer them in my next post.
-_-_-_-_-
Q: Why are you going to Japan?
A: Study Abroad.
Q: What are you going to Study?
A: Japanese.
Q: How long are you planning on being there?
A: 16 months.
Q: Why do you want to learn Japanese?
A: I have a large number of reasons, one of them being so that I can study about Japan without needing documents from Japan translated for me. I have a couple others, but with nothing set in stone, I would rather keep those to myself.
Q: Why do you want to learn about Japan?
A: Because it's the Asian country we have the most contact with, and yet we (the schools I went to) barely studied Asia at all, especially compared to Africa, Europe, and America.
Q: If you love Japan so much, why do you have so many issues with Anime?
A: Because they're all so similar and people who watch them can be very annoying about it (if you're offended by that, then you're probably one of those people). That is to say, it's fine to like anime, just like it's fine to like SpongeBob, but the second you start wearing Naruto headbands, you've gone too far.
Q: Do you think Japanese people will comment on your height?
A: Probably not to my face.
Q: Don't they eat dogs and cats in Japan?
A: No, but some Asian countries do.
Q: Have you ever been to Japan?
A: Yes, last May, for 2 weeks.
Q: What do you like best about Japan?
A: The food. Specifically: Hiroshima Okonomiyaki.
Q: What do you hate about Japan?
A: Nihonjinron.
Q: Do you believe in Ninjas?
A: To a degree. If you're only interested in Japan for this reason, I recommend SKH Quest. Click the "Schools" tab check out their locations.
-_-_-_-_-
If anyone has any questions that I didn't answer (regardless of whether you think they're silly or not), email them to PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com. I'll answer them in my next post.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Getting Ready For Japan
Studying Abroad can be a lot of work, totally overwhelming, and scary, so I thought I'd give you a rundown of what I've done thus far to get ready for it. I am in no way saying you have to do any of this, but I am documenting my experience so maybe you can learn from it.
Fall of 2007 (First semester of college)
- Talked to the head of the Study Abroad department about going to Asia, namely Japan.
- Began to attend "Japanese Table," which was made to help reinforce what we learned in class. I guess you could say it was kind of like a "Japanese Club."
- Started making plans to go on the summer trip to Japan.
- To help prepare me, I took Japanese I, Chinese I (Kanji), and Japanese Pop Culture.
Spring of 2008 (Second semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad.
- Continued attending Japanese Table.
- Continued with my summer trip meetings.
- Continuing my preparation, I took Japanese II, Eastern Religious Traditions, Chinese Culture (give me a wider view of Asia as a whole), and an independent study on Shinto.
Summer of 2008
- Traveled to Japan with my Sensei, the Study Abroad adviser, and 27 other students. It was my first airplane ride, first time out of the country, and first time going to Japan. It what helped me decide that I really wanted to do this.
Fall of 2008 (Third semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad, filled out A TON of paperwork, and had it all sent over to Japan. It wasn't until around this time that I finally decided on which university I wanted to go to.
- Attended a couple of meetings designed for Study Abroad students, met another student who was planning on going to the same university, and got some advice from my Sensei and a student who went to the university the previous semester.
- Through the student who went there previously, I got in contact with a student (who is fluent in English) from the university and have gotten lots of advice and help from him, especially with a couple of forms that were in Japanese.
- Continued Japanese Table.
- I took Japanese III and the minimum amount of hours (12) so that I could focus on spending more time with Japanese.
Spring of 2009 (Fourth semester of college)
Well, that would be now. I've been listening to my Sensei's podcasts and YouTubers like Gimmeabreakman, Hikosaemon, and tokyojosh. Since all I'm doing is waiting around for my acceptance letter so I can get my visa, now is an awesome time to study.
I won't lie, I get distracted, and things do come up on occasion, but I still manage to find time. I'm also ordering Genki I, Genki II, Minna no Nihongo I, Minna no Nihongo II, Minna No Nihongo: Kanji I, and Minna no Nihongo: Kanji II. "How are you going to use all of those?!" Well, I'm glad I pretended you asked.
My main goal is to get down a lot of vocab, so I'll make a bunch of flashcards using the dictionaries. My second goal is to run through verb conjugation, which will be assisted by my Sensei's podcasts. I also want to learn as much kanji as I can, at least for recognition.
Fall of 2007 (First semester of college)
- Talked to the head of the Study Abroad department about going to Asia, namely Japan.
- Began to attend "Japanese Table," which was made to help reinforce what we learned in class. I guess you could say it was kind of like a "Japanese Club."
- Started making plans to go on the summer trip to Japan.
- To help prepare me, I took Japanese I, Chinese I (Kanji), and Japanese Pop Culture.
Spring of 2008 (Second semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad.
- Continued attending Japanese Table.
- Continued with my summer trip meetings.
- Continuing my preparation, I took Japanese II, Eastern Religious Traditions, Chinese Culture (give me a wider view of Asia as a whole), and an independent study on Shinto.
Summer of 2008
- Traveled to Japan with my Sensei, the Study Abroad adviser, and 27 other students. It was my first airplane ride, first time out of the country, and first time going to Japan. It what helped me decide that I really wanted to do this.
Fall of 2008 (Third semester of college)
- Continued my talks with Study Abroad, filled out A TON of paperwork, and had it all sent over to Japan. It wasn't until around this time that I finally decided on which university I wanted to go to.
- Attended a couple of meetings designed for Study Abroad students, met another student who was planning on going to the same university, and got some advice from my Sensei and a student who went to the university the previous semester.
- Through the student who went there previously, I got in contact with a student (who is fluent in English) from the university and have gotten lots of advice and help from him, especially with a couple of forms that were in Japanese.
- Continued Japanese Table.
- I took Japanese III and the minimum amount of hours (12) so that I could focus on spending more time with Japanese.
Spring of 2009 (Fourth semester of college)
Well, that would be now. I've been listening to my Sensei's podcasts and YouTubers like Gimmeabreakman, Hikosaemon, and tokyojosh. Since all I'm doing is waiting around for my acceptance letter so I can get my visa, now is an awesome time to study.
I won't lie, I get distracted, and things do come up on occasion, but I still manage to find time. I'm also ordering Genki I, Genki II, Minna no Nihongo I, Minna no Nihongo II, Minna No Nihongo: Kanji I, and Minna no Nihongo: Kanji II. "How are you going to use all of those?!" Well, I'm glad I pretended you asked.
My main goal is to get down a lot of vocab, so I'll make a bunch of flashcards using the dictionaries. My second goal is to run through verb conjugation, which will be assisted by my Sensei's podcasts. I also want to learn as much kanji as I can, at least for recognition.
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