I finished exams and have spent the majority of the summer working at Kemco and a private school. It is a lot of fun, actually, but a bit time consuming.
In terms of new videos, I have no real idea about what I should film next. The only real suggestion I has gotten is to look at other vloggers and copy them, or do a colab video with them... I don't think it is a good suggestion, but it is one. Better than someone saying I should dress up like a catboy and dance around... Obviously, my viewers are not the most enlightened indivuduals. I mean, if I do what everyone else is doing, what is the point in doing anything at all?
Maybe I should have been more specific and said that I want to know what they would like to see. Yeah, sure, the peace park is great and all...but is that really something you can't see? Do people have nothing they want to know or see in Japan? Maybe no one likes or cares much for Japan outside of anime and women.
The new international students will begin arriving in less than 2 weeks now. The school asked me to write something for them about my experiences here in Japan. It turned into an 8 page report...basically. I had a ton of people proofread it before finally decided that there really wasn't anything left to add. I will be here for a while longer, but I am not really sure how long anymore.
I want to stay until next August, but I may only be able to stay until Feb or March, in terms of the Study Abroad program. If that is the case, I will end up missing a semester in America, meaning I will be a year behind, rather than just a semester (study abroad usually puts you behind). The semester I had prepared for, but a year... I have a few plans if I can't continue to Study Abroad in Japan after March.
Showing posts with label Study Abroad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Study Abroad. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
CoE
My Certificate of Eligibility has arrived at the post office. They called to tell me that I can either pick it up today, or they will deliver it tomorrow. I am foolishly excited. I'll be down in Atlanta either today or tomorrow. I'll film the happenings and post it.
Yay! My next blog will probably be from Japan (might be a little while though). Stay tuned!
Yay! My next blog will probably be from Japan (might be a little while though). Stay tuned!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Yay! Going To Japan!
So I was informed today that the letter from the Dean has been sent, and my Certificate of Eligibility is on it's way here. I'm going to get it, run down to Atlanta (GA), grab my VISA, and then I'll be off to Japan.
I'm happy and excited. Even though it's 4:20am, I'm wide awake because I just read that email. Yay! I'm actually going to go! My family has been trying to keep me down to earth by saying that "maybe you wont get to go," especially my mom since I'll be so far away, but "confidence begets confidence" (from a fortune cookie), and I held onto every ounce of hope and it feels like I might actually be going. Yay!
I'll probably post a video before I leave, just to say "Yo, what's up. I'M GOING TO JAPAN!" I'll answer any questions, if you have any. PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com
I'm happy and excited. Even though it's 4:20am, I'm wide awake because I just read that email. Yay! I'm actually going to go! My family has been trying to keep me down to earth by saying that "maybe you wont get to go," especially my mom since I'll be so far away, but "confidence begets confidence" (from a fortune cookie), and I held onto every ounce of hope and it feels like I might actually be going. Yay!
I'll probably post a video before I leave, just to say "Yo, what's up. I'M GOING TO JAPAN!" I'll answer any questions, if you have any. PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com
Friday, March 20, 2009
Biggest Issue Thus Far
So I've been having some issues recently, specifically with getting my VISA, so let me give you a rundown of exactly what has gone on.
So the head university in the partnership held my application for a little bit longer than expected, but it eventually made it's way to my choice about the end of January. We've all been working hard to get myself and the other student to Japan, but my adviser has been less than helpful.
Everything was fine until we found out that the Dean of my college had yet to write me a letter. After about 2 weeks of myself, my Japanese teacher, and my Study Abroad adviser trying to get him to write me one, my Study Abroad adviser wrote one for me, but I need one from the Dean of my college when I get to Japan.
On top of this, I have been studying and hard at work on some personal projects. The projects are mostly just game ideas that I have and I work on them until I run out of stuff to work on.
Remember: if you have any questions, email me at PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com and I'll respond on here.
So the head university in the partnership held my application for a little bit longer than expected, but it eventually made it's way to my choice about the end of January. We've all been working hard to get myself and the other student to Japan, but my adviser has been less than helpful.
Everything was fine until we found out that the Dean of my college had yet to write me a letter. After about 2 weeks of myself, my Japanese teacher, and my Study Abroad adviser trying to get him to write me one, my Study Abroad adviser wrote one for me, but I need one from the Dean of my college when I get to Japan.
On top of this, I have been studying and hard at work on some personal projects. The projects are mostly just game ideas that I have and I work on them until I run out of stuff to work on.
Remember: if you have any questions, email me at PrinceAriketh(at)gmail.com and I'll respond on here.
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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