End of Semester

Last week, I finished the last of my exams - and therefore the end of the semester, and official end of my year in Japan. Unofficially, I'm staying until the end of March to do some travelling and catch up with friends I haven't seen in some time.

To be honest, I'm quite surprised that this semester went by really quickly. First, I was just getting to know some of the new students that came to Japan at the beginning of the semester back in September, and before I knew it, it's already February 2015. The worst thing, is that only now I'm just starting to get to know those students, and they're pretty cool to talk to and hang out with. Furthermore, after the farewell parties last week, it started to sink in that the other students and friends who have also finished will also be leaving soon, with two of my friends going back home next week. It has also started to sink in for my girlfriend that we only have two months before I go home, though not for good. 

I have been thinking about our future. I do want to come back and work in Japan, but it will most likely not be until next year. I want to do some part-time work back home in Australia, just to get some money coming back in again, and during that time, prepare for the JLPT N2 exam that I was not able to take last year due to illness. Hopefully I can come back for a holiday in August to see my girlfriend for a little while, and possibly again in December/January, if circumstances allow it. After that, I would want to start looking for work in Japan as an english teacher, though not necessarily through the ever so popular JET Programme. My main is concern is where I would end up working if I decided to go through JET. While you're officially allowed to put your preferences of where you want to work, it's very rare you ever get those preferences, especially if you're proficiency in Japanese is very good. The story I have heard is that those with high proficiency are usually sent to small, out of the way, country towns, whereas those with little to no Japanese proficiency are sent to the bigger cities, where they're able to get by without too much struggle. I know that finding work in Kyoto is highly unlikely, but I would like to get work somewhere close to Kyoto, in order to stay close to my girlfriend.
I have some friends who have/are working as English teachers, so I've contacted them to find out about their experiences about the work involved and such. Ultimately I want to get as much as information as possible, so I can decide on the path to take to find work in Japan.

As for her, she hasn't decided on what she wants to do yet, as she still has a few years left before finishing university, though she has said that she would like to do post graduate, so that would be another year or two there. What she wants to do after that, is uncertain, but she has mentioned that she would like to work abroad, though that's not definitive yet. Whatever the case, I'm prepared to stand by whatever decision she makes.

On an unrelated note, we went to Kobe last week, but I'll save that story for another post.

Never really got used to the new guys...

Well the semester has started at Ryukoku University yesterday, and I received my results from last semester. The good news is that I passed all of my units last semester. Even that JLPT prep unit that I... disliked greatly, which surprised me, given that I didn't think I did that well - with exception to the exam, where I prepped for that like crazy. Somehow I managed to score above the minimum 60% (I scored 65%). Even more surprising was my speaking class was my best one, in which I got 86% for it. I thought I did ok, but I didn't think I did that well, especially in the exam. Fortunately, the teacher is really nice (though a little bit scary at first).

This semester, I was able to get in to the required core grammar class again (4B). I still need to take placement tests for kanji and listening, but for my unit coordinator back home, the core grammar class is the most important one. Aside from my other Japanese units, I'm planning on taking 3 electives this semester, instead of 2. I'm thinking of taking the advanced JLPT n2 preparation class, as I've heard that it's significantly better than the basic preparation class that I took last semester. Also, I intend to take the Japanese society in english class again this semester, as I found the issues covered particularly interesting, though some were certainly hit and miss. However, this semester, I am also thinking of taking Go (a strategy game) - I sat in on the starting class last semester, but ended up dropping it because I was frustrated with how I wasn't able to calculate the scores correctly, no matter what I did. But, since my Japanese has improved since the beginning of last semester, I think I'll give it one more try. By taking three electives this semester, I'm doing more than the minimum required number of units to accrue 12 credit points for my home uni. That way, if I do fail one unit yet pass the rest, it won't screw up  my chances of graduating next year.

You Can (not) Hate Your Teacher

Exams are about 2-3 weeks away. For the most part, I'm actually doing ok with my classes. There's just one that i'm not doing so well in, and it's not my listening class for a change. Actually, it's my JLPT N2 class. However, I've found that I'm not the only one who's not doing so great at that class. I suspect it can be traced back to the teacher himself. It's not that he's a total asshole or anything like that. In fact, it's quite the opposite - he's soft spoken and seems to be an ok guy (which would be great outside of class). The problem is, despite being a nice guy, he's just not a good teacher.

My weekly class with this teacher is pretty much summed in one word: tests. That is pretty much all we do in that class. He gives us handouts from an N2 text book (which I happened to buy already, but whatever....), tells us to study them, and then sit a short test next week. He does a similar thing with N3 content, except he doesn't give any notes for that - just the weekly tests that can be found in the text books, and we are expected to study on the grammar points on our own. It actually reminds me of my Japanese classes back in my home country's university, which I guess is the reason why I dislike this class and this teacher.
If he simply did away with weekly tests and focused more on going through the n2 grammar thoroughly instead, it would make things a lot more pleasant. As it is, it's just annoying. Frankly, I'd be better not taking the class, and just studying the n2 content on my own - unfortunately, conditions  of being an international student mean I can't just skip that class altogether without being deported.

That's all from me for now. Sorry about the delay between posts.

ファションについて

I've settled in to my classes finally - even if I have to wake up early every morning... but anyway...

Lately, I've been noticing the fashion selection of uni students, especially girls: A lot of them are wearing high heels, which compared to my uni back home is a really odd choice of footwear. One of my Korean classmates has apparently decided to follow suit today, and it ended humorously with her having to grab on to me to walk to a restaurant for lunch. However, since I had no more classes by lunch time, I was on my way back to the dorm, though that didn't stop her from using me as a human crutch for part of the trip.
Considering that students are having some difficulty with walking in high heels (such as my classmate), I'm left wondering: why? I can sort of understand if it was in a office environment (which I have worked in a few years ago), but in the context of a university environment? it seems really odd. Well, not that I'm making any intention of trying to change Japan's fashion taste - you might as well ask me to move an airplane with my teeth alone.
On another fashion observation, wearing sunglasses seems to be a rarity around Kyoto. Ninety percent of the time, I'm usually the only person around wearing sunglasses. I guess that makes it easier for everyone to spot me (as being a foreigner already makes me stand out). It's funny how wearing sunglasses is such a common occurrence back in Australia, but such a rarity here.

Also, another thing that bothers me is not being able to find antiperspirant deodorant. Sure, they have deodorant, but it's a real annoyance to be walking to uni and then find massive sweat patches under my arms, which is especially bad during humid weather (and it's also starting to get warm recently). Fortunately, I received a parcel from my parents after I spoke to them last week about this particular grievance (among other topics). On top of getting a new pair of (really comfortable) sneakers, some cooking recipes I forgot to take with me before leaving Australia, some various general medicines and a letter and photo of the family and I at the airport on the day I was leaving, they also included 6 lots of roll-on antiperspirant. I used some today, and it makes a hell of a difference - no sweat patches under my arms at all, and it was humid today too. I was speaking to them yesterday and made sure to let them know that I received the package and thanked them for it.

That's it for me at the moment. However, there's a chance I'll probably post another rant/observation some time this month. Ja ne, minna.

Three Weeks in to my Stay in Japan...

It's been over a week since I had the placement test. The result? After taking a second test, and a surprise second interview (that only I had to to do for some reason), I got in to the class I needed.
Perhaps I should explain. In order to receive credits from my home university, my main requirement is that I need to be placed in a certain level in order to be eligible. If I didn't get in to the corresponding class, then I would have been in trouble, as there's no way to switch up to a more advanced level once placements have been made. Fortunately, after two weeks of stressing and some last minute studying after two and a bit months of study before leaving for Japan, it all paid off.

However, while the semester has started, this week has been more about sitting in on classes and figuring out which subjects I want to take this semester(aside from my compulsory Japanese language units). Yesterday, I attended a class about Igo. The lecturer is apparently pretty good at the game. However, there was only 6 of  us in the class - and it looks like it might be a lot less from next week onwards, as some of the people don't seem to be interested. As I've never heard of the game before, I was intrigued and have been going through the handout he had given us. However, despite my best attempts so far, I still cannot figure out how he calculated scoring for both players.

I also attended a lecture on Japanese Society - probably one of the only lectures that is taught in English. Aside from that reason, the syllabus covers a number of topics that I am actually interested in, including issues on foreign labor force, and consumption in Japan. Not surprisingly, a number of international students also attended this lecture, including one of my friends. Furthermore, one of the tutors from my dorm also attended the class.

In terms of assignment and workloads, I'm not sure what to expect. Speaking with friends yesterday who had been speaking with other people, the workload is supposedly a lot easier compared to our uni back home. Apparently, some students think that a 800 word essay is hard. Really? For us back home, 1500 words is normally the minimum for essay writing - for a standard essay, it's about 2000-2500 words that we have to do. So it looks like this could possibly be a lot easier than what I am used to.

I've been trying to relax in between studying, with limited results. On the up side, I bought some cool figures and models, and just today I bought a Lily Nendoroid figure. At some point, I'll be sending a box full of my goodies back to my parents, to hold on to until I return from Japan. I promised a friend to get a Revoltech Woody figure for him, which I managed to do on my second day here (albeit it is a sepia colours version), so I hope he'll be happy with it.

That is all for the moment. Hopefully I'll have something a little more exciting to write about. Ja ne.