Chapter 13 – “On Japan (in general)”
So from August 19th to December 23rd a lot has changed in my life. The most notable change is my location. On September 1st 2009 I stepped onto a plane in Atlanta Georgia and stepped off 16 hours later in Nagoya Japan. I would be spending the next year of my life in “the land of dreams” (Japan).
Initial impressions:
- Wow, I don’t know as much Japanese as I thought.
- Wow, there is nothing but Japanese people here.
- Wow, the food portions here are pretty small.
- Wow, is that a purse around a dude’s arm?
- Wow, girls wear skirts, short-shorts, and heels everyday.
- Wow, this is Japan.
Of course there are a lot more initial impressions, but that’s the price you pay when you wait 4 months in-between blog post. Honestly, I don’t know what made me procrastinate so hard. I guess it had to do with “living in the moment” and whatever other excuses people who procrastinate think of. The truth is, I’m lazy (which parallels to more areas of my life than I care to admit). Now that the semester is over I’ve run out of reasons to extend my laziness and this brings us to my next point…
Thoughts on Japanese classes
- Boring
- Pointless
- Easy
- Grunt work
- Mildly interesting (sometimes)
- A waste of time.
I really wish I could think of more adjectives to describe Japanese classes, but honestly I feel like you understand my point. The only exception to these adjectives was my Japanese Language class. The main benefit of my Language class is the fact that I can use my knowledge outside of class. The other classes were just time taken away from me learning Japanese and had no direct benefit besides…personal knowledge gain? (I’m trying really hard to bullshit a reason). In the end I ended up switching to the language program from the culture program and hopefully I will find success in a more intensive language study.
There are plenty of other things that have happen, but none of which require retelling. I would like to point you (or my future self) in the direction of the blog that Amanda and myself run (www.nagoyaga.squarespace.com), our youtube channel (www.youtube.com/user/nagoyaga) and our flickr account (www.flickr.com/itsnagoyaga). None of these links are probably new to you (or my future self), but if you’re some random or a friend who just needs reminding, check it out.
つづけ
