yakihito

Why My Finals Suck

I'm in the midst of final exams. They're pretty rough, for a number of reasons. 

I have nine of them. Nine! Each class meets once a week, which is nice during the semester but now that it's ending, I have nine finals. Five in Japanese, one on Japanese grammar in English, and three on Japanese culture, also in English. I've taken seven, which means only two more to go. But...

I'm burnt! I've been studying steadily and diligently for two weeks now and I'm past the point of caring. Really. Of course I'm still studying and still trying, but it's difficult. Especially when...

I'm so tired. My four Japanese classes are all first-period classes, which means they start at 9 am. That's a terrible time for me to process language. It also means I have to wake up early to study. And, given the general level of stress I'm maintaining these days, I don't fall asleep all that early either.

It's difficult to know what will be on the tests. I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from my teachers back home. The amount of time you spend on something in class tends to be a good barometer of whether it will be test-worthy. Not here. Something you gloss over in 5 minutes can comprise a good fourth of the test! Of course I didn't study that, it didn't seem important. Test questions can also be vague, particularly for the speaking class. This class is all about knowing which kind of language to use in which context (polite, friendly language, etc). Without the context, it's impossible to know which kind of language to use. But this is what's expected on the test. Contextless questions. However, if we'd had the foresight to memorize the text book, we'd be able to recognize the question, and thus be able to remember what the context originally was. Which says to me: memorizing textbooks is more important than being able to properly discern context and thus use the correct language. *sigh*

And it's hot! It's torture to have to study and try to concentrate in this brutal heat. I'm actually sweating onto my tests. Lovely.

Wah wah, I know, I'm just tired and burnt and ready for summer. OK, only two more tests...

Midterms

I had the bulk of my midterm tests last week. Man, what a week that was. When you have 9 classes like I do and you only meet once a week, there's not much homework, but when it comes time for midterms (and finals!) they all hit at once.

Last week Wednesday started the fun with a midterm for conversation class. This involved a written part, which was difficult enough (what do you say in a given situation) and then, later in the day, a 15-minute, one-on-one speaking test with the sensei (teacher). Conversation is my—I won't say worst, because it's not that bad, but let's just say that all of the Americans have some degree of difficulty with conversation—most challenging subject. I guess I did OK. (Oh, and in-between those two tests I had to give a presentation—in English, thankfully—about the use of silence in Japanese communication. Not difficult, but yet another thing I had to prepare for.)

Thursday morning I was up again at 6am to study for a Japanese reading test. Taking Japanese reading classes remind me of reading classes back in middle school. Read the passage for comprehension, answer questions based on the reading. There were also some grammar questions, that kind of thing. Seeing as I'm now in my third year of Japanese studies, the majority of the passages weren't, "Takashi Goes to the Store," but "Soybean Cultivation in Japan," or "Volcanic Activity in the Japanese Archipelago." Lots of difficult kanji, and sentences written in passive voice.

Friday morning I was up at 4:30 to prepare for my writing class. I got to Starbucks at 6 but they didn't open until 6:30, so I sat out front and slept studied. The test included a short essay section, plus sentence writing. Like, here are two sentences, combine them in a specific way. Oh, and that "specific way" wasn't always specified. You had to know it by context. This class basically is preparation for expository writing. By the time I finished the test at 10am, I was completely exhausted.

Annoying: there is no coffee on campus! Lots of canned coffee for sale in vending machines, but no fresh coffee. Brutal, this.

I wish I could tell you I was taking a break, updating this blog from a beach down in Miyazaki but school persists. This week I have two presentations, one on the use of ellipsis in the Japanese language, the other a comparison between US and Japanese immigration policies. Both in English, thank God. Then the week after is my Japanese grammar midterm, and a test on Japanese society (in English at least). The Japanese classes are the ones that will count towards my major, so these are where my priorities really lie, but I still intend to do well in my English-language classes as well. Hey, I'm taking the classes, might as well get the most out of them.

頑張ります！

Class Schedule

College in Japan (or at least in Oita) is different than at home. At San Francisco State (and indeed at every other college I've been too) classes are different lengths, some short and others long. Some classes you have once a week, some every day. But they're all different, which takes some keeping track of. Here, though, it's like high school. Every day there are six periods, each exactly an hour and a half. Lunch (one hour) comes between periods 2 and 3. All that's missing is a bell.

The other difference is that each class is only in session once a week. You could conceivably have 20 classes in a semester. Thank God I don't have that many. My program doesn't offer any classes on Monday, nor after 4th period for the most part. This results in a pretty relaxed schedule.

Schedule

Tuesday
1st period: Japanese 3A (Grammar)
2nd period: Free
3rd period: Free
4th period: Japanese Pop Culture

Wednesday
1st period: Japanese 3B (Conversation)
2nd period: Free
3rd period: Grammar & Discourse
4th period: Intercultural Communication

Thursday
1st period: Japanese 3C (Reading)
2nd period: Free
3rd period: Introduction to Japanese Culture & History
4th period: Current Japanese Society

Friday
1st period: Japanese 3D (Writing)
2nd period: Free
3rd period: Tutor Session
4th period: Free

All of the morning classes are taught entirely in Japanese. This is both great and confounding. The first day of each of those classes was pretty rough. I never learned the words for "tardy" or "absence" or "class credit" or anything like that. Even the syllabus is in Japanese! I spent a few long hours looking up all the kanji on those handouts. Now that we're moving along it's getting easier, though I do still lose my place occasionally.

All of the other classes are taught in English (except one, more of which will be covered in a bit). The afternoon English classes are lectures about various aspects of Japan, such as culture and history, or on the language. The Grammar & Discourse class is especially interesting, looking at the language from a linguistic viewpoint, and exploring how the structure of the language affects culture.

The class I'm most excited about is Current Japanese Society. Taught in both English and Japanese, the class will cover current social issues in Japan such as the declining birth rate and aging population. What will be the greatest challenge will be responding in class and on paper in Japanese. Up to now, I've really only experienced Japanese conversationally. Now I'll have to approach topics in a different way. The teacher is also very enthusiastic and supportive, which is great.

In the evenings I do homework and get to bed pretty early. I get up around 6:30 and catch the 8:30 train to school. By the end of the day I find myself to be pretty exhausted. Happily exhausted.

Tomorrow we've got a field trip to a flower park and a famous suspension bridge. Pictures, of course, will be posted.