So I’ve had my first week of university – and it’s good to be back.

First thing i’d like to mention is my Japanese classes.  I was awesome enough to miss my first class on Monday – i got my times mized up… *facepalm* However, I managed to turn up for the second class.  It was scheduled to be a 2 hour class, but when I turned up the teacher (who didn’t actually tell us her name) handed out a test and told us to complete the test, then have a 1-on-1 consult with her, where she would mark our tests and give comments, then we could leave.  I had no idea we had a test! ARGH! However, i’m sure its safe to assume that I would have known had I turned up to class on Monday…

Anyway, I looked at the test.  First page: Translations.  I looked at the 5 phrases I needed to translate and immediately felt like an idiot.  I translated a grand total of 1 out of 5 phrases.  Not at all off to a good start. It was quite simply due to the fact that there were kanji in these sentences that i’d never even seen before – Ever.

Second page was grammar. No problems with that.

Also on second page, a thank you letter to a friend in Japan who sent me a Christmas present. No problems again (apart from an embarassing katakana error… guh… so out of practice).

Ok guys, very sorry to “bore” you with another post on Japanese Kanji.  BUUUT!  The other day, Annie pointed out a Kanji that made her lol, which in turn made me lol, and i’d like to share it with you.

Ok so firstly, some kanji to stare at:

働　住　食　飲　空　流　留学生
会社　勉強　病院　買

Ok, so they all look relatively kanji-ey, all little pictures, look chinese etc. etc. 

Ok so i’m takin a two second break from studying Kanji to write a little blog that could show you what I do whilst I study for these crazy little pictures the Japanese call a “writing system”.  Let’s face it, they aren’t letters, they’re pictures.  Crappy ones at that.

Ok, I’m currently studying the Kanji from Chapter 14 in my Genki 2 Textbook.  16 of them total, not so bad.  However this is just part of my study for the final exam I have this friday.  Total Kanji I need to memorize: 177.

Yep, 177 pictures that all look the same but carry very different meanings.  Ok, so let’s get started…

Ok so now that I’ve attended classes for a good chunk of my semester, I’m thinkin i’ma write a detailed post about my classes and how Kansai Gaidai structures them.

Japanese classes are held in the morning, 4 x 50 minute periods between 9am and 1pm (9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50 etc.).  English classes are held in the afternoon, 3 x 80 minute classes between 1pm and 5:20pm (some exceptions such as the Sumi-e class which I think is 2 hours long).  Also if we miss 30% of our classes for either subject – FAIL!

Spoken Japanese Class (Level 2):

Spoken Japanese class began as my scariest subject because, quite simply, i had to speak Japanese.  A lot.  My teacher is Naito-sensei, she’s a lovely lady who really assists the learning environment by never making you feel like a douche but always egging you on till you get the right answer, no matter how long it takes.  Which at first is daunting and even annoying because it might feel like she’s continually badgering you even when you don’t know the answer, but in the end it DOES help you learn, and she does it in a nice enough way.  Oh and yes, i’ll re-iterate – you WILL be speaking Japanese, no hiding, no flying under the radar.

The class size is only about 13 people or so (in my class) and she always asks you question using new & old grammar structures and vocab to then coax you into understanding and replying using similar new and old grammar structures whilst telling her about your weekend, your plans, or if you are busy this afternoon.

Ok so mid-terms are finally over.  They were kinda spaced out, all due to one class.

I’m studying 4 subjects:

1. Spoken Japanese
2. Reading and Writing Japanese (R&W)
3. Pacific Rivalry
4. Dynamics of Modern Japan

Ok so for both Speaking and R&W Japanese classes I had to undertake 2 tests each – one spoken and one written. For each.  Oh and I’m in level 2 Japanese (7 being the highest – WOO GO ME!).  Oh and Dynamics and Pacific Rivalry are both taught by the same professor, Prof. Paul Scott.

Yeah so… i rocked up to lecture today… walked in just as the “not-lecturer” said “Ok i’ll see you next week!”

An Actual photo of me at the time

After consulting my buddies they told me that the ACTUAL lecturer was sick and therefore lecture was cancelled.  I could’ve slept in! Oh well, more time to work on assignments I guess.