Accepted

I was accepted (given permission) by the study abroad office to apply to Waseda University. This next part will be long and tedious, but I think I will be okay. The likelihood of Waseda accepting me sounds rather low, but it's best to stay optimistic (and make contingency plans).

That being said, this week will be rather busy. It's doubtful that I'll update again before Friday.

まだ

I still don't know the results of my interview, even though I was under the impression that it was supposed to be "no later than Friday". But alas, that's how things go, right? The consensus of the people I asked (a couple friends and my dad) was to wait until Wed before I shoot my adviser an e-mail.

In somewhat related news, I found out that the likelihood of me getting into Waseda is pretty slim. They only accept about 125 students each time (world wide). I could be mistaken, but...So I've decided to take up a student loan and to also apply to one of the three USAC programs offered for Japan. The only problem is I'm not sure how much the application deposit is refundable, should I actually get into Waseda. X/

I also found out that the Maruman branch of the Yadoya Guest house (the place I had planned on staying) has been closed. I'll check again in a few months, but it sounds like it was due to damage from the Earthquake. I've found a substitute that actually brings the total cost down a bit since I'm not paying for transit - it's within walking distance from the university. It's so close that I walk further when heading to my boyfriend's dorm on campus here. It's not as convenient in terms of what's nearby, but I don't really have much of a choice. I will say that there is a 7-11, Sunkus, Family Mart and AM/PM within 1000 feet, but all of them are in different directions. ><" The closest post office is near the university (post offices are useful for cash).

I've also become quite cold as of late. The past couple days have been terrible. I wonder if maybe I'm getting sick or if it's something else?

Semester and Interview Results

This semester is looking like it will be quite busy. I'm taking two classes with heavy reading, Japanese (which is heavy on studying and homework) and a relatively easy lecture-based class. However, the two reading-based classes look like they'll take up quite a bit of my time. For one, I have no less than 6 books (not including the textbook) to read and submit papers on throughout the semester, on top of papers on videos we watch in class. So far, he's already combined four papers into two (which is good, because according to the syllabus, we have 8 papers - now we have 6). My other reading class doesn't really have many papers, but class participation is based on interactive reading (bring to class "intelligent questions based on the readings") and two analysis papers on visits to art museums. Gotta love art classes. X/

I still don't know the results of my interview last week, but I'll edit this post when I do. Hopefully, it'll be sometime later today, but it could be sometime next week. Fingers crossed for today.

A Small Statistic for a Big thing

http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2011/12/05/the-few-the-proud-the-very-rich/

I found that article, and the statistic they put forward, a little depressing. The top 400 richest people, as listed by Forbes, make up the bottom 50% of the country in terms of "worth". The 6 richest members of the Walton family (the family that owns Walmart), all of which are in the top 10 richest people, equate the bottom 30% of the country.

Now if you do the math - there are 350 million people in America. That means that 0.00000114% of our country is worth the same in monetary value as 50%? And think about it - that's not even the top 1% of the country. 1/5 of the country holds 87.2% of the wealth while the remaining 4/5ths hold 12.8%...

I'm not saying people can't make money, I'm just saying it's really sad that the gap between the privileged and the poor is sickeningly wide.

Interview with the Study Abroad Office

Tomorrow is a fateful day - I get interviewed by my exchange coordinator and two members of the Japanese department. One of the Japanese members is my current Japanese sensei - the other is the adviser for the Japanese minor (whom I have never met). My friend assures me she's nice and adorable, so I shouldn't need to worry all that much. Overall, I (secretly) think my chances are high in getting accepted into the Study Abroad office, but we shall see.

My adviser gave me a couple questions to mull over, so I'll prepare my in-depth answers here as a means of organizing my thoughts.

Why do you wish to attend Waseda University as opposed to the other universities offered by the Study Abroad office?

Well, the exchanges are much more affordable than the USAC programs. This narrows it down to choosing between Kobe and Waseda. With Waseda, I am able to choose my own housing, which helps defray some of the costs in studying abroad (I plan on staying at a sharehouse). Waseda seems to have better support for international students through their cultural exchange center, a wide variety of clubs and offers a lot of classes in English through an English immersion program for Waseda students. This would help keep my grades up, as I think a college level course taught in Japanese would be too difficult. I have also spent a short period of time in Tokyo before, so I'm already familiar with the layout train system.

Why do you want to study in Japan?

I'm a Japanese major, so I think studying abroad would really help improve my Japanese ability (particularly in the listening and speaking parts). I've been interested in Japanese popular culture and food since middle school, when a group of Japanese students came to visit my school. I really want to try things like shabu-shabu, natto and the weird drink flavors they have in the vending machines. I also really want to join a couple clubs in order to make friends who share my interests. I'm thinking I'll join the international club and maybe a club involving shodo or Japanese-style archery. I thought about joining a sports club, but I'm not really good at sports, so I wouldn't be good for a team.

What goals do you have for after your study abroad experience and how can studying abroad in Japan help with these goals?

I plan on applying for the Language House so that when I return, I will be able to continue my immersion in Japanese. I plan on applying for the JET program my senior year and studying abroad in Japan will help make my application stand out. After taking part in JET, I will make the decision as to whether or not I want to continue teaching Japanese. If not, I plan on applying to the State Department as a consular officer. Having been abroad for some time, it will prove that I am able to effectively handle the stress of the living in a foreign country.

---

To the readers:
Why do you want to go to Japan? Or why do you want to study in Japan?

Idol

I have found my new idol. She seems like a genuinely nice person and I've spend the last couple hours watching her videos. She gave me some great advice (not personally, through her videos) and she's inspired me to take learning Japanese to the next level in determination (I'm always trying to learn, but now I'm going to really try to master the kanji in my textbook as well as study 1000x harder).

You can check Micaela's (Mikaera) videos at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Ciaela
And her blog at this one:
http://ciaela.wordpress.com/about/

OR you can check the side bar.

New Things and Interview

Yesterday I tried something no one in my household had ever done before - I fried shrimp. We've never really fried anything before, so we were really surprised when they came out tasting pretty good. My dad was so doubtful as he looked at the ingredients and everything, but he tried one and now wants me to make more. I was also terrified of the skillet. If you've never fried something before, it makes a terribly loud noise when you drop the food in - no wonder Sakura from CCS was terrified of making crochets. ><"

In other news, I have an interview with the study abroad office on Friday. I'm hoping this is a good sign, but...I'm still really nervous. Wish me luck?

If I were to....

If I were to reform the Department of Education, I would make the educational requirements for graduation in America standardized as well as the number of hours allotted in a school day (8 hours a day) and abolish high school being mandatory. A reform to the school year is also necessary - both increase the number of days of attendance and spread the breaks apart (for instance, a short break between quarters rather than a long break in the summer, which causes students to forget what they learned previously). I think this would not only improve our education system, but improve how America performs in terms of other countries in the world. I find it deplorable that we, as a world power, have one of the most lacking education systems among the developed world. Almost all of the developed world does better academically than the US, particularly in math and science.

The main problem, in my opinion, is in lack of motivation of the general population. Our generation is used to having things handed to us - how often do you see an 8 year old walking around with a handheld gaming device now-a-days? Not only is this bad for their attention span, but it encourages the use of such when bored. Rather than do one's homework, they play their handheld. I have nothing against games, but I feel this is the main cause of our lack of motivation.

Elementary School
- Parents are no longer parenting properly. There is no discipline in our generation - I had to deal with it in high school every single day. While I don't think parents should beat their children regularly, one good spanking early on typically helps children listen to their parents later. This "I will never raise a hand to my child" attitude just makes them arrogant - they can do whatever they want with little repercussion. Therefore, I find that a lot of responsibility must fall to elementary school teachers. A strong emphasis on subjects like social studies (government, history, etc), mathematics, science and English; extra subjects should be things that encourage individuality; such as art (calligraphy, drawing, etc), handicrafts (sewing, woodwork, cooking, etc), music, PE (to promote exercise), and moral education. However, a problem arises with moral education - morals vary significantly among adults due to factors like religion and personal beliefs. Therefore, only the basic morals should be instilled (do not steal, do not lie/cheat, clean up your own mess, politeness, etc). Encouraging relationships and friendships among students is important too and teachers should take special interest in each of their students. I think, especially at this age, the last 10 minutes of the day should be dedicated to tidying the classroom.

Middle School
- Middle school should continue the basic requirements of English (with a focus on grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. NOT interpretation of poems), mathematics, PE, science, and social studies (history and government), but also offer electives in art, music, etc. Objective of middle school is to perform well enough to get into targeted high school or to learn enough to perform well in life

High School
- They should focus on high performance and entrance into college, with at least one STEM high school and one vocational high school per county. A very strong focus on adequate supplies in the science department is critical in all schools (my high school never had any good lab equipment - we only had one striker to light our Bunsen burners and often things were broken). Block scheduling is important to provide enough time for material to be covered (with electives being on TuTh)

Junior High and High School electives can be left up to the local and state governments, but all requirements toward graduation should be mandated by the government. I also think there should be several testing options available: written exam, oral exam, or a performance exam. The main reason written tests are pushed and encouraged is because they are easier to grade. However, some students need other options. For instance, my mother dropped out of high school because she suffers from dyslexia. Had she been given an oral exam, she may have been able to pass.

Thoughts?

Sad Truth

The sad truth of life - if it costs money but saves lives, it may not happen. For instance, drug companies need to make back the money spent on research costs; so the first few years a drug is released, it costs phenomenal amounts of money. Another example: a train track had some risk of derailment, but it would cost money to fix the problem, so it was likely ignored.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120112a1.html

Another example? The Fukushima plant - in the making of the plant, they decided against prepping it for an earthquake and subsequent tsunami due to low probability. But it still happened, right?

This is why the government should regulate certain things. One would argue that it "blocks capitalism" or some other bullshit, but the fact of the matter remains. People are greedy and don't care until it happens.

However, regulation itself needs to have limits and things like the security theater that the TSA uses waste money.

Just a thought.

Explanation and Living Cheaply

I feel as though I need to explain my recent explosion of blog posts. Hopefully, I will become an exchange student in Japan. This means I'll be living abroad for about 11 months and I really want to try to keep up with blogging while abroad. That said, another bout on living cheap in Japan.

First off, I overestimate everything. That way, I avoid surprise costs/change in exchange rates AND if they do happen to come up, I can use the extra as a buffer. For instance, I've budgeted $175 a week on combined food, transit and additional expenses. This is roughly 13,000 yen (remember, they don't have a decimal place). Of that, roughly 360 yen a day is for transit to school (5 days a week) with about 1600 yen for food a day. That sounds high, but again, it's better to have some left over if I want to buy something additional.

Stick to the budget and don't budge. So if I overshoot, I don't just withdraw more. The first month or so will have more spending, obviously, because I'll need to buy things like a cellphone and clothes. I'm not staying in an apartment, so I don't need to buy furniture or anything like that. I will probably need to buy sheets, hangers, and other things.

Here are some places and websites for wonderfully cheap every day items:

Gaijinpot (http://www.gaijinpot.com/)
Think of it kind of like the classifieds. Ads for Sayounara sales and moving sales are frequent. I've seen an ad for a free refrigerator (you pay for transit), cheap furniture, cell phones, etc. People usually have an aversion to buying things used (me included) but they usually aren't selling the stuff because it's broken - they're selling it because they're moving or returning to their home country.

Craigslist.jp
Same deal as Gaijinpot

100 Yen Store (http://www.daisojapan.com/)
The 100 yen shop is similar to our dollar store, but they tend to stick more to the 100 yen part. While yes, the quality isn't the greatest, who cares if it's only gotta last a year? They sell things like towels, Tupperware, bento boxes, snacks, kitchen sets, slippers, socks, school supplies, etc. The one near where I stayed has 2 floors (it might have been 3) so this is just an overview.