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.
The ramblings of a college student, whether on travel or in the middle of exams.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
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?
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?
Friday, January 27, 2012
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.
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.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
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.
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?
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?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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.
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?
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?
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