While fairly awake for the first period of the day, being alert and ready to learn did little to help me cut through the density of legal jargon (in Japanese, at that) that trailed off into space throughout the professor's lecture. Sitting back several rows from the front of the room, where I have sat before, also made it more difficult to pay attention, because everyone else in close range wasn't paying attention either. Whether they were sleeping, playing cards, playing handheld game systems, sending text messages, talking, whatever, everyone seemed to be just as lost when it came to the lecture. It really begs the question: where and when do Japanese students learn? Of course, there are several students who sit in the front and pay close attention and take notes. But then there's the greater number of students who act like it's a chore to be there. One student in particular, that I mentioned in a previous blog post, who fits the Japanese stereotype of "Gal Otoko", continuously drew the irk of the professor who called him out for being disruptive, mocking his appearance and passively telling him to leave. I understand these students need to take this class for credits, and some of them may not wish to be there. But the kind of attitude displayed really contrasted to how a lot of college students in American schools tend to behave- as adults. The fact is that they are all putting money into taking these classes, which makes me wonder exactly how much college is taken for granted in Japanese society. If a college education becomes so universal, does it deteriorate the motivation of both students and faculty to put effort into education? Is the process of graduating high school and entering a university so common in a country with such universal wealth that many students seemingly take it for granted? Maybe the system just isn't compatible with this younger generation of Japanese, a generation more Westernized and less interested in taking on a life of study, leading to employment until death. Whatever the reasons, I couldn't very well focus with this exchange between the professor and student. So while my ears lost the lecture, I stuck with translating an outline sheet for the quarter, translating questions like "Why were mortgage protections put into place?" among other enthralling subjects. I thought strongly about how I might have been too hasty to pick this class, but the schedule has been committed to and I can only go along and learn what comes through.
Following this class was Chinese Communication. Nothing much to say here. It was reviewing stuff I have learned in Chinese classes many times before, and while there was plenty I had let slipped I did feel as if I was in the wrong place. The students in the class were very vocal when they spoke in Mandarin out-loud, differing from the previous Chinese class I had taken at the University of Hyogo. The other class was nearly inaudible when they spoke out loud, but this class consists of mainly first-year students, and the instructor does a much better job of inspiring a comfortable atmosphere for students to speak. I do learn a bit of Japanese in the explanations of language points, but I still won't qualify this class as Japanese learning in terms of earning credits for the Evergreen contract.
Third period was Technical Japanese. The class read two hand-outs about Japanese traditional systems of hiring labor and other work forces. There was a discussion of whether skill or experience is more important in the Japanese (or any, I suppose) work system. I mainly looked up the numerous (nearly all of them) words that I didn't know in the article. With the purchase of an electronic dictionary, this has become the bulk of my in-class studying. I'll port more details on the language-learning process later.
I understand that the majority of my posts lately are somewhat mundane day-to-day recordings of classes. I will get to work on the posts that involve music in Japan as well as blog posts similar to the ones I did during the Spring quarter. One problem is I'm at a loss for a good camera, as the one I was using has broken, but will try to remedy the situation in due time. Please stay tuned.
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