It's been a full year now since I stopped taking Japanese. But for safekeeping I'm posting the personal statement I wrote for study abroad--feel free to google translate though the half of it will be totally wrong anyway :)
高校の時、日本語を勉強していませんでした。四年生になったが、大学を申し込みながらどの専門を選ぶか分かりませんでした（決めるのは大変ですね）。でも、ある日「いつもアジアの文化にほかの学科より興味がある」と思いました。実にアジアから英語や本に見とれました（勿論、漫画とアニメも）。だからラトガース大学で日本語と日本の文化を勉強することにしました。それいらいそのことを勉強してよかったです。
日本の町ならどこでも行きたいんですが、京都が必ずやいっぱりです。古都だから伝統的な文化と歴史を習ったり、お寺と神社を見たりします。何しろ立命館大学で勉強したら、大切なことを経験できます。日本語が上手になるために日本に行くべきなのではないでしょうか。と言って言語以外にいろいろな学科は面白いですから。美術を始め、経済、文学があります。大学前に漫画や日本のファッションなどはとても大切だったが、今では夏目漱石とよしもとバナナ書かれた本を読みます。喜んで明治維新を勉強します。私は立命館大学で英明な教授といい学生に会って、日本が分かります。
今今私の将来像を知りません。でも、日本語とドイツ語を勉強していますので、国際会社で働くたぶんです。教えるのもよさそうだと思います。ほかの文化に組み入れるなら、幸せになります。其れに留学した後で、四月間外国に住んでいた後で、私は優位者になるといいんですが。知らないものがたくさんだから、成るべくがんばりますよ。
Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label japanese. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The past four months: a recap
"So Shan, what's it been like having a semester off?" people ask me. And I say "Weird as SHIAT, dawg."
No, I don't say that. But you know what, it has been a weirdo mixed bag indeed, and given that I leave for BERLIN in a mere TWO WEEKS I feel I should verbosely explain it all. Well, all in all, I've coped fairly well. I don't remember what it's like to do work AT ALL, but that's just training for the real world anyway, right? Haaaaaaa. But really, I don't feel the least bit like a student, which is kind of odd, and in various ways I miss it. |:
I missed a lot of dope funtimes with my friends, although visiting 'em was nice. I miss weird things like the feeling of taking notes in class with a blue pen on smooth lined paper. Aw man, everything Rutgers feels far-away like a dream. Going to "work" at the tutor center. Fighting the urge to sleep in the tutor center. Caffeine highs from choco-caramel frappe concoctions from Gerlanda's.
At home, with no papers and exams, there's no stress. But where's the sense of achievement?
And when I visit Rutgers it feels like I'm an outsider again. I feel sort of the way I did when I was a senior in high school scoping everything out for the first time.
I don't know if it bums me out per se... I will say that a week or two after it was decided I wouldn't go to Japan, I was in a pretty pitiful mental state. Of course, I still don't know if not going was the right decision. And I suppose I never will. I do think that the decision had/will continue to have a profound impact on my life and my future. I don't know if I'll continue to learn Japanese again... and honestly, I don't know if I want to.
Did I give up Japan because I was frightened of nuclear fallout and cancerous sushi, or because I was frightened of changing my life? I was taking the easy way out because frankly, I'd already lost a lot of motivation to keep learning the language. And, since it was already March, I'd simply forgotten a ton of Japanese.
I love Asian Studies, and I'm good at it. Chinese Cinema to Japanese Women Writers, Asian economy, history, philosophy, whatever. But I never felt any more than "better than the average student" at Japanese language. I got good grades but I didn't really feel like I was learning... Maybe all I needed was to just go there, go to Japan. Even though I was caring much less, and was perhaps discouraged with my progress ('cause it's just a disgustingly hard language. All the characters to memorize, and the homophones drove me crazy)--especially compared to German (which with I have a much longer history, and one of much success). Damn it, if I had gone, how in love with the Japanese language and people and atmosphere would I be right now?
But I didn't go. And God only knows if I chickened out or if I made a good, rational decision about my safety.
But life marches right along! And so far in 2011 I've experienced a really interesting array of things.
Like, in January I had my week long externship in the international students dept. at the community college. I learned that I would be totally awesome at a menial desk job, which is not really something to be proud of, but whatever. I make kickass flyers.
I learned that I am capable of sticking to a pescetarian diet for as long as 2-3 weeks, and that doing so will make me feel kind of self-righteous and healthier, but I won't lose any weight, and eventually I'll realize that I'm only doing it to prove that I can, and because I'm friggin bored, on account of not having any classes. **So yes, I did go back to eating meat, and especially after I realized I was going back to Germany, I accepted this as necessary and Only The Proper Thing To Do. But I gave pescetarianism an honest try and I get points for that!
I learned that I can navigate New York City after all and that gives me hope that someday I can be an awesome NYCity-slickin' laday.
I watched MAD AMOUNTS of The Big Bang Theory and Parks and Recreation and other shows. And tons of movies. Wait, should this be on the list of achievements?
I got to go to Los Angeles, North Carolina and, um, Ireland. So that's pretty cool.
No, I don't say that. But you know what, it has been a weirdo mixed bag indeed, and given that I leave for BERLIN in a mere TWO WEEKS I feel I should verbosely explain it all. Well, all in all, I've coped fairly well. I don't remember what it's like to do work AT ALL, but that's just training for the real world anyway, right? Haaaaaaa. But really, I don't feel the least bit like a student, which is kind of odd, and in various ways I miss it. |:
I missed a lot of dope funtimes with my friends, although visiting 'em was nice. I miss weird things like the feeling of taking notes in class with a blue pen on smooth lined paper. Aw man, everything Rutgers feels far-away like a dream. Going to "work" at the tutor center. Fighting the urge to sleep in the tutor center. Caffeine highs from choco-caramel frappe concoctions from Gerlanda's.
At home, with no papers and exams, there's no stress. But where's the sense of achievement?
And when I visit Rutgers it feels like I'm an outsider again. I feel sort of the way I did when I was a senior in high school scoping everything out for the first time.
I don't know if it bums me out per se... I will say that a week or two after it was decided I wouldn't go to Japan, I was in a pretty pitiful mental state. Of course, I still don't know if not going was the right decision. And I suppose I never will. I do think that the decision had/will continue to have a profound impact on my life and my future. I don't know if I'll continue to learn Japanese again... and honestly, I don't know if I want to.
Did I give up Japan because I was frightened of nuclear fallout and cancerous sushi, or because I was frightened of changing my life? I was taking the easy way out because frankly, I'd already lost a lot of motivation to keep learning the language. And, since it was already March, I'd simply forgotten a ton of Japanese.
I love Asian Studies, and I'm good at it. Chinese Cinema to Japanese Women Writers, Asian economy, history, philosophy, whatever. But I never felt any more than "better than the average student" at Japanese language. I got good grades but I didn't really feel like I was learning... Maybe all I needed was to just go there, go to Japan. Even though I was caring much less, and was perhaps discouraged with my progress ('cause it's just a disgustingly hard language. All the characters to memorize, and the homophones drove me crazy)--especially compared to German (which with I have a much longer history, and one of much success). Damn it, if I had gone, how in love with the Japanese language and people and atmosphere would I be right now?
But I didn't go. And God only knows if I chickened out or if I made a good, rational decision about my safety.
But life marches right along! And so far in 2011 I've experienced a really interesting array of things.
Like, in January I had my week long externship in the international students dept. at the community college. I learned that I would be totally awesome at a menial desk job, which is not really something to be proud of, but whatever. I make kickass flyers.
I learned that I am capable of sticking to a pescetarian diet for as long as 2-3 weeks, and that doing so will make me feel kind of self-righteous and healthier, but I won't lose any weight, and eventually I'll realize that I'm only doing it to prove that I can, and because I'm friggin bored, on account of not having any classes. **So yes, I did go back to eating meat, and especially after I realized I was going back to Germany, I accepted this as necessary and Only The Proper Thing To Do. But I gave pescetarianism an honest try and I get points for that!
I learned that I can navigate New York City after all and that gives me hope that someday I can be an awesome NYCity-slickin' laday.
I watched MAD AMOUNTS of The Big Bang Theory and Parks and Recreation and other shows. And tons of movies. Wait, should this be on the list of achievements?
I got to go to Los Angeles, North Carolina and, um, Ireland. So that's pretty cool.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)