Semester Overview/Thoughts

Well ... this is kinda sorta late. Anyways, my speech really sucked a lot. It was pretty generic and standard, but the content wasn't bad. What really killed it for me was my awesomatic coughing attack. It was like bronchial death on crack. Apparently, well... just follow my flow chart:
nervousness = quick, heavy breathing => quick breathing + bronchitis = dead lung + lots of coughing, wheezing, and icky phlegm crap. Oh well. There's another failure in my book.
Anyways, this semester in Japanese was by far by busiest class. It was a lot of work, and it made me so stressed at so many times. Then the grading for the course makes you feel so disappointed with not-so-good grades. However, I must say that it was the most meaningful course that I have taken this entire semester. I really feel as if I learned a great deal. Japanese was constantly my most hated class, but it is by far my favorite class is the end. While I do not look forward to all the work ahead in 102, I look forward to all of the fun, learning, and experiences that are sure to come with the class (and of course, all of the disappointing grads/ failures as well, too).

I also bombed my first exam today .... I wonder how Saturday will be.... :(

Peer Editing

I found peer editing to be very useful. However, there are always positive and negative sides to things. In terms of peer editing, one plus is that you know if what you are writing is comprehensible to others. In other words, since it is being edited by peers, if the peers don't understand the content, then obviously, there's a disconnect somewhere, so revision is called for in this case. Beyond that, peer editing allows one to see other writing styles and structures as writing skills develop in Japanese. Furthermore, one can see how things are done similarly. Of utmost importance though, is that one is able to catch the mistakes of others to help their writing along. On the downside of peer editing is that since it is peers actually editing the paper, the corrections may not be correct, or the editor doesn't really know how to fix something that just sounds a little awkward. Another downside is that if the peer editors all make the same mistake, then the mistake sounds right to all of them. Consequently, the mistake will not be remedied, and it will remain. In other words, with peers editing a paper, the highest quality possible is often not achieved. Nevertheless, peer editing puts things on a more personal and even level for all, making an interesting learning experience. But those are jyst my rushed two cents.

Revised Japanese Speech

Revised Speech:

このセメスターの日本語のクラスはとてもおもしろかったです。私は九月にバージニア大学にいました。私の一ねん生の一ばんのクラスは日本語でした。とてもこわかったでした。私は日本語のクラスにともだちがいませんでした。たくさん人もいました。一ばんの日、私はクラスにはいって、サトウ先生にあいました。やさしかったですが、ちょっとこわっかたです。大学に、ぶつり学とすう学はあまりむずかしいしゅくだいがありません。えい語はぜんぜんしゅくだいがありませんが、日本ごはたいていとてもむずかしいしゅくだいがたくさんありました。だから、一ばんの日のらいしゅう、学生の半分ぐらいがいました。今、十六人がいます。日本語のしゅくだいがたくさなりますから、私はよく日本ごをべんきょうします。ひまな時がありません。でも、日本語のクラスはとてもたのしいですよ。いい先生がいて、クラスにともだちがいますから。私はともだちと時々ニューコムホールでひるごはんを食べて、そこで一しょに日本ごをべんきょうします。私はともだちとそこでも二時かんぐらいもはなして、あそびます。

ﾄﾞﾗﾌﾄ#2｡｡｡pretty much the same.

このセメスターの日本語のクラスはとてもおもしろかったです。私は九月にバージニアだいがくにいました。私の一ばんのクラスは日本語でした。とてもこわかったでした。私は日本語のクラスにともだちがいませんでした。たくさん人もいました。一ばんの日、私はクラスにはいって、サトウせんせいにあいました。やさしかったですが、ちょっとこわっかたです。だいがくに、ぶつりがくとすうがくはあまりむずかしいしゅくだいがありません。えい語はぜんぜんしゅくだいがありません。でも、日本ごはたいていとてもむずかしいしゅくだいがたくさんありました。だから、一ばんの日のらいしゅう、学生は半分がいました。今、十六人がいます。日本語のしゅくだいがたくさなりますから、私はよく日本ごをべんきょうします。ひまな時がありません。でも、日本語のクラスはとてもたのしいですよ。私はクラスにともだちがいます。私はともだちと時々ニューコムホールでひるごはんを食べます。そこで一しょに日本ごをべんきょうします。私はともだちと二時かんぐらいもはなします。

日本語のクラスはとてもむずかしいです。時々ちょっとクラスがきらいですが、ぜひ、私はクラスがだいすきですよ。日本語のクラスはとてもおもしろいです。日本語のクラスもとてもたのしいですよ。

日本ごのクラス

このセメスターの日本ごのクラスはとてもおもしろかったです。私は九月にバージニアだいがくにいました。私の一ばんのクラスは日本ごでした。とてもこわかったでした。私は日本ごのクラスにともだちがいませんでした。たくさん人もいました。一ばんの日、私はサトウせんせいにあいました。やさしかったです。でも、ちょっとこわっかたです。だいがくに、ぶつりがくとすうがくはあまりむずかしいしゅくだいがありません。えいごはぜんぜんしゅくだいがありません。でも、日本ごはたいていとてもむずかしいしゅくだいがたくさんありました。だから、一ばんの日のらいしゅう、がくせいの半分がいました。今、十六人がいます。クラスはとてもむずかしいです。しゅくだいがたくさなりましゅ。私はよく日本ごをべんきょうします。ひまな時がありません。でも、日本ごのクラスはとてもたのしいですよ。私クラスにともだちがいます。私はともだちと時々ニューコムホールでひるごはんを食べます。そこで一しょに日本ごをべんきょうします。私はともだちと二時かんぐらいもはなします。

日本ごのクラスはとてもむずかしいです。私は時々ちょっとクラスがきらいですが、ぜひ、私はクラスがだいすきですよ。日本ごのクラスはとてもおもしろいです。日本ごのクラスもとてもたのしいですよ。

日本ごのクラス

私の日本ごのクラスはむずかしいですよ。だい五かはたくさんがありめん。でも。。。わかりません。たくさんしゅくだいがあります。私はよく日本ごをべんきょうします。ひまな時がありません。私はいいがくせいじゃありませんよ。でも、いいクラスですよ。おもしろいクラスですからサトウせんせいはたのしいです。あの、今私はブログをかいます。私は十時の日本ごのクラスにともだちがたくさんいます。火曜日と木曜日に十一時にニューコムホールへいきます。そこで日本ごをべんきょうします。ひるごはんも食べます。時々日本ごにともだちともはなします。いいじゃありませんよ。日本ごはむずかしいですから。でも、だいじょうぶですよ。

わからん...わたしの一ばんの日本語のブログイントリです。

こんにちは。きょう、あめがたくさんありました。いいじゃありませんでした。いまはごご十時半です。わたしはともだちと八時にサッカーゲームへいきました。でも、あめがありました。だから、たくさん人がありませんでした。ゲームはオーバータイムがありました。二ばんのオーバータイムもありました。でも、わたしはともだちとはやいりょうにかえりました。七-十一もいきました。きょう、わたしは日本語のだい四かのテストがありました。いいじゃありませんでした。わたしはたぶん二時かん半ぐらいとしょかんで日本語をべんきょうしました。でも、すうがくとぶつりがくもいいじゃありません。わたしはバージニアだいがくでたくさんをします。時かんじゃありませんよ。わたしはこばんパーティへいきません。いまブログをかきます。いまとてもねむい。わたしはねます。

バスてい and other crap

UVA/CTS bus system ... stupid .... confusing ... craptastic (I know it's not a real word, but I've always been a fan of portmanteaus). Anyways, today one of the screws in my glasses fell out, and I couldn't find it, rendering them practically useless to me. I used a spare that took me a half hour to find for the day (missed my fist class as a result). I was told by a friend that I should go to the Lenscrafters in Fashion Square to fix them. Needless to say, I accomplished the task at hand, but it took an excessive amount of time, even by excessive standards. The following is a rough itinerary of my day on the wonders of the bus and all of its workings:

(1:00ish) - Depart on Blue Route near O-Hill heading towards Barracks.
(1:30-1:45ish) - Depart from Barracks at CTS bus stop near McDonald's on Route 7
(Around 2:00) - Arrive at destination (Fashion Square)
(2:00-2:45) Wandering around Fashion Square wondering where the hell Lenscrafters is: running back and forth to take a glance at the only mall directory in the whole place. Eventually figured out that it was outside. It's just plain sad to be lost in such a small mall...
(2:45-3:00ish maybe possibly who knows) - Glasses Repairs (cost: $5 for one screw - Goddamn it)
(3:00-5:00) - Took possibly every CTS bus route possible ... 5,3,1,96,84,572, etc... getting off at random stops and becoming really lost ... eventually making my way on Route 7 back to Barracks ... after two whole wasted hours....
(5:00-5:30 - around that time) - Ate (was hungry)
(5:30-6:00ish) Boarded Blue Route in front of McDonald's and headed back towards O-Hill.

So... a day wasted with crappy buses. It could be that the buses and the entire system sucks sucks in general, or it could simply be my overall incompetence, stupidity, and lack of sense of direction (seriously, I could get lost in a box). I would like to think that it's the former, but it's most likely the latter. Possibly it's a combination of the two, but that's a far fetched claim given my ability to navigate anything.


Japanese Section:

Drill #3 was interesting. Once again, I failed to get on the ball and was completely lost in a sea of confusion. So essentially, nothing new. The reporter gimmick was entertaining though. It's like the class is so intense, painful, and yet enjoyable and entertaining at the same time. All in all, at the end of the day, Japanese is learned. Ideas and concepts are still fuzzy around the edges, but I know that they'll come along eventually. Despite how much I hate Drills as I know that if I get called on that I'll just freeze up and blurt out incorrect crap as I have no idea what I'm doing (sometimes I do - once in a blue moon). The extra Chapter 4 review session was extremely useful, but this chapter is so intense to the point that even though this particular session was longer (compared to Chapter 3), I felt that unlike last time, while I learned new things and had some other things cleared up, the basic result was me feeling stupid and realizing how much I didn't know. It contained many answers, but left far many more questions. However, I am grateful that I went as every little bit of help is useful... and that session was surely useful.


If you're still reading this...wow, there's something wrong with you. No one in his or her right mind would read this ramble/rant. Anyways, what makes a good blog.... Essentially, the exact polar opposite of this. A good blog would be able to keep the readers' attention (short and cohesive), unlike my long-winded passively structured ranting format. Since it is a Japanese class blog, usage of Japanese would make the blog better... notice my lack of it. So, in conclusion: good blog = opposite of my blog. Well, that's about it.

Stressful week over... and a new one to soon begin

Coming back from Fall Break and doing all of this college crap that I had neglected to do made this week more stressful than ever, although the break was a nice change of pace. I had an English research paper to start and complete is one day (I knew about it for about two weeks though), an impossible physics assignment due (had 10 days - but really, it was impossible), a massive amount of math homework and a quiz to study for (had about a week to do all of that) and a Japanese skit to prepare, and a Japanese test to prepare for. And all of this fun happened in the course of ... three days. I also have to lead a discussion on two case study things for English on Monday. Today, I also found out that there's a Physics midterm on Monday... and the thing was, I wasn't even planning on going to class on Monday. I guess I am now. Perhaps I should pay more attention to the syllabus. Oh well. Life royally sucks.
Anyways, in relation to Japanese, I felt confident in Chapter 3 materials, and I think that I did well on the test. Nevertheless, I feel a B coming along only because I know that I most likely screwed up somewhere along the line. Even if I have full confidence in my ability (which I don't), somehow, I know that I'll still screw up. That's just how things are. So there's this Chapter 4 grammar sheet thingy to do as well... and that always takes forever. I know that I'll get killed in the drills coming up next week, as my usual response is either a) nothing or b) huh?. I think that I'll take a friend's advice and try to do the Mallard exercises earlier so that I'm not completely lost. What's the worst that can happen?

Back home... (I'll fit in Japanese somehow)

At this point, I feel as if I may have enough knowledge to maybe perhaps type up a blog entry in Japanese. However, since this is due by the end of today and I'm really tired, I'll forgo that plan this week and continue once again in English. Well, today I went back home for fall break. The ride was long as we literally parked the car in the middle of the highway before the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel. It was heavily congested, it took about forty minutes to even start moving again after we stopped. I feel bad for saying this, but at least five people better have died in that accident to have made me wait that long. Then again, what can one possibly do? I went to my high school's homecoming came, only to come to the realization that high school, in terms of sports at least, pales in comparison to college (and we lost too). Anyways, onward to Japanese...
First things first: Mallard sucks. It seems to be VERY picky with answers, and it no margin for error. It even says that a correct answer is incorrect, and that is very interesting to me. Other than that, chapter 3 is coming along swimmingly. Everything so far seems to be going okay. All in all, I am more confident with Chapter 3 than Chapter 2. The only thing that I honestly don't like is Mallard. Mallard doesn't like me, and I don't like it. It takes so long to do it "correctly" (and by that, I mean it's way). I often believed that the program was busted, and it very well may be, but I eventually got a 100% on everything, albeit after many, many submissions.

I'm sleepy

Well, I just got back from the VA Tech and UVA soccer game, and I almost forgot about this blog thingy. The game ended in a 1-1 tie, but it was intense, and I don't even know all of the rules of soccer. I've realized though that although the Blue Route is correct to get back from Klockner to O-Hill, one bus goes all the way to Barracks, tracks back to the stadium, then progresses to O-Hill in a timely fashion of approximately 35 minutes, while the other Blue Route bus directly goes back to Grounds. Anyways, now I'm too tired to go partying, although the time is prime as the football game is not at noon this time. Anyways to the actual Japanese portion of this entry... Today, I completely bombed the vocab quiz, leaving blanks and making stuff up, but on my own fault. I neglected to study for it as much as I normally would do, opting to prepare more for Physics and Multivar Calculus after completely failing (not really, but I didn't do well) on the tests. I do like Physic's 25 point grading scale though (i.e.: 75 = A-, 50=B-, etc.). In the end, I figured that quizzes and tests were not commonplace in those classes, so sacrificing one Japanese quiz was justified. I will, however, try to study more Japanese over the weekend so as to not fall behind. I did go to the Chapter 3 review session, and I found it extremely useful. It really helped me with word order (and how to arrange a sentence in such a way to emphasize certain points) and particle usage. It also broke down the differences between "iku" and "kuru" really well. At this point, I feel more comfortable with Chapter 3, despite a stumbling start on the quiz. Perhaps the misfortune that was Chapter 2 will not repeat itself. Nevertheless, I am still enjoying Japanese class, and I am especially looking forward to this weekend. Well, it's still early... perhaps I will go out.

Japanese....is so fun...

Seriously, I have full intention of typing a Japanese entry one day...that is to say once I feel as if I know enough material to do so. Anyways, Japanese class has been interesting to say the least. The amount of work and preparation required continues to pile up as its magnitude escalates. It also seems to be getting more intense, confusing, and just plain hard overall. I just seem to have a penchant for failing, or at least not succeeding well. It would seem as if it is almost a physical impossibility to excel without prior exposure to the language, which I lack yet about half or more of the class has. As the class has progressed, I seem to be spending more and more time on Japanese, and the work is simply completely disproportional to any other class (although Multivariable Calculus is somewhere up there as well, but still not as much). The effort that is put through, however, is not exactly translated to success. There just seems to always be something wrong. At this point, I can either just stop trying or try to the point of exhaustion. Neither are good, but the status quo isn't too hot as well. I guess that only time will tell.... (But the class is still nevertheless fun and enjoyable, albeit intense with a lot of other stuff)

First Blog Post

I have never blogged before, and I never thought that I would have, but I guess that now is as good a time as any. Anyways, I'm currently a 1st Year student at the University of Virginia taking First Year Japanese. I must say that the magnitude of work in that class is extreme, although it is manageable. It certainly does exceed all of the work in all of my other classes (ENWR 110, PHYS 151, and MATH 231) combined, however. Nevertheless, it is definitely worthwhile (besides, it is too late to drop now jk), and hopefully, it will be rewarding. It is hard work, but I don't seriously mind although I do sometimes wish that there was less. Some days are better than others though, so I guess it evens out. Overall, though, I must say that Japanese is my most enriching class thus far, and it can be fun sometimes once one searches past all of the work, but the class just seems to move at a brisk lightning-fast pace. So today I went to the East Asian Major/Minor session thingy, and it was interesting, albeit short. I mean, it was good, although I did think that Wilson-san was a little soft-spoken. Even so, it was very informative. Umm, what else is there to say? Well.... can't think of anything. Oh well. I guess that means that I'm done then.