Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Su Ta Dii

Hey hope y'all are studying hard for tomorrow's test. Ek, I just know that the katakana part is going to terminate me. So I decided to write my blog early because of I thought of something that was worth mentioning. We all know that we work freakishly hard for this class like we sold our souls or something. (just kidding!) But you know, our teacher does too. On Friday night, I was passing through the basement of cabel because I was at a Hindu Student Council seminar on "balanced living". It finished at 7pm, and guess who was still working in her office at that time? Ja ja, you guessed it! Satosensee. So, ya, I just thought I'd throw that out there. Ek, if someone has some magic trick to getting katakana transcriptions correct, let me know.

peace,
vero

Thursday, September 20, 2007

watashi no fu-ra-su-to-re-sshon

Hey y'all,

I'm in lab right now, waiting for some RNA samples to incubate. Exciting eh? And for downtime I'm doing more hw! Luckily, this is an assignment that allows me to vent my frustration. I'm exhausted from all of my classes this week. I'm just about to keel over from E-KU-SO-TO-A-SSHON (exhaustion). haha, that was my transcription from english to katakana. I think I probably did that wrong. Does anyone have any suggestions how to stay awake during the day? I think I'm going to start trying coffee.

Let's see .... This week has been very busy eh? 4 quizzes in the past 4 days and tomorrow us troopers will have had 5 quizzes in 5 days. whoa! And I find katakana especially difficult because a lot of the characters look alike. Look at the katakana ku, fu, ta, wa, wo. They are pretty much the same character! But I think what keeps me going is how much I want to learn Japanese. And I'm really glad that I'm taking this class because it's confirmed something that I've only recently realized. It might be obvious to the rest of you, but learning about something you're really excited about really change the rate that you learn things. I'll admit that I'm learning some things that I don't really have a passion for. So I forget why I'm learning about a topic and what is the importance/application of it to the real world (I'm doing engineering). Then everything sort of becomes a blur to me and this is not good. But with Japanese there is a reason for me to learn it. Because I like it so much, I think about it when I am not in the class. I don't force myself to do it, I just do it. Well, not all of the time. And I think that helps me. I find that when I look at something once I can almost assure you that I won't memorize it all such as a bunch of katakana characters. I have to see it again before I can actually memorize it. See, this is why I can never do anything last minute. When I do, I don't have enough time to memorize it. Anyway, let me know what you're best study tips are or what your passion is. I'd love to know.

peacing out,
Vero

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Konnichiwa

Hello friends,

When I first walked into the Japanese 101 class, I sort of felt like a grannie. I thought, I'm a third year starting a 101 class! But I quickly got over it, because I know that everyone is always going to be inexperienced at something and I'm a huge advocate of trying new things. Maybe next time when I try something new it'll be like playing bridge with real grannies. That way I won't feel so old. ;P ... But golly gee, this is a tough class. I had no idea about the pace that we're learning things. I know that if I didn't have any exposure to the language, I'd probably be crying in the back of the room or spinning in circles because I'd be so confused. Actually, I wouldn't cry because I'm a big girl now, but I'd be very overwhelmed. So I'm really impressed and proud of the students that are sticking with this class. I can tell some of them have had experience with Japanese and I think that's why the class can go the pace that it is going. But for students that haven't had the exposure, I give u props. And don't ever hesitate to ask questions in class or be afraid of making mistakes. I think it's very noble to be fearless in that respect. I guess I'm lucky because I'm half Japanese and so I've been exposed to the language. However, my mom and I never spoke Japanese to each other. I mean, sometimes we would try and then she would say something like "hetakuso", which I think means something like "pathetic". Don't worry, she said it in a joking tone (I think =P). But I think that exposure has helped me in class. And because my mom is Japanese sometimes we would watch Japanese cartoons. Like this one called AnPanMan, who is a superhero who's head is made of bread with a red bean paste center. And when he finds someone who is in need of his help and probably suffering from a growling stomach, he breaks a piece of his head off and gives it to that person. But this decreases his superstrength. I'd get more into it, but perhaps my entry should be more relevant to the Japanese class or me.

Just to break it down for you all... a little bit more about me (cause it's very hard to get to know people during class): I'm a biomedical engineering major, with a keen interest in international development. I like dancing crazily, and singing so loud that my throat is sore the next day. I just joined the Wushu club, which I love love love. I have a smart sister in my class. Don't believe her if she denies we're related.

Well, I hope that this blog helps me to flesh out my hopes and dreams. Until next time. Ja mata.

Vero