Can anyone remind me precisely why I am here?
Tohoku have told me that to satisfy their requirements of being an exchange student, I need to ATTEND a majority of the classes I choose to enrol in. Precisely how many classes I enrol in is completely up to me; I can go to one hour a week and listen to some old japanese lecturer waffle on about Portuguese Ship-Building techniques, or I can go to thirty hours of class a week and study everything from Kanji to astrophysics to penguin breeding cycles. It doesnt matter how many classes I enrol in, provided I attend more than 50% of all of them.
My assessment is purely attendance - I have to do none of the readings, none of the homework, none of the assignments, none of the exams. If I am physically in the classroom for over 50% of the classes, I pass.
I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could, say, tell Tohoku I wanted to enrol in one or two classes here to satisfy the Year In Japan agreement, and then do a couple of extra classes where I actually participate and take exams and the works, and credit that study towards my degree at ANU.
ANU won't let me. They tell me that regardless of how many extra classes I take, they can only count toward Year In Japan. Its a financial reason too: if I took a class over here, it would mean I would not take the same class when I get back to Canberra, and that would mean that ANU misses out on its $300 it gets from me enrolling over there.
So, I tried to see what was available for me to do correspondence from ANU, actually enrolling in a course or two at ANU this year, just completing the work via correspondence and WebCT, ANU's internet course setup.
No, that's impossible too, because there are no courses that can be completed by correspondence.
Therefore, I can conclude that I am totally wasting my time being here. I could actually work as hard as I could all year, taking an equivalent full load or more to what I would do at ANU, study late every night and get high distinctions in all my classes, OR, I could enrol in one or two classes, actually turn up for a little over half of them, sit at the back and read a magazine and never submit a single piece of assessment.
It doesnt matter which way I choose, because at the end of the year it will make absolutely no difference whatsoever.
Apparently, the sheer fact that I am in Japan is supposed to be reason enough why I am here.
Why am I here? No, no idea. It seemed like a good idea back when I applied.
Am I here to improve my understanding of the Japanese language? Um, no, I'm not. I've already got JLPT certification, and though it would be better to have Level One, Ive got level Two which is plenty. Who knows, I might take the level one test later in the year if I think theres any chance of passing it.
The only possible path I can think of now that having Japanese ability might be an advantage in is DFAT, but that would only be if I attempted to apply for a position like Translator or Interpreter... any other job through them they specifically say that its not considered. So, no, I'm not here to improve my Japanese.
Am I here to learn about Japanese culture? Hah... no. Did that last time. I guess it sounds really ethnocentric saying that, but I already realise that in Japan people take their shoes off a lot, eat with chopsticks, and bow to each other. Great. Understood. Can I go now? Sure, the traditional tea ceremony is a ritual steeped in history and formalities stretched out to excruiciatingly long times, appreciating the very bowl you drink from, choking down mouldy beans, and expressing a great understanding of the natural world and cleansing your soul... does it make me less of a person though that when I want a cup of tea I use a tea bag?
If I had something worthwhile to actually do while here, it would be bearable. More to the point, if I was actually able to do anything at all towards my degree at ANU and getting that finished, then it would be worthwhile. I can't see anything worthwhile at the moment though.
Why on earth they insist on sending me TWO MONTHS before the university is going to accept me, I am at a loss to explain. They say its because of the scholarship. If thats true, then the scholarship process needs serious and immediate reform... Spending two months with nothing whatsoever to do is worse than with virtually nothing to do. I think I'm supposed to be eternally grateful for the fact that I am actually in Japan - the fact that I have NOTHING to do (they had the cheek to tell me to go stay with relatives in Sendai) escapes them. Im trying as hard as I can to actually do something, anything, productive... but productive at this stage means 'towards my degree'. No chance of actually doing that though....
I'm going to bed... then when I wake up it will be a whole day closer to when I get to leave.
Can anyone remind me precisely why I am here?
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