Hello, sorry it has been a while since I posted, my classes and coursework have been keeping me very busy. I'm going to talk about Ritsumeikan University, how my classes are going, and other events that have happened.
立命館大学（Ritsumeikan University)
After not being in school for over five months, adjusting back into a academic routine has been a little difficult. I'm taking six classes:
Japanese 2 (comprehensive)- 5 times a week
Japanese 2 (writing)- 1 time a week
Gender Studies- 1 time a week
Security Studies- 1 time a week
Japan and the West- 1 time a week
Introductory to Research Seminar- 1 time a week
My hardest class by far has been Japanese. We move at a very fast pace, with a structure that requires quizzes on vocab every 3 days (with 30 new words to memorize or more). My Japanese professors do not speak English, so the entire class is taught in Japanese.
Differences in classes at American University vs. Ritsumeikan University
At Ritsumeikan, and most Japanese universities classes are worth 2 credit hours rather than 3, (excluding language classes). Furthermore, I've noticed that classes here are much more lecture based than AU was. I do not have lectures for every single class, but about half of them are 90% the teacher talking at you.
In terms of school atmosphere and life, RU and AU have very different vibes. Almost no one goes to sports games at AU, while RU has baseball games with loyal fan sections, cheerleaders, chants, and really great energy. AU has way more school merch, and more action happening on campus not related to school. AU had tables with different clubs or events almost every day, a protest about once a week, and different school-sponsored events and food on the quad a couple times a month. However, Ritsumeikan has a school song, and cheerleaders, which AU doesn't have. RU's club's do not advertise what they are doing all the time, which makes joining them and getting into contact with members much harder here. While I would argue that Basketball and Volleyball are the most popular sports to watch at AU by the student body, at RU, baseball is the main sport that people watch.
Here is a video from a pep-rally (idk what Japanese people call it but that is what it felt like) promoting a baseball game against RU's rival school.
And, here is a video from the actual baseball game, and a picture of me in the stands
The main difference is the separation between school and home life. At AU I was living in the middle of campus in school dorms. Ritsumeikan doesn't have school dorms (I don't think school provided housing is very common in Japan), so most students have apartments near campus, or commute from home. It kind of feels like Ritsumeikan is my work, and then I go home to my dorm and that is my home life. The only thing that is keeping me tied to Ritsumeikan beyond school is the club I joined which I will talk about in the next part.
Here is a day in the life video I made and posted to Tik Tok: It gives you guys a little sneak peak into what daily life in Japan is like (I had to copy and paste the link because the video was too big to upload here) Please let me know if you can't access it
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14DVBh7PXjiFEXUcqCZwz8x4jg7JpljiX/view?usp=sharing
Pottery Club
In a recent development, I have decided to join the Pottery club at RU. I have absolutely no prior experience in pottery (unless you count elementary school art class), however I thought it would be fun, and that I wouldn't need to be able to understand a lot of complex Japanese to make some pottery.
The first day I was paired up with a pottery club member who could speak ok english, and he is kind of like my teacher in simple pottery techniques until I can start making things on my own. I'm really grateful for pottery club because it allows me to make friends with Japanese people and get a chance to practice Japanese. My international dorm is like a little bubble in Japan, where English is the primary language, so if I were to spend all my time in the dorms, my immersion into the language and culture wouldn't be as intense or impactful.
Here is a picture of me with one of the first pots I made.
A trip to the hospital!
Unfortunately, a couple weeks ago I had to go to the hospital, due to the crazy amount of walking I was doing (in not very supportive shoes) while exploring Kyoto, I got a pretty bad ingrown toe nail that was so painful I couldn't sleep through the night. I brought my amazing friend Ruby with me, expecting it to be a quick trip to a clinic.
Unfortunately, the clinic couldn't help me with my foot, and as Ruby and I looked like completely confused foreigners loitering around the first clinic trying to figure out what to do, a little old lady named Yuki asked if we needed help. She told us that she studied abroad in the United States her senior year of highschool, so she had some english language skills. She walked us over to another clinic across the street and translated my situation to the doctors there. When they also said they couldn't help us, I expected her to say "I'm so sorry", and leave, but instead she marched us over to a bus stop, and rode with Ruby and I to the hospital. She walked us into the hospital, explained to the front desk people what was happening.
She translated and helped me fill out all of my medical paperwork required to see a doctor, (which without her would have taken like four hours), and then sat down with us while we waited for the doctor. While we were waiting she told us that they way people in the U.S. would remember her name, Yuki, was by associating it with President Johnson's dog named Yuki at that time. Yes, Lyndon B. Johnson was the president when she studied abroad in the U.S. When our names were called she went into the doctors office with me and translated for me while the doctor examined my foot. I was prescribed some antibiotics, thanked Yuki profusely, and was able to make my Japanese class later that day.
Last week, I was finally able to properly thank Yuki. We met at a cafe and I treated her to lunch. She and I spoke in Japanglish (Japanese-English) this time, and it was a very pleasant lunch. She is genuinely the sweetest human being ever, and gave me a bag of hodge-podge cooking ingredients at the end because she remembered that I told her I didn't know how to cook but wanted to learn. She went through each of the ingredients that she put together with me and explained how to make different things with them. We are planning on meeting up again sometime in the future as well.
Other photos that I wanted to include!
a polaroid of my friend and I doing karaoke
Ruby and I trying on Hakamas (a traditional dress Japanese women wear when they graduate college)
