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Thursday, 18 October 2012
Well, orientation at Ritsumeikan lasts about a week or so, just before classes start. It was basically loads of information sessions about various things (getting a bank, handling finance, living in Japan, culture shock, etc) and then tests to determine (if you are an intensive language track student in SKP, that is) which level of class you are most suited to for the first semester.
We met our SKP buddies, really nice people, and they took us down to the local ward office so we could get our addresses registered and apply for health insurance. This was kind of confusing, all I remember was filling out tons of paperwork, being daunted by the lady's really fast Japanese, and paying lots of money, haha. You can pay your health insurance all in one or you can pay it monthly or whatever works for you, I think. I just paid mine there and then, less hassle since I had the money. Back then it was still really humid and hot, so I remember the office's copious use of aircon to be a welcome surprise!
As for class placement, the reading test was probably the easiest for me, since my strength is kanji...I'm pretty poor at everything else. There wasn't much in the way of writing, I don't think, which surprised me. The test was largely multiple choice. I felt awful about the listening and Japanese interview, but I don't think I was prepared for the amount of listening and speaking that Rits' IJL track offers, haha. I was put into C2, which is roughly in the middle of the class level spectrum. Been quite happy with that, I haven't had many problems besides my poor speaking skills in my classes, and I feel like I am learning a lot. Be prepared for classes to be crazily fast-paced though, as in my class we can go through as many as five grammar points per day. I have heard that classes above B level don't do any grammar whatsoever though, so it might depend on your level.
Classes are an hour and a half long, organised into periods:
Period 1, 09:00 -10:30
Period 2, 10:40 - 12:10
Lunch Period, 12:10 -13:00
| Period 3, | 13:00 – 14:30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period 4, | 14:40 – 16:10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period 5, | 16:20 – 17:50 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period 6, | 18:00 – 19:30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Period 7, | 19:40 – 21:10 |
I have Japanese general class every weekday. We go over grammar items, kanji compounds, reading comprehension, etc. It's quite varied. I have two speaking and listening classes a week, where we go over grammar items in context through skits on CD, practise our Japanese pronunciation, and practise speaking them through prompts and group work. On wednesday I have writing class, which has so far been about writing letters and compositions and so on. On three days a week I have two classes back to back starting at 9am, which is a bit of a pain in the ass but it does mean I get the rest of the day to do what I want.
I've been told by my friends from other classes that their schedule is really test and homework heavy, but mine hasn't been too bad so far. I would like more homework, if I'm honest, because I study better with assigned work. My teachers are all really nice and great at teaching, but they are also quick to get you involved in class. Sometimes they will ask for volunteers to answer questions, but most of the time they will pick people to read example sentences, give their answers, ask them to explain the meanings of kanji compounds or vocabulary and so on. In all of my classes I have barely heard any English and I'm slowly becoming accustomed to speaking and hearing Japanese for a prolonged period of time. It's awesome and a great way to become comfortable with Japanese. I just hope my speaking gets better so I can do more than give my teacher blank looks as I try and think of what to say...
For those interested in clubs and circles, I would advise you stay away from them until you are properly settled in class and can handle the workload with no problems! I say this because I have seen people get really bogged down with club activities and miss lots of classes (attendance is strictly monitored at Rits, if you are absent more than five times a semester you automatically fail, I was told) which is no fault of their own, but it put them in a really awful situation when it came to tests and homework. You probably know how hardcore the uni clubs are, but yeah...be careful about how much you're taking on. Don't study too much either though! All in moderation, y'know?
Anyway I'd like to update soon about things you can do and see in Kyoto, so hopefully when I have time again I'll do that. But for now, I have a test to