The Start of the Semester is Always Crazy

This morning I went to Ritsumeikan to take my placement test. When I arrived, I got the most "interesting" piece of information:

Even if I place into either of the two highest levels, I can't take the class because it is full since I am not an SKP student.

Bah is all I have to say to that. I deliberately tried to do a little bad so I can at least get into the Intermediate course, and we shall see what happens.

After the test, I decided to go to the Department of Letters to let them know that "Yes, I am here, can I have my ID please?" I had a photo with me already for the ID so I didn't waste time with that; the secretary was a bit confused, but another man looked in a file and said my name (with the accent but said it nonetheless) and I confirmed it. So I filled out a little form and will get my ID next Friday. I then asked about the course catalog - she only gave me the grad student catalog (I wonder if my ID will say "Grad Student" as opposed to "Research Student"? The benefits in Japan go with the actual college and grad students, research students get jack.). It took me a while to figure that out because one of the classes that my sensei advised in me taking was an undergrad; when I went back to the office to ask for it, the secretary kinda looked at me funny and I had to explain that "Yes, I understand that I am a daigaku-in-sei, but my advisor recommended one of the undergraduate courses to me." So she told me where to go, I got my course catalogs for both, and then I will register on Tuesday, after emailing my sensei tomorrow (yah it's a Saturday but I am procrastinating and I have his personal email address). I have to register at the International Students office, not at the Graduate School of Letters - I think. Different people tell me different things. I have the Miyako Odori (geisha dances) on Monday and one of the classes that my sensei recommended is on Monday, but I don't want to take that class, unless he mentions that I really should take it, since I did send him that email (in English, but we always communicate in English, and for the start of the semester, I will do that for now).

I was walking to the East Gate exit after the craziness of the Dept. of Letters office - I get really hot and sweaty when I ride my bike to Ritsumeikan so I am going to take the bus from now on - and I saw a girl setting up two kotos, and a sign saying 邦楽部(hogakubu) which is Japanese for "Classical Music Club." It is the start of the new school year and everyone is clamoring for everyone else to join their clubs. I was on the fence for joining a club or not because I was worried if it would conflict with the time; after speaking with the girl and playing for her the opening bars of "Sakura, Sakura" I told her that I had to leave, but I gave her my name and email, and she told me when and where the club meets. It sort of conflicts with the graduate seminar that my sensei is teaching on Thursdays but she told me that it's ok, just come when you can.

So that is really cool - I *think* I just joined a club and the girl was really nice too! She was surprised/happy to see that I could play the beginning of "Sakura, Sakura" from memory.

So to continue the saga of me and Japanese language classes: Colleen had said that I can try to continue to take classes at Kyodai but I wasn't so sure, when I got back to Kyodai for lunch with Colleen, I met up with some other Monbusho friends and they told me that yeah I can still take them. So - turns out I can take the classes at Kyodai, and I think that is what I am going to do; I don;t have to commute to Ritsumeikan everyday (instead, it would be twice a week, and the days I have class are even the days that the club meets so I save bus money and everything coincides nicely) and the classes are more to my level and more intensive I think, even though they aren't that great. It's better than nothing and it's close by to me so I don't have to go cuckoo, really. So, even if I place into the Intermediate, I am going to see where I place with the Kyodai classes, and if I get into Intermediate II, then I will take the Kyodai classes. So I am definitely going to review some of my Japanese stuff this week.

I asked the language director about all this, and she said I can take it for one more semester, even though I am a Ritsumeikan student. One of my friends said that that's ok because in my final semester, I want to focus a lot on my research. And...

next fall, it is 90% sure that I am going to be the TA for Prof. S's class on Kyoto's history at the KCJS program!

There was a lecture this past Wednesday at the J-Pod where KCJS usually has their lectures; I go because they are interesting, its close by and something to do. While I was there, I met Prof. B. from Berkeley; I had read her book for my research (and had to do a book review on it for my "East Asian Cities" class) and frankly, it was like meeting a celebrity, especially since I didn't go to the big-time schools with the well-known Japanese history profs that wrote millions of books and are cited all the time. I know I am a geek.

After the lecture, I approached Prof. S. because I had just received the academic calendar from Rits and I wanted to let him know that I will be back home during the first half of (the Japanese) summer vacation and wanted to find out if there was anything that needed to be done beforehand. For awhile, I kinda felt that he probably thought I was some annoying pest trying to break into the ivory tower, but his face really lit up when I mentioned it to him and even motioned to Prof B. "Did you meet Maria? She is going to be my T.A. next fall...". Prof. B. did acknowledge that she had met me - she recruited Colleen and I to help set up the chairs for the lecture in the J-Pod and I sat next to her during the lecture and spoke shortly about my research and what I am doing here and what I plan to do after my scholarship.

Ok, so maybe I am not (that much of) a pest. But I kinda wanted to remind him that I was still interested in helping with the course(was I right in doing that?) and since I wasn't sure if there were any other lectures after this weeks, I didn't really want to approach the subject via email. The course would also be good for me since I can get some ideas/feedback, and in the course of preparing for the classes, I do some research/thinking/writing at the same time.