Since I know everyone is dying to know more about what kind of system HAL uses for academics, this post will be devoted to talking about the basics of my academic life as a first year student. It should be noted that while the general process is the same from year to year, the specifics such as classes and even class groupings can change year to year as the staff at HAL tweak it in order to help give students the best educational experience possible. (more…)
No, I’m not dead, just really, really busy. I have a few posts in the works, and intend on creating a FAQ to help answer the questions asked. Until then, please bear with me as I try to juggle school work and my other obligations!
Compared to most American and Canadian guys, who at most go for an occasional hug (excuse me, a “manly pat on the back”), Japanese guys touch each other a lot. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen my classmates reach out and casually touch the person they’re talking to; a pat on the arm or knee, clasp the other person’s shoulder, etc.
The stereotype about Japan is that it’s very repressed. While there are aspects of the culture that qualify, my experience of casual touching (often called “skinship”*), which has been reinforced by watching my classmates interact with each other, is not only viewed as natural, but also seen as an integral component to friendship bonding.
I have a few theories as to why the difference between the cultures exists, but that’s a subject for another day (and another blog).
* Note: “Skinship” does not have the sexual connotations that it might imply to a native English speaker. It originates with the physical bonding that happens between a mother and a small child and has branched out to be a general term for friendship bonding via casual touching.
So, my teacher came up to me and my classmate during one of our breaks today. My immediate reaction was, of course, “Oh, crap, what the hell did I do?” But it turns out that I wasn’t in trouble, but rather that he wanted us to help out with something having to do with class assignments.
Oh yeah, did I mention that the closest I ever came to being all gung-ho about helping out with school was when I joined the prom committee in the 8th grade because the vice principal looked so forlorn that no one was joining? There have been times when I’ve thought, “Maybe I should get more involved with the school,” but ultimately I haven’t.
Now I’ve been drafted into it. I wonder what my teacher thought when I gave him my Look of Horror. But, yeah, so whenever students have assignments due, we get to get up at the end of class, collect them, then go down to the office, mark down anyone who didn’t turn one in, then place the stack on my teacher’s desk. This also means that every Friday I will have to stay late after school.
Oh well, at least it gives me more time to hang out with my classmates (one of whom I’m already friendly with, and the other of whom I now have a chance to be friendly with).
Today, when talking about the history of video games my teacher mentioned that 1987 was when he first bought the Famicon (ie. NES). Then he asked all of the students who hadn’t been born yet to raise their hands. 90% of the class did.
The NES was my first console. Ever. I’m old enough to have played games on my friend’s Atari. Heck, I remember when hard drives were measured in megabytes. My computer back in the States has an old 3.6 gig HD in it and I remember when I was excited because of how big that was.
25 isn’t that old. Really. But thinking about how my real experience is simply “history” to my classmates sure makes me feel old.
