Picture 1

Look at all 5 photos. With a partner, discuss the following:
Where is/are (s)he/ they? What is/are (s)he/ they doing? Why? How does/do (s)he/ they feel? What happened before the photo was taken? What will happen after this?

Please explain in your next post about what is happening in a photo, and what were the causes that created this effect. If you can only write a small amount on one photo, choose two or three.

Resolutions

The end of the year is nearly here already, and we're all starting to think about the winter break. Some of you will be looking forward to a "romantic" Christmas, others will be having fun with friends. Both sound fine to me. Of course Christmas has nothing to do with romance in Western countries...it's a family time, more like O-shogatsu here.


As the new year approaches, it's also a traditional custom to take stock of yourself
(= think about how you are now, what you would like to change). People make new year's resolutions (things they promise themselves they will change, e.g. some bad habits or weak points of their character). My resolution is to eat more pizza and drink more beer, because I didn't have enough in 2011 (ha ha).

How about you? Do you have any regrets about 2011? What would you like to change for 2012?

Something new

As a university student, this is the best time for you to have a variety of experiences, right? When was the last time you tried something new (did something for the first time)?

During our trip to Hokkaido in the summer, my wife and I went to the horse races, not for the first time, but the second time for me, and the third time for her. It had been 25 years since my first time, so it felt like a new experience. If you've never been, you might enjoy trying it once if you go to a place with pleasant facilities like this one (in Hakodate). We could sit on the grass, see the horses as they walked around before the start of the races, and have some small bets just for fun.

What would you like to try for the first time, as soon as possible? If you have no definite idea, just write about a couple of things you think you MIGHT enjoy trying (not "challenging"...Japanaese English).

Foreign places

In an OC class we recently talked about foreign places. Can you guess where these photos were taken? I've been to some of them.

1. Which of these places would you most like to see?
2. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go, and what would you do there?
3. What foreign news stories have you seen on TV or read about recently? What comment do you have about those stories?

Yoyogi

Last weekend I went to Tokyo for a teacher's conference. There were many interesting talks about teaching ideas etc, and I caught up with several people I've worked with before at other universities (+ Paul from KGU, and his wife). It was good to see everyone after a long time. On Saturday night some of us went out in Shinjuku, and ended up at a karaoke place. It's a long time since I last went to karaoke, as I'm a fairly poor singer. My throat was sore on Sunday, but it was fun. When was the last time you visited Tokyo?

The conference was held at the old Olympic venue in Yoyogi. I didn't have time to walk around much this time, although when I used to live in Tokyo I'd sometimes see sights like this in Yoyogi Park. What do you think of this fashion? I can't explain it or imagine what they are thinking when they wear these clothes. Do you have any idea?

Autumn

Temperatures are dropping, so autumn is really here now. We've started eating hot pot (nabe) at home already. What have you been doing lately? Did you go to the school festival?

Do you have any plans to go and check out the autumn leaves? I'm going to for a walk with my family on the 26th, although I expect next weekend (the 19th and 20th) to be the best time (I have to go to Tokyo for a teacher's conference). If you want to see some good autumn scenes, one of my favorite places is Tofuku-ji temple in Kyoto. I'd recommend you see it sometime. This photo is one of the most famous views. Have you been there?

J-universities

Academics, both Japanese and foreign, often complain about the overall standard of Japanese universities. They describe the situation as one where students are not motivated to study because they know that future employers will judge them by the name of the university they graduate from, not the grades they get.

For a long time there has been an acceptance in Japan that university is a time for students to relax after "exam hell", and that everyone will graduate regardless of how much study they do, or how poor their results.

One foreign professor recently suggested that students who perform badly should fail/ not be allowed to graduate (the same as everywhere else in the world).
What do you think of this idea? How do you feel about the Japanese university system as it is now?