Next Essay

You are in groups for the planning stage. Just to be sure you understand what to do, here is the "plan" again:

1. Group members should agree on their opinion about their topic, and what you what to say (this will become the thesis statement). After you've decided a thesis statement, work together to think of good ideas for the hook, the 3 main ideas for paragraphs (including topic sentences), and an idea for the counter argument and refutation. In other words, you make an essay outline together.

2. After making the outline, students have to write the rest of the essay themselves. No essays should be exactly the same!!

3. You need to find material on the Internet that supports your ideas. Group members can share useful information, websites etc with each other as they find them.

Pace of Life

In your OC class you have recently seen (or will soon see) a lecture about the pace of life. Japan is classed as a country which generally has a fast pace of life. Many people here often have to be in a hurry, and have many commitments (things they have to do). How do you feel about the pace of your life now? Do you feel too busy, or just about right?

Depending on the type of work, many people with jobs may feel their lives are busier than those of students. That may sound scary, but luckily humans are very adaptable (we can change ourselves to fit in with our situation). What kind of lifestyle do you think will suit you after you graduate from university?

No matter how adaptable we are, everyone feels stress sometimes. What do you do to relax if you feel stressed? Write about it, in detail, please.

Golden Week

Did you do anything over Golden Week? I know it was short, but I guess you did something. I went to "Takatsuki Jazz Street", even though I had a cold, because it's the only time during the year that anything remarkable happens in Takatsuki (where I live). It's two days & nights (May 3 & 4) of fine music (not only jazz) in 40 or more venues, indoors and outdoors in a small, central area of town. There was a party atmosphere in the streets, which were full of people walking around drinking and laughing.

I met some friends from Kyoto, and we visited many bars and clubs and listened to various bands. Often we just stood outside, because one friend uses a wheelchair. That wasn't a problem though, because it was often very crowded inside, and we could hear the music from outside anyway.