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Bryan'S JOURNAL May 2005 I have just finished the first month of official classes at Waseda, and wow, is it different! I chose to study at Waseda because I wanted a new experience. This way I will have enjoyed the benefits of studying at a small liberal arts college, CC, and gained some idea of college life in the big city. Well, living in one of Japan’s largest cities, studying at one of its largest universities (45,000 students compared to less than 2,000 at CC), I’m definitely getting the BIG picture! Of course there is always something exciting going on in Tokyo. There are several circles to get involved with, based on literally thousands of different interests. I have met many fun people! I am always out somewhere, with anyone willing to join me, doing something; finding a friend and/or classmate to tag along is a simple task. I’m having a love affair with Japan, but my course schedule is disrupting the relationship. I came to Japan for academic reasons, but absorbing the culture, developing new ideas and gaining new perspectives outside of class are also goals for studying abroad.
What’s more, I have at least six hours of class a day, plus an hour commute to and from my home stay. (One good thing about the commute is that I can use note cards to study on the train when it’s crowded in the morning, and do homework in the evening when the train is less crowded.) That’s eight hours of my day—it’s like a full time job! I feel like I hardly have time to do anything, well, everything, I want. I get home around 8:00 p.m., just in time for dinner. I have enough energy to do at least two hours of homework, and then I fall asleep watching TV with my host family. I do enjoy having class for only an hour and a half on Fridays, though. Even so, I MISS THE BLOCK PLAN! The Block Plan allows ample time to focus on academics without having to sacrifice the ability to LIVE a little. At CC I have the opportunity to take part in several groups and organizations both on and off campus, such as the Black Student Union and Fox Meadows Mentoring Program, or attend events that interest me. With my schedule at Waseda, besides volunteering to teach English to a group of disabled Japanese of varying ages, I haven’t been able to commit to any circles. In fact, I’ve had to pass on a few social outings. Don’t get me wrong, nothing keeps me from having my fun. I enjoy spontaneity and like being able to just go out and do something. It’s important I have the ability to do the things I enjoy, like going to a museum opening, John Legend or Destiny’s Child concert, volunteering, or clubbing in the hot night spots of Roppongi, Shibuya, and Yokohama. I have had to be very organized, creating and sticking to a work/project schedule that ensure I turn in quality work and still have time to enjoy myself. I have been successful – performing well in class and having a blast at the same time. However, I have had a few, and anticipate many more, sleepless nights. An opportunity like this doesn’t come around often, so doing what it takes to enjoy my time in Japan is worth it.
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I have the most interesting classes ever! I am taking two courses for my major: Economic Development, and Japan and International Organizations. I am also taking Tokyo: Urban Anthropology, and of course, Japanese language! My favorite course, so far, would have to be Japan and International Organizations. It is refreshing to gain knowledge from less Eurocentric sources and understand where people, and organizations, in other parts of the world, are coming from. However, I don’t feel I have had the chance to go as deep with these classes as if I were taking them on the Block Plan. For example, I have each of my lecture classes in English twice a week for an hour and a half. Just when we really start delving into the material, class ends. I have to move to the next course, and wait until next week, to start again. It leaves me intellectually parched. I’m not fond of all this stop and start. I want to drink when I’m thirsty; stopping only after my thirst is quenched.