As previously mentioned, my fall semester courses were Japanese 3 (J3), Modern Japanese Literature in English Translation, History of Contemporary Japan, and Asian International Relations. These courses were chosen amongst a confused flurry of activity and without much knowledge, but aside from preventing me from getting out as often as I would have liked, were interesting and generally enjoyable.

J3 was rather redundant with Japanese I had already taken, the material was not particularly new or challenging, though some different Kanji were covered. My previous Japanese classes at College of Marin in California and University at Buffalo in New York used the Nakama 1 and Nakama 2 textbooks, whereas ICU uses self-published Japanese for College Students. My J3 book can be found here. But it’s difficult to tell where another school’s course levels are in comparison with your own when going from one to another. I just accepted the recommendation given to me by the results of the placement test, which I guess I didn’t do very well on. However, on the plus side, it gave me time to adjust to the new course style and the teacher at the time, Kanayama Yasuko-Sensei, was a good teacher. And despite my claims of being redundant, I still only got a B for the course, so I guess I have no right to complain.

Modern Japanese Literature in English Translation was interesting mainly because we were working from an excellent book, The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories by Theodore W. Goossen. Every class two students would present on a story we were supposed to have read that week and the teacher would then further discuss encouraging student participation at all times. We had two papers, one for midterm (about 5 pp), and one for final (about 10pp). Class was conducted by Prof. Natsumi Ikoma. Sadly, the only A on my report card.

History of Contemporary Japan taught by Prof. William Steele was an Ichi-gen (first period 8:50 – 10:00) on M W F. Classes were lecture-style with a reading response paper due every week for Friday’s discussion class. Late papers were accepted though penalized, which was good since I don’t think I made deadline once. I remember we had a longer discussion paper due for a museum project. We were supposed to go to a museum and analyze the layout of the exhibits, what information was presented, what was prominent, how it was laid out, and determine the motives behind it and bias of the museum. We also had an oral presentation on the topic of our choice at the end of the semester and a final exam. Course website is here: http://subsite.icu.ac.jp/people/steele/steelehome/Autumn2005/outline2005.htm. I liked this class a lot because Prof. Steele is very interested and involved in what he teaches. I do like history, but having a teacher that is passionate about their subject certainly adds to the enjoyment of a class. Unfortunately, another B.

Lastly, Asian International Relations taught by visiting Prof. Rashila Ramli who brought a lot of personal experience in the field of International Relations to the class. Actually, ICU seems to have a lot of good Professors with background experience and published works and suchlike. Class was interesting enough, Powerpoint slideshow lectures, attendance sheets, midterm and final. Yet another B.

Now, when I was signing up for classes, I faced a bit of a dilemma. I didn’t know much about the courses or system but from skimming through the Course Offerings booklet, I saw a great many courses that seemed interesting and wanted very much to take. Problem: I only had one year (3 semesters). Enrolling in the one-year Japan Studies program helped narrow it down a bit to courses that were electives in the program. Japan Studies requires about 36 units, half of which are Japanese-language, the other half of which are courses relating to Japan. This works out to about 12 units per semester, pretty standard really. JLP courses such as J3 are 2^nd and 3^rd period Monday through Friday and count for 6 units. Intensive courses are 1^st through 4^th period every day and count for 12 units. Also offered are Advanced and Special Japanese courses for those continuing in the study. Special Japanese is pretty much for native-level speakers and consists of a lot of Kanji, from what I hear.

My major, despite a very scattered track record, is actually English, and since this year (05-06) is technically my fourth I figure I should try to get that done, eventually. But! I did not get courses approved for transfer credits before leaving Buffalo. This is actually not that bad since I had no way to tell what Japanese I would be in or really what courses I would be taking. My schedule changed very much during the day of registration dependent upon what was available and what I could fit into my schedule. I found myself drawn to the exceptional selection of International Relations and International Politics courses offered here, and aside from the Japanese Short Stories class, have not taken any courses relating to English. This is not because there aren’t offerings, there are a few, but trying to work them around a JLP course is difficult because it lies as a solid block across 2^nd and 3^rd period every day.

Apart from academics, fall semester was eventful indeed. The first few weeks certainly were a flurry of activity where I became intimately acquainted with the term jikoshokai, or self-introduction. Each of the dorms met with each of the others to make introductions, party and get to know one another. Shinyusei, new students, had to introduce themselves at every meeting. That made for 7 different Meet-and-Greet sessions in addition to the "getting to know you" parties within Global House (GH). Again and again and again we introduced ourselves, until we had a pretty good idea of who we were and how to say it in Japanese.

Bakayama. Ah, Bakayama. The memories abound. During the first week of classes, the shinyusei of all dorms are made to dress according to that dorm's chosen theme. This past Fall, GH-ians transformed via adult-size costume pajamas into a veritable menagerie of animals. We wore these fleece full-body outfits under the blazing sun and oppressive heat of late summer and let me tell you, it was hot. In this getup did we attend classes and parade around campus all day. Only upon return to GH, sweet home, were we released from the costume and allowed to resume some manner of dignity. Though its true some continued to wear their outfit all day and I must admit, it really grew on you by the end of the week. I was a penguin. The other dorms also had some eye-catching and elaborate costumes. Canada House wore kilts, 2nd Men's all had different cardboard contraptions relating to elections, 1st Men's were all manner of things, 1st Women's were devils, 2nd Women's were human flowers, 3rd Women's had a Hawaiian theme, and 4th Women's were pirates.

The culmination of this first week was Friday during lunch hour on Bakayama. Bakayama is one of two smallish hills on the lawn in front of Honkan, the main building for classes. A paved path leading from the main door of Honkan to the Shin-D building and cafeteria divides the lawn. As you exit Honkan, the hillock to your right is Bakayama, the hillock to your left is Ahoyama. Baka and aho mean 'idiot' and 'fool' respectively, combined with yama, meaning 'mountain', makes 'idiot mountain' and 'fool mountain'. And it is to these landmarks that students flock during their off-time. The lawn is habitually littered with students engaged in all usual shades of activity: talking, lunching, sleeping, playing. In any event, the Bakayama performances are actually held on Ahoyama, being the larger of the two. And generally, when one speaks of going to 'Bakayama,' they're thinking of Ahoyama, though the two are so close it hardly matters. On Bakayama day, the shinyusei from each of the dorms give a delightfully crappy and embarrassing performance in front of the collected student body.

We had had about 4 nights of practice from 10 until midnight and let me assure you, Soran Bushi, a traditional fisherman's dance from Hokkaido, is not for the weak. Oh, it looks fine and is easy enough to do the first day, but after that you feel it. The pain creeps through your muscles making you acutely aware of each movement you make throughout the day. You may have trouble standing up from any sitting or laying position. The day of the performance, desperate to restore function to my disobedient limbs in time for the show, I remember pounding my legs repeatedly to get the muscles to work. Of course, not all are as out of shape as I. I know our instructor and resident dance master, Jun certainly danced circles around the rest of us, though we were abandoned in the final show. I still remember the dokidoki (pounding of the heart) feeling as we stood up there. What a rush! By all means, witness the fruits of our travails.

Moving on, the Ball parties came next. Throughout the year, each dorm throws at least one "Ball Party," which is... pretty much just a party. Some of them have themes like "Under the Sea", "The Caribbean", and suchlike. There are usually performances given by the dorm members and performance groups at ICU such as LAMBS, Smooth Steppers and resident musicians. Then there's a lot of dancing, loud music, and fruitless attempts to converse with friends; the usual. No door charge or anything but of course drinks cost. Generally, good wholesome fun is had by all. Global House's Ball Party was the best, of course. Our theme was Japanese Subculture and we dressed up as Yakuza and Ko Gyaru (Kogals). We had a DJ, performances, a bar and food; what else could you want?

Then came ICU Festival (ICU Sai), a campus festival of epic proportions.

Dorm Week