This semester

Well, I won't beat around the bush. Last semester my classes were awful. My Japanese teacher was Satan realized in Japanese Person form, my electives were on par with a community college course on spirituality, and the only Japanese I learned all semester was slang from my Japanese friends.

This semester, however, looks awesome.

My Japanese teacher tells jokes in class, there is laughing, there is discussion and conversation, in just a few days I can already tell my Japanese has gotten better.

I'm also taking Japanese religion, which seems like it's going to be pretty dry. Straight up info, most of which I know already, and a teacher who drones on and on. But, it's good stuff to know in light of the culture, and it seems like, at the very least, it'll be like any normal (boring?) lecture class at Middlebury.

My translation class, on the other hand, is going to be awesome. The teacher is lively, funny, and really really really knows her stuff (from what I gather she's a rather famous interpreter...) Our homework is actually fun and engaging, and besides getting a little practice for a possible career path, it's really interesting to investigate exactly how English and Japanese differ, what makes them unique languages, and how not just to convey information from one to the other, but ideas.

That's all I have to say at the moment, that things are looking good for the next four months.

P.S. with Obama's inauguration in 5 days (6 for you guys, I guess) it's just so awesome to know that America elected a president with integrity, who we can trust in to solve our current problems (Guantanamo closed in the first few days of office? I'm sold). It's good to be proud to be American.