First Day of Classes!

So today was first day of classes.

It was rather uneventful. xD; My first class, Business in Asia: Korean Economic Development, was at 1:00pm...except not. The teacher didn't show up. I waited for fifteen minutes and then everyone else left, so I left too. I had another class at 2:30, and an hour and fifteen minutes is not really enough time to make a worthwhile trip back to the dorm, so I decided to wander around the town in the direction opposite from my dorm. I found the hundred yen store! Which was necessary for the long-awaited purchase of hangers. But other than that there was a 7-11 and some ramen/soba/udon restaurants...nothing really special. I did stop walking at the 100yen store though.

After that I still had an hour to kill so I sat around and attempted to read the Japanese guidebook that the university gave me (to little avail), until I got up to get a drink from the vending machine and found my friend Heather. Then we went to the other class, which was Japanese Studies IV, understanding Japanese society. It seems like a really cool class. The teacher, Umemoto-sensei, is really nice and has a lot of interesting things to talk about. She goes on tangents a lot but it's okay because they are interesting tangents. The main focus of the class is to discuss certain words in the Japanese language that don't really have an equivalent in English or other languages because they are ideas specific to Japanese society. It really was very interesting.

Also, it's a class in English, but there are many Japanese students in it who are taking it to practice English. Heather and I already met one who sat behind us. He was really nice and friendly, and apparently studied in Wisconsin (...I know right). But I'm excited to have more class sessions and meet more of the people.

Anyway that was all the classes I had today. If the business class actually exists, which I hope it does because I can definitely apply it towards my major, then I'll be a happy camper, because to me that also seems interesting. Tomorrow (which is Saturday....INORITE) I have a (potential) Japanese class at 9 am. D: Major sadness. But it's potential. Like, I'm trying it out to see if it's not too easy for me. Because that's what Tanaka-sensei, whom I met at orientation and who judged our placement tests, said I should do. So yeah. xD;

SPEAKING OF WHICH! Here's my (potential) schedule:
(Items in parenthesis means they are potential classes that will be determined by whether or not I feel that they are too easy or hard)
Monday:
10:40-12:10 - Japanese VII (Presentation and Speaking)
(1:00-2:30 - Japanese III [Grammar & Kanji])
4:20-7:30 - Japanese II (Listening by watching dramas....I am looking forward to this class)
Tuesday:
9:00-10:30 - Japanese Communication II (Reading Newspapers and Having Discussions)
2:40-4:10 - Japanese Studies IV (Understanding Japanese Society)
Wednesday:
10:40-12:10 - Japanese VII (Presentation and Speaking)
1:00-2:30 - International Relations II (International Criminal System and Prosecution of International Crimes)
Thursday:
9:00-10:30 - Japanese Communication II (Reading Newspapers and Having Discussions)
(1:00-2:30 - Japanese III [Grammar & Kanji])
Friday:
1:00-2:30 - Business Practices in Asia (Korean Economic Development)
2:40-4:10 - Japanese Studies IV (Understanding Japanese Society)
Saturday:
[9:00-12:10 - Japanese IV (Writing Reports)]

Soooo yeah it's kind of a full schedule. xD; Apparently the norm is 10 classes? But even with the extra classes (in parenthesis) I only have 8. Which is a lot. Generally, at Wittenberg you only have...like...5 max. Maybe an extra gym class or something. So this'll be different. On the other hand, most of them are language classes. And most of them are only once a week, as opposed to two or three times a week at Witt. It's an interesting change. We'll see how it goes.

Wish me luck! Especially for getting my butt out of bed on a Saturday to go to class. D;