Friday, September 18th

I took my Japanese language test today. I thought it went fairly well, but I will not assume that I will receive a great score before I know my actual grade. I will, however, think optimistically.

I stayed at school all afternoon for my Culture and Education class as well as my Business and Management class. In Culture and Education, we listened to a few more haiku written by classmates, we watched video segments on Japanese cuisine and sightseeing locations, and we learned about the concepts of mono no aware and wabi. Wabi refers to an aesthetic preference of simplicity and tranquility. Mono no aware especially correlates to appreciating the impermanence found in nature. In Business and Management class, in small groups of three to four students we brainstormed keywords that are pertinent to Japanese business, and then each group drew a mind map, a sort of visual learning aid, that linked all the key words together.

Last night I did put some pictures up on my blog, so if you wish to see those, please return to previous blog entries to view the photos.