time out for a rant at THE WORLD

[bedlamsbard]

I am really starting to hate this fucking language. Even if it doesn't flunk me out of college, it's going to give me ulcers. And some of that is just coming from the fact that my Japanese teacher is not all that great at telling us what's going to be on the quizzes beforehand, which means I kind of panic when I get them, and some of it is just the fact that why does any language need three alphabets anyway, and some of that is the fact that I just plain don't care, except for needing the foreign language to, you know, graduate. I'm not there because I love the language or the culture, I'm just there because taking Japanese is a condition of my grandparents paying for college, and they would probably like it if I could speak to them at some point in time. Meanwhile, it has nothing to do with my interests or my major(s) -- I'm English (writing) and (ancient European) history, with a Classical Studies minor. How terribly relevent.

Also, midterms suck, and I have to write a paper, and I am extremely annoyed.

Comments

[1aquaesulis76.livejournal.com]

*hugs* and even though you studied all the wrong answers, and blanked on all the right ones (as I think you phrased it in your other post) - I hope you didn't do as badly as you feared.

Write yourself a short fic with your lecturer in chains, and Peter getting his bad boy kick on, and get it out of your system!

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I hope not. *sigh* Because I fucked up last week's quiz too.

[ineptshieldmaid.livejournal.com]

*hugs you* I was going to suggest you sidle away from Japanese, which is what kayloulee did, and her sanity improved remarkably, but what with the grandparentals, I guess you can't. You can take solace in the fact that everyone else I know who's taken Japanese has ALSO been driven mad by it?

Would the grandparents be willing to let you swap Japanese language for courses on Japanese culture or history?

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

I only need a semester and a half left of the requirements, and if I dropped it then I'd still have to take another three semesters of a different language (probably Greek, German, or Italian).

[nighean-isis.livejournal.com]

Quick question - do your grandparents live close enough where you can ask for tutoring of sorts? Have them tell you stories of their lives in Japanese to get the intonations correct and use as a base for learning/expanding your vocab? Had a friend a lifetime ago who was in the same boat - only the language was Russian. This is what he did, and it helped him long enough to pass his courses and get out which is what he wanted.

Either way, best of luck.

[bedlamsbard.livejournal.com]

The slight problem is that my grandparents don't speak English, and they live in Japan. (Thus the learning Japanese.) My mother does, and I have been on the phone with her practically in tears a couple of times -- if I wasn't a semester and a half in, which is halfway through the requirement, I'd probably drop Japanese and take something else, but as it is, that would just be stupid. Unless this drives me insane, of course.