Fall 2009 Semester

An interesting thing...

Some of my students wrote on their class surveys that they wished I would use Japanese in class to explain difficult points for the test (one of the classes I teach is to prepare the students for a standardized national English test). So I eloquently pointed out that not all of the students are Japanese. If I switch to their native language to explain things, then I also have to switch to Korean, Chinese, and many other southeast Asian languages to be fair. Right? My students were shocked by this concept--I guess they weren't aware that 10% of the university's students aren't Japanese.

Mordwyr:

My students were shocked by this concept--I guess they weren't aware that 10% of the university's students aren't Japanese.

The Japanese and their relationship to other cultures... often makes me feel good about cultural competency in the U.S. if that tells you anything. I just got back from a month and a half long archeological dig in Aomori and by the end of it I was kinda sick of being called one of the Bin Laden brothers along with a darker skinned guy from Kyoto U. Though it was fun trying to explain being half-Pakistani, half-Mexican, and born in the U.S. with only a year of Japanese training.

Your class sounds fun though, both in terms of the subject matter and they way it seems like you are running the classes. If you ever decide to come back I am pretty sure you would be liked as an instructor. Though it is a good idea to stay away at the moment. A number of universities have been hit rather hard, at least here in California.

teleute:

the Bin Laden brothers

Surely they didn't actually call you the Bin Laden brothers?? Surely not! And yet, if they had, I wouldn't be shocked....

Did you dig up anything nice in Aomori?

teleute:

Your class sounds fun though, both in terms of the subject matter and they way it seems like you are running the classes. If you ever decide to come back I am pretty sure you would be liked as an instructor.

Thanks so much! It is the best job I've ever had. For me, a guy who doesn't care about prestige and salary and whatnot (as long as I make enough to support my family), this is a dream job.

teleute:

Though it is a good idea to stay away at the moment. A number of universities have been hit rather hard, at least here in California.

I have no intention to return to America. I've got my permanent residency card, so I can stay here till I die if I want to. No strings attached.

Mordwyr:

Surely they didn't actually call you the Bin Laden brothers?? Surely not! And yet, if they had, I wouldn't be shocked....
Did you dig up anything nice in Aomori?

At least I got to know the other Bin Laden pretty well. Not surprisingly, most archeology students in Japan are geeks... in this case a massive Dragon Ball Z and Bleach otaku. And we did find some amazing stuff. It was a Jomon period site and, while we were mostly filtering dirt to find burnt seeds and other floral remains, the house we excavated included a lot of pottery, a stone sword, and a sort of fire pit that usually isn't found inside Jomon dwellings.

Mordwyr:

Thanks so much! It is the best job I've ever had. For me, a guy who doesn't care about prestige and salary and whatnot (as long as I make enough to support my family), this is a dream job.
I have no intention to return to America. I've got my permanent residency card, so I can stay here till I die if I want to. No strings attached.

That is pretty amazing and I am honestly envious. If thing get a bit crazier over here I am thinking of attempting something similar but to Spain or Morocco. Though I do have one question: how much gaming goes on over there? When I was over we only played a few games of D&D 3.5... not my cup of tea to be honest. Do you have a group that plays White Wolf games?

The Jomon find sounds very interesting!

teleute:

If thing get a bit crazier over here I am thinking of attempting something similar but to Spain or Morocco.

Morocco!

teleute:

Though I do have one question: how much gaming goes on over there? When I was over we only played a few games of D&D 3.5... not my cup of tea to be honest. Do you have a group that plays White Wolf games?

Haha. Do we have a group for WW games........ dude, check my sig file. That is a record of a WW game we played just last year.

teleute:

It was a Jomon period site

My first boyfriend was a nearly pure-blooded Jomon (as in, he could trace his lineage back 'til that period, and everyone was pure-blooded Jomon to the present-day).  I believed him, too.  He looked Jomon, the not-quite-Japanese look.

teleute:

Do you have a group that plays White Wolf games?

As Mordwyr wrote, we do.  White Wolf is far and away my favorite system, and this from someone who cut her gaming teeth on AD&D 2e! ^_^

teleute:

D&D 3.5... not my cup of tea to be honest.

That is a very kind way of putting it!

teleute:

And we did find some amazing stuff. It was a Jomon period site and, while we were mostly filtering dirt to find burnt seeds and other floral remains, the house we excavated included a lot of pottery, a stone sword, and a sort of fire pit that usually isn't found inside Jomon dwellings.

Wow, very nice!

Second week of classes. Had a large influx of new students today, asking if they could join. I said sure. Final registration is in a couple of weeks anyway. Guess the other teachers' lectures just aren't that interesting this semester.... ;)

Today was part 2 of my lecture on the Greek conception of the anthropomorphic god.

this thread is going to be interesting...

I hope so. And I hope the semester continues to be interesting for me.

time will tell...

Mordwyr:

Long story, but basically.....America sucks, and the way things stand now, I was right in that assumption. America is a terrible place to live and raise children in. It is the land of the slave. So is Japan, of course, but I, being an American, am left alone by the government, and I can conveniently ignore prevailing cultural, political, and media influences. It doesn't necessarily have to be Japan, but since this place leaves me and mine alone, that is the most important thing. Does that make sense? Non-interference and privacy in my ultra-Catholic, homeschooling ways are essential.

I somewhat agree with that.  My interests in Japan and other countries is more out of boredom and a desire to do great things, than the quality of American life.  I live in a place with the nicest weather on Earth, yet, I am bored with it.  200 days of sunshine in 75F weather bores me.  I know now that I have no interest in the American dream. I desire not a house, which which I can't really afford to work at a job I probably hate and need to generate income for said house to have children with a woman that would leave me in an instant if she changed her mind (not to say all women in SoCal are bad, just a lot of flakes).  I shun the materialistic culture.  I see a lot of people in their homes at night, especially in the summertime, watching TV, with their nick knacks on the wall; their trimed lawns and new luxury cars, and I think, 'how fickle'  'how mundane', 'how petty and, well, boring'.  There's not a lot in life I need, materially.  I'd be happy in a trailer near the beach or in a mountain cabin. 

Backin '07 I was so ready to leave.  I got money for travel, laptop etc. I was all set, but it didn't turn out.  Maybe I'll try again.

My fall semister is slightly different.  I've completed my business certificates.  I'm taking swiming classes.  I swim four hours a week, about the distance of 35 football fields. I took a French class, but I have no interest in French, so I dropped it and took a Spanish Class offered by the city.

Edit: My "Somewhat agreement", means that I don't think America really sucks.  It's great if you want to generate revenue.  I could set up a small business and make lots of money and have lots of "things".  Secondly, I think the American agricultural production and trade is the best in the world. When I can go to the supermarket and spend, like a dollar for a steak, a luxury in other parts of the world, I have that money to put to other things, like investments.  Materialism is a bad thing, but wealth isn't.  Wealth can provide for all the good things in life and can prolong life (money for medical for example). 

Unholy Pilgrim:

I know now that I have no interest in the American dream. I desire not a house, which which I can't really afford to work at a job I probably hate and need to generate income for said house to have children with a woman that would leave me in an instant if she changed her mind (not to say all women in SoCal are bad, just a lot of flakes).  I shun the materialistic culture.  I see a lot of people in their homes at night, especially in the summertime, watching TV, with their nick knacks on the wall; their trimed lawns and new luxury cars, and I think, 'how fickle'  'how mundane', 'how petty and, well, boring'.  There's not a lot in life I need, materially.  I'd be happy in a trailer near the beach or in a mountain cabin. 

Yes, the American Dream is a self-serving travesty. Shame on Americans and anyone who tries to emulate them--at least the materialistic aspect of the American Dream.

My material concerns run as far as providing for my family and no farther. And once the kids are grown and gone, Isabelle and I are leaving the whole work-to-pay-the-rent-and-utilities thing behind us.

Unholy Pilgrim:

Backin '07 I was so ready to leave.  I got money for travel, laptop etc. I was all set, but it didn't turn out.  Maybe I'll try again.

Hope it works out for you. You certainly don't seem like one of the sheeple. ^_^

Looking over my Powerpoint this evening for my lecture tomorrow, and I'm really excited. This class is a repeat that I did three years ago, and revisiting it is fun. Tomorrow's lecture covers Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis (the first half of a two-part lecture on the 14 major Greek gods).

incest!