Retrospective

Well, the classes are over and only one final exam stands in our way. I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Not bad for someone who wasn't even in this class to begin with.

I still remember those first few days of trying desperately to find an open section of Japanese 101. It was trying, but that would be the least of my worries, as I was able to find a place in my 1:00 section quickly enough.

Things were pretty mellow for the first few weeks, but as soon as new material started appearing, I had to start adapting to what essentially became a strange and new experience for me. This Japanese class was nothing like the ones I had taken before - it was much more fast-paced, and Sato-sensei expected much more out of us.

For sure, I had my share of struggles. I forgot my homework, I didn't bother to memorize my skits, I never made enough time to study, and I even suffered through one week in which I was so incompetent that I even managed to concern Sato-sensei. Somehow, I managed to keep my class grade afloat, though. I could always count on Mallard for some easy, albeit inconveniencing, grades, and when it came time to take the chapter test, I managed to exceed my own expectations. Eventually, I started doing better on the skits, too.

But this week might have been the hardest of all. Between the brutal Chapter 6 test, the oral interview, and the prepared speech, I felt like my true abilities were being tested as often as possible. It was important to me to do well here - I was not planning to move on to Japanese 102 if I couldn't muster a respectable grade on those assignments, especially the interview - but apparently, I managed to do well. I might have even ended up enjoying parts of it a little bit - with the exception of the interview, which terrified me thoroughly from beginning to end. *laughs*

But I digress. This doesn't really feel like the end of anything, since in no time at all we'll all be back studying Japanese with Sato-sensei and some familiar faces again. A few less familiar faces for me, though - out of necessity, I'm forced to switch to the 11:00 section for next semester. So, I'm looking forward to meeting my new classmates, and I'm prepared to work harder to capture the one thing that has eluded me thus far - an "A" class grade.

I hope we'll continue this blog project at that time. I've ended up enjoying it when I've had the time to maintain it - it stands as a testament to all my struggles and triumphs thus far.