The Life of a Summer Short Student! (Part 2)
From KCP student Shenelle King:
A regular day of school!
Once school started, I began a regular schedule. School went from six hours a day down to three hours a day. As a level 1 student, I was in afternoon classes, which meant I got to sleep in! A normal day:
9:00 am – Wake up and eat breakfast
11:30 am – Leave to go to school
12:00 pm – Arrive at school and say hello to my friends.
12:15 pm – Participate in extracurricular classes
1:30 pm – Normal classes begin.
4:45 pm – Classes out!
5:00 pm – hitting the old dusty trail!
KCP student, Shenelle King (back, center) with classmates | KCP Flickr
The morning of my routine was pretty concrete. I would typically wake up groggy because the summer sun likes to rise at 4:00 am in Japan, shining through my tains. The first few days, getting to school was a pain, but I easily became accustomed to the subway and train systems in Japan. Upon arriving to school I would greet my friends, and then go to my extra classes. I took a beginner’s kanji class as well as a singing class. Kanji was fun, but I definitely loved singing class. After that I would go to class, which was pretty awesome. Not only were the teachers wonderful, but all of us students were good friends with one another. I definitely looked forward to going to class every day – the first time in my entire life I was excited for school.
It was after school that my routine would be different. Sometimes I would stay after school to ask my teachers questions about the lesson in class. Other times, my friends and I would leave and go adventuring through Tokyo. Occasionally,I would go home and take a well-deserved nap. Regardless of the evening routine, I always spent about three hours each night studying Japanese.
Advice!
If you have questions, go talk to your teachers! They are there for a reason, and they are fun to get to know!
Do the extra classes. For the US program, you are required to do one extra class, but I did two: Beginner’s Kanji and Singing Class. Now, I wish I had participated in more.
Use the English Support class by Kato-sensei! If you are struggling in what you are learning and need some English reinforcement, Kato-sensei is a nice teacher and loves to help you,
It is fun to play, but STUDY STUDY STUDY. You pay money to come and study, so do it! At least three extra hours is the best! But any bit helps.
When out and about, even with English speaking friends,use your Japanese. The more you use it, the more comfortable you become.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You are not Japanese, so you are going to make mistakes! Mistakes are the best way to learn! So get out there and start making them!
Most important, HAVE FUN!!
