Ning CP #3

On 9/11/13, I met with Takuya at about 5PM. We decided to go to Gordo’s, a Cuban restaurant on Pensacola Street, because he has never eaten Cuban cuisine before. Granted, I’ve never been to Cuba before so I’m not the best authenticator. Regardless, we head to Gordo’s where I order a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, and he orders the Gordo’s Burger. I also ordered the Empanadas Sampler, which came with 3 different empanadas: beef, chicken, and black bean. It turns out that he seldom eats pork, something that I should’ve learned beforehand. I’ve only been to Gordo’s before with their pork in mind, so I’ve never tried their beef or other dishes before. I was shocked because he does not come from a culture or a religion that shuns eating pork. However, if you were to call it a culture, he comes from an athletic background. It seems that generally, athletic people tend to shy away from pork due to its higher fat content.

 We started conversation about how his classes at CIES were going, in which he responded that it was tough, but manageable. Then we came to the topic of the education system in Japan. Specifically, how the universities over there worked. For the most part, it seems that there is a set plan for every student where it takes four years to graduate. One does not have the capability to graduate earlier than 4 years. Also, apparently the amount of courses they take is much more than the amount we take over here. What I mean by that is, according to Takuya, a student takes 8-10 courses in one semester. However, it seems that these courses are very specific in what they teach. For example, in America, our courses are listed as Calculus 2 and 3, whereas over there, they are studying certain parts of Calculus 2 or 3. Maybe the course is focused on chapters 2-5, as opposed to half the textbook. Also, the time in classes is much shorter per course. Rather than meeting two or three days per week, these courses only meet once a week.

Another difference between American universities and Japanese universities are their policies for studying abroad. In America, if you would like to take a year off and go to another country to attend a program, you can continue where you left off when you come back. In Japan, it seems that this option is not possible. In fact, you must quit the university to study abroad. Assuming their 4 year structure, if you were in year 3, and decided you wanted to come to America to study English, you must quit the university to come over here. Not only that, when you go back to Japan, if you were to continue your studies, you would have to start from year 1.  

Generally, when you enter a university in Japan, you are most likely 18 years old, possibly 19 or 20 due to failing the entrance exams. When you are attending the university, you will not see any students above the age of 24. As opposed to our great Land of Opportunity, where we have students of all ages, Japanese universities are not places where you can start over. The career choices (in terms of furthering education) you have when you graduate from high school are vocational schools and universities. In the Japanese society, you can only go forward. You cannot take a few steps back and walk a different route.