And so it begins. Again.

The first day of the Fall semester went pretty well. Tuesdays I have two classes and each lecture is 2.5 hrs long with a 10-15 minute break in the middle, depending on how the instructor feels that day. I thought that would kill me since my jet lag is so bad this time around, but I was fine all day. I'm pretty sure my miso soup and karage lunch helped.
My first class of the day was Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP. This is a required course taught completely in Japanese including the handout and syllabus (with very little English in parts. I am always amused by what they choose write in English BTW). The interesting thing about this class is that we will be learning about SAP software & ERP which is timely considering my summer internship in Atlanta was with an SAP Consulting Firm called Whitaker-Taylor. Too bad for me I didn't actually learn the software this summer, as my project centered around market research for the company's international expansion. We will be allowed to write our reports and homework in English and the software itself has an English option so I'm covered there. Thank you, Jesus.

My second course of the day is e-Globe Management. This class is taught by my MBA adviser Mr. Ushio Sumita. Students (and other faculty might I add) have mixed reviews about him and say that he is abrasive (which may be true) and has his favorites (which is probably true too) but he and I have gotten along quite well since Day 1. He is very smart, but the kind of smart that is impatient with things that are illogical to him, which I understand. I like the fact that he is direct and shoots straight from the hip. That is a very rare quality to find in Japanese people. Take today's class for example....WAIT, before I go there you need a little background info.

One of my main pet peeves with my classmates is the fact that they just don't shut up in class. I have a hard enough time staying focused, listening and taking notes in class as it is, but they (mostly the Chinese female students) talk CONSTANTLY during class. I don't mean a whisper to a neighbor here and there. I mean full out conversations that last for 5-10 minutes! I might issue out a "Shhhh!" occasionally during lecture BUT #1. I feel like it is completely asinine to have to "Shhh!" a room full of graduate students and #2. It should be the job of the instructor to set the tone for what is and is not acceptable in class.

So back to my example. During the lecture today Sumita sensei hears some girls talking and mid-sentence says "話しやめて"　[stop talking]. They stop for a while, and start in again. This time he warns, "お喋りするなら、そと行けよ！"　[If you wanna talk go outside!] Now that might not seem like much to you, but for a person who has had to sit through lectures and hush people and even during a presentation had to give the class the evil eye and say "Excuse me, please hold your conversation until after my presentation is finished." [YES! I actually had to do that], this was a major victory! I was so happy that I could hardly contain my delight.

I have no idea why other teachers deal with the talking. I know they don't like it, but they do very little or nothing to control it. Except for Sumita Sensei. Today, he was my hero.