A student's discipline

I find Japanese university students extremely disciplined when it comes to time management. In addition to school work, they also seem to spend alot of time on circle activities (basically clubs with a specific area of interest e.g. sports, dance, etc), as well as part-time jobs.  The Japanese students seem to have their time-table worked out really well. 

 

Clockwise from top: 1.Various circles putting up poster boards to recruit members.
2. A common sight at the beginning of a semester is that of students standing in groups promoting their circles/clubs
by yelling at the top of their voices to students passing by. They usually yell about upcoming activities of their circles or clubs.
3. Some circles or clubs show that action speak louder than words - dancers performing during lunch time.

I have also met some extremely proactive and diligent students at school who would look for organisations to volunteer their time and at the same time gain some insights and experience from helping out at these organisations. It is common to hear of students being volunteers or interns at some organisation outside school. They don't get paid but they are happy doing what they are doing. 

 

However, unlike the Japanese students with their colourful life,  my time is still mostly spent on school work since I do not have a part-time job. Although I volunteer at an organisation which I learnt about through the Kyoto City International Foundation's website for students, it is not too often.   

 

In fact, there is so much homework that after school, the only thing I do apart from the usual household chores and volunteer work, is my assignments. I would have loved to read some short stories, go out and find some inspiration for my blog posts or watch a movie online during my free time. But I find myself working on grammar exercises, writing essays, preparing presentation scripts or memorising vocabulary most of the time. So I guess this is what an intensive language programme is all about.

  

There is so much homework I don't know where to start most of the time.

While there were times I felt like I should not be spending so much time on school work and end up missing out on the interesting activities outside school, my rational mind always took over and reminded me that I am here to study the language afterall. So I had better be disciplined and work on those assignments. 

Speaking of which, I still have the "How to create an impression when you first introduce yourself" assignment for Speaking class, and the "How to introduce yourself and your boss in the most polite language" assignment for Business Japanese, which I have yet to do... And oh, there is also the reading comprehension questions related to the story of a woman prone to falling down staircases, and the cross-cultural communication assignments...

Hmm, exactly what did I do during the weekend?