Catch-up 3

The following week was quite uninteresting. Classes have started so we had to sort out what classes to attend and.. to go there. Registration only starts in the second week. After the third week you can’t change anything anymore and you will be graded on the courses you chose. I don’t like it, but well.. can’t do anything about it.

So I went to a lot of different courses during the first week to try them out. The first thing I noticed: Back to school. Class size is around 30, maximum 50. They want active participation and you are graded on attendance and contributions.

Second think: Japanese are shy. Waay to shy. I couldn’t understand them, with a microphone, because they were speaking to quietly. The only ones participating are exchange students in every class. And their english is bad. There are exceptions, but most university students are not able to speak a full sentence.

That reminds me of my japanese. I am not able to speak a full sentence. Well, depending on what you say a sentence is in japanese.. Anyhow, seeing that they don’t speak any english I decided to take the 3 times 3 hours each japanese lesson with additional kanji classes (That’s 10 ½ hours per week). I didn’ know enough for the intermediate course, so I’m back to zero, but it picks up quite fast.

My other courses (still have to take 6) include:

Applied Statistics. Coolest Prof ever. 62, Skateboarder and life motto: “No Insects, no Life” NINL. He’s also dying his fringe (?). Wears a t-shirt saying something like “Over 60 and still kickin’“.

Japanese Philosophy. Can’t say much about this course now. Seemed interesting. So I’m gonna keep it.

Comparative Japanese Politics. This one is my favourite so far. The prof is brilliant. The lecture is motivating and thought-provoking. It’s a little bit about history, a bit about japanese culture (which hasn’t been like this all the time) but mostly about political institutions of Japan after WW2. Particularly interesting is the change of the election system in 1994 to a system similar to Germany. Why would a party, which won the last elections with the old rules, want change it?

Nonlinear Mathematics. I am thinking of dropping this one in favor for another lecture I have yet to find. The topic is interesting, but the prof is a real mathematician. He’s confusing, forgetting half while explaining things, making mistakes, fixes part of them and then skips something comes back to it and so on. Hectic as well, and to say his english isn’t the best is more than a euphemism.

Behavioral Neuroscience. This one is actually held by a german prof. I like it, it’s something different to my major. (Well, Most of my courses are..) It’s about the human brain and our behaviour. This includes motivation, memory, learning, recognition, etc.

Everyday Life Chemistry. I had to cheat myself in here, because there were too many people (Like 100?). It kinda worked the way it does in Kalrsruhe. Just ask the prof and don’t care about the official lottery. Well, it worked this time, I tried it in another course (Japanese History). Didn’t work there. This course is just what the name suggests. Learning some Chemistry starting with everyday life objects.

That is my syllabus. Well, Nonlinear Mathematics is probably gonna change.