It's MIDTERM weekkkk wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo - said no one ever. 

It's hard to imagine that I'm already halfway through this quarter and that at the end of the month, half my exchange will be up. There has definitely been ups and downs but I feel like I'm sitting at an awesome place and couldn't be happier to be here. 

So updates on this upcoming week and what my classes are looking like :D. 

Classes: 


Global Issues and Policies: This class is alright. We talk mostly about game theory and how to solve international problems. I have a group paper for this class about Iran's Nuclear Acquisition and the International Sanctions surrounding them. The topic is actually more interesting that I originally thought which is good. We're also going to be having the Australian Ambassador to Japan come speak to us about Japan-Australia relations. 

Identity and Politics: I'm kind of disappointed in the way this class has turned out. At the start of the quarter, the professor outlined some awesome topics we were going to discuss. However, he is requiring the class to do 30 minute group presentations and with 13 groups has had to cut the remaining lectures for the rest of the quarter. I kind of wish he would have switched this to a group paper so that we could have more lectures because he does have an incredible amount of knowledge. I am getting to write my final paper on "Olympus has Fallen" though so I'm excited about that! 

Global History and World Systems: Hands down my favorite class so far and actually may be one of my favorite classes I've ever taken. The way in which this class looks at the history of the world is simply fascinating. I'm glad I'm also getting the opportunity to learn more than just Europe and America. It's amazing how much was going on in Asia and Africa that often goes unmentioned in other history classes. It helps that the teacher is way cool and awesome. She loves asking the Americans about their history experiences She is also truly passionate about her field and that always helps. 

Cultural Studies: This class has been ok as well. The course description implied that this course would look at culture and how that relates to politics which hasn't really happened yet. It has been cool though getting to learn others' perceptions on certain cultural phenomena. 

Japanese: This class will be the death of me. I am getting better at it though. My grades have been a little more consistent and I didn't do terrible with my presentation the other day. I've also been trying to talk more in Japanese as well as participate as much as possible in class. It's still a little scary though sometimes because you don't want to mess up the grammar and sound like a complete moron. I'm also still trying to memorize as much vocabulary and Kanji as possible. 

Alrighty so now that I've told you about the classes, let me share what my week looks like. 

Monday: 
Kanji Quiz 
Rough Draft Composition due
Kickboxing 
Meeting with Japanese professor 

Tuesday: 
Global History Midterm 
Grammar Quiz 
Final Composition due 

Wednesday: 
Group Meeting for Paper
Group Meeting for Presentation 
Study for Cultural Studies Midterm

Thursday: 
Cultural Studies Midterm 
Extra Credit Presentation due 
Group Presentation for Identity and Politics 
Kickboxing 
Kitchen Duty 

Friday:
Vocab Quiz 

Mind you, this does not include any readings or assignments the professors could give. Kinda jealous of all my friends who just finished up finals now :P.