beginning of the beginning

Today I started my independent studies, officially. Meaning, I went and got books from the library. My two topics are Eastern Philosophy and Religion and Japanese Literature in Translation. So far (meaning tonight) I’ve read about 125 pages on Eastern Religions, specifically a chapter on religion in China, which included Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and a chapter on the history and development of Buddhism. I wanted to get a lot more than that done, so I’m kind of disappointed. I feel like I haven’t been using my time as wisely as I could have been.

I would say that this weekend could be dedicated to work, yet we’re headed to Shiga (which is more of a country area) for a home-stay, meaning a lot less “me” time than I would like. But hopefully a good experience.

I have sketched out a tentative list of what I feel like I should be doing for my philosophy and religion class, but I’m still planning on e-mailing the professor of the course back at W&M and seeing what that syllabus actually looks like.

Speaking of classes. I am pretty sure that they determine credits here based on pages produced. Ten pages for each credit. That means in an 18 credit semester, you’re writing 180 pages. It makes an honors thesis seem a lot less scary, you know?

I received a lot of really positive feedback from people today, and that’s always good. I am still a little homesick at times, so hearing from home is a really good thing. As much as I want to learn to be independent, it doesn’t mean giving up the people you care about.

I have to either study a little more or hit the sack because we have Shodo (calligraphy) in the morning, and I want to shower.

Music of the day: Belle and Sebastian- Sleep the Clock Around
Meditation/ inspiration/ thought of the day: dedication and time management
What I learned: Around the dime of 147 AD, there was a branch of Taoism called “Five Bushel Rice Taoism” because all of the believers were taxed 5 bushels of rice (Kitagawa). Also, Kant and Buddha have a lot of the same ideas going on in their moral belief plans…believe it or not.
Priority: shower and studying and drinking orange juice because everyone else is sick!