Your Entry into Touhou (Read 1,490 times)

[lazulum]

Aeon
Yeah, the reputation/image of English teachers is, consequently, not great. Often seen as looking for easy work since it's native speakers relying on their language ability that they obtained based off of where they were raised.

Everyone learns the bulk of their first language implicitly, it's a very interesting topic actually. Language is one of the most difficult things to learn (at native level) and yet there is not a single person who fails to learn language. Very few children ever receive explicit lessons about their own spoken language but can still learn it with stunning success. Cases of humans without language are almost unheard of, you have some sign speakers in South America last century, Victor a feral French child found in the woods a few centuries ago, Genie, and that's all I know.

Don't have to know linguistics necessarily, although it will always help, just have to know how and what teach really. If you're teaching CLIL/CBI or Berlitz method knowledge of language won't come into use too much, assuming that you are not playing any role in drafting syllabi or in materials creation. That knowledge will open many doors, and will grant many tools that you may otherwise not know.

It's also not just linguistics of English, much more that will distinguish a good teacher. Knowing Japanese is important so you know what to teach and focus on. The Japanese language, for example, has almost no consonant clusters, no /v/, no /l/, so as far as pronunciation difficulties are concerned, those are some big ones (not to mention with vowels). Japanese is syllable-timed not stressed-time (e.g., English), this will also cause a lot of problems of accentedness and intelligibility.

Then there's also teaching methodology, neurobiology, etc. There are many things to know if you want to be a truly good teacher.

I appreciate your kinds words. I do what I can within my capacity. Sometimes programs don't allow much of any flexibility, have heard many stories about this and have experienced it myself. Wanted to introduce additional reading materials to supplement textbook once (very related Economist article that students would have enjoyed), request declined and told to only use textbook. Still included it as a bonus article if any students wanted to read it themselves though.

The teacher you described sounds to me a good teacher. Adapting textbooks is quite good, especially when done so with specific student groups in mind.

Good on you for being a good student, I wasn't for a long time. Had to work extra hard when the importance of academics finally clicked in my head.

They're all wonderful places and I have nice memories of each one.

spongelevator

I'll get back to you later today, have to take care of some matters

[lazulum]

spongelevator

There is research on that very subject actually, generally, nonnative speakers of English make for better teachers if they share the same first language as the students (generally, not always). There are a lot of reasons for this, but one of the big ones is as you describe, a lot of native teachers do not quite understand their own native language.

The phenomenon you are describing is the verbalization of language knowledge, you do indeed know it all, but it is all implicitly acquired and stored. There are many theories behind this, one that I find interesting is one called "Usage Based Acquisition", although "Skill Acquisition Theory", "D/P Model", among many others are also very interesting and have a lot of research rigor behind them.

If you are ever interested in teaching English as a profession (you can make money doing this one the side online too) I would be happy to give some pointers.

I too feel bad for Japanese stuck with the "English teacher" who is just looking for easy money, has no consideration for students, and is ultimately interested in drinking and girls. Years ago I actually got my start as a volunteer at a very entry level type position, I was in a program that rotated volunteers. The other members would often not even show up and simply remark "I forgot", they would be late, or cancel last minute. The program insisted that I had to be rotated out, but the head teacher would insist that they don't, until one too many times where whoever they rotated me out with embarrassed the program, the lady hung her head in embarrassment and just let me stay. Started getting paid so I would stick around and they increased my standing from being an assistant to outright filling in as the head teacher. The most basic thing, showing up, was what distinguished me from others. What kind of times are we in, when asking to show up on time with consistency is something you cannot reasonably expect?

For students, the teachers, and even program oversight, these people are a problem.

Ah, it is not uncommon for teachers to become locked into a sort of paradigm. This is the case in Japan too, one university I think it was Ocha-dai (top women's university) was, and maybe still is, insistent on using classical English literature to test the English abilities of applicants in entrance exams. When administration were pressed on this they would remark it was what they did. The precise answer of one was "it would insult the integrity of the test" (to change it). Some contemporaries in an academic organization I was once a part of had staunch critics of the last fifty years of research, thinking of it as feckless and vanity. The trappings I understand, but this is not good.

The chemistry class is unfortunate. When a teacher does not care about what they are teaching, the students pick up on this and this further demotivates them. There's a lot of research and theory on the matter of motivation, and it is generally accepted as an important component of the learning process.

Testing on material that was not covered by the class would be considered outright unethical. In fact, this would throw into question the validity (Messick, 1989) of the assessments. The class is ill-fit for function.

Drugs are highly frowned upon in Japan, there are fewer grave offenses that will invite such social censure. Americans (people and institutions) keep trying to push it on Japanese though, along with tattoos, this is very bad. It is also a grand hypocrisy, these are often types who will decry "cultural imperialism" as they themselves perpetrate it in Japan without a second thought. The winds of change blow in the general direction of America, and that has me worried; I do what I can to try to keep that from happening though. I have many stories about this, it is an eye-opening experience when a native of a country is begging you to report people to immigration authorities because they fear what their political activism (which is beyond the purposes of their visa) will bring about; I have not done this, but if I knew the proper channels I don't know what I would have done in the end.

Yes they are very beautiful parks, I have very nice memories at each and every one. If you are looking for some water, Rikugien and Shinjukugyoen have some nice streams. There's another park that I have not yet been to with swan boats, cannot remember the name of it right now unfortunately; very big park though.

I know that feeling about messing up equations. Did that when I took a course in electric engineering (long time ago) and messed up the notation. Experienced this a lot with advanced economics too, can't remember much about it anymore but there were a lot of complicated trade details I had to sort out through the use of mathematics. Have not used any of it since so I am wholly out of practice and cannot remember much. Need to review it someday.

I wish you and aeon luck with the calculus haha
I'll pick it up one of these days, but have too much to learn at the moment as it is

[spongelevator]

yeah I heard if you just put a baby in a room where people are speaking eventually it will pick up on the words and their meanings and stuff
I have no idea if those theories would be a topic in psychology or neuroscience or possibly a class for people wishing to become teachers but I would enjoy looking at these things in a few weeks when things slow down again
I probably should not be teaching anything, especially a language, because I don't even bother to speak in complete sentences anymore lol
being able to teach a friend how to do the whatever thing instead of some strange explanation followed up with "uuh I dunno" would be nice though
it looks like teachers have it hard and sometimes their freedom is restricted like that so though I respect them I wouldn't want to be one unless I was teaching something higher level and not very popular at a high school or something so I could basically make my own course and all instead of getting into the eternal loop of suffering that is common core classes
thank you very much for being reliable
these days people'll cancel plans with one text thirty minutes before and I've had to wait for some people for upwards of 70 minutes
if we look on the bright side at least that means reliability and consistency are important traits that give us an advantage in life
lol I thought getting trapped in the common core loop was bad and then they're using the same test with classical english and condemning recent research
I am very glad for the internet because now such things can be escaped a little more easily by just learning the subject on the ol world wide web
the chemistry class was actually somewhat of a unique situation because the teacher told us outright he does not care if we pay attention or not and not even he took the class seriously
our period in particular was usually three or four days behind because sometimes the students would spend the entire period asking him intentionally dumb questions like "if I swallow the goldfish on your desk and go upside down can it swim back out" and he would do a whole explanation for like 20 minutes and he'd joke around with all of them
it made for a particularly interesting year because of how well the teacher and class got along but then the average class grade wasn't far above the test scores and neither the teacher nor the students made any attempt to change it
though for demotivated teachers I can see that because in all math classes I've ever been in the teacher is suddenly really bummed out and unenthusiastic by the second semester
and the scores drop accordingly
also lol the chemistry class was a big mess so I think the material on there that I'd never seen before might have been what we were supposed to be taught
but then the teacher didn't even bother trying to get there or telling us about how it'd be on the test so we kinda just all accepted a 93% being the highest score out of all the periods
almost all the people I know really want to leave america as soon as they are financially stable because the political climate is incredibly foul and people sometimes will hate you for simply having a different opinion of any kind and nothing else
dunno where I'll end up but hopefully not somewhere like what this place is becoming
after the whole coronavirus thing with the 4 million cases or however much it is right now I don't even know if other countries will want us there anymore
I dunno if reporting such people would be dangerous or not but the world should not be the US because man it is not good place here other than big world economy or something like that
politics is impossible to escape as well and this stuff is even quite political so I am sorry if I should not have done that

parks will once again save me from the world issues above
even just the local bench+trees+large rocks makes me feel better
lol swan boats is the true didney worl ride
nobody can beat the swan boat

I haven't heard much about electrical engineering other than it's difficult but lol yeah at every level mistakes are made
I've heard enough people joking about forgetting +C in some calculus chapter and even though I don't know what it's referring to I know it's important and if I forget to write that I'll get my points slashed in half

[lazulum]

Both psychology and neuroscience are very broad domains, they can go hand-in-hand in many ways too. Very interesting stuff.

Doesn't have to be language, find a topic you're interested in and learn it. Before long you will have people approach you to offer money for some of your time. Depends on the topic of course but the selection is massive. Teaching friends is good too, I have done this many times.

There are a lot of good teaching gigs out there, you can freelance and work on your own time too. Many such cases. I know a Kiwi in Hong Kong who does that. University students are the second easiest to teach I've found. The most difficult are children around 8-12.

Yeah that is the bright side, it is much easier to progress in a field than it used to. Just have to show up now. I worry about the societal implications however, it's not healthy nor wholly functional if even showing up on time is considered overly onerous. Fortunately, this trend has not taken root among Japanese, for now at least.

For me the internet has been good and bad. These days good, but in my highschool days I was a recluse. Was a very different person, was a nihilist back then too, many bizarre episodes. Set me back in many ways, of course as with all tools the fault is squarely at my feet, the consequence of my own weaknesses back then. These days, as you say, it is great for research and reading, no doubt.

Your chemistry teacher should be fired haha.

I understand the sentiment that you describe many Americans as having. Here in Japan you can discuss almost any political or philosophical topic without being accosted. It is only non-Japanese who have ever raised a stink at times. I am one of very many aberrant views, although I can assure everyone is thoroughly thought out, sourced, and influenced by many different thinkers.

My only worry is that many Americans do come to Japan because it is different, but they then want to make it into America. They complain that Japanese society frowns on tattoos and try to normalize it. They condemn Japanese media, advertising, etc., for not adhering to American sensibilities and agitate for changes. Not to mention many don't bother learning Japanese, or any of the culture, history, etc. There are many more examples, but those are some of the less controversial ones.

Parks are nice, I go to my local park when I can. Although maybe not in the summer, because it gets quite hot haha.

[Aeon]

lazulum
woah, didn't know that learning your first language was such a different think. i never really considered it much

it's unfortunate to hear that drugs and tattoos are kinda being forced into japan. i think tattoos are alright, but not so much that i would get one myself and it shouldn't be forced to become the norm

if i ever go to japan for extended periods of time, it will probably be as a student but i'll keep what you're saying in mind

spongelevator
yeah man the internet is more of a teacher than most of my classes have ever been. they really think i'm gonna learn how to read and write in an english class with "of mice and men" when instead i could read a million words of danganronpa and ace attorney? everybody knows that you can skip science class if you read the unnecessarily detailed explanations in jojo. for real, though, it seems like physical classes are becoming less relevant when you can get free high-level education online. programming is for sure one thing that you are just hurting yourself if you are trying to learn in an expensive class that takes a whole semester instead of just hopping into it with youtube tutorials. physical lectures are cool if the teacher is good and they have good things to say but a lot of the time it seems that you can get more from google than the education system

my high school chemistry was pretty lame too. teach barely wanted to explain things to the whole class so he just kinda threw the textbook and some assignments at us, and for a proper explanation we would have to talk to him one-on-one. he kept extending the assignments until everybody got it, but it sure wasn't the fastest way to do it

there might be a rule or something about politics but hey, if the mods got a problem they can come online. america is hilarious and i hope it gets taken over by canada or mexico very soon. i may have little worldwide experience but i can tell stuff just keeps getting worse here
i think like 95% of countries have a ban on us citizens flying to their place right now because corona is still increasing or something here. sucks

[spongelevator]

a year ago I was quite bored and looking at the course selections of random high schools throughout the US and almost all of them had a bunch of APs and common core along with a handful of weird stuff offered almost nowhere else like marine biology and bike technology and microbiology
so I would probably want to do one of those
biology's got some nice stuff though I haven't even touched any college level stuff there yet
yeah it's quite bad that people are so unreliable these days but we can be proud that we aint no chumps who start getting ready for their 08:00 appointment at 08:30

lol internet can lead to very good and bad
polarization and extremism along with probably a very great amount of people overusing it heavily and hikkikomori and NEETs
remember when people looking at yo mama thanos earrape on their phones was not a normal thing
though there's a ton of free resources and also not-free resources but I need that ap biology book and I do not have 120 dollars
and also being able to access weird foreign stuff and finding about "a manga guide to cryptography" and stuff it ends up being good
anyone who wants to learn or wants a good grade can use internet to learn so is a great resource
physical classes seem quite unimportant because probably anyone who got an A in algebra 1 in school could also learn it at home in a month or less
I think other than the fact that screen make eyes not good and socialization physical school is best for higher level classes and anything with labs
also I'm able to use online school to get out of presentations in english classes lol
don't need no C- on my stuff just because the teacher cannot understand what I am saying
your chemistry class sounds a lot worse because it just sounds really boring and unhelpful
that one infamous english teacher was kinda like that except even more passive
at least in mine the teacher and class were incompetent in unison and honestly if he was fired we would probably all laugh about it anyway because the class is like a comedy TV show
at least we got the khan academy chemistry or whatever these days so I can learn why water do the polar thing
yeah the internet makes that kinda stuff even worse
because people try to "cancel" others or something and they start up a whole storm
instead of forgiving people for their mistakes they wish to do whatever "cancelling" is
america is becoming crustier every day and eventually kim jong un's gonna nuke us and some guy's gonna come across a demon summoning program and now we can finally play SMTV
I'm honestly not sure why america became this way but no history class I've taken wants to even touch on the subject for being so horrid

[lazulum]

spongelevator

Specialization is quite good, if its something you can ensure a demand for at least. Bike technology would be one such niche. Just be sure that it is something you are interested in and want to give your all at. If so, start networking, practicing, researching, studying, getting your name out there, etc.

Yeah showing up on time and having the right attitude will get you a lot further than it used to haha.

Polarization is not good, but this is a massive subject to broach. As you say, the internet has certainly exacerbated this trend.

The internet is a great resource definitely. When you get into UC, you will be able to access a greater volume of literature and research than you can imagine, online and offline haha. All for free, too. Something to look forward to.

Many topics included in the curriculum in the US are strange and paced poorly from what I have gathered. I think that you are right, algebra I could be taught in about a month. This then wastes the valuable time of many growing minds. Japan is not perfect either, I do not mean to imply that it is, its English curriculum is quite infamous (although improving, even if little by little).

"Cancelling" more often than not is a sort of economic violence. Part of tiered-violence, it's done in order to force about an artificial consensus, which is hoped to in turn become self-perpetuating.
It is also a manifestation of the unbridled emotionality that has been allowed to drive decision making and to enthrall the energies of the citizenry.

Jul 27, 2020 3:16:53 GMT spongelevator said:

I'm honestly not sure why america became this way but no history class I've taken wants to even touch on the subject for being so horrid

When it comes to these matters, public education has been far more than a failure. Such a topic requires knowledge of history, but also a developed and exhaustively pieced together knowledge of the world.

I will create a literature thread so I can post some recommendations, as well has host discussion regarding questions, criticisms, etc.

[spongelevator]

the ap biology teacher used to work at a lab and apparently he decided to just teach at the high school after there was some incident there
so if I were to teach I probably would want to have some experience in my field like that so I don't end up like chemistry teacher lol
science classes seem to have the most demand because the way math is taught makes almost everyone hate that and that's why AP calculus BC has 30-35 students out of the 2500+300
and biology is the most popular out of those from what I've seen
yeah though classes are definitely not paced well though I'm not exactly sure how I would fix them if I had to
college has one class a semester and though I have not experienced it yet that definitely sounds better
because classes in high school are for the whole year despite being simpler than college so it ends up being unnecessarily long and many people end up forgetting a lot
there's no review or anything so the slow pace results in people not remembering anything instead of things slowly being absorbed like they may have intended
algebra was the worst offender there because in algebra 2 the teacher put review problems from algebra 1 and geometry on quizzes and those were the most commonly missed questions every time they showed up
the teacher had to reteach multiple lessons from those classes because kids literally did not even recognize the problems or how to do them
I think <40% of americans have a bachelor's degree and high school absolutely does not teach people to think well because in many classes a D is passing and so if you just copy the homework answers and turn all homework in then you pass automatically
though people with college degrees have also acted in such ways before so it's just a big american mess once again
in better news, a bag of apples can be purchased for $1.99

[lazulum]

Aeon

The learning of the first language is indeed something that is not even thought about, that's part of why it is quite amazing. We learn something so complex (not just words, but facial expressions, intonation, rhythm, pitch, contexts of use, etc.) and difficult without thinking much about it. We do this largely as children no less haha. Humans are quite amazing, truly unique beings endowed with endless potential.

Historically in Japan tattoos are known as what criminals have. One of the reasons crime in Japan is so successfully controlled is that criminals have tattoos and are promptly excised from polite society. Pushing this in Japan has very real negative consequences that a lot of jumped up, self-righteous people from lands abroad do not think about. They are hurting people and distorting social orders in ways they do not understand.

You have my sincerest appreciation. Japan has been very good to me.
My great great grandfather Jozef died in service to a foreign king he had no choice but to serve (precarious times). For me it would be very different, I would give myself to a king of my choosing of my own volition. That is the gratitude and loyalty that I have to Japan, I have countless stories of how this country has been very good to me, I would not be the man I am now without it.

If you come as a student there are many options and many things to know. Many many topics, from schooling, housing arrangements, immigration, etc. If you would like more information about that I will be happy to share more about that with you.

[Aeon]

lazulum
ah, i've heard of that. yakuza tattoos are pretty cool-looking in movies and the yakuza game series, but i'll be sure to remember that context. crazy how in some places certain tattoos are seen as like a super-upstanding thing in a like pious way, in contrast to japan or even here in the US where the general interpretation seems to range between "kinda cool", "artsy", and "trashy".

it's hard for me to imagine that kind of impact a country could have on someone. america isn't exactly known for good things, and i've never felt like i've had any benefits specifically because i lived here instead of another english-speaking country like britain. i guess there's the thing about guns being usable by anyone but i kinda see that as a downside. i've lived in mostly the same area and haven't had to deal with war, so that's very interesting. i'm sorry to hear about your great great grandfather, but it's nice to hear that japan is a place that has helped you so much.

i might have to ask you about being a student in japan later, but it's not something i can look at right now. pretty sure US citizens aren't actually allowed to fly to most countries at the moment, and i've got a lot more japanese to learn first. the overall experience, though, is something i would like to hear about. even though i'm not close to actually doing it, the aspect of going to a different country to take classes that can already be difficult normally is a bit worrisome. i still think it would be worth it, though.

[lazulum]

spongelevator
Ahhh, I've heard of such cases. Someone is moreso a researcher but ends up as a teacher, they know the content well but do not have the skill nor desire to teach a classroom. Teaching is indeed a skill separate from the knowledge that is being taught itself, just knowing the knowledge does not mean you will be an effective teacher.

One important bit of advice: we always start somewhere. Maybe get an assistant position, maybe volunteer, etc. The dirty secret for just about all teachers and a lot of very accomplished men I respect will tell you similar, is that your first year of teaching will mostly be bad teaching haha

The one class a semester function is quite good, the freedom you have in choosing professors and classes that are based in your evaluations and inferences make for a nice system; for the initiated at least. College can be invaluable in your pursuits or a giant waste of time, which it will be is contingent on your own initiative and efforts.

It is again as you say, having a bachelors degree alone is not sufficient, it depends on the person really. I use this term sparingly, but some of the dumbest people I have ever known have bachelors degree, they just did the bare minimum to get by in a major that did not specialize in anything of value. The road of least resistance and the road of the most immediate maximization of ephemeral pleasure. When I say "dumb" I do not mean they were born as such, they are that way because of their own failings and lack of desire to grapple with those failings. Incidentally, it is this type which is also the most politically active it seems, there lies one of the problems that have manifested in the present day.

Review is important, so too is generating autonomy and maintaining motivation. The system you describe appears to satisfy none of those.

That is quite good! How many apples comes in one of those bags?
I bought a bag of apples the other day, only came with four small apples haha.

Aeon
Yeah there is an aesthetic to those tattoos, I cannot deny that. Many Yakuza are also identifiable through missing parts of their fingers too. Particularly grievous offenses or failings are punished through the chopping off of a finger. There is one story of a former Yakuza trying to reintegrate into society, had a special operation where they attached his toe onto where his finger once was, did a convincing job. Getting involved in that life comes with many costs.

Yeah different cultures have different meanings attached to tattoos. Polynesian cultures especially have a positive societal role for tattoos. I do not look down on them for this, they are a different culture in a far off land, I have no desire to change their ways.

America once was a place capable of many feats and produced many great people. These days it seems that there has been a considerable decline in the moral arterial of the society's beating heart. A society is only as good as the men in it, and that would be the greatest ailment to befall it. Many young men of Japan are troubled in a very different way make no mistake, they're good of heart many of them, but suffer in different ways. A topic for a different time.

Britain is from my observation worse than the US believe it or not. Many Japanese are Anglophiles, my recent ex certainly was haha, but they're attracted to a fancy veneer. The UK presents itself as a nightmare totalitarian police state at every possible turn. Japan is a country with great regard for freedom believe it or not, even moreso than the US itself these days ironically, there were not lockdowns in Japan for the Corona virus. The government looked at the constitution and concluded that it did not allow them to control the movement of its people.

You have my thanks for your kind words. The death of my great great grandfather had my great grandfather renounce loyalty to the king as he left for far away lands as a refugee almost 200 years ago. Things would be very different for me now had that not happen, all things happen for a reason I have come to know.
Many distant family still back in the homeland, I am able to hear stories thanks to the wall coming down. Many still own farmland, a cousin was blown up while she was bicycling home by the Luftwaffe, etc. Very different times. So many have no idea just how much worse things can be.

It was Japan's good people especially, I try to help others myself now. We can all make the little world around us just a little bit better, such is the unchanging, perennial capacity of men.

Yeah travel isn't so possible at the moment, eh
Well whenever you're in a better position feel free to ask away.

Some advice I can give: Time and time again I have found myself trapped within increasingly difficult situations, but through effort, will, and determination each time I was able to make it through and I have gained something each time. Sometimes you just have to advance onward and weather anything the elements may throw your way until you reach your destination.

Don't wait too long, you're capable of a lot more than you realize, only when you find yourself in that position where you can only march forward will you see just what you are capable of. Thoughts of futility or wavering you will need to disregard in that time, your legs will carry you, but you need to trust them to do that.

[Aeon]

i've heard of the finger thing, too. tattoos can kind of be concealed, but that just sounds like an absolute no-going-back sign when it comes to a life of crime. good on that one dude who put his toe on his finger, but i can't imagine others have the same opportunity.

i haven't heard anything like that until now about the uk. from my perspective, it's just "america with no guns and also they made doctor who". i'll keep an eye out for funky things going on, but i wasn't really planning on visiting anyway. it's cool that japan didn't get any formal lockdowns, my town did but i wish they had more overall. japanese people seem to be more used to safely handling disease and stuff with facemasks being normalized from my understanding. a lot of dudes here will just show up to the beach days in a row even while the us has the most cases and rising which is rather lame

thanks for the advice. i'm undertale guy so i think "determination" is a pretty good philosophy. it's sometimes hard to not wait but yeah, getting started fast and disregarding the uncertainty that comes with that is best

[lazulum]

The thing with the UK is that they do not have a constitution, I have heard attempts to explain this away with the concept of an "unwritten constitution" but I am unconvinced. It is a very long topic but what I see in the UK is the worst case outcome for Japan, both island countries with complicated histories.

Freedom is not free, there is a very real burden and onus to bear if freedom is desired. Liberties cannot be preserved in the context you describe, and so I see the need for lockdowns. It is a consequence of many greater failings that have accrued over time from what I have gathered.

The government of Japan made requests (要請) and businesses voluntarily cooperated and did their own part during the crisis. It's nearing that point again it seems, cases are increasing again, began with younger folk in Shinjuku. Clubs and such.

There's a good message in that Undertale I think. Culture at its best can compel men to do great things, good culture is something that is difficult to preserve however. Part of the beauty present in the broad domain of arts is the need for action in order to ensure its perpetuation.
The way I see it is that an hour spent meandering over why you can't do something is an hour that could be spent doing that thing.

[spongelevator]

eh it seems america has some good stuff that other countries lack like how way too many things are released only in a country of origin and USA and also if you go to a restaurant you get a portion size that'll feed you for the whole day
though other than that america number 1 whatever stuff there is a lot of bad with no clear solution and it aint good
I'd say US lockdowns seem pretty strange when I look at it
I went outside like 6 times since march and I always saw far more people without masks than with masks
and some of those people with a mask had their nose out or made no attempt to wear it properly
one guy literally put a pin on the front of the mask
I thought it was obvious how a mask works because I remember hearing about it in grade school but apparently many people do not even know this
and there's still tons of people resisting the lockdown simply because it is one and people who still go out to mcdonalds without a mask because they feel like getting a fries
I don't actually know if there was any attempt to educate people about this just in case they somehow missed the point but there's a lot wrong there
US aint a good place and it seems a decent portion of the smartest people are just leaving because man it is bad
hopefully I can find a better home one day
apparently UCs other than berkeley and merced have a quarter system and maybe just california universities do in general I dunno
that is very good because now when I transfer into one I can still take some weird classes like bird biology without having to sacrifice as much space lol
from what I heard the UK is bad weather america in europe
I dunno though I just know they have many mcvities biscuits flavors and I tried at least six and it was not worth it
usually it comes with 7-8 medium apples so yeah that is one of the things america has
cheap apple has been achieved
but at what cost?

[lazulum]

You're absolutely right about the portions, everything is bigger in America haha
America is the size of just about all of Europe, a lot of farmland and resources. Great potential that still remains largely untapped.

That's a great point to raise with regard to any government imposition, the practicality of its enforcement. It seems demands to wear masks are largely not enforceable (outside of buildings) and probably cause more bad than good consequently.

There are some people here in Japan who sometimes don't wear masks, I don't get angry when I see it though. In one friend's case she takes a path walking to work where there are few people so she doesn't wear a mask while there. I'll take my mask off if there are no people within a several meter radius (although an uppity British man once paced across at least ten meters just to recommend I keep the mask on haha)

I know a lot of military guys, I think the mindset is one that is against collective punishment which the lockdowns are a form of. The lockdowns (or in the military collective punishment) are administered when only a few violate rules, and to those not it usually isn't well received. It's a largely natural reaction I think. Unfortunate that it came to that but it seems enough callous conduct was around to facilitate a rapid spread of the pandemic.
The other mindset I suspect is one of constitutionally adherent folk. We have those in Japan too, that's why Japan still does not have a military even to this day, there's even an entire political party (立憲民主党) that exists for hawking over deviations from the constitutions (a good friend who is ardently pro-military really doesn't like them hahaha)

"Bad weather America in Europe" is not too bad a way to put it haha, I would add "minus the constitution" too

Quarters sound a little intensive, but I'll bet there's many benefits such as the one you described.

There's a saying in Japanese that an old student of mine really liked 「住めば都」. Home is out there somewhere. He knew better than most, very interesting life.

That's quite a bargain! Will you be able to eat all of those though? haha