What does justice mean to me? Justice can mean many different things, to me it means that an adequate punishment is given to people who do bad things. This should discourage other people from committing such acts, that is what justice means to me. I can neither agree or disagree with the Japanese criminal justice system because while they might convict a lot of criminals, the mistreatment and inaccuracy that surrounds the investigations makes it seem corrupt and unfair to the criminals being convicted. In Canada I feel that the criminals are given almost all of their rights whether they are guilty or not. Whereas in japan it sounds like they are denied some fundamental rights and freedoms such as your rights upon arrest or your right against unlawful detainment. Of course everybody has a very perfect image of japan so it came as a surprise to find out that criminals are treated inhumanly or that there is that much racism is asian countries.

My horoscope is Aquarius. Characteristics of Aquarius are advanced, self-reliant, clever, exceptional and optimistic. I have never strongly believed in horoscopes and honestly never took them into consideration. I have found little correlation to any of the characteristics listed, they all have a loose description of qualities that every single person could have. I think it is fun and coincidental when the horoscope aligns with some of your own values but it is nothing more than fun and coincidental. I have never been judged by my horoscope although I am not a gemini. Personality type is a different question, I have not been judged but more so categorized in careers class. We would figure out of personality type and then be assigned jobs based on our type. I hadn’t considered any of my jobs and they were just given to me because of my assumed compatibility. Even though these tests and quizzes are mostly untrue they are still popular because it is fun and keeps people curious about something with little to no value. I may not believe in horoscopes but I am incredibly superstitious. Before basketball games I cannot drink water only small sprays, I also cannot wear any clothes underneath my jersey (besides underwear). Many other things like not touching the surface of vinyl records and cds, not telling people my birthday wishes. I think even though they might not be true it is fun and adds extra character to yourself. It can also add a sense of confidence to an area where you may not feel so confident about.

(I don’t know how to access the Japanese keyboard for vocab but I tried)

I studied for tests better than last year, I would study days before so I could memorize the vocabulary before the test. I would write every word out five times in Japanese to English and then memorize it, I would do the same with English to Japanese.

Some short/long term goals for myself include… being able to speak and ask for things politely, when I visit Japan I want to appear polite to my relatives and I want to be able to ask for basic things. I also don’t want to speak in broken Japanese and be somewhat rude in the way I talk.

I appreciate feedback on… What Im not doing to help myself. If I can help myself do better in the course I would definitely want to. Once I do the little things I feel like I can get my mark up.

An example of something I have spent a lot of time learning about is… Vocabulary. This year I spent a lot of time on vocabulary because I realized that during tests if you know the vocabulary then you can figure out how to put it into a sentence.

How will you continue your Japanese language acquisition over the year? I think I will do some minimum studying so I am prepared for next year. I want to come into the Course in grade 11 with enough knowledge so I don’t have to play catch up for the first couple weeks.

If you could travel back in time, what study/language advice would you give yourself or others? I would tell myself to study particles and know all of the vocabulary before tests. take advantage of time that given in class to learn basic stuff like numbers and times, the date.