Japanese Lecturer
Tuesday, 30 June 2020 23:40![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elusivekI just heard today about the passing of my second Japanese Lecturer.
The first one passed a couple years ago. He made the language so easy to learn. He was the one to build my strong base. Even after so many years out of practice, I can still remember sentence structures and verb forms (despite needing A LOT of brushing up on vocabulary and fluency and more complicated grammar).
This second one made classes a bit harder, but he was more into immersive teaching and cultural exchange. I didn't really like his style (as compared to the first lecturer) but I had heard that by Year 3, everyone gets the second guy.
A couple years after I graduated from Uni, a group of friends/classmates decided to meet up with him, so we did. So after some chit chat, he said that he had plans to ask me out back when I was still a student, but his colleagues said I was too young (heck, he must have been in his 70s and I was just fresh 20s) and dissuaded him.
Of course, he could have just spun that story for shits and giggles but I sort of respected him a little more after hearing that. I may have mentioned some time before that I tend to attract the attention of older men despite actively not trying to. So, my respect for him grew since he said he had wanted to, but heeded the advise of his colleagues not to.
I guess the sad thing is that since graduation, we have fallen into the cliche habit of, when meeting each other by chance somewhere, we'll say "hey! Let's meet up!" Or "Hey! Let's have lunch some time!" And that coffee date or lunch date just never happened.
Oh, and back in my Uni time, when it was still the Nokia phones, I had keyed a ringtone for myself (I used game music "Closed Garden" from Seiken Densetsu 3) and he loved the trilling part (around 00:14) and asked me to key it in for him. He wasn't using a Nokia phone so I had to study his phone system (I think he used a Japanese phone). Let's say in the end I did manage to key that in and he was delighted. I remember when I met him by accident at my company restaurant maybe 3 years ago he said he's since changed his phone a few times, and managed to transfer that ringtone, until the newest phone when I guess it didn't support the old midi style tone and instead needed mp3s to work.
Story learnt here is: if you bump into an old friend and decide to "let's have lunch some time!" don't just walk away. Set that lunch date on spot right there, then the lunch date will happen, and you will have the chance to catch up. Life is short.
The first one passed a couple years ago. He made the language so easy to learn. He was the one to build my strong base. Even after so many years out of practice, I can still remember sentence structures and verb forms (despite needing A LOT of brushing up on vocabulary and fluency and more complicated grammar).
This second one made classes a bit harder, but he was more into immersive teaching and cultural exchange. I didn't really like his style (as compared to the first lecturer) but I had heard that by Year 3, everyone gets the second guy.
A couple years after I graduated from Uni, a group of friends/classmates decided to meet up with him, so we did. So after some chit chat, he said that he had plans to ask me out back when I was still a student, but his colleagues said I was too young (heck, he must have been in his 70s and I was just fresh 20s) and dissuaded him.
Of course, he could have just spun that story for shits and giggles but I sort of respected him a little more after hearing that. I may have mentioned some time before that I tend to attract the attention of older men despite actively not trying to. So, my respect for him grew since he said he had wanted to, but heeded the advise of his colleagues not to.
I guess the sad thing is that since graduation, we have fallen into the cliche habit of, when meeting each other by chance somewhere, we'll say "hey! Let's meet up!" Or "Hey! Let's have lunch some time!" And that coffee date or lunch date just never happened.
Oh, and back in my Uni time, when it was still the Nokia phones, I had keyed a ringtone for myself (I used game music "Closed Garden" from Seiken Densetsu 3) and he loved the trilling part (around 00:14) and asked me to key it in for him. He wasn't using a Nokia phone so I had to study his phone system (I think he used a Japanese phone). Let's say in the end I did manage to key that in and he was delighted. I remember when I met him by accident at my company restaurant maybe 3 years ago he said he's since changed his phone a few times, and managed to transfer that ringtone, until the newest phone when I guess it didn't support the old midi style tone and instead needed mp3s to work.
Story learnt here is: if you bump into an old friend and decide to "let's have lunch some time!" don't just walk away. Set that lunch date on spot right there, then the lunch date will happen, and you will have the chance to catch up. Life is short.
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no subject
Date: 2020-06-30 15:42 (UTC)