I did it again!
Each year I learn by heart the names and faces of all of our first year English majors, from 85-100 people usually. And over last weekend I memorized the names of all of them (plus a handful of people who failed last year and a few law students) and then in the beginning of the Introduction to American Culture and Literature class practiced their names and faces for 15 mins. Each year there seem to be a few popular names for girls and or a few names that sound similar to other names, and this year was no exception: Miyu (three people), Miyuu (two), Moe (two), Moeka, Moeno... Two Hazukis and a Mizuki, two Ayas and an Ayaka and an Ayami and an Ami... Three Yuukas and two Yuis and a Yuina and a Yuna. Luckily the students look pretty different from each other! All the male students (about thirty of the 107 total this year) have different names. . . What does it say about Japanese culture that girls are way more likely to have duplicating names than boys? Hmmm.... ANYWAY, it is surely worth the effort, as the kids get a kick out it when I walk around the room the first time saying their names as if by magic... There are always a handful who don't look like their pictures and a handful who look so nondescript as to defy memorization, but I can usually get everyone after a few classes to practice in person. And then when someone is checking their smart phone or sleeping or something, I can bark out their name to whip them back to focus! And now I can identify all the faces in the photo at the top of this blog page!
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Jefferson Peters (JP)
Can you find me in the picture above? Archives
December 2023
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