So I arrived at the classroom for the first day of linguistics. I sat down in the room and the professor came along soon after. He explained that the class was an "open" class meaning both Japanese and foreign students could take it. He also said that the Japanese students would return from their break the following week. And then he dropped a bombshell on us. Unfortunately, he explained, this class has a limit of only 10 students (foreign students). All of us looked around at each other. There are currently 16 of you, he went on to say. (I'm paraphrasing.) So I'm very sorry but 6 of you will have to drop the class. After class an office worker is going to come and decide which of you will drop he said. We couldn't believe it!! Japan is usually better run than this! I couldn't believe this was being addressed NOW on the first day of class as opposed to, oh I don't know, BEFORE the class started?? I wasn't able to dwell of the unfairness and sloppiness of this for long b/c the professor immediately started class. The lecture was FASCINATING. I discovered that day how much of an interest I have in linguistics!
At the end of the lecture there was a knock on the door and one of the office worker came in. She was holding a round canister in her hands. My heart sank as I remembered that somehow 6 of us were going to be forced to drop the class. How would it be done? Number of credits? Japanese level? The office worker explained that she had written on ten slips of paper the word "lucky" and on 6 slips nothing was written. She didn't need to explain further. But she did anyway. We are going to draw to see who stays in the class. WHAT??? I thought. This was being decided by dumb luck?? I felt that I never win anything based on luck. What if I wasn't allowed to take the class? What if I got booted out? I REALLY wanted to take the class now!! It was so MEAN of them to let us hear the first lecture and then tell us 6 of us had to leave!!
Suddenly a few students raised their hands and said they needed this course in order to graduate from their home universities. (I thought that that was a convenient thing to SAY and if it was true than they sure were irresponsible to leave it up to one class when they went abroad!) I realize now my thoughts were a bit harsh at the time b/c I was so worried I would get kicked out. I watched in horror as four (yeah FOUR) students each got to be GIVEN a slip with 'lucky' on it!!!! My odds had just decreased significantly (so had everyone else's of course). And then it was do or die. Time to draw. Who wants to draw first the office worker asked. My hand shot up in the air. I figured I might as well draw when I knew for certain the highest possible number of "lucky" slips were still in the canister. It was the only thing I could do to seize the best odds I figured. With six "lucky"s and six nothings it was a 50/50 shot. I braced myself and reached into the canister. I pulled out the first slip I felt. The office worker immediately moved on to the girl behind me. I looked down at the folded slip in my hand. I opened it quickly. Behind me I heard a disappointed sign. I turned and looked at a girl whom I know from my dorm. She looked at me and smiled ruefully and held up a blank piece of paper flipping it over to show it had nothing on it. I automatically held up mine to show her. She congratulated me. Yep, there written in orange colored pencil was:
Lucky!
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