大学生活 (Uni Life)

OK i went to my lab today to discover what I will "officially" be doing at university this year. I have no other words for this , but 'oh crap!'

Let's just say they definitely have work installed for me this year. Apart from my Japanese studies and UTS assigments I will be par-taking in research. This research is specifically in speech recognition. What I have been assigned to work on for the year involves me making a speech recognition system that will take a phone call and instantly post it on a web blog or site.
So, for example, I can make a call to the USA to a service centre, which then records the call. After the call I press send on the mobile and then this message will be posted on my blog straight away. Now we are also looking at doing this for video calls as well. And yes I am like how the hell do I do this. I have no background in this field and no uni experience. But after one day it does not look too bad. It gave me a headache, but I guess first days always do. Somehow by the end of this year I am suppose to come away with a speech recognition system that works....goodluck to me....i going to need it!

The facilites there are amazing though. I have been given a heap of software and the labs have everything a tech head could ever want. I am in a newer building on the 6th floor and it looks like I will be spending most of my days there. Locked away like a lab rat. The research interests me though and I have been put with an older research student so hopefully I wont annoy them too much with all my questions, but hey I want to learn and damn it I will.

In between all this engineering research I also have to do my Japanese subjects, which I am excited to start because I really want to be able to communicate with friends, but it is so hard at the moment. I find it the hardest at swimming training. They laugh at Natalie and me sometimes....we get so lost in their words. But, they try a lot to talk to us. I thought their basic english was ok, but now I realise they repeat the same sentences everytime I see them. Haha, just like me and Japanese. It's funny though because they talk in front of us, about us, cause they think we can't understand, but slowly I am picking up words. It was something today about me being in the same lab as one of the other swimmers. Its not bad talk, just funny when I caught them out and the look of shock on their faces that I actually understood. hehe

But, bascically thats the start to uni life. As I progess in this area I will let you know how it goes...I'm definitely in for a massive roller coaster ride...a little scared and freaked out by the research part, but stuff it I am just going to throw myself in and see where it takes me. And hell if I am going to fail at this....I want to eliminate that capstone before I get back...hmmm sounds like a plan......"excellent" (for the simpsons fans).

Haha and my professor is pretty cool. He is the dean, but he's laid back and understanding. He said he thinks Australians have weird words...like "blugger"....and I told him there are plenty more....haha. The people in my lab are also nice. Half from Japan and the other half of us are internationals. Though I do feel like one of the babies of the group....which is good because I realise why the other guys know so much....because they have studied and worked for at least 10 years. And no the Japanese do not seem to work 24/7. They know when to chill and hell do they enjoy a drink or two or five and god knows how many. I think they will kill me at this rate. Another welcome party for the swimming club this wednesday night and then the lab party the week after....it never ends, but not like I complaining. Good fun, good friends, good times, but there is some seriously shitty alcohol here. Do not ever drink sake or souchu(i cant spell it) ...they are nasty and taste close to meth(not that I have drunk it, but I have smelt it).

But still having a great time over here. The uni here actually seems worthwhile. Its like when I got the job at Alcatel-Lucent and learnt so much on the job and wondered why the hell do I go to uni. Well here at uni's in Japan you "actually" learn real life industry work which actually gets you somewhere. I so do not want to go back and finish my degree...its such a waste of 18 months....ahhh. Suck it up I guess and enjoy the experience this year and then just push through the year after so i can just get my degree over and done with.

Back to study tonight for me...somehow I have to learn all this kanji.....so many little pictures...so many meanings....it will be great when I know it all!