I liked it. It was great.

Preface:
So today in class, I complained that I had not yet had the chance to write an inspiring end-of-class blog. And now I feel indebted to write one. If I ever thought ahead, I would have posted this blog two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the idea only occurred to me in the wee hours of the morning, yesterday. (No, I guess that was actually today.) In any case, Professor Jha, consider this my two-week late two weeks notice.



Dear Professor Jha and all those to whom it may concern,

I write this letter to inform you that I will be leaving your class; however, before I do there are a few things you should know.

When I signed up for this class, my impression of the UR English Department was less than lovely. In fact I was not even sure that I wanted to take another English class here. Luckily, Professor Jha was there to turn me around. Not only do I actually enjoy English again, but I would even consider an English major or minor. (But no promises!)

The class not only showed me that the English department was more than satisfactory, but it also proved that the students here – this should not offend any of you because you are all the opposite – are not all clammed up dullards. A few of the classes I took in the fall gave me the impression that the students at UR do not like to participate or talk or really do anything in class, but stare at the teacher. Again, I was lucky enough to be proved wrong.

In addition, I learned stuff. I know that sounds rather obvious as I am in school and this was a class. But, on top of learning that I should ALWAYS USE THE OED, I have learned more in this class than any other class I have taken. Not only did I get a better grasp on writing essays, but I learned about aspects of Asian-American culture that I was not previously aware of. I found out about the history of Hawaii, India, China and Japan that I never knew. This class gave me the chance to meet all of you and get to know you a little and it gave me a chance to become better acquainted with my own family and their history. (Jaydene, I adore your scrap book! I think I’ll make one too!)

Now that the year is coming to a close, I am finding that there is not nearly enough time or words to express how utterly remarkable this class has been. I am overflowing with blog ideas (in fact as I went to save this in word, I found that it was BLOG 6, which is odd because I haven’t written six blogs. There were also three blog 3s. Basically, I got very confused and panicked and proceeded to look up exactly how many blogs I had actually posted.) I really wanted to compare one of the books to East of Eden, which I have been reading since January. I thought that maybe I could compare Lee’s role as servant to the role of white people in My Year of Meats. Unfortunately, I have run out of time although I am sure that Professor Jha would not hesitate to encourage some light summer writing.

In any case, as much as it grieves me, I must bid ENGL 217 farewell.
Thank you all for my favorite academic experience (and a few non-academic ones too!) of the year!

Sincerely,

Amanda Kim Nonomura