冬休みがチャレンジ: Progress ３

Today I had an 8 hour shift and so I came home pretty tired and zoned out.
I didn't want to miss out on studying so I told myself to squeeze some in before I passed out.
First I went over my friends corrections again and write them down in my journal.
Writing them down correctly should drill it into my brain.
Then I wrote new vocabulary I learned through this exercise into my memo.
I then wrote about my day and sent it to her.
I feel I wrote even more today.
I'm really enjoying it. It doesn't feel like work.

I haven't been speaking though. I'm gonna focus on actually talking next week.
I'll also put in my vocab/phrases into Anki then too.

One thing I'm happy about is that
I exchange emails regularly with my 先生, but I always write to her in English.
With my last 先生 I did a mix of English and Japanese.
Again, this stems from my shyness using my Japanese.
Today I wrote a quick email to her all in Japanese.
I didn't hesitate. I wanted to.
I hope that when I see her I will also not hesitate to speak.

This entry is short because I am over exhausted and I should have been sleeping hours ago.

お休み。

冬休みがチャレンジ: Progress 2

Day 2:

I worked many hours this holiday weekend, and so I didn't celebrate Christmas
with my family this year. :( I also didn't have time for Japanese.

Since I know I work many hours I wondered how I could fit in my Japanese studies.
I bought a little memo book and have written my vocabulary in it.
Being a cashier, I can have the memo at the register and study during slow periods.
I also have to rip signs during slow hours so it's great time to repeat the vocabulary to myself.

When Monday rolled in though I had no problem making myself sit down and study. It's slowly forming into a habit! I was so focused and in a study trance. I also did something that is hard to do, but something you have to do if you want to get anywhere with your studies. My brother is visiting from UK and my siblings had a sibling-night out, but I declined. I was "in the zone as it where". I knew I would be out all day on Tuesday with my friend. Where would studying fit in between all the fun? It's a choice I have to get used to doing.

My friend has been correcting my grammar, and I'm happily surprised how well I'm doing!
I thought my Japanese has gotten worse, but it has improved. ♪
It has boosted my confidence and I'm trying to express things I would usually avoid.
I also noticed that some things I didn't have to think about. I was quite sure of them, and
felt natural.

My friend has told me to try to avoid using katakana words and use Japanese words instead.
Even though these words exist they're not usually spoken, and mostly used for advertisements.
It's kinda difficult to know when not to use these words because they're so many.

Another thing I learned is that with older siblings you should always add 兄さん or 姉さん after their name.
Just saying their first name is not common, but with younger siblings you just say their names.
I also learned not to say お母ちゃん and お兄ちゃん at my age. It's perceived as childish and not lady like. :3

I asked her how do I end a vlog or a journal entry of I have nothing else to say? She taught me the phrase "今日はこのへんで” or ”今日はこのへんにします”. It means "That's all for today." This phrase is going to become very useful. Because it was the holidays I took the chance to practice conjugation of give and receive. I think I have it down now.  


I need to work on my deck but I haven't had time. Hopefully I can muster energy for it after work tomorrow. I'm gonna have to do a YT vlog soon too. Been so long.

How are you doing with your self challenge?

今日はこのへんにします。

冬休みがチャレンジ：Progress

Day 1:

It was quite hard for me to muster the energy to start my first day of my challenge.
With droopy eyes I forced myself to plow through and I did all three tasks.
First I just wrote down about my day.
I couldn't fully express a few things so it sounded like statements.
Hopefully as my challenge progresses I'll be able to put in more feeling.
I also noted that I really need to go back and review chapters that I have studied.
I emailed my friend and hopefully she can fix my grammar.

When I clicked record I froze up when I saw the red light.
I haven't vlogged in so long that I feel I'm back to square one.
I didn't want to speak.
When I recorded myself I noted I hardly put any emotion in my words.
I blame my exhaustion.
I always stop at particles cause I have to think about it,
and if I don't my tongue gets tied.
I hope this will become a thing of the past.

I do think it's my tiredness, because when I do vlog on YouTube
I do it when I have the most energy and motivated.

I wrote down two new words I learned doing this exercise.
The best grammar learned is grammar you crave/search to use.
I think it sticks better in your brain.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

冬休みがチャレンジ

Winter vacation is finally here!

I couldn't wait for it to start. 
I have so many things I want to do this vacation.
One of them is Japanese of course.
I was so stressed out with my classes and piled up with
work that I'm behind on my Japanese studies. ><

I like vacation because it's a good time to really dive
deep into my Japanese studies. My friend, レイチェルちゃん
has started her own self challenge and it has inspired me to do the same.

The point of these self challenges is to get into routine, make it a habit, gain confidence, and improve your level of Japanese.  I thought it be good for this winter challenge to 
focus on what you most struggle with. 


The biggest thing I struggle with is speaking. 
I have  no confidence and feel very nervous.
I won't even speak in Japanese to my new Japanese teacher!
So that is what I'm going to focus on.


What I plan to do:

First, I'm going to vlog  everyday, but these will be private vlogs.
I hesitate too much when I have to upload a jvlog. I feel
I will quickly quit if I do so. 
This will help me get used to having to speak in Japanese.
I will upload one vlog a week on my YouTube channel.
This will help me to get feed back on my progress and get comfortable speaking to an audience. 


Second, I will write in my Japanese journal everyday.
It will help me to put my thoughts and feelings into words. 
My teacher or friend will check the grammar so that I learn to speak
correctly. 
I will build a phrase deck of sentences I always want to use,
but never remember how to say them. 

My goal will be to be able to record one minute of vlogging without cutting,
speak comfortably in front of my teacher and friends.


I will post regularly of my progress.
Want to join in the challenge?
Commest or leave a link to your self challenge.
It doesn't have to be speaking. It can be reading, writing, anything!
Let's make progress this winter break!