No More Guilt

I really missed blogging!
I'm sorry to everyone who reads my blog.
My blog is for fun, I'd rather not schedule my entries.
Quality over quantity, right?

After my trip from Utah I felt pretty horrible about my Japanese abilities.
I had the goal of only speaking Japanese while I was there.
I felt frustrated with myself. I felt I failed.

When I came back I was pumped in trying the Tofugu 30day book, and see if
my studies would improve. The rule is that you MUST do whatever activity the chapter for that day requires. I loved it. A step-by-step guide. 
But if backfired.
Realistically, there will be some days that you can't study.
There was also chapters that built on other chapters. For one of them I needed replies on rhino spike. Since I wasn't getting any it didn't work.
How could I continue if I was stuck on a chapter?!

I felt even worse. From the jblogging community I got the feeling that you don't really love Japanese if you don't study everyday. I didn't want to blog because I didn't want to admit I don't have time to put into Japanese as I would like. 

Then school began. That meant making a new schedule. Usually I dread re-working my routine, but I was actually pretty excited. It should be a chance to see what to throw out, set aside, or focus on. I had it all figured out.
But I wasn't expecting the unexpected. 
I'm taking 2 production classes and the amount of outside class work is unbelievable. So the time I set aside for Japanese is now taken over by production work. 

I felt like a huge failure. Why bother even trying?

It wasn't till Rachel pointed me to a blog that my mind changed.
It's about not putting yourself down because you couldn't follow the plan.
Not letting yourself feel bad because your day isn't focus on Japanese all the time. 

One piece really stood out to me:

the mindset that spending 10 minutes a day on Japanese is awesome.  This is a huge project and we all deserve a pat on the back for spending any time on it.  Therefore, thirty minutes is extra awesome.  An hour is super extra awesome and several hours is super duper extra awesome.  Then we know without question that working on it all day is super duper extra awesome fantastic.

Reading that made me realize that it's OK. As long as you keep going and keep learning it's great. Even if you can only put in a few minutes. I have been putting in a few minutes everyday. I should feel pretty awesome about it!

So I'm going to keep going at my own pace. Doing what I think is fitting for that day. I'm not gonna hold on to a strict schedule. I have to be realistic. School comes first. 

But as long as I keep putting in some time it's OK.

Next few posts I want to share more of my manga, my new tutor, and I plan to share my experiences with the different chapters of Tofugu 30-day book.

Please share any thoughts below!

My Experiance as a Living-in Nanny (for a Japanese Family)

 I might have mentioned in a previews post that I was going on working holiday to Utah.
Which is why I've been absent these past few weeks.
 I am still here until June 12th.
 I'm here to take care of a 3 year old for two weeks.
 (My previous teacher's son)
 He only speaks Japanese and understands very little English.
This forces me to speak in Japanese, but really just the basics.

 I have however, memorized words from constant use. Either new words or a conjugation of an old one I studied but never used. For example, I now have no difficulty to remember how to say 「上げて」
 I hear Japanese all day long between him and his mother.
I can understand a lot more now then when I arrived, but I still feel my speaking ability is just the same.

My flow of my reading-aloud ability has improved a bit from reading to him at least 30 minutes a day.
With some of the books I understand what is going on, while with others I'm not sure.
That's still a big improvement!

I don't think I'm learning as much as I could for a couple of reasons
. I can't always ask or look up words I'm constantly hearing.
 I don't have time to write them down. I hesitate to speak only in Japanese to his mother.
 I planned to study grammar and vocab with Erin's challenge while I'm here, and review Genki in my short breaks. My laptop went bust so those things are inaccessible. (I'm writing from an iPad)

 As important and great as it is to be immersed in a Japanese environment, I feel it can't work fully on its own. At least not for me. I need to study grammar and understand sentence structure.
And I always need to review. I need to look things up when I write in my journal.
I suppose I'm a little frustrated that my pre-study plans back fired, and that I will feel more behind when I begin my summer challenge when I return home.
And that I rely heavily on books. (and that I can't afford a new laptop)

 One cool thing though is that I've been going to a Japanese church here every Sunday.
 The meeting is a mix of Japanese and English, and the church community is made of not just Japanese. There's a lot of interesting people there. From people that experienced being in the Japanese camps, ni-sei and san-sei, Japanese major students, exchange student, and interracial couples.
I can see that even though most have forgotten how to speak Japanese, they are still very in-tune with their Japanese heritage.

 Everyone here is also very nice! I've been able to make a couple of new acquaintances, and have similar interests beyond Japanese. Yai!
 Tomorrow I will be meeting another Japanese.
I feel I won't speak out of hesitation. (story of my life)
 I have filmed my stay here so in some distant future look forward to that.

日本語のブログ９（ののちゃんから誕生日プレゼント）

Preparation for Summer Challenge: MANGA!

One of the important aspects of immersion is having material that you really enjoy. I had children's books and a couple of manga before, but I wasn't really in love with them. So I decided to stock up on reading material that I would enjoy this summer. At first it was hard to find anything that I was interested in, and if I did find something, it was too expensive. But to my delight I got series I've wanted to get my hands on.

The first series I bought is the Emma light novel. This is based on Kaoru Mori's manga Emma. I always wanted to own a light novel series. 

At the moment I think the novel is above my level, but I think it's still good to have something advanced for when you to enjoy in the future. 

Of course I had to buy Emma! I have the anime series and the English version of the manga. So reading it in Japanese is just natural since I love the story so much!

The manga has no 振り仮名（ふりがな）so I plan to use it as 漢字 practice. I know the story well so it won't bother me that I don't understand the conversations 100%. 

A Bride's Story is a series I haven't read. So I don't know the story at all. This also has no 振り仮名. I think this manga will be good to read when I'll be able to understand what I'm reading. (Though that's if I don't buy the English version by then...)

The Story of the Land of Colored Clouds is an anime I had found accidentally, and I'm so glad I did! I just finished watching Season 1, and love it so much I just had to get the 漫画. I only got 4 of the 9 in the series and I hope to complete my collection. The manga is based on the light novel series which I hope to purchase as well. 

This series has 振り仮名! I'm really glad at least one of the series I purchased has it. This means I can take it along with me and enjoy just reading without worrying about looking up 漢字 readings. I might take these with me on vacation. (I'm afraid of loosing them though T^T) I won't understand everything word for word, but I know the story so it shouldn't be a problem. I'm interested to see the similarities and differences in translation from Japanese to English. 

As I mentioned in the vlog, I purchased these on ebay. I found a shop that specializes in printed Japanese material. I will definitively be purchasing from there again. The seller also takes requests for manga series you're looking for! Awesome! http://stores.ebay.com/fromnippon

You can buy all items mentioned at this store. I also saw some of this stuff on yesasia. Whichever you feel most comfortable with. 

I hope you enjoyed this entry and found it helpful. Where do you shop for your Japanese books? Let me know! Any series you're dying to read?

Meetup #3

During the long weekend I got the chance to hang out with レイチェルちゃん again. I also got the chance to sleep over. (やった！）
I feel a lot more comfortable riding the train now. During the ride to ボストン I finishing reading ダーリンは外国人in English. The story was OK, and it wasn't enjoyable enough for me to want to read it in Japanese. I thought it was a romantic story, but that's not the case. I didn't like the couple in it either. There are a lot of good example sentences of everyday expressions one can use though. The translation too was a tad bit off I think. I think I'll come back to it at a later time. 


レイチェル picked me up from the station and we went to the Japanese lunch square like we always do. She treated me to our favorite delicious smoothie, and I treated us to Japanese baked goods. For some reason it never hit me to try the stuff there. I've always wanted to try Japanese bakery food, and Meaphe's videos about them got me VERY curious. (And jelly) I was going to buy melon pan but it quickly ran out!
As we looked around I asked レイチェル how order food in Japanese. I wanted to practice the counters. To my disappointment the person at the bakery was not Japanese. 

 I always wanted to try this treat! Never thought I'd get to so soon.I remember seeing it in lucky star and really wanted to it. Though I'm not positive if it is the same dish.

 The second item I bought was bread filled with curry. 美味しかった～

 This was レイチェル's treat, but I don't remember what it was. 
















We also went to a supermarket that has a bakery and I bought メロンパン! It was as tasty as I imagined it would be. We made rice and curry for diner. レイチェル's curry is the best I've ever had. ♥_♥


We spend the day chatting about our Japanese learning journey and other things. She showed me her book collection. There's something warm and comforting seeing a shelf full of books. We then spent the rest of the day watching MLP and the Legend of Korra. 


We both hope that eventually we'll be brave enough to publicly vlog. I hardly filmed or I would forget too. So I hope in the future to make up for it. I would write my experiences with レイチェル in Japanese for practice, but I need to get these up ASAP. I don't have the extra time I would need to do so. ごめん

I hope to learn to make these in the future!

Video I took over her house.

Immersion: Tools I use

I realized I have never shared what I use to immerse myself in Japanese.
I thought it'd be fun to share that, and hopefully you might find something useful here.

iTouch Apps

I am very much addicted to my iTouch. 

It's a pocket-computer for me.

I'm never without it.

I also changed the language setting to Japanese.

Before I even get out of bed I listen to Daily Audio Bible Japan. (Free)

Each day a chapter of the Bible is read. The female reader is relaxing to listen to.

(I'm very picky about voices when it comes to podcasts). I don't understand much of what is being read, but I'm sure a higher level learner will know from where they are reading. They say it in the beginning and if you have a Japanese Bible you can read a long. Each podcast is less than 10 minutes.

Now there is a Daily Audio Bible by the same team in English. But they do not read the same passage as the Japanese version. There's also a Proverbs podcast and I hope that they'll make one in Japanese also. 

A podcast I like to listen to before bed is one called Japanese Classical Literature at Bedtime. (Free) This one also has a nice female voice. This one I would say is advanced. I have no clue what is going on. It is good nonetheless. If you like classical literature I recommend this podcast.

I have no idea how I found this one, nor how to pronounce the title. This one comes with a free book and other stories available for purchase. Again, a nice soft voice to listen to. The text appears on screen as she reads. It's good practice to improve reading speed and see how the sentences would be read. You can skip to a certain page, pause and come back, or have no sound. 

The books you own are archived and you can select to see the written text as a whole. You can see by who and when it was written. The story that comes along free with the app is a very old and famous work. 

I have not bought any other books on the app yet, but I plan to in the future. I enjoy reading a long.

This is probably the most popular app for Japanese. (free) Kotoba is a electric dictionary. One thing I really like is that it does not need wi-fi. You can:

Search in dictionary either in romanji or kanji, see the stroke order of kanji, example sentences, conjugation in either formal or informal, look up kanji by school grade or JLPT level, and save words into custom folders. 

This is SO much better than traditional dictionaries!

 

On-line sources

Before using anki I used Asahi kanji. I still like using this to test myself. There is also an iTouch app for this. N5 is free on the app but then you have to buy the rest. The website is completely free. 

I love using this site to read stories. Some of the stories have a recording so you can listen and read along. Great for comprehension and improve reading speed. The recordings are also downloadable so you can carry it along with you.

Erin's Challenge is great. It is a free program that was once a paid material. It has skits with the dialog written, review questions, manga, and a lot more things. It is a nice interactive course. If I didn't have Genki this would be my main tool.

I follow a lot of blogs, but I focus on two main ones: JALUP and Tofugu. JALUP is more of a guide blog. It has many good entries that help clear up the muddle and difficulties of learning Japanese. Tofugu has many entries on different topics, and the tips for improving on how to learn Japanese are helpful.

I like reading Rachel's site for motivation and seeing how another immersion method learner is learning. 

I read this Japanese blog for entertainment on a topic I enjoy.

Recently I am in a 小グループ on google+ that meets once a month. We are all Japanese learners and are slowly trying to make our group be fully in Japanese. 

Skype is another great tool if you have friends in Japan, YouTubers, or mixi buddies.

When I'm on the computer I use Denshi Jisho as my online dictionary. When I want to know what a kanji means or how to pronounce it, I use Rikaikun. You simply scroll over the word and it will show you the meaning and how to read it. My social network sites are all in Japanese.

Desktop

I think there is enough information out there about Anki. So I will simply say it is a great tool.

I've recently bought 30 day eBook from Tofugu which I hope will help me with my studies.

I love using Evernote to organize helpful information I've found online for Japanese. Tofugu has a good article about this here.

Out and about

Rachel suggested to me the idea of making CDs of episodes of dramas or anime to listen to when on the commute. It is enjoyable and a challenge. This helps to really focus on the dialog instead of subtitles or the action on screen.

I keep a little memo that I take to work. I write down vocabulary I want to learn and keep it with me at all times. 

When I feel like learning Japanese through video games I play My Japanese Coach. I think it's a nice leisure way to study.When I want to focus on writing Kanji I like to use 美文字トレーニング. I also have a children's calligraphy set if I feel like going old-school. 

That is pretty much it. I was thinking of doing what books I use and shows I own in a separate post with video. Would you guys be interested in seeing that? Would YouTubers I follow be interesting too? I'd do it sometime in May.

 I hope this post was helpful.

Let me know what podcast, apps, sites, blogs, and games you use. I'd really like to know! 




I do not lay claim to any of the images used.

春休みチャレンジ: Results, Thoughts, Future Goals

I know this post is very late!
Better late than never.


This challenge was really enjoyable.
I implemented a new way to learn kanji, 
and I learned some lessons a long the way.


In my progress 1 post I listed tools and resources I thought of using;
YouTube videos, books, games, and blogs.


I decided that videos were not good for this challenge. They are better for listening. Even if a video had subtitles I noticed I ignored them. 

I also didn't like using my video games. I have My Japanese Coach, 

美文字トレーニング, and a new game Rachel gave me. I think Japanese coach is good for grammar and vocabulary building. 美文字トレーニング good for learning stroke order for me right now. The new game made me a bit frustrated.

I have difficulty finding blogs in Japanese that are on topics I'm interested in. I found one that I am excited to start following! It is Japanese blog about many things, but I am only focusing on My Little Pony entries. Since I already know the updates and news in English I can easily jump in. 

The most exciting aspect that I got out of this challenge is that I now have a huge craving to read manga and light novels. Before this challenge I feared jumping into reading books above kid level because I know I won't comprehend what I'm reading. (Like １リットルの涙） I also thought I shouldn't spend so much money on books I can't read! (Ordering JP books is so expensive T^T)

I've been watching j-dramas and anime lately, and they have made me curious about the written work they're based on. After some searching and hesitation I ordered whole bunch of complete collections of manga and light novels. It was hard on my wallet. I would never spend so much money in one go on any of my hobbies. But I don't feel bad for this. I got books I'm really interested in and some I've been wanting for years. All of them rare and on sale! So it was totally worth it! I will share more about them once the package arrives in May. 

I'm continually adding to my kanji deck and using the radical decks. 
  
The most important lesson that I learned is to be flexible.
I am very hard on myself when I don't accomplish things according to plan.
I always end up putting too much on plate. So I always get discouraged. 
I always feel my best wasn't enough.


Things like school, work, and other responsibility can pile up.
Schedules can become hectic. (My work schedule is not very consistent)
I always feel fatigued. I noticed I tend to get sick almost every other week!
Life happens and I know now it's important to let go and re-plan things.


So even if I couldn't get to a part of the challenge that I told myself I'd do, I didn't drive myself crazy over it. 


So the result? An enjoyable time learning kanji and the world of reading ahead of me!


From here I want to set down my plans for the rest of the year.
I was going to start a challenge right away after this one, but I will postpone till May. It's the end of the semester and I don't want to over do it.
Until then, I will focus on:

•  reviewing chapters from genki
•  exploring new and old tools and see what is best for me
• keep working on kanji and reading
•  try to write in a journal at least once a week
• Keep working on immersion
• Improve my speaking

I won't do these things in a rigid manor. I want to explore and review without a deadline or goal in mind. This will be a preparation for my next challenge.

When May hits I will start a new challenge. The Tofugu 30 days challenge. I bought the e-book when it was on sale. I can't wait to start it! I will also continue to use JALUP as my tool to improve my study methods. I will also be going to Utah for 2 weeks to work as a Nanny for my former Japanese teacher. This will be great opportunity to speak Japanese as much as possible, and immerse myself in the language. 

When I return I will be taking a summer class and continue using the Tofugu e-book. I will also begin reading my new books.

At the moment I am having a difficult decision to make for my fall semester. I am thinking of taking a full-time course-load for school. While also continuing to work part-time. I don't know if I can physically or mentally do it. I also don't know how Japanese would fit in. From my experience in the past my school and Japanese both suffered a lot. My reasoning for going back full-time is so that I can graduate sooner. (I am... very behind).

I plan to go to a Japanese Language School in the summer 2013.


A lot came up going through this challenge. I am still figuring out the best way to go about learning kanji. Learning Japanese is an ongoing process and you have to revamp study methods as your skills improve. It also made me plan ahead. (I live in the present. I can't think so far ahead) Very unexpected from a kanji challenge ?_?


I hope your studies are going well.
頑張ってね。

春休みチャレンジ: Progress 2

Yesterday I started building my on-yomi deck.

I put int the kanji from Chapter 1 of the Genki Kanji book.

I already know these characters, but I still don't know all of their readings.

Everyday I plan to add 1 chapter of kanji into my deck. 

I'm not sure if I should study kun-yomi reading at the same time.

I feel like I'll jumble them up if I do.

I reviewed radicals in Anki, and I was surprised to see that I enjoyed it!

The thought of learning radicals seemed like a bore, but I'm having fun learning what each radical means. Some I can see what they represent, but others not at all! 

I'll be honest for a moment. I'm enjoying this challenge so much that I studied kanji instead of doing my assignments. ^^;; I forgot how much I enjoyed learning Kanji. I wanted to stay up late and keep studying. But I'm not a night person and I was nodding off. One of the best things to do for your study is to get a good nights sleep.

Today I worked a dreary shift. When I got into my car the first thought was, "I want to go study Kanji". This made me so happy. Usually I think about what show I want to watch. I am feeling quite exhausted but I didn't want to go to sleep without doing some studying.

First I reviewed radicals from the Textfugu deck. So many of them I recognized right away. It feels great when your mind brings back what you've learned. So my review was pretty quick. I then went to the other radical deck. I am now confused because some of the radicals in that deck have very different meanings. The radicals also have so many different ways of pronunciation. Is it important to know the names of the radicals? Should I bother learning them or just stick to knowing what they mean? I don't know.

 I looked over my book and it explains that I only have to memorize the 16 radicals to know the kanji of that book. I will add these to my on-yomi deck as extra cards. They will be the main ones that I need to know, but I do not want to stop learning the rest of the radicals. 

I added chapter 2 into my on-yomi deck. Radicals are definitively easier to learn ><. I'm wondering how one knows when to use on-yomi or kun-yomi when reading a new word. I vaguely remember Mattias from tias90 channel talking about it. I will have to re-watch his Kanji tips video. I remember taking notes. I'll have to find my notebook in my mess. ^^''

I haven't had time to use Ering's challenge site or write journal entries for my challenge. I'm not going to be hard on myself though. A part of these challenges is for me to learn how to juggle school, work, and Japanese. I have to pick and choose what learning materials will be best for that day.

That's all for today!

皆も頑張ってくださいね。

春休みチャレンジ: Progress 1

Today was so sunny and beautiful!
While others tend to feel more distracted and want to go outside,
I get the opposite affect. It makes me feel focused and want to get stuff done.
Besides, I noted that being out in the sun, even just sitting around, tends to zap my energy. 


I still feel a bit flustered on how to go about studying my kanji. 
Why? Because:
1. I have way to many resources that I can't decide on the best tools.

• YouTube Videos
• Books
• Games
• Blogs

2. I always feel I should learn to write the kanji as I'm learning the reading.
3. I know radicals are important but none of my resources teach it.


Today I decided on using my Kanji textbook that goes with the Genki series as my main tool. I wanted to start making kun-yomi and on-yomi decks. Before I did though I stumbled upon Tofugu's blog post on twitter. A guide on Kanji stroke order. Most of it was review but it reminded me that learning radicals first is the most important thing for writing and understanding the meaning of the kanji. My book only teaches 14! 


I checked on Anki to see if there were any already made radical decks. I found two: Textfugu Kanji radicals and one just called Japanese radicals. I went through the textfugu one and I like it, but there's no hiragana to show how to pronounce the radical. The other deck does. So I will try to use the fugu one for meaning, and the other for reading. 


After I did this it hit me. Why am I trying to learn to read and write at the same time? Those are two different skills. One always learns how to read a word first before writing it, right? And this is a reading challenge not writing challenge. 


So, as hard as it is for me to stop the urge to write them out, I will only read them. I need to separate the two in my head. It will be hard but it will save time. It will also make better use of my time during my challenge. After this challenge I'll worry about writing. 


I hope I don't change my mind tomorrow.  

The Rewards of Japanese Study: Friendship

During spring break I met up with レイチェルちゃん from http://isitpossible.posterous.com for lunch in the city.
We live pretty far from each other and so the city is midway for us. We're both small town girls so 
it is slightly intimidating for me to travel to the city. Did I say slightly? I mean VERY intimidating. It was my first time taking public transportation to and from the city.


It'd be my third time seeing her.


We met back in 2010 when we both took the JLPT. Of all the places to make a friend! 
I remember the day well. I was so nervous about the exam. I went to the waiting area and the place
was full of Japanese language students. I had never met other language learners before, and being 
immersion self-student I was quite intimidated.  The place was packed and I looked for a place to sit. Of everyone in the room I saw レイチェルちゃん and she looked like a nice person. I asked if I could take a sit and she let me.


At first I didn't know if I should stay silent or if that'd be rude. I don't remember how but we stroke up a conversation and we hit it off. We see eye-to-eye in a lot of things, and we share the same faith. Which is a big and important part in my life. I remember as we talked I thought she was older than me, because she was so thoughtful in her words and so mature. I'm embarrassed to think I'm the older one. ^///^


I was so excited that I finally had a study buddy. (sort of speak) Someone who understands the interesting aspect of studying languages. Thanks to the internet we've been in touch ever since. Not until January of this year did we meet again. She's grown so much and I love our conversations. 


We went to a Japanese lunch place an we tried the ramen place this time. (We had gone to the yummy curry place in Jan) I spoke some Japanese when I ordered but I was shy of trying to use Japanese counters. I explained to Rachel that I have the hardest time with numbers in Japanese and Portuguese. I can't stand them. It's something that I should know with out  a problem at my level. 


Rachel agreed that things that are learnt at beginner level might not stick for self-studyers. It's not drilled like in school. So review and use is so important. 


I hope that I'll become brave enough to speak more Japanese to her. 

春休みチャレンジ: Extended deadline

I just wanted to write up a quick post.
I'm going to extend my challenge until the 29th.
I ended up being sick all of my vacation so it wasn't productive.
I don't want to give up on my challenge simply because I'm back in school.
It will be harder but I'll do my best!

春休みチャレンジ

Spring vacation felt like it was never gonna come!

Even though it is only a week I still think it would be a good time

to do a self-challenge.

In my first challenge I focused on speaking.

Even though it is still my weakest point, 

I want to focus on something else.

This time I want to focus on my second weak point: Kanji

When I first started studying Japanese I learned Kanji pronunciation when 
it is written as a word. I never learned on-yomi or kun-yomi readings.
Learning the readings is important so I want to go back to square one.
I hope that by doing this I can figure out how to pronounce a word when I see it.
I also hope to learn more of the radicals.
I want to be able to enjoy more of written Japanese.


What I plan to do:


I will use the script and manga section of Erin's Challenge for readings, and
to see how well I can follow the audio speed.


I will create a kanji deck on anki to review the kanji I've studied. 
I will be making sure to write an entry in my journal everyday. No matter how short.
I will focus on reading from one book or article for this challenge. 
I will use Genki Kanji book as my main resource.


I might add and remove material as I go along.


I haven't found the best method for me to study so this will be a good opportunity for me. 


Are you doing a spring break challenge?
Do share!

J-drama: Thoughts on １リットルの涙 (1 Liter of Tears)

The past two weeks I was watching １リットルの涙 (1 Liter of Tears).
It's my third J-drama I've seen. I always wanted to watch it because everyone raves about it,
but also people say how utterly sad it is and that always deterred me from watching it. 
I finally sat down to watch it and oh my were they all right!
I balled so much in the first episode. 
Once I got to episode four I had to take a break from it. 
When I picked it up again I went through two tissue boxes.
By the end of the series I couldn't help but keep reflecting on the show.


I finished it today, but I will watch the special tomorrow.
I also plan to watch the movie.
The drama touched me so much that I plan to order the English version of the book.
I'll buy the Japanese version afterward but right now I know I can't read it.
The quotes they showed were beautiful use of language.
I want to compare and contrast what was real and what was fictional from the book and drama.


The show has made me aware of our ability to be so mobile but we don't think about it.
The simplest things like typing these words you are reading are so difficult for some.
Every morning when I get out of bed I am aware of the ability to get up.
Before I was too busy thinking on other things as I got up, and never noticed the movement of getting out of bed. I have come to really appreciate every motion I make. 


Also that we all, no matter what disability, can plan our futures.


I think it touched me greatly, of course it's touched many, because I saw what my life might have been like.
When I was a baby I had meningitis. It looked grave. The doctor told my mother that if I pulled through I would most likely loose ability to walk. And would loose either hearing, sight, or ability to speak. Thank God I survived and didn't loose any of these abilities. I was always thankful, but now I am even more thankful. 


I love my ability to sing and communicate verbally in beautiful languages.
I love seeing what others create and God's creation and miracles.
I love hearing music and the sound of different languages. 
I love feeling the fresh air as I walk with my dog.
I am happy I can be independent and do things on my own and help others.


The drama also reminded me just how much I miss written communication.
When I lived in Poland I didn't enjoy reading or writing because I didn't understand.
When I came to the United States I was over joyed that people understood me.
I wrote in my journal everyday. I wrote stories, poems, and lyrics.
I read so many books.
That all ended when I got into high school. (It seems as teens we forget to be great-full)


I want to enjoy all these things again.
This sparked in me today when I was doing my Japanese homework.
It is a complete different experience/feeling when you write on paper instead of on screen. 
I want to enjoy writing in Japanese as much as I do in English,
and I also want to enjoy many many books too.


If you haven't had the chance to watch the drama I highly recommend it.
The Japanese ranking level is 2 by Adshap on Drama Guide.
(Read Ultimate Drama Guide Intro first if you haven't yet)


Have any of you read the Japanese or English version of the book?
Thoughts?
Do share!

日本人のパーティ

On Saturday I went to a pot-luck party with my 先生.
I was really nervous about going.
And actually almost chickened out.
I feel my Japanese speaking is still very weak.
I've had a few Japanese gatherings that I've been to that didn't go so well.
I also very much dislike 建前 at such gatherings.
Yes, this exists in every culture, but I am not used to the intensity of it in Japanese culture.
The feeling and doubts kept repeating in my head on my way there.

There was a lot more people there than I thought there'd be.
Apparently there is a small community close to where I live.
Which makes me very happy because most Japanese live near/in Boston.
It is also driving distance for me.

Going in we passed a few people but I was very shy and stayed close to my 先生.
It's funny, when entering Asian culture you would think that the aspect of bowing would
feel strange or hard to get back into the habit of. Thankfully it is so natural that I don't need to
think about when to do it. Though I need to be more aware about how low I should bow.
Everyone there was older though so I always bowed low.

An acquaintance of mine, みさん whom I met at a 飲み会 a couple of months ago, was there.
I was very happy to see her. It's very easy to strike up a conversation with her, and she is patient
with me. Even with my broken Japanese she understands me. I tried my best to talk in Japanese.
I remember saying something like, 「みさんの髪が綺麗です。顔はきらきらです。」
I wasn't sure if I used the word きらきら in the right way. I really want to add more onomatopoeia into my speaking abilities. I think there a lot of fun to use.
みさん is very fashionable and pretty and I really think she sparkles when shes in a room.I swear she looks like she popped out of a magazine. She was very nice to introduce me to some of the people she knew.

Then everyone had to gather round in a big circle and introduce themselves. I almost hid behind my teacher when we did this. At the same time though, its easier to make friends when people don't know each other. I had been standing on one side of the room and went over to my teacher. I thought they would have been going around the other way so I wanted to be the last one.
To my horror I was the second person!
I stepped up and took in a deep breath. Thankfully, a introduction speech is something I have practiced many many many many times during my commutes. Cause I know I will most likely blank out and loose my voice. So I basically didn't have to think about it, but I don't remember what I said. I do remember that I need a better way to close and need to elaborate.
If I did it right, I must have said, 「始めまして。ジセリとします。二十二歳です。大学生で専門はコミュニケーションです。日本語を勉強しています。よろしくお願いします。」
And then bowed. Then it was my teachers turn. I was thankful she elaborated for me and explained I was her student. So we went around and I sadly understood very little. A sir kindly asked if I wanted a translation but I declined. I wanted to try my best at listening. (But I kinda zoned out through most of it). One thing I noted was when it was a family talking, it was always the man who spoke. Is it a cultural subconscious thing to do?

After all the introductions we ate our dinner. Many spoke to me and tried to strike up conversation in English, but I would reply in Japanese. I wanted to have the basics of conversation at least in Japanese and then the more complex things in English. I had the pleasure of meeting ひさん at the party.  Another pretty acquaintance. (>< Every Japanese woman I meet is just gorgeous) We hit it off really well and talked about our language learning backgrounds, schooling, etc. She and みさん impress me so much with how diligent they are with learning English. I hope I can be as studious as them. ひさん also lives a few towns near by. So I hope to see her soon.

By the end of the party I hung out with ジョンさん (from my ぶろぐ７video) and 2 little girls. It was funny because the youngest kept challenging him to a Kanji contest. When he asked her is she knew the kanji she replied, "Uh ya, of course I do I'm Japanese duh." I couldn't help but laugh and I have heard this line more than once before. Being Japanese doesn't automatically mean you can read Kanji haha.

Before leaving I had the chance to strike up conversation with the sir from earlier. He is a translator and manly does it by phone. I wanted to hear more but we had to go. I always feel that being a translator could be a backup career for me and I do enjoy doing it. (Have had a few experiences doing it).
All in all the party boosted my confidence and I got to meet interesting people. I really hope I can keep in touch with みさんとひさん and make my Japanese speaking ability grow.

Tomorrow I get to go to Boston to meet up with レイチェルちゃん, the blogger of http://isitpossible.posterous.com/, and hopefully I remember my Japanese. Look forward to that entry.

冬休みがチャレンジ: Results

January felt like 2 months instead of 1 for me.
A long, tiring month.
School started and that meant getting used to a new schedule.
I was pretty excited for this semester because I only have class 3 times a week.
I planned out how I would study but I wasn't ready for physical health being low.
Second week of classes I was pretty sick and missed one of my classes.
Behind on schoolwork.
Third week I had insomnia every night.
Behind on schoolwork.
Last week and up till today have been trying to catch up on rest.
One of the worst feelings is not having the strength to get through the day.
Plus my work schedule hasn't been constant so it has been throwing me off.
I'm the type of person that has to have a set routine to be in the swing of things.
And boy has it been hard to set down a routine.

I finally feel better and want to make up for lost time.
Even though I couldn't study Japanese (as in sit down with my textbook),
I've been working out new methods and tools for my studies.
I've been using them for a week now and I'm loving it.
I will share these tools and tips in separate posts.
I don't want to have a long winded post.
And I will be posting a new challenge.

Anyways, on to the topic of this post.

In my challenge I planned to do the following:

• private vlogs everyday
• vlog once a week on YouTube
• Write in my journal everyday
• Build a phrase deck

My goal was:

• To be able to vlog without cutting
• Speak comfortably to my teacher and friends

I didn't record many private vlogs because I felt too self conscious. I did start talking to myself out loud. (Especially in the shower ^^;;) I always try to think in Japanese, but I feel saying it exercises the tongue. This habit result on a good experience which I will share soon.

If you're a subby to my YouTube channel (Thank you!) you will notice I didn't record any vlogs for my challenge. I felt I had nothing to talk about, but I did end up vlogging in Japanese in public. I feel this was a big step for me. I spoke in Japanese in front of my friends which I NEVER do. (except the usual words in Japanese when my friend  Bo-ya is driving haha). This was also in front of my new friend that speaks fluently. I was very intimidated but I figured just go for it. I was glad I did cause it ended up being the funniest part of my video.♪

I wrote more journal entries and I really enjoy doing that. My friend ののちゃん corrects them for me. (Which I'm very grateful. Especially since now she is back in Japan and busy) She has noted improvements in my Japanese that I haven't realized. This has boosted my confidence and I try to express more things in my writing. I also keep notes of her corrections so I can look over next time I write. 

I might post my entries here or just post them on mixi. Not sure.

I didn't build a phrase deck but I did write a lot of phrases down on paper. I just haven't gotten around to putting them on Anki. I have been putting stuff on my iAnki, but I will talk more about that later. 

Did I achieve my goal?

I wouldn't say the vlog part, but I will say I feel more comfortable speaking with my teacher.

I'm not that bashful around her anymore so that makes me really happy.

I will get more in depth about this though in my next post. ^^

SUCCESS! 

Did you succeed in your challenge?

Check out レイチェルちゃん's results.

冬休みがチャレンジ: Progress 4

I've been wanting to post this for awhile.
The first week of January I went to a museum with my older brothers.
I took the chance of the one hour ride to study.
I studied vocab and grammar.
I was pretty surprised I could focus when my brother blasts music to the max in his car.

During my lesson I was more open to speaking,
but I still stuck to phrases I'm too comfortable with.

I added more vocab to my memo.
For some reason 顎、同僚、and 煩わしい have in planted in my brain from studying.
I think it's because it's from practicing speaking and not from my textbook vocab list.
I've been wanting to download the Anki app to my iTouch so I can carry my Anki decks with me,
but it's a tad expensive. Till I have the money for it I downloaded a SRS ap called iAnki.
It's not as great as Anki, but it's the best SRS app I've used so far.
(I've used some other ones so far that were terrible!)

Also, my Darling is a Foreigner DVD and manga arrived. I really enjoyed watching the movie.
The male character is a language otaku, so I can relate to him a lot. I got the book in bilingual form.
It's too advanced for me I think. First I'm reading it in English for pleasure, and then I'll be using it
in my Japanese lessons as my reading piece.
So much fun!

I'm slightly bothered because my school is starting a week earlier than I thought.
So my challenge will be ending this Thursday.
I think I'll have to make a new challenge for Spring semester.

How is your challenge going?

P.S Please comment if you have any ideas on how I can improve my blog.

Total Study Time for 2011

I began in the end of 2010 an idea to record exactly how long I study.
I wanted to see how well (or how bad) I use my time.
I started off well into 2011... buuuut like many of us I quickly lost steam.

I either was too busy with school or working too much.
I didn't have much me-time either.
I was stressed.
I was tired.
I only studied for 1,952min=1day, 8 hours, 32min.

One obstacle this year that came up that put me back was
that I was honestly scared of continuing with my Japanese studies.
I'm on that part of the road between beginner and intermediate.
I began the next textbook of the series I use.
Seeing the first few chapters put me in doubt.
And that doubt made me wonder if I liked learning Japanese anymore.

I also had two very good Japanese friends move away.
One was my teacher. Whom had been teaching me since junior year of
high school. I saw her every week for my lessons and are very close.
Japanese made me think of her and my friend. It made me sad.

Japanese stopped being fun.

I gave up my dream of ever going to Japan.

Thankfully, I started to really miss Japanese.
I missed the sound, the culture, the people, the media.
I realized that I still do really love it and it makes me so happy.
I couldn't wait for my finals to be over so I could cram Japanese-time.

I started thinking of ways I could help myself. Try new things.
(You can see in my Winter Challenge posts).

Pushing myself.

Challenging myself.

Loving it.

So instead of frowning at my low study time I'm
excited to beat it. I have new study tools.
 I have a new Japanese teacher whom I'm
very excited studying with, and growing a friendship.
I have specific goals in mind this year to meet.

I'm getting up, dusting myself off, and continuing on.

Hope you will also not feel discouraged by a disappointing year,
and instead learn from it. Here's to a successful 2012!