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.