back post and today so far...

Well, yesterday (Monday) is usually my long day (at work). I was not optimistic about getting anything "productive" done. I DID wake up early (6:40AM) and really I don't remember what I did...probably studied a bit on smart.fm, mentally prepped myself for my lessons today...I don't know. SOMETHING. I also used the morning time to check my e-mails and look at FB- knowing it would be one of less than 3 times that I would do those things for the day.

I even moved the FB app from the front page of my iPhone to one of the last pages!! I'm pretty impressed with myself.

As for studying, well, I did make notes about grammar in my notebook. Just things I know or sort of know already- particles and adjective conjugations. Just figured writing them out would solidify them in my memory a bit more. I also told my friend at work that I was attacked by a hawk at the park this weekend in Japanese. Though I said it in English as well. Hahaha. たかは　わたしを　こげきした！ Also, did you know that I am capable of sending texts to friends in completely comprehensible Japanese? I just can't speak it. Mind you, it's simple stuff- making plans, talking a bit about what I'm doing- but it's still Japanese, right?

I also wrote out my studying goals and a NOT to-do list. And I came up with a craft for class today. I did also skip BJJ but I edited a bunch of pictures and captioned another bunch on Picasa. Also, I did a total of 100 pushups (but not in a row, which is the goal of the program)!!

I feel pretty good about yesterday. And today is going to be better!!

I woke up early again 6:40. Reviewed some Japanese nouns. Did a load of laundry. Made breakfast and lunch. And am currently syncing my iPhone so I can upgrade to OS4.
Even though I didn't do my run (which was actually a last minute idea on my part- therefore, I DID do everything I planned to do), I will get to that later today. Also, later today I hope to post in ACTUAL JAPANESE.

One last thing before I ride to work- yesterday, for one of my lessons, we talked about proverbs and one of my students told me a Japanese proverb：

さるも　きから　おちる。 (Saru mo ki kara ochiru.)

It means "Even monkeys fall out of trees."

じゃまた！

Katakana

I am having some kind of mental block with the katakana character set. I learned hiragana just fine and kanji don't seem too hard but I just cannot wrap my head around katakana. It's so weird.

All over the place

This morning I dragged myself out of bed early in my first attempt to change my habits and replace them with better ones. It's been a long time coming though I was given the push by TextFugu...which is more like a self-help book than a Japanese learning tool at the moment (since I know most of the Japanese they are going over so far).

This morning I got up at around 6:40AM and I've:

-read a little bit of fiction (Fortune's Daughter- just a book left behind my Ryan's predecessor)
-studied 1-2 stroke radicals then started 1-2 stroke kanji (but I only got half way and then started getting sleepy)
-edited some photos from Sean's visit and started uploading them- Almost finished! A new post at the other blog is on its way!

I also checked my e-mail and FB for a little while. Going to try to cut down on those though.

Anyway, the kanji I learned today was not so hard. About 7 but I already know 5 of them and one of the two I didn't know I use all the time but just didn't know the reading (or the meaning really for that matter!). Geez, how could I have been using it this whole time and not looked it up? It's the kanji for "street" and I see it in addresses all the time. Now it all makes sense! Haha.

I'm going to start breakfast and laundry soon and then do some smart.fm drills and finish up the pictures and post.

じゃあまた！

Another quick post...

Whoops...I hit "enter" right after I filled in the title and it posted the entry with just the title. Haha. I said "quick post" but I didn't mean that quick...

So today, I signed up for a one month period on TextFugu and I'm almost finished with the first "season" since I'm not a beginner. The only thing I didn't fulfill is studying the kanji when it told me to...So I'm going to hit that section hardcore. It seems to have a completely different system of studying kanji than any I've seen before. I'm pretty excited about it...though any way you study kanji is going to SUCK.

I'm still using my Genki I textbook which I really like and the Contemporary Japanese workbook that my former Japanese teacher wrote.

Today I went to the post office to mail a few things. I went to a different one than I'm used to and somehow I was less stressed out. Maybe I should give the credit to the fact that I'm a little more confident in my Japanese now than before. Anyway, I used my Japanese! Yay! It was more "Japlish" but still I got through it with minimal English and the postal worker and I had a good exchange. I even made small talk with ”あついですね！”　And he asked me how long I've been in Japan and said "Japanese is hard, isn't it?" in Japanese, of course. (That's the title of my blog!!)

Anyway, gotta go...BJJ class!

すぎに！

REALLY quick post before bed...

I did more hiragana practice (translating to romaji then translating back to hiragana from a book). Much faster now.

Didn't do any smart.fm today...eh, it's ohkay. I made two new smart.fm lists. That's kind of like studying smart.fm.

Also as per TextFugu's recommendation I started a vocabulary list for a "passion." I was going to make a naginata list but...most of those words are already Japanese. Anyway, I decided not to do naginata and chose to make a vocabulary list for bouldering. It's not a passion...but it's an interest that I'd like to pursue. So I've come up with a new reason to get better at Japanese and it is: I want to be able to make friends and learn how to boulder with them!

Another reason to learn Japanese also came up: I want to enjoy myself more at のみかい (drinking parties) and be able to partake in conversations in Japanese. There is an upcoming のみかい with my BJJ club. It should be fun even with my poor Japanese (especially? with my poor Japanese) but I would like to impress the dudes a little!

Today I had to private lessons (English lessons for kids). Had to use some Japanese with the first kids because they speak barely any English. I count that as my "Japanese for the day."

OH! I also filled in my studying calendar AND figured out how to sync it directly into my iPhone's calendar using CalDAV. I didn't have to download a separate app and that makes me happy!!!

Ugh...so much work to do! But still feeling motivated! がんばります！

にほんごをべんきょうしましょう！！

Day 2 of my brand spanking new studying regime!!! I had a longer day at work than usual so no studying was done at work but I did download the Smart.fm app to my iPhone and now I can drill on my iPhone!

BTW, I am really liking this smart.fm thing. I haven't really looked into the "science" behind their online flashcard program but it's supposed to be "proven." Whatever, it's convenient and much easier than physical flashcards. So far, I'm doing the "Master Hiragana" goal and I also started a "Japanese Core" word goal that has like 200 Japanese words. (I also started a geography type goal set but that's beside the point of this blog.) Here's my profile at smart.fm. The site just told me that my profile "needs more personality." PSH, I'm busy studying and completing goals! I don't need a personality!! (Wait, what?)

Anyway, the "Master Hiragana" goal is pretty easy for me but still time consuming...I am starting to doubt I really need to actually complete the series because my hiragana is good but it could always get better.

Today I photocopied a page out of my Hello Kitty Dreams Come True planner and highlighted the hiragana and then translated it into romaji then back to hiragana. Actually I did about one third of the page and then started to fall asleep. But it was good practice.

One of my other goals was to speak to someone in Japanese today. I didn't think I was going to fulfill it...stressed myself out a little. But while riding home, I happened to meet one of my neighbors so I stopped and spoke to them! I tutor their kids in English so the mom wanted to confirm the time. I stumbled with the confirmation but I gave it my best: さんじじゅうごからさんじよんじゅうごまでだいじょうぶです！ Still I wasn't satisfied because I hacked my way through that phrase...so I put my bike away and then walked back to find the husband standing alone watching his wife and two kids ride their bikes in the other direction. I asked どこにいきますか and he said こえん。 And then I noticed he was also watching the kids across the street at the school yard playing baseball so I asked about his older son, すみとはやきゅうをれんしゅう？ And he said Yes! So I didn't have anything else to say so I said bye and see you later!

Yay! I used my Japanese. I won't post everything I say to everyone everyday but I was just excited about today.

I am going to make a study calendar. I linked to it and made it public but I don't think anyone's really going to benefit from looking at it. Even still, it'll keep me honest. (I guess.)

So that's it. じゃまた！

Teaching Yourself Japanese is Hard

I have been in Japan for almost a year now. Unfortunately, my Japanese has not improved very much at all. This has been weighing down on me for quite a while now. I mean, it's pretty sad and I think most of you will agree with me on that! I'm not going to waste time on excuses in this blog. Let's just get into it!

First of all, why?

The first and most obvious answer that comes to mind is: I live in Japan! Everything is in Japanese! Everyone speaks Japanese! So if I want to have a life that's more than just hanging out with other foreigners and fumbling around with Japanese, then I better get my act together!

The fact that I live in Japan is a good reason to learn Japanese but I think it's still weak sauce. I should have a goal...or goals! And the reasons should be passionate! Here's a list:

-I want to be able to understand my naginata sensei when she tells me what to do. Right now I can understand very rudimentary commands like "cut," "forward," "faster," and so on...and I'm pretty "clever" (as the old women like to say) so I can mimic their movements very well.
-I want to be able to converse with the parents of the children at the school I teach at. Many can speak English quite well but I want to be able to praise and tease their children with them in Japanese! I feel there is a barrier between us and I would have more fun if I could speak Japanese.
-I want to make Japanese friends! I DO have Japanese friends, who can speak pretty damn good English! But once again, it's different when you can speak their language or at least understand as much of their language as they do of yours. Plus it would be cool to make friends with people who know very little English. It's a vicious cycle- want to learn Japanese to speak to Japanese people to practice my Japanese but must learn Japanese to speak to Japanese people. I think I could have conveyed that cycle a bit better but actually, I think my English is diminishing as well. Ha!
-I think there is a wealth of information that I'm missing out on by not being able to understand Japanese.I have become pretty fond of the museum on Hokkaido University's campus. They have pretty cool exhibits and it's free. I really enjoy the anthropological displays they have- some are fortunately translated into English- but I think I'm missing out on a lot by not being able to read. I don't know if I'll be able to get to that level but I hope to.
-I want to be able to travel around Japan with confidence.I can get by (and I'll get into that more later) but wouldn't it be nice to strike up a conversation with locals in a town? Have more than just a few words about where a certain thing is? People are very friendly here and I know that if I could just speak with them and understand them better, it'd make things so much nicer!

Well, that's all for now...I think I can add to this some other time but I think that's enough to get the motivation going...

Let's talk about something positive now: What CAN I do in Japanese

-I can read things that are in hiragana. This is good. I stumble sometimes and I am a little slow sometimes but I can read hiragana! However, most things are written with kanji. Womp, womp.
-I can read things that are in katakana but WITH DIFFICULTY most of the time. There is just something about this character set that I just can't wrap my head around. Some of the moms tell me that their kids have trouble too with katakana so I don't feel so bad. Haha. You would think that since katakana is mainly used for foreign words I would be OK but boy, do they use a lot of foreign words! And sometimes they put words in katakana that are native Japanese just BECAUSE!
-I can read SOME kanji and I can recognize many as kanji that I see everyday. I was recently looking at a wall of names at our dojo and counted over 20 kanji that I recognize and can read. Yay! Now only 1000+ more to go until I'm somewhat literate!
-I can order food, ask where something, talk about the weather a little bit, introduce myself, invite people to eat with me, etc. Very basic survival Japanese. And I've learned a few phrases that make Japanese people laugh because it's very natural Japanese.
-Even though I don't understand what people are saying, I've gotten pretty good figuring out what they mean. This has become a valuable trait but not something I want to use as a crutch.

I'm sure there's more but I want to move on to other topics and post this ASAP!

A funny thing that happens to me often: I went to watch a judo class at one of the city gymnasiums. After class, I went to the sensei and introduced myself and indicated that I was interested in joining the club. (I used all my very best Japanese and learned a few phrases just for the occasion!) After my monologue, he spoke to me in Japanese. At which point I panicked a bit, stumbled through an explanation that I'd practiced some Judo in America and whatever else I could think of to say in Japanese and then he just proclaims "OH! You're not Japanese!" Hahaha. This man must have thought I was the most awkward or most stupid Japanese girl he's ever met before realizing that I wasn't Japanese. This happens to me a lot. It stresses me out a little because people expect me to be able to speak in Japanese. Should I wear a sign that says "foreigner"?

Anyway, funny stories and worries aside, I am fully devoting myself to working on my Japanese. Ryan always tells me I need a fixed schedule and a routine and I know he's right. So I'm making a schedule that makes me study Japanese everyday. But more than that (because I've tried making a schedule already but still fail) I will make weekly goals. I've taken out "my Hello Kitty Dreams come true Happy Book" and I'm scheduling time and once I get a coworker to translate a few things in the planner for me, I'll be on my way to becoming ぺらぺら！ (ぺらぺら = fluent)

So that's my introduction. Stay tuned for more stories from my journey into にほんご。 (にほんご = Japanese)

P.S. The title of this blog is "Japanese is hard, isn't it?!" Written in Romaji is looks (and sounds) like this: "nihongo wa muzukashi desune."

N.B. And the URL of the blog is "ganbarijane." "Ganbari" means perseverence and is used in phrases like "ganbatte" which means "Good Luck!" and like "ganbarimasu" which means "Do your best!"