おひさしぶりです！

So I'm back after a long break and it's taken me about a week but I'm back to studying and making up a schedule for myself. Today I learned 16 kanji...though technically I already know these kanji from seeing them day-to-day but what I mean is that I have formally studied them. I also practiced my katakana (I am known to say "I hate katakana!" and "I refuse to read katakana") and it's not as bad as before...though I haven't really done anything to make it better. I guess I just needed time to let it sink in. It's still pretty bad compared to my hiragana but I won't beat myself up too much over it.

I've decided to go ahead and splurge the money on taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (henceforth to be known as JLPT). I had been iffy about it as a measure of my actual Japanese level (being able to pass a test is different from being able to communicate in my book...) but I think it'll provide some motivation. It's given twice a year in Japan and I'm going to sign up for the one in December. I'll take the lowest level- because my kanji is not up to par and also because I don't want to fail and make myself feel bad. I think I have a good chance of passing the lowest level with not too much effort and stress (studying Japanese is important to me but there are other things I have to do too!).

So that's it. I have an English lesson coming soon...so more updates later!

It goes both ways!

ごめんなさい, dear readers (the two of you), I have been busy busy...and I've neglected my blog and my studying (sort of). I was optimistic that I wouldn't hit this point but well, here it is! I'm going back to being good starting tomorrow but I'm back tonight to tell a story about my Japanese. Remember that story about the Judo sensei who realized that I wasn't Japanese after I kept stumbling in my attempt to tell him I was interested in joining his Judo club in Japanese? How embarrassing it is to be thought of as some stupid or awkward Japanese girl! I realized tonight that it really goes both ways...

During BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu) tonight, a visiting player turned to me and asked me something about scoring points in BJJ. At least I think that's what he asked me. Actually I'm sure that's what he asked me. But of course, the level of Japanese required to answer that is probably beyond me. (Besides I don't really know the answer in English!) So I sort of asked him to say it again and then I guess I just gave him a quizzical look as I tried to process his question at which point Ryan turned and said that I didn't know much Japanese. After he said so, I basically repeated what he said in Japanese. Luckily someone from our club was around and she answered his question. Now I realize that he might have been embarrassed by this...not as much as I was maybe...but I should have used that opportunity to practice more Japanese (more than just the usual "I don't know much Japanese"). I should have apologized at least! Or maybe he wasn't embarrassed at all. I don't know.

Anyway, it's late, I'm pooped (つかれたですよ！） and I have to get up early tomorrow (あしたははやおきよ！）

slacking!!!

I'm forging on in the Textfugu lessons and in my Genki book. But I've completely ignored my kanji. I know a few. I can live with that for a little while. I need to change my schedule so that I can get 2-3 hours in a row for studying. I fell asleep for 30 minutes in the middle of drilling on smart.fm. I realized though that I really need to physically write the words down as I learned them. It'll make it easier for me to recall later. Now I've also been procrastinating (GASP! really?!) on writing a post in Japanese so without any preparation right now I'm just going to wing it:

わたしはジエーンです。　さっぽろにすんでいます。　にほんにじゅにかげついます。　ニューヨークにからきました。　わたしはフィリピンにうまれたでもアメリカににじゅごねんすんでいました。　わたしはにじゅろくさいです。　かんごしをしていました。　いまわたしはえいごようちえんのせんせいです。　たのしですよ！

Well, I gotta go...なぎなたのれんしゅう あります. Hey, pretty soon you won't be able to read this blog anymore (unless you can read Japanese). Speaking of なぎなたのれんしゅう, I'm considering starting ANOTHER blog...Hm.

じゃまた！

おひさしぶり！

Sorry!! Well, I guess I don't really need to be sorry to my readers but I am sorry to myself. It's been a week!! And I can't even make a proper post- I'm just slipping this in so I don't go OVER a week of not posting.

As for studying, I'm actually doing OK...a little stuck on kanji but I'm drilling my vocabulary. Today I read Chapter 5 in my Genki textbook- all about adjectives and such.

I fit in a little Japanese speaking everyday; sometimes more than other days but usually less than satisfactory for me.

As for productivity, I've deleted mindless games from my iPhone and I also don't check my gmail or FB on it anymore (at least not as much as I used to- only recently I've been slipping up and checking once or twice a day). I've been waking up early too- the end of last week killed me but I'm pretty positive that this week is going to be easy to get up in the morning- I've gotten past the hump.

Well, gotta go!

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！