Moving forward in time, slightly stagnant in life.
A year and a half in Japan. A year at the same job. Don't get me wrong, I love living here. I just wish I was being a wee bit more productive.
This Sunday I took a crack at the Japanese Language Proficiency Text (JLPT). It was a nearly 4 hour slalom of questions, strict rules, and dizzying language onslaught. And that was only the second highest level. If I manage to pass (on average, 30% of testers pass this level), I'll be certified as semi-fluent. This I am not expecting in the least. I felt confident after I got into the groove of things, but I still felt like I screwed up a few questions that I shouldn't have. I'll take it again next December and be better prepared. I've been needing to buckle down and study.
Thankfully, after this week I am free!!! Aside from a 3-hour meeting on Tuesday, work is finished until next year. 3 weeks of blissful holiday! After I finish up my private lessons next week, I'll head to Osaka and Kyoto for partying with my JET comrades there, see Shonen Knife LIVE, and party until my head falls of. I think this is a reasonable vacation plan.
I've been thinking I need to move up the job food chain here and get settle in something less transitional and more substantial than one level up from English speaking babysitter. We'll see what the new year has in store.
This Sunday I took a crack at the Japanese Language Proficiency Text (JLPT). It was a nearly 4 hour slalom of questions, strict rules, and dizzying language onslaught. And that was only the second highest level. If I manage to pass (on average, 30% of testers pass this level), I'll be certified as semi-fluent. This I am not expecting in the least. I felt confident after I got into the groove of things, but I still felt like I screwed up a few questions that I shouldn't have. I'll take it again next December and be better prepared. I've been needing to buckle down and study.
Thankfully, after this week I am free!!! Aside from a 3-hour meeting on Tuesday, work is finished until next year. 3 weeks of blissful holiday! After I finish up my private lessons next week, I'll head to Osaka and Kyoto for partying with my JET comrades there, see Shonen Knife LIVE, and party until my head falls of. I think this is a reasonable vacation plan.
I've been thinking I need to move up the job food chain here and get settle in something less transitional and more substantial than one level up from English speaking babysitter. We'll see what the new year has in store.