Update!
Aaah, busy times!! Let's see, when was my last informative post… hmm, back in October… That's quite long ago. I'll write down some things that happened in a nutshell :)
Bachelor of Arts :: English Language and Culture
Have I mentioned this? I graduated! Am now officially bachelor of arts. I haven't started a master yet and I'm not entirely sure if or when I will. I've browsed the available masters in English, but none of them really catch my interest. I do know that my interest in Asia is increasing daily, so that maybe I'll head in that direction. Asian Studies sounds interesting. Language & Cultures of Japan sounds interesting too, but I'm already at a certain level, language-wise, so I'm not sure if I want to study it at university level. I'd like to learn Korean too…
New Job :: Tiny Tokyo UTCS
I was in serious need of money. By the end of October I had been living off of my savings for 7 months or so, and seeing as I didn't consider myself ready for a real job, I was mostly looking for something small and part-time, as long as it wasn't a supermarket like the one I worked at before. I was pretty desperate when I applied for a job at Tiny Tokyo, a small sushi & noodles shop at Utrecht CS. They said I'd caught their attention with my Japanese language studies. Well, I got the job, and I'm honest when I say I haven't had so much fun with colleagues and bosses in forever. It's nice to work in a Japanese environment, and sell Japanese food to people with often a big interest in Japan and its culture.
I've been talking to my Japanese teacher's partner, who teaches at Hogeschool Utrecht, who asked me whether I was interested in becoming a language coach at that school. So this week we're having a meeting and I'll probably get myself a second job in teaching (sort of), which is cool :D It's all new and I have a lot to learn, but I'm sure it'll work out fine.
MangaKissa
We've been working hard to find a location for the manga library in Utrecht. Until now, things have been difficult, but we don't give up hope. There are a couple of interesting opportunities we're looking into at the moment, so I might be able to tell something more and exciting soon. Last weekend we were at Tsnuacon and I loved almost every minute of it (I was pretty exhausted some of the time, so those moments were somewhat less lovable). I had missed anime conventions and talking with fellow enthusiasts. The otaku world is taking more and more interest in our concept and plans, which is very… well, satisfied, in some way. I keep on noticing that whenever I do things for/with MangaKissa, I get a bubbly feeling in my stomach. I'm still thankful for being a part of it.
Japanese
Starting next week, I'm picking up Japanese classes again :D No private lessons, seeing as I can't afford that at the moment. My Japanese teacher called me and asked me if I was interested in taking classes with a group that studied with her at the James Boswell Institute, and I said yes, of course!
Music & Singing
Things here haven't been going quite that well in this area. My throat keeps acting up. I haven't been able to properly sing for 6 months at the very least. I sing one song and my throat jams and hurts. It also hurts when I'm just talking from time to time. Seriously sick of it, I went to the doctor's, who sent me to the speech therapist. I saw her for the first time last week, and she was able to tell me (solely from hearing me speak) that I shouldn't worry about throat polyps or callus nodules, but that maybe all my symptoms were caused by allergies. I have to go see my doctor about that. I will practise breathing during speaking and singing with the speech therapist for a couple of weeks, so maybe that helps.
Other stuff
I turned 21 last week :3 and got a bunch of exciting presents.
I'm utterly obsessed with FTIsland. :D
I'm trying to eat fish, bit by bit. Not working out that well so far, but I really want to be able to eat it someday.
I'm drinking tea at the moment.
Cheerios~!
Bachelor of Arts :: English Language and Culture
Have I mentioned this? I graduated! Am now officially bachelor of arts. I haven't started a master yet and I'm not entirely sure if or when I will. I've browsed the available masters in English, but none of them really catch my interest. I do know that my interest in Asia is increasing daily, so that maybe I'll head in that direction. Asian Studies sounds interesting. Language & Cultures of Japan sounds interesting too, but I'm already at a certain level, language-wise, so I'm not sure if I want to study it at university level. I'd like to learn Korean too…
New Job :: Tiny Tokyo UTCS
I was in serious need of money. By the end of October I had been living off of my savings for 7 months or so, and seeing as I didn't consider myself ready for a real job, I was mostly looking for something small and part-time, as long as it wasn't a supermarket like the one I worked at before. I was pretty desperate when I applied for a job at Tiny Tokyo, a small sushi & noodles shop at Utrecht CS. They said I'd caught their attention with my Japanese language studies. Well, I got the job, and I'm honest when I say I haven't had so much fun with colleagues and bosses in forever. It's nice to work in a Japanese environment, and sell Japanese food to people with often a big interest in Japan and its culture.
I've been talking to my Japanese teacher's partner, who teaches at Hogeschool Utrecht, who asked me whether I was interested in becoming a language coach at that school. So this week we're having a meeting and I'll probably get myself a second job in teaching (sort of), which is cool :D It's all new and I have a lot to learn, but I'm sure it'll work out fine.
MangaKissa
We've been working hard to find a location for the manga library in Utrecht. Until now, things have been difficult, but we don't give up hope. There are a couple of interesting opportunities we're looking into at the moment, so I might be able to tell something more and exciting soon. Last weekend we were at Tsnuacon and I loved almost every minute of it (I was pretty exhausted some of the time, so those moments were somewhat less lovable). I had missed anime conventions and talking with fellow enthusiasts. The otaku world is taking more and more interest in our concept and plans, which is very… well, satisfied, in some way. I keep on noticing that whenever I do things for/with MangaKissa, I get a bubbly feeling in my stomach. I'm still thankful for being a part of it.
Japanese
Starting next week, I'm picking up Japanese classes again :D No private lessons, seeing as I can't afford that at the moment. My Japanese teacher called me and asked me if I was interested in taking classes with a group that studied with her at the James Boswell Institute, and I said yes, of course!
Music & Singing
Things here haven't been going quite that well in this area. My throat keeps acting up. I haven't been able to properly sing for 6 months at the very least. I sing one song and my throat jams and hurts. It also hurts when I'm just talking from time to time. Seriously sick of it, I went to the doctor's, who sent me to the speech therapist. I saw her for the first time last week, and she was able to tell me (solely from hearing me speak) that I shouldn't worry about throat polyps or callus nodules, but that maybe all my symptoms were caused by allergies. I have to go see my doctor about that. I will practise breathing during speaking and singing with the speech therapist for a couple of weeks, so maybe that helps.
Other stuff
I turned 21 last week :3 and got a bunch of exciting presents.
I'm utterly obsessed with FTIsland. :D
I'm trying to eat fish, bit by bit. Not working out that well so far, but I really want to be able to eat it someday.
I'm drinking tea at the moment.
Cheerios~!