こんばんわ！Let's see, let's see...I ended up asking one of the fellows I met at Chat club about Kanji and he agreed to help me out in exchange for helping him with English, so he helped me pick out a practice book to buy and then went through some with me. So I'm working on the numbers and a couple of others now, I'm thinking I'll ask him about the ones I know the hiragana for, like the stuff we've actually been learning in class (わたし、からきました、いしょうに、いまなんじ、etc).
I watched Battle Royale today, it was a pretty freaky movie...but I'm glad I can say I've seen it now.
And I'm really psyched for Tsukimi! Hope to see you all there!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
めん！
こんばんわ。
I just got back from Kendo, which is a great deal of fun and puts me in a good mood. It's helpful because there's Japanese involved, for example the parts of the body you strike are said in Japanese, and you have to name them when you strike. So めん is Head!
So, as promised, a Kanji update!
I'll start with saying I was browsing Youtube and I found an interesting little video on tips for learning Japanese! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yCxNRx1bRk&mode=related&search=) There's a Part II as well. If you're just interested in the Kanji, she talks about a few books one of which is Pict-o-Graphix by Micheal Rowling, which I think さとうせんせい put up in a post. It basically helps you learn them by making pictures of them or the like. She talks about a bunch of other stuff too so I recommend you take the 5-10 minutes to have a look.
She said it's helpful to pick up manga, with the kanji in furigana so that you can improve your reading speed, it's true you'll have no idea what you're reading but in just practicing with reading the hiragana you'll be able to read faster, as naturally as you do english at some point, ya know?
Japanese Chat last Friday was a lot of fun! (If you look in the pictures posted, you can see the back of me in my hat!) We sang the Usagi song, and shame on all of you who didn't go.
After the Chat there was the JET information session. I had to go to work so I couldn't stay, but it was a popular topic among people there, so I'm wondering if I should give it some more consideration. Previously I wasn't really interested, I felt that learning Japanese was more important to me than teaching English, and being in a foreign country without being fluent sounds scary to me...but it's that kind of immersion study that really improves your speaking, ya know? I'll have to think some more on it.
Ah...I'm not entirely happy with the test today, I wasn't as sure of myself as on the last one, but in the past my feelings regarding a test after I've taken it can be completely off. But I was completely freaking out toward the end when the phone number came up and for the life of me I couldn't remember the hiragana Ro in ろく . So I left that part blank and went ahead, hoping it would come back to me or it would show up in other questions. It took going over the first part of the test and seeing る to remind me. I hate it when that happens!
And before I ramble more, I leave you!
I just got back from Kendo, which is a great deal of fun and puts me in a good mood. It's helpful because there's Japanese involved, for example the parts of the body you strike are said in Japanese, and you have to name them when you strike. So めん is Head!
So, as promised, a Kanji update!
I'll start with saying I was browsing Youtube and I found an interesting little video on tips for learning Japanese! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yCxNRx1bRk&mode=related&search=) There's a Part II as well. If you're just interested in the Kanji, she talks about a few books one of which is Pict-o-Graphix by Micheal Rowling, which I think さとうせんせい put up in a post. It basically helps you learn them by making pictures of them or the like. She talks about a bunch of other stuff too so I recommend you take the 5-10 minutes to have a look.
She said it's helpful to pick up manga, with the kanji in furigana so that you can improve your reading speed, it's true you'll have no idea what you're reading but in just practicing with reading the hiragana you'll be able to read faster, as naturally as you do english at some point, ya know?
Japanese Chat last Friday was a lot of fun! (If you look in the pictures posted, you can see the back of me in my hat!) We sang the Usagi song, and shame on all of you who didn't go.
After the Chat there was the JET information session. I had to go to work so I couldn't stay, but it was a popular topic among people there, so I'm wondering if I should give it some more consideration. Previously I wasn't really interested, I felt that learning Japanese was more important to me than teaching English, and being in a foreign country without being fluent sounds scary to me...but it's that kind of immersion study that really improves your speaking, ya know? I'll have to think some more on it.
Ah...I'm not entirely happy with the test today, I wasn't as sure of myself as on the last one, but in the past my feelings regarding a test after I've taken it can be completely off. But I was completely freaking out toward the end when the phone number came up and for the life of me I couldn't remember the hiragana Ro in ろく . So I left that part blank and went ahead, hoping it would come back to me or it would show up in other questions. It took going over the first part of the test and seeing る to remind me. I hate it when that happens!
And before I ramble more, I leave you!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Weekly Update
It's funny, whenever I plan a weekend to be full of work I end up getting distracted...
But in this instance on Saturday I met with a Japanese friend to fill out my Anthropology Kinship chart assignment. So I got a pretty good lesson on family terms in Japanese, as well as Palestinian but that's a side note. After that we ended up going to Book Off, a Japanese Used Bookstore. I had been to Kinokuniya this past summer so I was excited to take a look at this place. Unfortunately most of the books in the store were in Japanese, to be expected really. But I had gone hoping to find a book on Kanji instruction. I ended up browsing the English section, there were a lot of neat translations...I wanted to buy Kokoro (Pretty sure that was the title.), but I don't really have time to read for pleasure these days...
Anyway the language instruction books were all romaji, so of no help T_T. But, I did some reading on Kansai, one of the dialects or accents for Western Japan. I was interested because I want to study abroad in Kyoto and I thought I should learn about how they speak there. Afterward my friend told me that the difference was noticeable but not one that couldn't be understood. I think I'll take the search for independent Kanji learning more proactively frome here on out, so look foward to it!
I did teach myself nani. Because it showed up in the textbook, ha ha.
何！？
But in this instance on Saturday I met with a Japanese friend to fill out my Anthropology Kinship chart assignment. So I got a pretty good lesson on family terms in Japanese, as well as Palestinian but that's a side note. After that we ended up going to Book Off, a Japanese Used Bookstore. I had been to Kinokuniya this past summer so I was excited to take a look at this place. Unfortunately most of the books in the store were in Japanese, to be expected really. But I had gone hoping to find a book on Kanji instruction. I ended up browsing the English section, there were a lot of neat translations...I wanted to buy Kokoro (Pretty sure that was the title.), but I don't really have time to read for pleasure these days...
Anyway the language instruction books were all romaji, so of no help T_T. But, I did some reading on Kansai, one of the dialects or accents for Western Japan. I was interested because I want to study abroad in Kyoto and I thought I should learn about how they speak there. Afterward my friend told me that the difference was noticeable but not one that couldn't be understood. I think I'll take the search for independent Kanji learning more proactively frome here on out, so look foward to it!
I did teach myself nani. Because it showed up in the textbook, ha ha.
何！？
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Late Report
こんばんはみなさん！As I feel like comments made on my previous posts should be responded to, I shall do so before I get into what I intend to post about.
For a while I've wanted to try watching these Korean dramas I've heard so much about, that is to say I've heard they're extremely popular and riveting, but I have no idea how to go about watching them...
For those among us who have not seen a Kurosawa film it is imperative that you do so, perhaps more even than Minkailu's mandate for Battle Royale, although that is my humble opinion, ha ha.
(PS, I've got it on Netflix comign to me this week, if anyone wants to watch it with me let me know!) Anyway as a recommendation, although Seven Samurai is my favorite I think that is a particularly long one and a better introductory film would be Rashomon (らしょもん）。It was very well received in the west, as I recall reading.
My favorite manga probably changes on a monthly basis. Right now I'm most enjoying School Rumble which is slightly dated I suppose...I'm also trying to catch up with Naruto. Ironically I've started watching the School Rumble anime, which I enjoy to no end. I'll see if I can post the picture of my favorite character! On a side note it's difficult for me to get into the Naruto anime, takes so much more time to watch the same amount of content than to read it, plus all those filler episodes...
Now let's see if I can do this!
わたしはすいようびともくようびときんようびははたらきます。I work in Lehman Library, in the Building of International Affairs. あしたくじからじうにじまではたらきます。もくようびときんようびさんじからろくじまではたらきます。
I think that's right, let me know.
And Yan-san, you seem so proficient already!
わたしわはきにょうびとどようびとにちようびやすみます。If that isn't at all right, let me know.
Ah...already I've written so much. Japanese continues to be so much fun and so much work, today's lesson on も was particularly baffling...all I can do is review review I think. I'm also kind of eager to start learning Kanji, and to my understanding it becomes easier if you learn about things called radicals, so I'm thinking I'll look for a good instructional book on it sometime soon. On a side note, last Friday I went to Japanese Chat Club! I had a jolly good time and made new friends, if you did not go, do try it in the future! It seems really awkward at first but if you stick with a couple of buddies and just go at it you'll be having too much fun to feel embarrassed about how much better the Japanese speakers speak English than you do Japanese, ha ha.
And with that I close,
じゃまたらいしゅ！
For a while I've wanted to try watching these Korean dramas I've heard so much about, that is to say I've heard they're extremely popular and riveting, but I have no idea how to go about watching them...
For those among us who have not seen a Kurosawa film it is imperative that you do so, perhaps more even than Minkailu's mandate for Battle Royale, although that is my humble opinion, ha ha.
(PS, I've got it on Netflix comign to me this week, if anyone wants to watch it with me let me know!) Anyway as a recommendation, although Seven Samurai is my favorite I think that is a particularly long one and a better introductory film would be Rashomon (らしょもん）。It was very well received in the west, as I recall reading.
My favorite manga probably changes on a monthly basis. Right now I'm most enjoying School Rumble which is slightly dated I suppose...I'm also trying to catch up with Naruto. Ironically I've started watching the School Rumble anime, which I enjoy to no end. I'll see if I can post the picture of my favorite character! On a side note it's difficult for me to get into the Naruto anime, takes so much more time to watch the same amount of content than to read it, plus all those filler episodes...
Now let's see if I can do this!
わたしはすいようびともくようびときんようびははたらきます。I work in Lehman Library, in the Building of International Affairs. あしたくじからじうにじまではたらきます。もくようびときんようびさんじからろくじまではたらきます。
I think that's right, let me know.
And Yan-san, you seem so proficient already!
わたしわはきにょうびとどようびとにちようびやすみます。If that isn't at all right, let me know.
Ah...already I've written so much. Japanese continues to be so much fun and so much work, today's lesson on も was particularly baffling...all I can do is review review I think. I'm also kind of eager to start learning Kanji, and to my understanding it becomes easier if you learn about things called radicals, so I'm thinking I'll look for a good instructional book on it sometime soon. On a side note, last Friday I went to Japanese Chat Club! I had a jolly good time and made new friends, if you did not go, do try it in the future! It seems really awkward at first but if you stick with a couple of buddies and just go at it you'll be having too much fun to feel embarrassed about how much better the Japanese speakers speak English than you do Japanese, ha ha.
And with that I close,
じゃまたらいしゅ！
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