...What did you just say?

I just realized it but, I think the funnier kids in my class have been changing up the words at the end of class. Every class, we end with a simple song that goes "See you, see you, see you AGAIN." (emphasis on the again), but I'm almost sure some of my kids are saying "See you, see you, see you HAGE." (translation: See ya baldy.) Luckily they are great at English, so I let that one slide.

I also think they are saying "Good pie" instead of "Good bye" sometimes, but I don't mind that. Everyone loves good pie.

"I don't believe in nothing no more. I'm going to law school" "NOOOOOOO!!!"

So it's official, I'm heading to law school in the Summer of '09 (I'm not going to say where yet, but if you know me well enough (or just ask me) you'll know where). The process of asking for a deferral was far more torturous than the actual applying part. I'd applied for a 2 year deferment, but was only granted 1 in the end, and it's left me feeling somewhere between crummy and great.

Almost more than anything, I wished they'd let me stay in Japan for 2 years rather than just one. I'd hoped to attend a Japanese language school to make the 'final' push in my Japanese studies, but I guess that'll have to wait until after I get a couple of letters behind my name. In truth, it is a far more logical choice to agree to go to law school after being given another year to recharge, but something just isn't sitting right. I plan to double my efforts to learn Japanese by myself this year, but there is always the fear that it just won't be enough.

Though, I will say this, I'll never forgive myself if I don't come back to Japan to master Japanese right after law school. I'm typing this here to remind myself that it's only a plan that has been postponed, not one that has been forgotten.

Natto: beans and slime, together at last!

...which is not to say I don't like Natto, cause I do.

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Kanji update: 600. I have to make my own stories for the kanji now, so things are getting serious.

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People say JET is a lot like being in uni again, but I have to disagree -- there is no way possible I could've partied this much at uni and lived. It got pretty bad when my reason I couldn't go out a few weeks was because I literally had no more clean clothes left. Between work parties, JET parties, internationalization parties and learning Japanese, there is generally no time left for anything. For propective JETs, I suggest you learn how to party hard cause it'll be expected of you at all engagements. And watch out for your superiors, they will constanly be trying to get you sloshed.

My flavor...?

So today, right after I get in the door and while I am staring at the coffee cup on my desk and anticipating the sweet liquid which will get me through the day, I hear:

...グラント先生です(...is Grant-sensei)

I turn my head sideways to see the two 6th grade teachers striding towards me, deep in conversation. I start to turn to face them, but they both move close to me in a way that makes it so I can't face them, but I continue to twist my head left and right in the vague hope that they'll notice that I want to face them(to no avail). The male teacher starts with this:

Male Teacher: It's Grant-sensei's... flavor.
Me:A favor? (Perfectly cromulent as I had just asked to used the computer room.)
Female Teacher: Grant's sensei's... favorite... song? (Perfectly cromulent because today's class was on my favorite song)
MT: No, no. His flavor.
Me: *Sigh, this has long day written all over it* My flavor? 味？
Male Teacher: Oh, no. グラント先生の香り. (Grant sensei's good smell)
Me: My smell? What??
MT: もういいや。(Ah, nevermind)
Me: ...わかんない。(I have no idea what's going on)

And they walk away. I eventually realized that they were probably talking about the commonly held belief that you can tell that I've arrived at school/entered a room because the hair grease I use is very fragrant (to Japanese people). Also, the reason they wouldn't face me was so they could take in my... flavor. I thought my students were just exagerating when they said I smelt like cookies...

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I was pleasantly surprisedly/horrified when my 6th grade students chose to learn to sing 'Kokomo' over 'Stand By Me'. Musically, I prefer the latter, but Kokomo is not as easy to sing as SbM so I appreciate their willingness to challenge themselves. Or, perhaps, they were too easily won over by the muppets singing 'Kokomo' to think clearly at the time.

"So, which type of grave did Mr. Tanaka want?" WTF??

(^^Actual 2007 JLPT listening comp question)

So, I passed JLPT level 2 this year. It was my first try, and I was pretty surprised I'd passed, considering the horror stories I've heard. I've started studying for level 1, but I have no delusions of passing in December, I just like having something to focus my energy on.

I'm not going to defend or break down the JLPT here, as the test tends to be a sensitive topic for JETs, but I will say that most companies in Japan require at least a level 2 pass for you to work for them so passing it is of some importance.

I generally don't like talking about things I've accomplished (anymore, at least), but I know a few people who read this are aiming to take JLPT 2 next year, so I thought they could benefit from what worked for me.

First things first, I never thought I would pass this year. Though, thanks to a few books, loads of listening practice by being in Japan and some good sites, I went from being sure of failure in August to passing in December. Sadly, 4 years of formal Japanese study was not enough to pass lvl 2, at least it wasn't in my case. Studying and preparing for what's going to be on the test is key. For the love of God, please do not just stroll into the exam centre on test day and expect to pass because that just ends in tears for most people, I assure you.

Odds are, if you are planning to take a lvl of the JLPT, you are going to put off studying seriously till you finally apply for the thing (its ok, everyone does it). Nevertheless, I'd suggest starting early. First, buy the 完全マスター series of books for your level. I bought the Kanji, Grammar, and Reading ones. I only thumbed through the Grammar book, but it's very good. It's all in Japanese, but it's very accesible to those who have studied Japanese for a number of years. Plus, there are a good amount of examples for each word and to-the-point explanations for each grammar point. The most helpful book for me (and by far) was the reading book. It's basically a whole slew of passages of differing lengths with questions at the end of each. The book set up sections so that you can easily see what type of questions you are weakest at, be they short story extracts, graphs, trends etc. Reading comp. went from being my weakest section to being my strongest come test day, thanks to that book.

For listening, I'd say the best thing to do is to take a lot of old tests and get used to the style of dialog that will appear in the listening comp part. It isn't too tricky, but there is a bit of run around, and it's easy to be distracted during that section. I personally got so hung up on the actual test day trying to think through the answer of one question that I wasn't listening when the following 2q's came up -_-;.

Vocab and Phrases. If you like kanji and memorization, I suggest dling the lists of words and phrases you have to know and start cracking on some cards. I like using the web/phone/pc program Anki for my flashcard purposes, but that's just me. If you aren't a flashcard enthusiast, then I'd suggest finding an online newspaper you like, and reading at least one article from it a week. I read one article from the Yomiuri kid's section every week and I've picked up loads of good word, phrases and expressions from it.

There's a couple more things, but I think I'll stop here for now. If you have any questions about the test or study materials/methods, feel free to drop me a line.

Video Game Backlog: 1 down, 9 jillion to go.

Finally got around to beating Bioshock this weekend. It was a pretty excellent experience overall and the last few plot points were dynamite. All in all, its praise and critiques were pretty sport on: fun combat, amazing story, superb graphics, too easy (not even taking the vita chambers into account), and a wtf ending (not that the idea of the ending was bad, just the execution). If you've been putting it off like I had, I suggest picking it up before someone spoils it for you.

Next on the plate is Metal Gear Solid 3, which I'll probably finish sometime next year at the rate I've been going.