I sit here typing up this post on my final week in Japan as a foreign exchange student (while at the same time rocking out to some Bump of Chicken) and there’s a mixture of feelings going on. On the one hand, I’ve had an absolutely fantastic time here in Japan. I think I can say without reservation it has been the most eventful year of my life. Not only have I acquired the Japanese language, at least conversationally, I have made life-long friends and more memories than I have bothered to re-account on the blog here. On the other hand, I know that my time is up here and I have return home. I’m quite content with that, though, as I have many people back home I want to meet again, not the least of whom is my family. Besides, I have to graduate from college. If I ever want to return to Japan that’s a necessity.
I figured I’d use this post to give out some final advice to everyone who is thinking of studying abroad, gleaned from my year here. Of course it all boils down to want you want from your time in a foreign country, but this is what I found worked for me:
Continue reading 'End of an Era'»
It’s been a while since I wrote an actual post here, so I figured I’d let you all know how my Christmas/New Year’s break went. Honestly, I didn’t do a whole lot, especially in terms of travel – I stayed in Hirosaki the whole time and didn’t do anything particularly out of the ordinary. But I did do a few things that could be considered above average and/or “cultural experiences” and I’d love to share those with you now!
Continue reading 'Winter Break in Japan'»
Hirosaki 08-09
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advice, Alex, Christmas, Dead Stock, Hirosaki, host family, izakaya, Japanese, kaiten zushi, Kevin, Luis, MAG-NET, New Years, rambling, ramen, upload, video, Yasu
It’s been about a month and a half since I first got my first job here in Japan: teaching English at a “juku,” or “cram school” as it might be translated into English. The name of the place is A+ English School and they actually have a website. Yes, that’s me in that video on the front page. No, it’s not that embarrassing. :P Clicking around the site, you might notice it’s primarily a school for young children. We have students as young as 3 years old, all the way up to about 11 years old. In the course of working there, I’d had chances to teach and play with all of them. If you’re curious about teaching in Japan, or what kind of opportunities there will be for you to work as a foreign exchange student, then this post is for you!
Continue reading 'Concerning Every American Foreign Exchange Student’s Favorite Part-Time Job: English Juku'»
Now that fall is here and all the new students have arrived, the new semester is very much underway. I thought I would throw up a quick post on what classes I’m taking and what I’ve been up to around here in good old Hirosaki. Hit up the link below to read all about it!
Continue reading 'The Start of the Fall Semester'»
Hirosaki 08-09
| advice, anime, classes, Hirosaki, Japanese, manga, parties, school, study abroad, tankenbu, video games
(Note: this is more of a personal ramble than anything else. If that sounds boring, don’t bother with this one)
I left Hirosaki at a fairly critical juncture when I went to Korea. I left during the middle weeks of the month of August, after the end of the semester and as such, many people have left, especially people from the western countries. In particular, one of my good friends here has left to go back to the U.S., Hojin. I definitely spent a lot of my free time over at Shimoda hanging out with him and the other guys there, many of whom have now gone like I said. The good old kaikan here feels much more empty, too. Sure, I talk with some of my friends from Korea who will be here for a year, but besides that it feels like no one else is around. The experience of the first semester is quite over now.
Continue reading 'A Fresh Start on School, Life and Japanese'»
I have been a student of Japanese for a nearly two years now, and I felt that today I would share the various websites, podcasts, programs and books I have found useful in the learning process. To be sure, there is an abundance of material out there, for free, that can be used to learn Japanese (or any other language for that matter) online. I’ll start with those.
- JapanesePod101.com - The most complete site on the net to learn Japanese with. Its foundations are the podcasts that Peter Galante and crew produce every weekday. You get great audio lessons with native Japanese speakers, and a helpful community through blog comments and the forums. For a little extra money, you can get access to the “Premium Learning Center,” which includes additional study materials like lesson notes and flashcards.
- Yamasa Online Kanji Dictionary – I really like this dictionary for one reason alone: every kanji has an animation of the stroke order. It makes learning to write the kanji a breeze.
- Remember the Kana by James Heisig – Ok, now for the stuff you have to pay for. This book is well worth it. Instead of relying on rote memorization to learn the hiragana and katakana, Heisig associates each character with an image relating to its sound. For example, you remember け (ke) by seeing the image of a CApe and dagger.
- Visual Language Learning Cards – Once you get the kana down, you are going to want to consolidate what you have learned. These are good, sturdy portable flashcards that include both a hiragana and katakana set.
- Yookso! by Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku – This is the textbook that we are using in my Japanese class. I wouldn’t recommend it by itself, but it is good in a classroom setting. This is a good resource for learning grammar as well.
- Rosetta Stone – This set of computer software is a bit pricey, but it’s a very different way to learn from the other tools I have shown so far. At no point do you do any translating or hear any English. It is immediate immersion. You learn vocabulary entirely by listening to a native speaker, and then try to match what they said from a selection of four photographs. I can testify to it working very well, but it does require a more time if you are not fast on picking up on the sounds.
A few more hints and tips: Learn the kana right away. It is important to not rely on the crutch of “romaji” (Japanse written with roman letters) when studying. You will need to learn the kana anyway if you want to attain any degree of literacy in Japanese. If you can manage it, take a class on Japanese, preferably through a local college. Being able to interact with other people and speak to them conversationally does a great deal to help you retain what you learn. It is also the most fun way to learn if you have a good instructor. Also, listen to as much Japanese as you can. Get your hands on Japanese music, watch anime with subtitles, do what ever you can to hear it everyday. By doing so you learn the natural patterns in the language and this helps you to speak more fluenly and increases your comprension.
Finally, if you have a Mac, I would recommend you download Provoc and Genius. These are two wonderful pieces of software. Provoc is a neat way to create vocabulary lists and study them in any variety of user-defined ways. Genius is primarily concerned with memorization of vocabulary and works by using a special algorithm that adapts to what you know and what you don’t.
Well, I think that will do it. Hopefully for all the new students of Japanese out there, you will have found this to be helpful.
Learning Japanese
| advice, books, Heisig, Japanese, kana, kanji, list, mac, podcasts, software, websites
Making the decision to study abroad is one that should not be made without at least a bit of foresight. The reason I say this is, you will spend a good semester solid worrying about forms and applications, which will hound you right down to the last day before you go back home for the break. This is no lie, as it is right now Thursday evening and I have to get not just one but two complete forms back to the Office of International Programs. If I had to venture a guess about what uses the most paper, I’d say TP manufacturers, the U.S. Federal Reserve and International Program offices at colleges across the wide world. But in all seriousness, there is quite a bit to keep track of, and a bit of diligence on your part can ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Continue reading 'Applying for a Study Abroad Program or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Paperwork'»
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