Mine do (the non-Japanese students at least). They think I'm absolutely batty for spending so much time on kanji. The see me spending hours and hours writing (seemingly) meaningless garble and they scratch their heads.

I'm currently doing my MBA, and I reckon I spend 5x as much time on learning kanji as I do on my studies. It's all what you're interested in and passionate about.

Who else has friend that think you're crazy?

Everyone thinks I'm crazy for attempting to learn Japanese in general. They don't see what it's good for. They also all don't entertain any thoughts of my being successful. I've heard that it's simply my 'latest thing'.

It's very motivating.

Most of my friends 'admire' me. I don't think it's worth admiring though...

I guess my parents at first thought I wasn't going to stick with it (Japanese in general, not just kanji) but as I've been doing this (reviewing words and sentences, and since february I started RTK as well) I think they realize I won't give up

Some people I know who are studying Japanese at a university (major) are interested in the method of RTK and want to know if/how it works. But that's it.

I imagine other people think I'm crazy though And I guess I do spend 'too much' time on Japanese. 5~6 hours every day at least, 'active' studying. (I stopped counting anime etc as studying a while ago )

QuackingShoe Wrote:It's very motivating.

It IS! Every time someone looks at me funny or mentions how I should be learning Chinese because that's going to be the world language, I get more motivated.

Savara Wrote:And I guess I do spend 'too much' time on Japanese. 5~6 hours every day at least, 'active' studying.

I don't have the drive to study 5-6 hours per day- I mean I do occasionally but it's a rarity. I just burn out too quickly- I need variety. (in the same way I eventually have to turn off my Japanese music and play something else for fear of driving myself crazy). I wish I had the dedication that some people have, but my goal was to finish RTK1 before I left Australia (in 31 days, ack!) and I think I can still do it! 651 kanji to go...

QuackingShoe Wrote:Everyone thinks I'm crazy for attempting to learn Japanese in general. They don't see what it's good for. They also all don't entertain any thoughts of my being successful. I've heard that it's simply my 'latest thing'.

It's very motivating.

That's why I don't tell anybody, except my wife and close friends, that I'm learning Japanese. I do blog about it, which is of course public, but my attitude is: 'if you're not going to believe in me and help me, then you're not a friend and I can safely ignore you'. My wife and true friends are saying, 'GO FOR IT!'

As far as 'the use', I don't have any immediate use for Japanese (in other words, it's not going to double my salary in 90 days), but I can see it opening doors down the road. When I'm fluent in a different language, happy as a clam, and making a lot more money than they are, they'll realize who was the foolish one.

Just realized that that might sound cocky, but it was meant to sound confident.

Some of my friends think I'm crazy, but hey, I'm still friends with them right? I think some of them are crazy right back at them. My parents/sister thought it was bizarre at first too, but they got used to it (it's certainly not the first eccentric hobby I've had - 囲碁 comes to mind). I think that's kind of a sign that you're really passionate about something - when you can shrug off what other people think of what you're doing, and just do it.

No, most of my friends value intellect, so they would never think anyone is crazy for wanting to learn a useful skill. Speaking -any- second language is very, very useful.

Anyone that thinks being smart is uncool is no friend of mine.

I don't bother telling people anymore, especially guy friends. It's always goes to the conversation of "Your doing it to meet Japanese girls" etc.. That gets extremely annoying after a while.

Hua. My family "accept" me. Some of my friends just dont believe I will succeed. Some think I'm crazy. My advisor said "go for it". My mother is scaredthashit because I'm succeeding.
My friends that are also studing japanese are envious because I'm getting much less trouble trought kanji than they are (even when they are not brave enought to start RTK themselfes).
My biggest motivation was the possibility to study in japan. But now that is ruined. At least for one more year.
Now 50% of my motivation is the sheer joy of proving everybody I can do it.

I get things like "Are you slowing down yet?" once in a while, but mostly it's positive stuff about the amount of dedication it takes to study using virtually all of my spare time. Granted, our hobby take a bit more effort than video games, or anime, or just watching dorama all day. But, it is what it is, a hobby just like anyone else's hobby. It's just that our hobby might someday lead to being able to communicate with millions of people all over the globe. Go us! haha.

mr_hans_moleman Wrote:I don't bother telling people anymore, especially guy friends. It's always goes to the conversation of "Your doing it to meet Japanese girls" etc.. That gets extremely annoying after a while.

Good holy god on a pogo-stick I hate that.
I haven't encountered that from anyone I KNOW-know, but I tried that language-exchange website SharedTalk for awhile and COULD NOT get away from it. I'd spend some time in the general English chat to help out the learners there, and when anyone found out I was studying Japanese, it was nothing but Ho ho, nudge nudge, Japanese women are hot, huh? And timid and obedient to boot! The rampant sexism/racism and the fact that every singular person was there to learn a language either to have sex or improve work forced me out of the place.

I too get much of overly practical criticism. Hey, I'm studying japanese because I like it. I think it is pretty and I want to watch anime and read manga without subs. Take that away from me!

I think the japanese girlfriend bit is always a bit amusing. I mean, seriously, that's a heck of a lot of work to go through just for something like that. It's not like japanese girls don't exist outside of Japan, and there are even some that already know english :p So I really can't understand why anyone would want to learn Japanese in order to try to get a japanese girlfriend, or why anyone would even THINK that.

People always assume that I'm some anime or manga addict when I first tell them. Slightly annoying, as my reason for learning the language is merely because I like it! I suppose it doesn't help that I'm overweight.

Most of my friends think it's cool when I know how to read all those "funky looking symbols."

Omg zarxrax, so all my efforts are wasted?

Zarxrax Wrote:I think the japanese girlfriend bit is always a bit amusing. I mean, seriously, that's a heck of a lot of work to go through just for something like that. It's not like japanese girls don't exist outside of Japan, and there are even some that already know english :p So I really can't understand why anyone would want to learn Japanese in order to try to get a japanese girlfriend, or why anyone would even THINK that.

Not to mention that anything other than extremely basic Japanese ability is a turnoff to language leeches, who are the ones that really go for the foreigners anyways.

Zarxrax Wrote:I think the japanese girlfriend bit is always a bit amusing. I mean, seriously, that's a heck of a lot of work to go through just for something like that. It's not like japanese girls don't exist outside of Japan, and there are even some that already know english :p So I really can't understand why anyone would want to learn Japanese in order to try to get a japanese girlfriend, or why anyone would even THINK that.

Yes. I suppose a man would have to be crazy to want to become a polyglot for the sole purpose of wandering the world picking up exotic women, wouldn't he? <_<

Who cares? Negative or embarassing criticism is some of the best motivation to study. I actually seek it out.

You should be telling everyone you meet that you are learning Japanese, so they can tease you if you start to give it up.

Anyway, living in Japan, it's the people *not* learning Japanese that are thought of as crazy.

Zarxrax Wrote:I think the japanese girlfriend bit is always a bit amusing. I mean, seriously, that's a heck of a lot of work to go through just for something like that. It's not like japanese girls don't exist outside of Japan, and there are even some that already know english :p So I really can't understand why anyone would want to learn Japanese in order to try to get a japanese girlfriend, or why anyone would even THINK that.

Japanese Girls are hardly my only reason, but its a motivator when I come across girls here that I want to talk to, but don't have the necessary language skills yet. Frustrated at my own ignorance I then study harder.

Most people I tell I'm studying Japanese say I'm crazy, or that "it's impossible with all those strange characters" or something like that. My family is starting to get used to it though.

captal Wrote:

QuackingShoe Wrote:It's very motivating.

It IS! Every time someone looks at me funny or mentions how I should be learning Chinese because that's going to be the world language, I get more motivated.

That happens a lot to me. It seems like everybody thinks that Chinese is the be all, end all of Eastern Languages. I don't have anything against Chinese per se, but the fact that people keep saying I should be studying it instead of Japanese pisses me off. I love Japanese and thus, want to learn it, not Chinese... Jeez! People just don't realize that.

Jarvik7 Wrote:Not to mention that anything other than extremely basic Japanese ability is a turnoff to language leeches, who are the ones that really go for the foreigners anyways.

I wouldn't have said it quite so bluntly, but QFT anyway. As far as I can tell, Japanese language ability has basically no connection to luck in finding a Japanese girlfriend. If anything the correlation is the reverse.

Yeah, everyone seems to wonder why you don't learn a language that's more useful. The answer is, of course, pretty simply; I don't WANT to, and I wouldn't even be successful, because of that. Ah well. Of course, I might like to learn some other ones eventually (Korean and Spanish particularly), but not nearly as much. If I even tried, my mind would keep wandering to Japanese... until I've already learned Japanese.

shaydwyrm Wrote:

Jarvik7 Wrote:Not to mention that anything other than extremely basic Japanese ability is a turnoff to language leeches, who are the ones that really go for the foreigners anyways.

I wouldn't have said it quite so bluntly, but QFT anyway. As far as I can tell, Japanese language ability has basically no connection to luck in finding a Japanese girlfriend. If anything the correlation is the reverse.

Aw dangit!
No, to be fair, I'm pretty sure that's true anywhere of anything. Once you stop being an unintimidating curiosity, no one gives a crap unless they've got a fetish for your racial type to begin with. Are French girls really so enticing when they speak competently? What about fluently? And with no accent at all? Just keeps getting less and less interesting, doesn't it? And there's the whole stereotype of guys who like girls who are 'kindof' into sports or cars, but shy away from the ones who ACTUALLY know anything... (or, god forbid, play/fix). One of the horrible aspects of humanity XD
But hey, you could always try non-Japanese otakus. I'm sure they'd be fascinated...

Haha yeah, my parents also thought I wouldn't study it too much, and now I'm studying it more than my university summer school class hahaha... I'm positive that before I enter second year Japanese studies at my school, the RTK1 will close a GIGANTIC gap the kanji students had on me previously

Very motivating

QuackingShoe Wrote:Yeah, everyone seems to wonder why you don't learn a language that's more useful. The answer is, of course, pretty simply; I don't WANT to, and I wouldn't even be successful, because of that. Ah well. Of course, I might like to learn some other ones eventually (Korean and Spanish particularly), but not nearly as much. If I even tried, my mind would keep wandering to Japanese... until I've already learned Japanese.

shaydwyrm Wrote:

Jarvik7 Wrote:Not to mention that anything other than extremely basic Japanese ability is a turnoff to language leeches, who are the ones that really go for the foreigners anyways.

I wouldn't have said it quite so bluntly, but QFT anyway. As far as I can tell, Japanese language ability has basically no connection to luck in finding a Japanese girlfriend. If anything the correlation is the reverse.

Aw dangit!
No, to be fair, I'm pretty sure that's true anywhere of anything. Once you stop being an unintimidating curiosity, no one gives a crap unless they've got a fetish for your racial type to begin with. Are French girls really so enticing when they speak competently? What about fluently? And with no accent at all? Just keeps getting less and less interesting, doesn't it? And there's the whole stereotype of guys who like girls who are 'kindof' into sports or cars, but shy away from the ones who ACTUALLY know anything... (or, god forbid, play/fix). One of the horrible aspects of humanity XD
But hey, you could always try non-Japanese otakus. I'm sure they'd be fascinated...

I'm not sure this is true, at all, outside of the context of those Japanese girls whose only interest in you would be the fact that you're a foreigner. I mean, think about it. How many girls are there in Japan? Census data says about 15 million that I'd be willing to date (just based on age, of course ;D). Now, I'm willing to bet that the "language-leeches" and "gaijin-chasers" make up a very, very small percentage of those 15 million girls, maybe even less than the actual number of foreigners in Japan. Which, by my sterling logic, means that those girls are being passed around more than a bottle of vodka at a high-school grad party. And honestly, who wants that?

To even have a chance with all those other girls, you've got to be able to demonstrate that you've got a deep and intriguing personality outside of speaking English, and to do that, you've got to speak Japanese. Now, just speaking Japanese certainly isn't going to make Japanese girls swoon over you, but I'd wager being able to communicate easily is a lot more effective than trying to pantomime your intentions.

Plus, if you are interested in the language-leeches, you can just play dumb, act like you can't speak Japanese, and embroil yourself in a lot of drama once you inevitably get caught in your lies. ^_^

And, to make myself feel better about such an off-topic post, I'll end by stating that yes, my friends' affectionate new nickname for me is "that crazy kanji mother******", due largely to the fact that I've become a bit of a Heisig hermit since I got on summer break.