I live in Japan now, and although I`m still working through Heisberg and all of that, I`m measuring my progress in a more natural way now...

Basically I watch TV, listen to my lovely new pocket radio, venture onto some Japanese websites, hit the Izakayas on Friday evening and that`s how I get a feel for how much I`m improving.

I guess my most recent milestone is that I`m saying "Domo" for some reason, at the right times and in the right situations. "Domo" is very hard to explain, beacause it`s a strange word that Japanese people use but can`t explain! It`s like "Yorosiku", but more abstract.

I totally don`t know how I got to use it naturally, but I guess my brain has connected the "domo" neuron somehow!

Yesterday, I walked out of my apartment, and a couple of gas-meter guys were outside checking the gas meter. I said, "Ah, domo." And they said, "Domo"... How wierd is that? Is that wierd?

a.

avparker Wrote:Passed JLPT2

Also, I had to give a quick speech at end-of-term dinner for my Aikido school, but I forgot my notes so I had to wing it. Seemed to go okay, I actually got a couple of laughs (from jokes, not laughing at me!), and the guy after me said he was impressed how much my Japanese had improved since last year.

Quite an accomplishment! Making a speech in your native language without cards can be hard to master in itself... but in a different language! That's really impressive.

Abbass Wrote:Yesterday, I walked out of my apartment, and a couple of gas-meter guys were outside checking the gas meter. I said, "Ah, domo." And they said, "Domo"... How wierd is that? Is that wierd?

It's quite a phenomenon how our brains do this kinda thing. Once you're automatically doing things like this, that's when you notice you're always reaching new levels.

Great to see how you are all improving~

RtFuckingK3

Just made halfway of KO2001. Plodding, plodding along...

I start studying Japanese again today, after not doing so since sometime in March!

Welcome back! Don't stop this time

I've been watching an anime with English subtitles, but I downloaded an episode that didn't have subs by mistake. I didn't notice for a little over 5 minutes.

Machine_Gun_Cat Wrote:RtFuckingK3

Congrats man! I think I was stating out with RTK 1 when you already kadvanced (though I'm not sure), now that I'm finishing you've finished RTK3. Congrats.

I have no milestone achievments |:, though I made some progress, thanks to RTK. Is amazing how after writing a word like twice I can remember its characters and stuff (using Genki - stopped it thansks to RTK, now I'm getting back slowly and reviewing the grammar I had learned.).

Really starting to get into the Full Metal Alchemist manga. I finished the 6th volume today in one sitting, and I'm quite proud of myself. It usually takes me a week or so finding time here and there to read it piece by piece.

Hopefully in a few weeks time I'll have caught up to the series (currently 23 volumes have been released) and then I'll be able to follow along with the series as it gets published

Finished my third drama via subs2srs (Last Friends ep 01). In addition, added lyrics to the songs that were in the three dramas I've done so far into my Drama Deck.

That's now 800 lines in my Drama Deck and 2750 words in my Vocab Deck.

Now to start on Hana Yori Dango, then Tae Kim Advanced sentences, then 5cm per Second. It's so refreshing to have a game plan.

Got a Japanese drivers license.

Tzadeck Wrote:I've been watching an anime with English subtitles, but I downloaded an episode that didn't have subs by mistake. I didn't notice for a little over 5 minutes.

Yeah, those theme　songs can be pretty long sometimes =/.

Survived the 15 forms needed to get full coverage car insurance and have my name put down as the owner of car(in Japan).

Also, the insurance thing can only be done on weekdays between 9 AM and 3 PM(yet it's not a bank).

Changed my address on the back of my driver's license. The person at city hall had written down my new address with a fine felt tip pen on the back of my gaijin card so part of it had smeared. The ladies at the police station couldn't read it so they told me to get it redone at city hall.

I told them call city hall and verify my address. It always works out in the end

I thought they just use the ic chip inside it now so even if your address changes you don't need to update the card physically.

The paperwork for a kirikae isn't too intensive (3 pages) but you need to know your driving history to a ridiculous level.

Ex: name the driving school you went to
how many questions were on your first driving test ever.
How long was the road test when you got your license?
How many months before you took the test did you begin practicing?
How many class hours was your driving school? How many road hours?

They have no way to check any of this so you can just make up answers. Interestingly they don't care at all about your actual driving record.

Jarvik7 Wrote:I thought they just use the ic chip inside it now so even if your address changes you don't need to update the card physically.

The paperwork for a kirikae isn't too intensive (3 pages) but you need to know your driving history to a ridiculous level.

Ex: name the driving school you went to
how many questions were on your first driving test ever.
How long was the road test when you got your license?


They have no way to check any of this so you can just make up answers. Interestingly they don't care at all about your actual driving record.

I went through the same process about 4 months ago. I had driven for 11 years in the States but because I only had my passport and my US license had been renewed shortly before I came to Japan, I ended up as a "green" license.

Me thinks it's time to see if I can upgrade my license if I provide the necessary documentation.

US drivers can't kirikae directly to a full futsuu license anyways from what I heard.

Jarvik7 Wrote:US drivers can't kirikae directly to a full futsuu license anyways from what I heard.

If you kirikae with a US license, you just to need to pass the written and driving test and prove you have driven for more than 1 year in the States as I was told by the nice gentlemen who administered my test and conducted my interview.

Edit: Looking for official confirmation on the Web.

Edit2: Can't find confimation. What color did Jarvik7 get?

I got a full futsuu license without any tests (other than eye test). It's good to be a Canadian

Items req'd:
3 page application form
Translation of Canadian License (3000Y from JAF, pissed me off cause it cost like 1500Y in train fare just to get out there and I could have done it myself as a translator)
Canadian License
Gaijin card
Passport (also used as proof of living in Canada more than 3mo after getting license)
1 photo
4500Y in tax stamps
4 hours of my time

Jarvik7 Wrote:I got a full futsuu license without any tests (other than eye test). It's good to be a Canadian

Ugh, it sucks to be an American. I took the driving test three times at the Kyoto test center. That place is the worst place on the planet. The test is impossible and completely stupid.

The day I finally passed there were two people there who had taken the test seven times, and they both failed again.

The system seriously needs to be changed, for Japanese people as well. The driving test in Japan is to driving what the English section of a college entrance exam is to English.

To get a Japanese license as a Swede, all you have to do is have had a Swedish license for 3 months...

Who drives in Japan? That's what minorities are for.

My recent milestone was finishing RTK!! Like 10 minutes ago! YES! Now off to Genki, Tae Kim, podcasts, japanese news and so on.

As a white person, I am a minority in Japan...

I don't plan on driving (regularly) though. I just wanted non-Gaijin-card ID.

Jarvik7 Wrote:As a white person, I am a minority in Japan...

I don't plan on driving (regularly) though. I just wanted non-Gaijin-card ID.

Good point. Some driving advice: http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=12503