Inspiration to get through January

[ume no hana]

Instead of worrying about things we can't control, what are all of y'all doing to keep your mind off of the results this month? I know it's gonna be a long month until we get our results, but let's post some inspiration/ideas to get us through this period.

I'll take go first:

I will brush up my Japanese and I plan to read "My Mother is a Tractor" to help pass the time.

[Terin317]

I'm catching up on my JET-related reading as well! I have several books waiting in the stack. (but personally, I'd advise skipping My Mother is a Tractor)

I enrolled to continue my Japanese language studies at a local community college next month now that I'm done at my university.

Also, Skyrim.

[merkypie]

I got my final final finnnalllll project coming up this month which is a three month beast to complete before graduation in March, so that'll be taking up pretty much all my time. Classes start tomorrow so XD Yay.

And in between that I'll be killing my time with the new Winter 2012 dramas and enjoying nature.

[megandd]

I'm cramming in the Japanese as much as possible. I just got my kanji workbook in the mail, so now I'll be learning how to write my first 250 kanji characters. So far, I've ordered six textbooks to use in my Japanese studies, and I've been using them all. I'm also using a computer program called Human Japanese to get me to the point where I can string together coherent sentences. I don't know any native speakers who live close to me, so I haven't gotten to practice the speaking part so much. In any case, I'm having a blast studying on my own when I get home from teaching everyday. I seriously can't figure out why the students I teach don't want to learn. Learning is fun! <3 I'm also trying to keep up to date with the news from Japan. I'll admit that I'm a bit obsessed right now, so I'm really hoping and praying that my number shows up on the interview list.

@Merkypie - Which dramas are you watching?

[merkypie]

Japanese dramas and television shows, I think, are great for language emersion if you don't live in an area with a huge Japanese population or anywhere near native speakers. So yeah, I watch a lot xD. Um.... for this season? Shokuzai, 13 sai no Hello Work, and Strawberry Night.

[Cliodhna]

I should really find a good Japanese show to watch. They always just seem so over the top and/or detached to me so I've never been able to get into them. I'm a complete sucker for korean historical dramas, though, but that's pretty useless in the scheme of things I think, haha.

[Terin317]

I just got my kanji workbook in the mail, so now I'll be learning how to write my first 250 kanji characters.

Just out of curiosity, what book did you get? The Japanese 1 class at my university didn't even touch kanji, and I know the Japanese 2 course I enrolled for at community college expects some kanji form their version of the first class. I need to catch up, and I'd rather do it with an actual book than just online.

[cerebralcereal]

I'll probably work on artistic prospects to keep my mind occupied--drawing, crocheting (recently picked it back up), etc.

What books do you all recommend to read to prepare for JET, if possible?

And hm. I'll have to dig around for my Japanese textbook, review kanji, etc...

[merkypie]

I should really find a good Japanese show to watch. They always just seem so over the top and/or detached to me so I've never been able to get into them. I'm a complete sucker for korean historical dramas, though, but that's pretty useless in the scheme of things I think, haha.

Japanese varieties tend to be really dumb. Especially Golden Time varieties. But then again, Japanese television really doesn't offer much of anything. Its more of a " watch for your favorite idol/talent do stupid things " than for anything else.

[ume no hana]

I'm catching up on my JET-related reading as well! I have several books waiting in the stack. (but personally, I'd advise skipping My Mother is a Tractor)

I already ordered it....oh no.....

[ume no hana]

@Merkypie - Which dramas are you watching?

I watched "Nagareboshi" 流れ星. And, it was pretty good.

[Cliodhna]

I should really find a good Japanese show to watch. They always just seem so over the top and/or detached to me so I've never been able to get into them. I'm a complete sucker for korean historical dramas, though, but that's pretty useless in the scheme of things I think, haha.

Japanese varieties tend to be really dumb. Especially Golden Time varieties. But then again, Japanese television really doesn't offer much of anything. Its more of a " watch for your favorite idol/talent do stupid things " than for anything else.

Agreed. My favorite thing to make fun of is Becky and her baby animals show. She almost got her face mauled off by a baby panda one morning and it made my summer. The only thing I'll actually sit down and watch in earnest is Quiz Hexagon II because I actually learn stuff, hahaha.

[Sendai_Momiji]

I'm studying japanese with the roomie (sorry y'all can't have one. It's a great way to keep up the language), working through rosetta stone and making kanji flash cards. Because my kanji writing and recognition is super weak.

On the personal hobby side of things I've started up a 366 photo project, a 52 week sketching project and a 12 month illustration project as well as writing a novel with said roomie.

In between molding hearts and minds of young houstonians as a substitute teacher.

Is it 'Late January' yet?

[Musashi]

I'm sure you guys have nothing to worry about. Stay warm, and enjoy the down time before you have to do the interviews.

[megandd]

I just got my kanji workbook in the mail, so now I'll be learning how to write my first 250 kanji characters.

Just out of curiosity, what book did you get? The Japanese 1 class at my university didn't even touch kanji, and I know the Japanese 2 course I enrolled for at community college expects some kanji form their version of the first class. I need to catch up, and I'd rather do it with an actual book than just online.

It's called Let's Learn Kanji. It was published by Kodansha, and it was written by Joyce Yumi Mitamura and Yasuko Kosaka Mitamura. I decided to use this one because I have already used Let's Learn Hiragana and Let's Learn Katakana, both published by Kodansha. I really liked the format of those two books, so it seemed like a logical choice to use their kanji book also. It's a great book and goes into a ton of detail. I also love how this series of workbooks gives you lots of practice. I found them on Amazon if you want to order it. I will warn you that it's out of print, so it does cost a little bit more than the other workbooks which are still in print.