日本に来て良かった

So please listen to my chirbit. I think that my pronunciation as improved considerably, I only noticed that now, when I listened to it.

Having JLPT N1 next week! Today I went to the mall and bought a book to practice 文字・語彙 which I intend on finishing in the next 2/3 days. It has around 500 questions, so I test myself, then see the answers and study the ones I failed and those I was not so sure about.

I want to make it clear that, 2.5 months have passed since I came to Japan, and the differences in myself are so many (or so I feel it) that I'm can't wait to go back. But on the other hand, I also feel excited because I still have a considerable ammount of time to spend here, which means more changes or improvements on what has already changes. 

The other day an email come from the teacher who's responsable for my class and he wrote that 2/3  of the semester were gone. That kinda made me think that this is going by so fast. And I'm sure that the day I come back to Portugal and get established there (if that happens), that I will miss Japan a lot. 

But, nevertheless, I now miss a lot of things I took for granted in Portugal, such as my lattes, bread, going to the library/cafe with friends. Those little thing,s that make your day worth and of course, people, my friends and people who I admire.

I'm learning so much here and it's not necessarily Japanese language. だから、日本に来て良かったなあ。

N1, project

So, less than 2 weeks to go to 京大 and take the 日本語能力試験Ｎ１. going to focus on learning as much vocab and will try to make more mock tests (have one left to do).

That said, having the test done I can finally start starting the plan of the project I've been thinking for some weeks now.
I've been reading this book (not so much lately, been busy), and already read its english version. I'd like to translate it to portuguese. I know it will take a lot, and I mean a LOT of time to translate. Not only it is a considerably complex subject to the western mind, as it contains words there that only exist on the japanese language. Just a matter of studying again and picking the best translation technique as possible.
I will probably give up at like page 1 or 2/318, but thinking about this for the past few weeks as been getting me kind excited, so allow me to continue in high spirits. Having this idea in mind makes me confident I can do it (because I really like the book and want to make it the best translation as possible) and makes me want to start studying translation (just let the N1 test pass and will go back to the book I was reading on traslation up until a few months ago).

Also, it's been 2 months since my classes started. My favorite japanese class is 作文力. It's really useful. I've been learning how to write emails and write essays.
In the 読解 we've been reading pieces of japanese literature and japanese 昔話.
In the 文法 class we've been learning and practicing, well, hum, grammar.
In the PC class we've been working with microsoft excel and in the second part of the class practicing speaking/intonation/speech.
In the media class we listen to the teacher explaining the latest news he brings to the class, we also make comments. In the second part of the class we usually watch a video and the teacher makes comments and explains the content.
In the 聴解 we have been listening to news and making listening exercices.
In the 速読 class we have been practising explaing the content of a part of text we read to our teammates (we also do this in the PC class), but now it's time to make presentations, so that each one of us has to prepare a news article and explain it to the class in spoken, 丁寧な japanese.

So, now I'm going to read a bit on twitter, then I'm going to take my milk and watch one or two episodes of desperate housewives.

thanks for reading　～

気

wth is happening? I have no energy. someone/something has been sucking it up to the bone. I haven't even been studying (probably due to the lack of energy) and all I want, not really want, it's like I have no other choice, is to sleep. Yesterday I went to bed at around 10.40pm (!!), woke up at 2, got back to sleep and got up at like 8. like wth?! My sensing skills are getting better alright, but omg I having 3 tests for god sake's.

I wonder if it related to my new 炊飯器... (lol, not)

like seriously, I have no energy, I'm not sick neither. wth should I do?! I'm tired and pissed off. can't do anything properly like this.

of course, there are those moments in which it feels good, but when it's against me...gotta thank mentally or just with a look to the koreans who helped me during the classes.

some aura around me must have changed、自分でもわからない。

2 months

And I think some major changes have occurred.

で、この曲を聞きたくなった。

But as for the japanese language, to be honest, I don't feel that big differences, besides being constantly learning how to write texts, how to write emails (in the 5クラス we have this kind of classes). 

My pronunciation is also getting better. but it's something one needs to pay attention even when one speaks and not only when one practices. 

As for listening... the only thing I notice is that I can understand pretty much everything. Just yesterday when to a 就職活動 like seminar or something like that (well, it's for free and I get to learn something and practice japanese, so why not?) and was actually surprised because I was understanding everything.

Reading. I'm reading faster and faster and better. But not as much as I wanted. I tend to read like only a bit per day, like if I'm in the train, even for just like 10 minutes, I read, and lately I've only been reading in this kind of small intervals between some activity. What I read up until now, despite being not that much, it's knowledge that I will have for my whole life and that I hope I can put to practice. 日本語で読めば読むほど、もっとわかるようになる。

Taking notes. In the listening class we practice how to take notes. I'm not very good at it, as opposed to the chinese in my class (they write kanji fast : | ). and like if you're used to write something in kanji, but because you have no time to think and need to write in hiragana, making the transition from kanji to hiragana also takes time, so this is a bit frustrating. But despite feeling I'm not progressing I know I am.

(...)

I can't wait to come back and 見せる. 

Then there's the bad part that it's when I feel "home"sick. really, seriously, influenced by what I know and see everyday.

and it's saturday morning, going to study a bit, then will have lunch and in the afternoon will do some shopping.  

books

Finally went to lake Biwa. It's HUGE!

now some statistics

カードの合計数： 11567

ファクトの合計数： 11567

カードの習熟度
復習期間の長いカード: 10101 (87.3%)
復習期間の短いカード: 1466 (12.7%)
まだ見ていないカード 0 (0.0%)

A...nd the main subject.

In the past few weeks I've been a bit busy with homework. I have homework now only for the japanese language classes (divided by skills) and also have homework (not always) for the Japanese culture related classes. But anyway, homework is no excuse for anything,. It's no excuse, but it does take some time which makes me have less time for other things. One of those things is reading. It's not like I'm a huge fan of reading, BUT, I do like it. And when I do it, I try to make that moment the best as possible. In fact, just today when I was at the 膳所 station waiting for a friend, I went to the cafeteria, sat there drinking  カフェ・オ・レー (my gosh ３百円! talk about gourmet!) and reading. . When I read I tend to underline the main points and make a circle around the words I don't know.

But anyway, I was reading and I was acquiring this really awesome, practical knowledge that made my brain, again, somehow move, or make connections or whatever. For that reason, I'm going to read as much practical, but within my interests, books as possible. I'm living in 京都市 and near my house there are (at least) two book shops and the one that belongs to the university. There are so many cheap books, so many interesting titles that it just makes me want to read a gazillion of 'em. 

I'm reading two books now. Almost finishing one of them and the other will take some time.

One thing I noticed lately I think my reading speed has increased. This week I was reading the book I'm soon to finish and realized that I had already read half of it. And was kind of surprised. It's a small book, but for the time I had spent before reading it (not that much) I advanced quickly. Besides, it's a practical book, to its reading is pretty much straightforward. And I'm happy to say that the frequency of circling new words as decreased.  

Just yesterday when I left my dorm to take some air, I stopped by a bookstore nearby, and saw an interesting book that presented トヨタ and its 改善 way as an example for japanese enterprises. But I'm going to look for them in the university library (though I really dislike this kind of time pressure, putting pressure on something one actually enjoys doing is kind of 酷い.

Tomorrow I'm meeting with a friend in 京都駅 at 12am, but since I need to buy/look for some stuff I'm going earlier. But first, obviously I'm going to study.

But anyway, no wonder why the japanese are so intelligent. They have books for everything, besides, books are tiny and cute, and are filled with colorful titles and letters and suggestive covers. Gotta love them.

time (management) etc

I really want to write something on time management, but I have no ideas at the moment. So let me apologize in advance for the weak content.

My time management
Because I have homework, and hours in which I enjoy doing some things and don't want to be bothered by study at that time, I need to manage my time.
.
For example, I do most of my reps in the morning, if I have lunch at home I do a few more and when I arrive home from school I do the last ones. Of course there are exceptions. There are days at night in which I still have like 200 reps.

Then, of course, not only reps, but actual study from school. I have japanese classes everyday (one class per skill) and culture classes everyday too (except for thursday). Not all classes need previous homework, but most japanese language classes do.

And then there's the time in which I enjoy doing certain things (taking walks, going to the mall, going to the café, internet, reading,,  slowly studying, - this because I tend to do everything asap in order to save time).

Wait, what? Why do I feel the need to save time?
Actually, I view all this personal time management thing as a pseudo training for the future. Just like I consider learning as much japanese asap important in order to prevent having to study it when I have a job. ...Again...to save time, now that I think of it.
But why is it so important? I actually don't now. It's just something I've been doing for a while, and have been getting better at it.

And now I'm feeling a little tired (damn it, I've been feeling tired every day .__. ) so, I'm going to bed, hopefully will be able to play a bit of nintendo ds, but I honestly believe that as soon as I lie down I will want to sleep.

So anyway, tomorrow I'll go back to the portuguese employment system report and will make the points I've written up until now into a well structured text (I'll try at least), written obviously in japanese. I also have several homework, but let's take it easy and focus on one at a time.

21

So I turned 21.

Don't know why, but I'm getting used to the ideia of being 21 faster than in previous years. It usually takes me around a week to get used to it.

Now it's 1.23 am in Japan, I'm drinking my night milk. It's late, I know. 

My head aches (had to do some mental exarcises today for the hamasaki ayumi essay - ended up changing it a bit) and I'm physically tired too (wore my backpack all day). Tomorrow I'm going to kyoko station and roundabouts to buy something to offer myself. I might stay there doing my potential homework too.

Not that much of a day, but I was happy to have like 3 hours ago a Chinese and a Japanese friend coming over with takoyaki. 

this morning I had no coffee and had to take the maccha thing instead. I feel sleepy many times ever since I came to Japan, but this morning was specially hard. For the first time I felt the effects of not having coffee in the morning. 

This past week I've been so busy I barely have time to read. I don't know how, but time flies. 

(gotta hurry otherwise will fall asleep)

So this Ayu turned 21. 

作文 [８００字）

明日は文章力のクラスのための作文です～。訂正されてから、またここに投稿します～

私自身として、浜崎あゆみという歌手を勧めずにはいられない。なぜか、この人のおかげで私の人生を変えたのではないかと思う。

浜崎あゆみは日本の有名な歌手。モデルや女優としても活躍している。福岡県福岡市出身で、１９７８年１０月２日に生まれた。ファンによく「あゆ」と呼ばれている。浜崎あゆみ自身「Ｃｒｅａ」として、作曲を手がけている。ジャンルはポップ、「JPOP」である。

浜崎あゆみを勧める理由はさまざまある。あゆの曲の歌詞は（全部とは言えない）大変深く、聞き手に共感をさせる。あゆの原点であり、あゆにしか作れない曲がたくさんある。だが、私にとって、彼女の全てに共感する。表情、歌唱力、声質、雰囲気、容姿、ファッション、言動、歌の内容、など。

あゆの曲の特徴というと、「私」のかわりに、「僕」を使い、「複数を目指すときに「・・・たち」、「・・・ら」を使う。彼女の曲を詳しく分析すると、煌びやかなスタイルの反面、自身の心の闇の部分も歌詞に綴ることがあり、もう言ったとおり、男女を問わず多くの人から共感を得ている。

浜崎あゆみはＣＤは様々あるが、一番お勧めなのは昔の浜崎あゆみの「A Song For XX」、「Loveppears」、「I Am」である。

浜崎あゆみは、私にとって、非常に大切な人である。私が浜崎あゆみを聞き始めたのは２００８年である。そのときに、声質や歌唱力が魅力的だった。聞き続き、さらに好きになり、歌詞がわかるために、２００９年の始まり、日本語を勉強し始めた。日本語側落葉になり、あゆからいろいろ学んだ。歌詞の中の言葉や言外、「Ayu Ready」という番組も大変助かった。聴解の練習として、日本語の様々な表現、言葉なども覚えた。日本の文化の私の知識にもよく役立った。

将来の私の夢は日本語を使う仕事なので、浜崎あゆみはその希望に非常に影響を与えているといえるのではないだろうか。日本のポップの一部なので、浜崎あゆみは絶対にお勧めである。

あとね、今日は稲荷神社行きました。

奈良

So I went to 奈良 and intend on going back there someday because it's really beautiful it has deers everywhere, it is full of nature など. It's actually really interesting to finally see all these (these what? what are there? monuments?) things that I had only seen when I studied for the subjects of History/culture/geography of Japan.

I created an album just for today's pics, check it out:
http://s1273.photobucket.com/albums/y407/ayupt/Nara/

鹿のフン、鹿、あゆ

東大寺

大仏　（でかっ！）

Now I'm going to relax a bit, today was a very tiring day. Tomorrow I'll dive into my endless (endless, because well, time doesn't stop, and as soon as one week ends, the other begins) homework (I even made a list!).