My progress in my Japanese studies

So far i haven't been following anything in particular when studying Japanese. I chose whatever i wanted to study, and my unofficial-sensei chose anything she liked. Mostly what i learnt was informal speech as my sensei is not really a Japanese language sensei & so informal seemed better. But now I've been learning more formal stuff that I'll probably need more than the informal. So far I've had no guidelines but i've decided im going to study whats required for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) for level 4 which is the lowest level.
The requirements are basically:
-a list of vocabulary which has about 728 words.
-about 103 kanji.
-basic listening abilities.
-about 150 hours of study.

I'm not going to dive into the kanji just yet. The listening i think i'm OK on and can understand quite a bit. So for now I'm concentrating on the vocab, I've found lists of the words i should know which are divided into different categories, I'm tackling the i-adjectives the first because it looks like i already know most of it.

I will try to report on my progress here about how far I'm getting on with my vocab & stuff. So heres the list I'm studying this week which will be the i-adjectives (60) & the na-adjectives(34).

Also, i just thought I'd share this link with you. Its an invaluable resource page with over 1000 study materials, flash, cards, quizes & exams, vocab lists, grammer lists...etc. If your studying Japanese, then this website should be your best friend.

Thats it for now. I'm off to study some more Japanese.
cheers

In memory of Adam Doha

I, in no way, shape or form, claim to be a poet. This is just the result of my feelings of empathy with a family friend. I am just giving myself an outlet to all that’s inside. I’m not calling it a poem, but it might loosely resemble one. (this is very crappy but i couldn't bring myself to go back and edit it without getting all emotional, so you have it as it is)

"Ever so slowly"

To Adam's mummy,

In memory of Adam Doha, a little loved boy who brought joy to his family in the less than 3 years he was with them.

Behind everyone’s ruthless gazes and stares,
Questions that need answering, orders that need fulfilling, favours that need returning.
Behind our closed doors and once empty place,
People fill the hallways, sit on every chair, crowd the kitchen filling it with homemade cooking.
The little ones are frozen in frame, time and space,
Awaiting his return.

They go on with daily actions, never failing to mention how he is absent from these normal settings.
How he isn’t brushing his tiny teeth, putting on his jamies or eating his dinner.
They miss him but think he’s coming back, so they mention him ever so casually,
never noticing the silence between their parents, the one tear that escapes the adults’ eyes and ever so slowly rolls down their cheeks..

Then the people stop coming after the shock wears off,
People stop consoling and comforting, they stop helping with the little ones..
And the privacy and the absence of people you wished for just a few days ago becomes unbearable,
The mere silence drives you insane,
and little things like weetabix make your remember your loved one’s short runs..
And that he is there no more..

You sit there thinking your all alone,
The kids are playing quietly, your husband mourning in his own manly way..
And a thousand miles away, tears are being shed over a little boy that was only heard of, and never seen..
They thought they’d see him next year when you came back to visit, but alas, he was ever so suddenly whisked away.

When it all sinks in, and you vow to move on..
Your faith, your strength, and your belief in your family and friends keeps you going.
You make a silent promise, to always remember him and tell others about him,
But deep down inside, you know you’ll never talk to others about him because it hurts too much, you’ll let him cease to exist..
but his memory in everyone’s hearts will never start fading.. in people’s heart he will always be living..

Short explanation:

• In the first 2 lines i'm talking about people wanting to know how little Adam died.
  
• The second section is about Adam's little brothers not understanding. (Jamies are pajamas)
  
• In the third part i mention weetabix and short runs, that is a personal story his mother told my mum about how he used to be able to run faster if he ate all his weetabix for breakfast.
• In the fourth part, im talking about all the Doha's family friends here (they are in another country) and how no one met Adam.
• The fifth is kind of my personal view of people passing away and how they're remembered. Interpret it whichever way you like.
  

PS, Adam, who was not yet 3 years old, passed away almost a week & a half ago. He drowned and was then in a short coma before he passed away. We hope that he is now an angel in heaven.

あー、ねむい! (Aah, nemui!)

I'm feeling so sleepy, and my room is so cold, so i'm going to write this as fast as i can so i can get under my soft comfy duvet and sleep like a baby..

One of my mum's oldest friends had this get-together today, and although we've seen her when she'd come over to see mum and stuff, we hadn't seen her daughters for like 6 years. We used to be really close when we were kids since we were born to like when i was 16 or something, then for some reason we drifted apart..
Anyways so we saw them today and it was as if we'd just seen the yesterday, we were chatting away & just having a blast.. It was really fun! tanoshikatta!

I also had a broccoli & feta cheese pie which was soooooooo good. I'm weird i told you, no one else at home stands broccoli but i really love veggies..

I just have to say that i do know more Japanese than just "tanoshikatta".. LOL but it just seems that lately i've been having quite a lot of fun..

So, like i said, today was tanoshikatta & the pie was totemo oishii ^^
night night.. don't let the bed bugs bite!

PS i've been watching some Catherine Tate videos, God shes so funny!

アイスクリム すき じゃない(Aisu kurimu suki janai)

I don't like ice-cream! I guess im weird, i'm not really into sweet things, i prefer sorbets..

Yesterday my friend BASH came over for dinner, we tried cooking something, bad idea! LOL i guess it was mostly me, i messed it up, it was supposed to be a bread-like thing but turned into a pie thingy that wouldn't turn brown on the outside no matter how long we cooked it for, and it was like a rock when it came out.. we couldn't even cut it.. i was knocking on it and it was practically as hard as my bedroom door LOL.. Anyways, after dinner we went to the mall with my mum coz i wanted to get something and on the way out Bash was like "i feel like having something sweet? ice cream or something?" So we went to Marble Slab Creamery for some ice cream, and then raced to the car before it melted, actually it was a disaster, it melted on the way to the car & was dripping all over us and stuff.. and i was thinking "i don't even like ice cream".. anyways, one whole tissue box later we were ok.. It was fun i guess.. LOL..
Just when i thought i'd seen the last of ice cream, my dad got us all some on his way home today from Baskin Robbins, it was better this time coz i had the rainbow sorbet but i think I've had enough of ice cream for at least 6 months.. So I'm saying out loud, don't give me any ice cream, aisukurimu suki janai! わかた？wakatta? (got it?)

Thats it for now, nothing new.. actually there is but i don't feel like blogging right now.. thats enough for now..

Ja ne! Oyasumi!

Hanazakari Kimitachi wa ichiban!

花ざかりの君たちへ 'イケメン♂パラダイス'

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e: Ikemen Paradise

It is the best dorama i've seen since the beginning of the summer! I just watched the final episode & i want MORE!
Oyasumi!

Tarako Sensation

I can't wait for Season 4 of LOST! and Season 2 of Eureka (I've only seen the first 3 eps, looking forward to the rest), i need to catch up on Heroes & Prison Break too, i haven't had too much time lately to watch what I've missed.. Oh, and lets us not forget, the one & only forty-four-hundred " the 4400", its soo good, cant wait to see all of Season 4.. i love the beginning song, & Eureka's too.. they're so addicting..

I still haven't watched the final episode of Hana Kimi.. i want to watch it so badly but can't find it anywhere with Eng subs.. :(

On to the main topic here, I can't beleieve i haven't blogged about the "tarako" sensation that swept all of Japan a while back. Whats it all about? let me explain a bit and then leave you to watch it for youself..

A company called QP had an ad on the tele in Japan about a "tarako" sauce (which is cod roe? eggs? i think) for pasta, and how better to advertise it than have 2 little 10 year old girls wearing tarako -shaped hat thingys on their heads signing and dancing to an addicting song about tarako? Sounds weird right? but it has been such a hit that the girls now have a CD out with the full song. Watch this video & see for yourself if the song doesn't stick in your head for days..and days.. and days.. LOL

Thats it for now.. cheers mates!

EDIT: here are the lyrics in romaji & english.. give it a go =)

kinou to kyou wa tonshikatta!

Yesterday was fun! We had 3 of our cousins who we hadn't seen in a while over.. They're all younger than me but its fun to hang out with them.. we played *pictionary* LOL, i should be past the pictionary stage but everyone seems to enjoy it so we played it.. it was a lot of fun =)

Also, my second mum came over today. Shes not really my second mum, shes my mum's best friend since before i was born so shes practically my mum.. we had fun talking about when all her kids where younger -all of them are at uni in England or working there- and we were laughing our heads off.. tanoshikatta! All her kids are now older and practically living in England so her & her husband & her youngest son are going to move to Manchester permanently in about a year.. :( i don't want them to leave.. but i guess we'll visit sometimes..

I have so many happy memories of growing up with her kids, here & in England (Alton Towers is the BEST!).. it was always fun being with her kids.. some of the things are so stupid and not at all significant but i have really fond memories of them.. im thankful for these memories, i hope i remember them when I'm older..

What else? Well, i've been working on my independent study course's project which is an analysis of the Japanese education system.. thats fun because i learn new things every time i search for something.. i actually chose the subject to have to do with Japan so i wouldn't get bored.. its going good so far.. i want to visit a Japanese school.. if i go to japan, i have to arrange to visit one (on the pretense of doing research for uni or something ^^)
Its almost 9 months till i graduate from uni but i've already told my dad what i want as a graduation present.. a trip to Japan! He said yes and i can't wait, hopefully he wont go back on what he promised.. you never know with my dad, he unintentionally plans something else or somehting & then all my hopes are gone with the wind.. but not in this case, i won't let him forget *naughty grin* =) So FeFe & MeMe, you better ask for the same gift, coz im not going alone, you two have to go too.. :)

Ja, thats it for now.. i'll study one japanese lesson then im going to bed.. oyasumi!!