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Learn Japanese ... OR DIE
Jan. 4th, 2020 07:32 amAnother thing I want to work on more diligently this year is my Japanese. Icelandic has kind of stalled out, as I haven't been back (though I'm getting the itch to go again) and there are obviously not many speakers around to practice with. It should be easy enough to periodically revisit French and keep that in use. I set up a Twitch account the other day after thinking I already had one, but I'd just been lurking on Twitch with no login. I don't remember where I got the idea from, but I was watching French streamers and it kind of helped brush my skills up in that language so I didn't say anything astoundingly dumb when we were in Montreal. I still have this very unfortunate sounding Louisiana accent though.
But I have some language books I picked up in Tokyo aimed specifically at foreign learners, a couple of sets of flashcards that have actually been very useful, and even a set of games called Learn Japanese To Survive. Fox even found some interesting YouTube channels, including one which apparently teaches you slang, street talk, and cuss words - always handy! :D Sometimes when I have a few minutes of "down time" I pull out a few flashcards and flip through them, so I have a range of kanji under my belt now - obviously not all of them, nowhere near - but I can recognize basic elements, and even read some simple phrases such as you'd see on shop fronts or street signs.
The Learn To Survive games are cute and work like Pokemon, basically. So I want to make a point of using those a couple of times a week along with the cards. The books I bought are a little beyond what I can do right now so they're more like "advanced beginner" but they'll be good once I get there. My only problem is one which is pretty typical for me - I can learn to read and understand, and probably even write, but I rarely speak and have no one to speak with. Jacksonville doesn't exactly have a huge Japanese population. I'll figure something out, I guess.
Nothing else is up here today - there should be a front moving through that will keep things cool here, but when we're in Orlando/Lake Buena Vista it'll be hot and muggy. For the first three races, both of us should be finished before it gets <i>too</i> gross outside, but marathon day is going to be a slog. Once it cools off this afternoon we should be able to finish mounting the rest of the deck handrails. It's cooler now, but still kind of muggy. Ugh.
But I have some language books I picked up in Tokyo aimed specifically at foreign learners, a couple of sets of flashcards that have actually been very useful, and even a set of games called Learn Japanese To Survive. Fox even found some interesting YouTube channels, including one which apparently teaches you slang, street talk, and cuss words - always handy! :D Sometimes when I have a few minutes of "down time" I pull out a few flashcards and flip through them, so I have a range of kanji under my belt now - obviously not all of them, nowhere near - but I can recognize basic elements, and even read some simple phrases such as you'd see on shop fronts or street signs.
The Learn To Survive games are cute and work like Pokemon, basically. So I want to make a point of using those a couple of times a week along with the cards. The books I bought are a little beyond what I can do right now so they're more like "advanced beginner" but they'll be good once I get there. My only problem is one which is pretty typical for me - I can learn to read and understand, and probably even write, but I rarely speak and have no one to speak with. Jacksonville doesn't exactly have a huge Japanese population. I'll figure something out, I guess.
Nothing else is up here today - there should be a front moving through that will keep things cool here, but when we're in Orlando/Lake Buena Vista it'll be hot and muggy. For the first three races, both of us should be finished before it gets <i>too</i> gross outside, but marathon day is going to be a slog. Once it cools off this afternoon we should be able to finish mounting the rest of the deck handrails. It's cooler now, but still kind of muggy. Ugh.
