[Aug 08] 6. A Movie I Watched Recently And How It Made Me Think About My Life

Long title is long. This is a hard topic. I don't really watch a lot of films. However, I had a movie night with my boyfriend not too long ago so I can probably write about the film we watched then.

A Movie I Watched Recently And How It Made Me Think About My Life

Grave of the Fireflies, or 火垂るの墓(Hotaru No Haka) as it is known in Japanese. I watched this film with my boyfriend recently and bawled like a baby. It is so touching and sad. The film is based in Japan during World War 2. It is about a young boy and his little sister, and how they survive during the war. By the end of the film, I was inconsolable. My boyfriend was straight faced, totally unaffected by it. The reason it got to me so much is because I could relate to the young boy. All I could think throughout the film was, "What if that was my sister?". The young boy tries his hardest to look after his younger sister, but life just keeps throwing its punches. Even after the war is over, they still struggle and seemingly will never get their old life back. The film leaves you feeling sad about what they had to go through, but leaves you grateful for what you have. It really made me think about how easy we have got it. I don't live in a war stricken country so thus do not have to worry about day to day survival. It made everything I worry about now (bills, my studies, money) seem like nothing. It really made me think that I should just be grateful of my day to day life.

I never usually cry at films. It really takes a certain kind of film to get me crying. But never before have I cried at a film like I did that! It is such a touching and tragic story. Just thinking about it is getting me emotional. 

I cannot really write too much about it without spoiling it, so I hope I have managed to get across just how tragic this film is. It really will leave you there, thankful for all you have, whilst your heart aches for the young girl and boy in the film! It is such a weird contrast, and to be honest, I was left thinking not sure what to feel. But it is a fantastic film and will really change your outlook on life. Give it a watch!

Grave of the Fireflies [DVD]

[Aug 07] 5. A Book I Read Recently

Again, I almost forgot to do this. Eek. I'm really bad at this! Haha. I came onto check my blog and realised I hadn't done the blog challenge...

A Book I Read Recently

A Dance With Dragons, the 5th book in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. I am totally hooked. I started reading a Game of Thrones, which is the 1st book, 2 years ago. And since then, I have been unable to put the books down. I cannot really write about the book since I'll spoil it! But all I can say that is a great addition to an already great series and I am really enjoying it. It is separated into two parts, and I am on the second part now. This is the "last" book, as in, the author George R. R. Martin is still working on the 6th book. I want to take my time with this book so that I am not left waiting to find out happens for too long but, the book is too good, I cannot ... not not stop reading it! (?) I am just afraid that like many other avid fans of the series who finished the book when it first came out, I will be left waiting years to find out what happens next in the story.

What is even more worrying is that there is also a TV series about the books, which is catching up to the books at an alarming rate! Some fans say they are worried that the TV series will surpass the books before George is finished writing them. The makers of the TV series have been told what George has in mind for the ending, so they will be able to continue, although I'm not sure what they would do. It's fine knowing the ending, but I wonder if they will make their own turn of events leading up to it. Or if George would advise them along the way. Or if he would just tell them to stop and wait until he catches up! Haha. I'm sure a lot of fans would prefer that.

I really recommended you pick up the series if you have not already. It is fantasy, and set in medieval times, but it is a whole new take on it. Very adult and very real - but still a fantasy. Highly recommended! 

[Aug 06] 4. My Only Regret

Fitting title. This is a day late. My friend from my hometown visited yesterday, and to celebrate we had a drink. I had one too many. Woke up this morning with the hangover of the century. I couldn't get this entry in yesterday since a friend was visiting, but I have left it so incredibly late today because I feel like death warmed up and then some! Never will I drink as much as I did last night. Lesson learned. Phew.

My Only Regret

I have two regrets - one being how much I drank last night - but the other one is getting a D in Psychology. This has a bit of a back story to it so I will explain that first. If you are already aware of how things work here, skip this! Also, this is really long so if you cannot be bothered to read it all, check out the TL;DR at the end!

As you may or may not already know, I hail from the UK. In order to get into University here, you have to do A-Levels. Now, the British schooling system is really confusing, so much so that not even us Brits really understand it. You see, although this has changed now, we leave/left school at 16. We could either go off and get a job or stay on at school, by either going to 6th form or college. I am not sure what the difference is, well in fact there is no difference, they're both the same thing except 6th form is generally an extra two years at your high school, whereas college is an independent institution. Like for example, I went to College, whilst my friends stayed on at 6th form. So, I went to a whole new school and they just did their A Levels at our high school. I wonder if that makes any sense.

Any way, at College/6th form we do A Levels. A Levels are basically just qualifications we need to get into University. They are usually academic subjects, such as the Sciences, Maths, English, Psychology, Sociology - so on and so forth! People usually pick their A Levels based on what they want to study at University. Although it's not required, it is kind of like an unwritten "tip", it's best to choose A Level subjects which apply to your degree - like for example, someone wanting to International Relations may choose to study a Foreign Language, Politics and English. All of which are "essay" subjects, quite academic and can easily be applied to IR. However, in order to get accepted into University, we have to hit certain grades. For example, the course I wanted to do was Japanese at Newcastle University (which is in my hometown). I needed ABB, so I had to aim for ABB. (Although it got lowered because I did a summer school program so only had to get BBC). This is the same for every student ever doing their A Levels. Everyone has to hit certain grades to make sure they can get a place at University.

Start reading here if you skipped it! ;)

OK, now you are all caught up with the system, I can go on with why it is one of my greatest regrets in life. As I mentioned before, in order to get on my course, I needed to pass my exams and get the grades BBC. In college I took English Language, Psychology and Communication and Culture. Throughout my two years there, English Language and Communication and Culture were my strong subjects - we would do mock exams and I would get Bs, sometimes the occasional A. However, I was terrible at Psychology, even though it was the subject I was most interested in. You see, when it comes to A Level exams, although it is marked how much you know, it is also marked on exam technique - something I just could not understand in Psychology.

The exam technique we had to follow was very confusing. It was something like, you need to state a claim about the Psychology study, then support it, then show a contrasting argument, then conclude. It sounded easy enough but for some reason, no matter how much I studied or practiced, I could not get it down. Yet, in English and Communication and Culture, the exams were easy. I wrote essays all the time in those subjects and got full marks. But Psychology... I just couldn't do it.

I spent every single waking moment studying Psychology. We had to remember around 20-something studies. They weren't in depth but we just needed to know the very basics, such as what was the aim? Who did it? What did they find out? That part was easy. But it was just writing about them and discussing the ethics, the validity... I remember being so worried for my exam.

But along came exam day, if I recall correctly it was my first exam. As in, out of all exams I had to do, Psychology was first.

...And it was awful.

I remember putting my pen down after two hours of frantically writing and just knowing I had failed it. Worst feeling in the world.

Fast forward a couple of months, results day. Now, I needed BBC to get into University. Usually on results day, we can find out if we have got into Uni before even getting our results, since it is all done online. I remember waking up and finding that I could check my English results online as well, so I decided to check those. I got a B. I was two marks off an A. I was off to a great start! I remember feeling really optimistic as I headed off to college to get my results.

I opened up the envelope...

English... B
Communication and Culture... B

Psychology... D

And my heart sank. I knew it. I couldn't even get a blasted C in that awful subject! 

But, that was just my results. I still had hope. So before I ripped up the paper and sat down in a corner to cry, I checked online what decision the University had made.

Unsuccessful.

Ah, alas... and like that, my dreams of studying Japanese at Newcastle University were flushed down the drain. My friend recommended that I ring them, since I had done summer school and passed, they said I could maybe try and see if there was anyway I could change their minds. Also, it was said in summer school that if we didn't get the grades we wanted, we could ring up and appeal. So I did just that.

I took a deep breath and rang the University. A woman answered, and I explained my situation. 

She kindly explained that the University really wanted to offer me a place but just couldn't. The course was already full. I was only a few marks off getting a C, so they felt I still deserved a place, but just couldn't give me it.

I said Thanks, and hung up. It's not all too bad. At least they considered me.

And that is my only regret. I wish I had have studied harder. I wish I had have perfected my exam technique. If I could back and change time, I would dedicate all my time to Psychology. I already did that but I would dedicate even more time.

However, I say that... and yet, my life now is actually a lot better. I had to take a gap year, in which I worked at a part time job and studied Japanese. I met my now boyfriend, and I now live in Leeds studying my second dream course, Computer Animation and Special Effects. So it's not all bad. Haha. Everything happens for a reason.

TL;DR

I needed the grades BBC to study Japanese at a University in my home town. I got BBD. If I could go back in time, I would study harder and get BBC. But then, I am really happy with my life right now and wouldn't change it for anything. It's funny how things work out! 

[Aug 04] 3. One Of The Things I Am Proud Of

What a day! I (again) almost forgot to write this. I was up until 5AM this morning doing god knows what, a mixture of project stuff, Photoshop and French, then had a few hours sleep, woke up at 10AM, did the laundry, went out for a BBQ, got back and "chilled" out. It is now 10PM and I have only just realised I haven't done this yet! Well, I suppose now is a good time as ever. Exhausted, so this may not be as colourful or interesting as my last entries. Though I say that, I do have a tendency to ramble on. We'll see how it goes.

Today's topic is...
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One Of The Things I Am Proud Of

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You probably already know what is coming... Japanese! I am proud of my ability to somewhat formulate a sentence in an exotic far eastern language. I have studied it for roughly 7 years, though I'm sure I'm entering my 8th year, I don't know, but it is around that time. Knowing a second language these days is probably not that much of a feat, but as for me, someone who feels as if they have never really achieved anything or had a certain talent, I am proud that I have managed to be at least somewhat proficient in a foreign language. In school, I was never good at maths. I was pretty decent at English (some of you may be reading this and thinking, "Ha, good one!") and with science, I got by. I took language classes in school and to be honest, like most British kids, I took zero notice. 

Which is surprising because I have had such a huge interest in languages since I was about 11. I think I took my first French class at that age. Though the difference is though, studying languages in my own time at home was fun - studying in a class with a very grumpy French teacher who insisted we called her "madame" (I have learned from my French studies that it is common in French, but when you are 12 years old and are being told to do that... you find it ridiculous), was not fun. At all. I used to be well-behaved in class and quite quiet, but when with friends, I was a chatterbox. I was especially so in French class. I think it is because I wasn't too fond of the teacher. I have no idea why, but I would always get in trouble in her classes. She would constantly move me from my friends because of too much talking. I should have been talking in French... wonder if she still would have moved me.

Any way, yes, in a country like Britain where nobody can really speak a second language as nobody thinks they have any real reason to, which they may not, yet these are the same people who say, "I wish I knew Mandarin, China is really moving up in the world", whom to I feel like saying, "Well learn it then!", knowing a second language does set you apart from the crowd in probably all the wrong ways. Either way, I am still proud of it.

I realise this has become a cynical rant about French teachers and Britain, and is probably my way of saying I am proud I overcame all this, stuck to my guns and learned Japanese. But I am also proud because I am not someone who is known for being consistent. I have probably said this before but I am one of those people who will start something and never finish it. I think with a thing like Japanese, the only reason I have kept at it for so long is because there is no finish... I have a constant drive. I am constantly chasing a finish which doesn't exist. 

And for that, I am proud. I know that studying this language is an endless journey but that only drives me further to continue it and to get better. 

Product Review: Teach Yourself Japanese

I talk a lot about language learning, so I thought it would be a good idea to review some of the materials I have used for people who want to learn the language themselves. I will list the pros and cons, and my thoughts at the end. I hope this is helpful for those learning a language. There are so many textbooks, references, grammar guides and all sorts out there, that for someone who is new to it might feel demotivated just at the thought of deciding what to use! This is my first review and it will be focusing on Teach Yourself: Complete Japanese.

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TEACH YOURSELF: COMPLETE JAPANESE

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Product information

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Teach Yourself Language: English

PROS:

• Thorough
• Promises to get you to B2 Level (Low Intermediate)
• Teaches Kana and some Kanji
• A lot of realistic conversation
• A lot of vocabulary
• Exercises challenge your knowledge
• Answer key in the back

CONS:

• Limiting
• Promises B2, falls short of it (High Beginner)
• Primarily in romaji 

MY THOUGHTS:

I have much faith in the Teach Yourself series, and I have much faith in this book. I used the older version when I started learning, but I recently bought this edition for my boyfriend who also wants to learn Japanese. We have been working through it together, even though it is specifically written and aimed towards those who are learning it alone. Since we only bought the book version, I am his tape recorder. There are a lot of dialogues in the book which use natural, every day Japanese. At the beginning, my boyfriend and I often agreed that some of the words they teach at the beginning are a bit useless, such as "journalist", "company manager" and "secretary". But we are two University students who will not need to use words like that in our every day life. 

As the book goes on though, it increases in difficulty, introducing more grammar and more vocabulary. What I like about this book is how it tactically introduces words and grammar you have learnt into the dialogues you have to study. When I am going through the conversation with my boyfriend, he often points out that he recognises words and grammar from previous units, and that it is helpful in remembering them. The book eventually progresses from very polite and formal Japanese to every day, informal language which is something I love about this book. Most textbooks will not introduce you to informal language to avoid confusion, yet this book handles it perfectly. There is a good balance between the two. In some units, it will introduce an informal and formal version of the same conversation, so there is something for everyone.

The majority of the book is in romaji, which to me is a let down. My boyfriend and I combat this by having him write out words, dialogue and grammar points all in hiragana. The book does eventually introduce Kanji and Kana, but not enough in my opinion. If you are wanting to start with the writing, it might be a good idea to use this book in conjunction with Read and Write Japanese Scripts: Teach Yourself, or do what my boyfriend and I do, by writing out the kana separately.

The activities are challenging, asking you to translate from Japanese and into Japanese. Some activities require you to complete the sentence or insert missing words. I think at one point we even saw a crossword in there! But do not quote me on that. 

Overall, it is a decent book and in my opinion, a good place for someone new to Japanese to start. By the end of the book, you will have a semi-decent foundation in Japanese. 

Get your own copy of it at Amazon: Complete Japanese: Teach Yourself
I also recommend you grab:  Read and Write Japanese Scripts: Teach Yourself to accompany this if you are wanting to learn more about Japanese Kana!

[August 03] 2. A Goal I Have And How I Am Going to Reach it

I almost forgot about this. I had another blog post planned, and I was about to start writing it, when I glanced at my post I did the other day and remembered. Memory like a sieve.

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My Goal

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As I wrote the other day, my next goal in life is to be high intermediate in French by August next year. I am quite familiar with learning a new language and I know what works for me, so I already have a sort of mental road map. When I started learning Japanese, I started out with textbooks like Teach Yourself Japanese, Oxford Japanese Grammar and Verbs, and anything else I could get my hands on. After finishing the textbooks, I literally jumped in the deep end. I just did everything in Japanese. Of course, I still studied long the while, but that was mainly just looking up stuff I came across I didn't know. I intend to do the exact same with French.

Since French is a European language and is a lot closer to English than Japanese is, I feel it will be a lot easier to pick up, especially if I study it the way I did Japanese. I learn better by just surrounding myself in the language and forcing myself to use it. Once I have completed a few textbooks (I'm thinking about using Teach Yourself French, Living Language French and a bunch of grammar books), then I will purchase some French books off Amazon. They are relatively cheap and easy to get, a world away from Japanese books which are so expensive and so hard to get! Then, I will try and find some French TV or films to watch, all the while practicing French online, in notebooks and in my head.

Hopefully, by doing all this, I should be able to at a comfortable level in French. Allons-y ! 

The Language Itch

That familiar itch...

I've had that oh-so-familiar itch for a while now. Every time I went into a bookstore, I would find myself slowly gravitating towards the language section, my finger slowly hovering over the different titles. "Ooh, they have Russian!", I would say as I pick up a tiny dictionary about Russian and look up random words. I have no need to learn Russian nor any desire to. I just want to stop the itch. That oh-so-familiar language itch.

The language itch is basically when you just want to learn another language for nothing but the heck of it. I get this all the time. I have taught myself Japanese for 7 years, and over the course of those 7 years, I have tried nearly every language in the world. Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien), Thai, Vietnamese, German, Italian... the list goes on. Each time I tell myself I will stick with the language and actually learn it. But I never did. I get three pages into a textbook and lose all interest, or I spend a whole day enthusiastically ordering new books, making flashcards, bookmarking websites in that language; all the while telling myself I am going to become fluent in it, this is my third language, my journey with this new language begins here, then the next day I completely forget about it. I glance at all the books I ordered and wondered why I even did it. I have no desire to learn the language.

It sounds like a problem, and it probably is. I am addicted to language learning. I will be the first to admit that. I think what entices me most is being able to communicate with someone in their own language. Then I daydream about being able to buy books written in different languages, and being able to watch programs in that language. I get all motivated and excited from a few seconds of daydreaming. But then the next day reality hits me, and I realise I haven't the motivation or interest to actually pursue the language. Don't get me wrong, it is a dream of mine to be able to speak multiple languages, and I believe that one day I will be able to. I just need to pace myself and not going rushing off onto Amazon, buying every book I lay my eyes on as soon as I get hit with the tiniest bit of motivation.

Any way, as I was saying, these past few weeks I have had the itch but this time, for a different reason.

Translation. I have always been interested in translation. I have saw myself eventually, one way or another, getting into Japanese translation. Which I successfully managed, I am a sort of freelance translator at the moment, if you can even call it that. I do the odd job while I'm at University for some extra cash and for some experience. It's fun, I enjoy it and it is a great test of both my Japanese and English skills. But, the other day, I was looking on my University's website. They often post up jobs, a lot of them being translation jobs. There has been jobs posted up for Japanese (and unfortunately, I've missed every one) but I did notice that there was a magnitude of jobs for European languages being posted up. French, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch. Some job postings required you were native, while others just required you were proficient.

So it got me thinking.

I am at a pretty comfortable level in Japanese. I can understand most things I listen to and read. My writing and speaking lack, but if I put my mind to it I can say pretty much everything I want to say. With enough practice I will be at a very comfortable level. So much so I don't really have to sit down with a text book (although I intend to sit down with many textbooks in preparation for the JLPT) and study it. So, I thought, why don't I start studying a language which is a bit closer to home? Like an European language. I have been down the beaten track of language learning, I have been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I know exactly what works for me when it comes to learning a language, so I thought, if I set aim to be higher intermediate in an European language by this time next year (August 2014), I should be able to do it.

But what language?

I spent a lot of time mulling over this. I know I wanted to do an European language, something relatively easy and close to English. So, in my mind, that gave me...

• French
• Spanish
• German

French... I studied a tiny bit of this in middle school. Well, 2 years worth. With a teacher I couldn't stand. I spent a lot of my French lessons ignoring the teacher and talking with my friends. All I can remember from her lessons is "J'ai habite tu..." and even then I am not sure if that is correct.

Spanish... I did this in high school for 2 years, thoroughly enjoyed it! Teacher was great, but around this time I was studying Japanese so I took languages very seriously, and loved studying Spanish. Can still remember quite a bit.

German... I have no experience with this language other than when I used to watch my cousin do his German homework. Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

I asked my boyfriend on what he thinks I should learn, and my ultimate goal is to get into video game translation, or at least do translation jobs like that on the side, and he recommended German because the video games market is huge there. Which it is. But, I think I already had my heart set on French. I ended up watching a few videos of people speaking French, and I think I realised today how much of a beautiful language it is. It has a certain charm to it. 

I also listened to some German videos and it sounds awesome. But French stole my heart. I did do a lot more research and a lot more thinking and I think French is a good place to start. German, we will be together one day!

The verdict

So as I wrote just up above there, I will be learning French! I am quite excited to start learning this beautiful language. And at last, the language itch has been scratched. I think it is only a matter of time though before it starts again... and if it does, German is next on my list.

I am motivated this time as I want to be fully functional in this language, so much so I can start translating in it. I also want to be able to play games in it, and there is so much French literature I want to read. I am really excited to start my new journey with français! 

If you are thinking about learning a second language

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What do I want out of it?
2. What is my end goal?
3. What interests me about it?

Learning a language can be costly and time consuming, so it is always good you go in there with a goal and know exactly what you want from it. I will be writing a blog post on how to get started in the near future so keep an eye out for that.

This has gotten ridiculous long and I apologise. In short, I'm learning French!