Ok so i’m takin a two second break from studying Kanji to write a little blog that could show you what I do whilst I study for these crazy little pictures the Japanese call a “writing system”.  Let’s face it, they aren’t letters, they’re pictures.  Crappy ones at that.

Ok, I’m currently studying the Kanji from Chapter 14 in my Genki 2 Textbook.  16 of them total, not so bad.  However this is just part of my study for the final exam I have this friday.  Total Kanji I need to memorize: 177.

Yep, 177 pictures that all look the same but carry very different meanings.  Ok, so let’s get started…

Ok ok, so the Korea post is going to take a while coz it’s gonna be huge and I have over 1 hour worth of footage to sift through and work into a video (or two).  So until then, allow me to keep my avid readers entertained with a little something.

The following movie is just footage of my bike ride to and from Kansai Gaidai.  There’s like 12839823 of them on Youtube, however none of them show the ride there AND back to Seminar House 3.  So… what I’m saying is that this is completely revolutionary! It’s gonna change the world!

Enjoy!

So you may have noticed that some random dude named Paul seems to have infiltrated Road2Japan.com and is tarnishing my lovely blog with his crazy insane wackiness and absurd claims of coming to Japan.

Lifelike representation of Paul

Well, he’s doing so because I asked him to.

Paul’s been a really good mate of mine for about 8 years or so now, grew up together, 13 houses apart.  Now he has decided to spend New Years Day here in Japan, and while he’s at it, join me and my crew on a backpacking trip around Japan.  So he’s hanging around for a month, whilst at the same time offering his thoughts and views before, during, and possibly after his visit to Japan.

G’Day my fellow blog readers. So it’s been a busy few weeks with last minute assessment and end of year exams at University, but it’s finally over, another year of my degree is done and dusted.

Ok so now that I’ve attended classes for a good chunk of my semester, I’m thinkin i’ma write a detailed post about my classes and how Kansai Gaidai structures them.

Japanese classes are held in the morning, 4 x 50 minute periods between 9am and 1pm (9:00-9:50, 10:00-10:50 etc.).  English classes are held in the afternoon, 3 x 80 minute classes between 1pm and 5:20pm (some exceptions such as the Sumi-e class which I think is 2 hours long).  Also if we miss 30% of our classes for either subject – FAIL!

Spoken Japanese Class (Level 2):

Spoken Japanese class began as my scariest subject because, quite simply, i had to speak Japanese.  A lot.  My teacher is Naito-sensei, she’s a lovely lady who really assists the learning environment by never making you feel like a douche but always egging you on till you get the right answer, no matter how long it takes.  Which at first is daunting and even annoying because it might feel like she’s continually badgering you even when you don’t know the answer, but in the end it DOES help you learn, and she does it in a nice enough way.  Oh and yes, i’ll re-iterate – you WILL be speaking Japanese, no hiding, no flying under the radar.

The class size is only about 13 people or so (in my class) and she always asks you question using new & old grammar structures and vocab to then coax you into understanding and replying using similar new and old grammar structures whilst telling her about your weekend, your plans, or if you are busy this afternoon.

Ok so tomorrow afternoon I actually depart with a group of friends on a journey to South Korea.  Well I say journey, but you know, its just a plane flight.  But either way Korea will mark my 3rd country to have visited (including Australia).

I’ve never shown interest in Korea.  I know NOTHING about the language except that when I hear it I think it’s Japanese but I can’t understand a word.  I’ve never eaten the food, I’ve met like 6 Korean people in my life… But when my buddy Frank approached me and asked: “Wanna go to Korea?”, I replied: “Uh… Sure why not!” – and it was a done deal.

WOO 100th post! As a way to celebrate, i’m making this post extra special, lots of eye candy, lots of adventure and a little surprise at the end (I feel there should be a “that’s what she said” joke there…).  Anyway, on with the post!

So the other day I was invited by my buddy Frank to meet him and a few friends at Kyoto.  Objective: Arashiyama!

Arashiyama is a mountain (“yama” = “mountain” - i expect you to all be fluent by the time i’m home), and is famous for the monkeys that inhabit it.  But we’ll get there eventually, things happened before the monkeys!

So Frank + posse were out in Kyoto the night before, clubbing, drinking, talking to transvestites and even being kidnapped by an extremely “cool” Korean guy.  Now I wish I was there, but I wasn’t =’(

G’day my fellow blog readers. My name is Paul. I’m sure that you are all familiar with my awesome mate Jace, and I’m sure that you also know that he is off on a massive adventure in Japan (jealous much :O ). Well, just between you and me, I think that he thought he could get rid of me just by travelling to Japan, well my friends, I think not!!