jeveuxparlerjaponais

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

6 months in Japan

I feel like it has been both an eternity and, like, three seconds since I arrived in Japan to settle down for a whole year. A lot has happened, a lot has been learned, and I thought that it would be great to share my thoughts on this first half of the year in this beautiful country, honestly and without trying to edulcorate anything.  First, Nagoya is a very, very nice place to live in. I was scared of being overwhelmed by such a big city - 4th biggest in the country, it is still bigger than Paris - and, well, turns out it’s one of the best part of my experience. I just genuinely like this city : it is surprisingly peaceful where I live, and during my late-night walks I enjoy this kind of nocturnal stillness in the residencial areas, with the lighting enhancing the japanese architecture that I’ve come to love so much. Also, if you prefer to be more active, there are still dozens of places which never seem to sleep - Sakae among them, truly the heart of the living life in Nagoya. All in all, I’m pretty happy to be living where I am, also because Nagoya is between Tokyo and Kyoto, and kind of in the middle of Japan, which allows to travel anywhere without it being too expensive - it is still very expensive, let’s be real.  Nagoya University is a nice campus. It is very large, and offers plenty of services to fill the day ; I especially love the library, and there is a coffee shop where you can get free coffee/tea every two hours if you register on an app - it’s called Shiru Cafe, 100% real, tested and approved. 

However, I have been very disappointed with the classes offered. All in all, I think I’m also at fault here : my expectations were great and I had heard the Japanese education system being praised for its difficulty so many times that I foolishly thought I would enjoy myself. Well... In Nagoya and in most of the universities I heard of, classes for foreign students are created especially for them, and neither my friends in other schools nor me have found them particularly entertaining or meaningful. There is also another problem : in Japan, if you do not want to work in a scientific field, your skills at the end of uni are barely important. It’s the university you went to and the clubs you took part in which matter. That’s because basically, in Japanese companies, you always start at the bottom and climb through hierarchy as the years go by ; because companies often hire employees for life, they tend to change their allocated department every 5 years or so. Which means that even if you are specialized in Human Resources, you might as well end up in the Marketing department. Which means that your skills in one field are not particularly relevant to your employer. I don’t know how much of an impact it had, but my management classes at least were pretty hard to focus on, they were terribly boring. I also struggle with by-heart learning and... yeah, guess what ? It’s the favored method of learning in Japan. So, yeah, academically, I do not feel very fulfilled. 

The country is amazingly beautiful. Japan in autumn is a sight to see and, please, if you come then, do not simply stop at Tokyo and Kyoto ; the Japanese countryside in autumn has some of the most beautiful colours I have ever seen for that season. I fell in love with the places I went to during that time. Try and see if there are places slightly outside of the most famous one, places which could interest you and where you could see what Japan’s Nature has to offer : trust me, that is a lot.   Also, be careful, autumn in Japan arrives a lot later than in France for example. Nagoya did not start showing any sign of a red leaf until late November ; in the countryside, it started mid-November but the most beautiful colors are definitely not there before early December. Please note that it varies from north to south ; Nikko has colours as soon as October for example. 

Another thing I did not expect : I have always seen myself as a very independent, adventurous person and it came as quite a shock when I realized just how much I missed my best friend. We have a very unique relationship, very close, and I just miss her whith my whole entire soul every single day. I think, in a way, this has dampened my enthousiasm for the whole trip, because every activity and every project is accompanied by “if only we could do this together” and “she would love this” etc. Of course, there are ways, but we’ve lived in a colocation for years now and I just wasn’t prepared for the impact it would have on me. 

Being alone however taught me a lot of things, and helped me grow a lot ; as well as to face myself and the things I was running from. It allowed me to take some time to gather my thoughts and to progress in a variety of fields, to experiment and to fail without fearing it would lead to conflict with anyone. Also, it has helped me have a clearer view on my relationships and it feels really good. 

All in all, I am very grateful for this wonderful opportunity. I think travelling abroad is an amazing experience and I wish it to anyone who desires to try someday. Do it. Try, see, you will always learn. 

I am currently hesitating to go back to France ; not because I do not appreciate this great experience, but because I am not sure it will help me at all with my studies, nor am I sure if I can bear one more semester of classes - I am the type of person who simply can’t work when not interested. Also, my best friend’s absence is becoming more and more of a hindrance to my enjoying of Japan. 

At first, I was ashamed. How could I try and go back when I was given such an amazing gift ? How could I feel this way when I have been insisting that it’s all I’ve ever wanted ? I did a lot of thinking, though, and I think that it’s important for people to know that, despite everything, being on the other side of the world for one whole year, all alone, especially when you’re an introvert, can be quite taxing. I would still recommend it, because you learn and see and experience so much, but I also think that it’s important to recognize if something is bothering you/hurting you and if you have a way to stop it. 

So, yeah, here are my thoughts on my first 6 months ! Frankly, all in all, it was really amazing, and I do not regret one thing. I hope it will be at least a bit interesting for you ! 

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Verb+ところ

Oh my she's actually active these days. *gasp*

Anyway, that one is an interesting one. You probably know by now that in Japanese, ところbasically means "place" (if not well, you're welcome) BUT did you know it was ALSO an expression ?

1. About to

Verb (neutral present) + ところ

It's not hard really. I'm not going to confuse you by explaining it with words when it's really just like the above so here are some examples :

- 食べるところ　= About to eat

- 寝るところ　= About to sleep

See ? Simple !

2. Just did

Verb ( neutral past ) + ところ

Same thing with the past tense, yay ! Shall we go directly to the examples ?

- 食べたところ = just ate

- 寝たところ = just slept (ok that one's strange)

AAAAAND that's all. Hope it was useful !!

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

JLPT N3 Grammar

Verb (plain form) + くせに Noun +のくせに なAdjective + なくせに いAdjective + くせに

Despite; even though

彼は医者のくせにタバコを吸っている。 kare wa isha nokuseni tabako wo sutteiru Although he is a doctor, he smokes.

��はお金もないくせに、贅沢な生活を送った。 imouto wa okanemonai kuseni zeitakuna seikatsu wo okutta Even though my sister didn’t have much money, she lad a life of luxury.

～くせに is similar to ～のに, but ～くせに is more negative and often used to express blame, criticism, or anger. On the other hand, ～のに is more neutral.

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

The か particle

I’m revising for my finals and I thought a quick recap on each particle would be welcome for anyone. Even when you’re around then N3, particles can still be tricky, even more so because you learn new things about them. It can be really frustrating then, cause you’re like “why didn’t you say so earlier ?” but, heh, what can you do.  Anyway, here goes the post nobody expected nor asked for ! 

1. The most obvious, aka question mark

 かis mostly seen and used as the western question mark. Placed at the end of a sentence, it turns it into a question. 

ex : どこですか。お元気ですか。(where is it ? how are you ?)

2. The consequence of the previous, aka indirect interrogative clause

And this is where trouble starts, people. 

No, really, nothing to catastrophic is going on here. The idea behind the barbaric “indirect interrogative clause” is simply a reported question. It also works for “I wonder if Tequila, my bunny, is doing fine.” 

In japanese, that would be : テキラは元気かいぶかる。

If I want to say : “I don’t know when to go to Japan.”, I would say : いつ日本に行くか知りません。

By now, you probably understood what to do with the particle. Basically, there are two rules to respect here : 

The question should be in neutral form

Put the particle at the end of the interrogative clause

3- The easy one, aka “or” 

Just use か instead of “or”. That’s it. That’s the post. 

朝ご飯はコーンフレークスかケ－キ、なにが食べたいか。

For breakfast, do you want to eat cornflakes or cake ?

4. The one that’s not really a particle, aka making words with か

何か something

だれか someone

どこか somewhere

That’s it friends ! Hope it can be of use to some people, if I’ve made a mistake please tell me, love you lots 

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Free Online Language Courses

Here is a masterpost of MOOCs (massive open online courses) that are available, archived, or starting soon. I think they will help those that like to learn with a teacher or with videos.  You can always check the audit course or no certificate option so that you can learn for free.

American Sign Language

ASL University

Arabic

Arabic for Global Exchange (in the drop down menu)

Arabic Without Walls

Intro to Arabic

Madinah Arabic

Moroccan Arabic

Catalan Sign Language

Intro to Catalan Sign Language

Chinese

Beginner

Basic Chinese

Basic Chinese I. II, III, IV , V

Basic Mandarin Chinese I & II

Beginner’s Chinese

Chinese for Beginners

Chinese Characters

Chinese for HSK 1

First Year Chinese I &  II

HSK Level 1

Mandarin Chinese I

Mandarin Chinese for Business

More Chinese for Beginners

Start Talking Mandarin Chinese

UT Gateway to Chinese

Chino Básico (Taught in Spanish)

Intermediate

Chinese Stories

Intermediate Business Chinese

Intermediate Chinese Grammar

Dutch

Introduction to Dutch

English

Online Courses here

Resources Here

Faroese

Faroese Course

Finnish

A Taste of Finnish

Basic Finnish

Finnish for Immigrants

Finnish for Medical Professionals

French

Beginner

AP French Language and Culture

Basic French Skills

Beginner’s French: Food & Drink

Diploma in French

Elementary French I & II

Français Interactif

French in Action

French for Beginners

French Language Studies I, II, III

French:Ouverture

Intermediate & Advanced

French: Le Quatorze Juillet

Passe Partout 

La Cité des Sciences et de Industrie

Frisian

Introduction to Frisian (Taught in English)

Introduction to Frisian (Taught in Dutch)

German

Beginner

Beginner’s German: Food & Drink

Conversational German I, II, III, IV

Deutsch im Blick

Diploma in German

Rundblick-Beginner’s German

Advanced

German:Regionen Traditionen und Geschichte

Landschaftliche Vielfalt

Hebrew

Biblical Hebrew

Know the Hebrew Alphabet

Teach Me Hebrew

Hindi

A Door into Hindi

Business Hindi

Virtual Hindi

Icelandic

Icelandic 1-5

Indonesian

Learn Indonesian

Irish

Introduction to Irish

Italian

Beginner

Beginner’s Italian: Food & Drink

Beginner’s Italian I

Introduction to Italian

Italian for Beginners 1 , 2, 3 , 4 , 5, 6 

Intermediate & Advaned

Intermediate Italian I

Advanced Italian I

La Commedia di Dante

Japanese

Genki

Japanese JOSHU

Japanese Pronunciation

Sing and Learn Japanese

Tufs JpLang

Kazakh

A1-B2 Kazakh (Taught in Russian)

Korean

Beginner

First Step Korean

How to Study Korean

Learn to Speak Korean

Pathway to Spoken Korean

Intermediate

Intermediate Korean

Nepali

Beginner’s Conversation and Grammar

Norwegian

Introduction to Norwegian

Norwegian on the Web

Portuguese

Curso de Português para Estrangeiros 

Pluralidades em Português Brasileiro

Russian

Beginner

Easy Accelerated Learning for Russian

Advanced

Reading Master and Margarita

Russian as an Instrument of Communication

Siberia: Russian for Foreigners

Spanish

Beginner

AP Spanish Language & Culture

Basic Spanish for English Speakers

Beginner’s Spanish:Food & Drink

Fastbreak Spanish

Introduction to Spanish

Restaurants and Dining Out

Spanish for Beginners

Spanish for Beginners 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Spanish Vocabulary

Intermediate

Spanish:Ciudades con Historia

Spanish:Espacios Públicos

Advanced

Corrección, Estilo y Variaciones 

Leer a Macondo

Spanish:Con Mis Propias Manos

Spanish: Perspectivas Porteñas

Swedish

Intro to Swedish

Swedish Made Easy 1, 2, & 3

Ukrainian

Read Ukrainian

Ukrainian Language for Beginners

Welsh

Beginner’s Welsh

Discovering Wales

Multiple Languages

Ancient Languages

More Language Learning Resources & Websites!

Last updated: March 1, 2017

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Japan | Day #5

Today I actually did a lot of things which I am very happy about. First off I went to try that coffee that I had seen when going to uni. Turns out that there are actual cafés opened to smokers in Japan. Needless to say, I was pretty surprised. Even in France where smoking is a big deal, these do not exist anymore. It was a good experience though, as there were only Japanese people in !!

After than I went in town on my bike and found a Book Off. For those of you who don't know, it's a brand of stores that sell second-hand books, mangas, CDs and DVDs for very small prices. I got 4 mangas for something like 1.200¥, the equivalent of less than 12€. You wouldn't even get two mangas for that price in France !!

I also feel that it will help me with vocab and kanjis. I truly believe that the best way to learn a language is by practice. You can learn all you want by heart, if you don't practice a language it's going to die in your brain. And I for one really tend to struggle with learning by-heart, hence my problem with kanji.

Also, I went to the Tokugawa museum, which is truly beautiful and interesting. I do intend to go back once my Japanese has improved to actually read more of the stuff that's written only in Japanese.

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Japan | Day #4

Today was more about relaxing than doing anything in particular. I woke up late because my sleeping schedule is completely off, which makes me feel really strange. It's the first time I'm struggling with jetlag so it's been hard to fight it (hence why I'm writing this at 3AM)

Still, I finally bought my bike ! And in Japanese too ! I'm really proud of myself and I got it for really cheap too, so I'm really quite happy about it. It's been a very long time since I last drove one though so I need a little bit of adjusting before I'm ok to ride to uni !

I also bought a kanji book to study for my placement test on Thursday. Hope I get not-too-bad marks huh !

Also if you intend to stay in Japan for some time I would advise the Max Valu supermarket, where food is actually pretty cheap !

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Japan | Day #3

So today was a long administration-related meeting in Nagoya University and it was boring as hell BUT I came there by foot and thus was able to enjoy my first looks of the actual city other than the mall and uni.

Nagoya is really cool. There are many beautiful houses and small cafes, I can't wait to get my bike tomorrow !!

I feel like I'll enjoy my stay so much more by just being outside, y'know.

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Japan | Day 2

I could definitely consider it my first day but here it is ! I woke up at like 2AM because of jetlag, so I went to steal the Wi-Fi from Family Mart. For those who don’t know, Family Mart is a small convenience store that is open 24/7 depending on where it is located, and that offers a variety of products from food to coffee to random hygene products. I would definitely recommend it : the one at the end of my dorm street is clean, neat and there is space to sit down and drink or eat whatever you just brought. Today was the first day of orientation and stuff at uni. Nagoya university is huge and there were lots of informations but I got my student card and different paperwork application forms that I need to submit soon so it went pretty good !

Because the subway is so expensive, I am seriously thinking of buying - or renting - a bike. I feel this would be a very nice way of getting around without having to pay for the subway and while really enjoying the city. I’ll tell you more about that later on !

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

I'm there.

After more than 20hours of traveling, I am officially a resident of Japan for the next year. I am really excited and at the same time sad because I will miss my best friend dearly (in fact, I already do)

For now my level of Japanese orally speaking is catastrophic, but that's ok. I'm practicing and improvising, that can't hurt, and after my journey I'm more than content with simply being understood xD

Tomorrow, I have an orientation meeting at school , I'll keep you all updated !!

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Today, I was not perfect

And that's ok.

I need to tell myself that, 'cause for some reason I struggled a little today and did not do nearly as many things as I should have and needed to persuade myself to do the things I did. I had little to no motivation and was bored when I didn't do anything. Great day ya know.

BUT. I did things. I filled that important fucking paper that I need to make both universities sign. I tidied up my apartment. I washed my dishes. I cooked for myself. I sorted out my closet and put most of the stuff I wanted to sale on Vinted.

So yeah, I did things. More than I would have if I hadn't coerced myself into doing things. And I also have Tumblr to thank for that cause I kind of thought about you guys and told myself that I wanted to be able to say that I did things. Social media are not always toxic people !

Anyway, enjoy life and be happy !

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Japanese Hopefully-Not-Nightmare | Day 2

Today I worked and was supposed to get shit done, which I did, but only partially because it was so hot and my feet hurt and.. well. I did a thing in Japanese talking about my habits but did not actually finish so I'll get back to it tomorrow.

I figured it would be slightly more intelligent to practice that way rather than learn random vocab lists because that has not proved to be efficient up till now. (I see you kanjis.)

Also like.

I'm sorry.

This is a picture of my late night reviewing with a pile of pens, a turned off computer and tea in a Burger King mug. I must be the untrendiest blog in there. Thank you for bearing with me.

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

IneedtobeatleastalittleefficientinJapanesetostudyabroad | Day 1

It's 8 am in France right now and I'm re-reading my notes about N5 vocabulary starting with あ that I did yesterday. I've decided to start again from the beginning because my teachers kind of taught us strangely and I noticed that I had never really studied some of the basic vocab in N5, which is strange. Mostly it's a question of reviewing the kanjis though, because I forget them soooo fast it's making me despair.

Hope you have a beautiful day !

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

Let’s get started

I have a new project, or more precisely an idea. I guess it could be nice for me to share my experience of preparing for Japan - study-wise but also everything - EVERYTHING that comes with it, administration-wise. I’m not going to make it overly complicated or long or boring, but I guess it could be nice ! 

And so, dear friends, here we go !

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

This has nothing to do with the usual content of this blog, but it is tremendously more important too.

Sudan is ruled by chaos right now, and people are being killed, wrongly arrested, raped and tortured. This can not be accepted. This can not be silenced. And however small an impact the social media can have, it is our duty as human beings to react, if only to show that we care.

Here's my small contribution. It's nothing, and I'm frustrated, but please be aware, and spread that awareness. Knowledge is power.

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

That's it.

I'm going to Japan. It's now official. I've been accepted at the University of Nagoya, one of the National Seven and my first choice !!!! I'm so happy and so stressed at the same time, it's really strange !

So, people, I've not been very active for the past few months but I'll keep you updated and I'll share my journey in Nagoya with you. I'll be gone from September 2019 until August 2020 !

Gaaaaah I have so many things to prepare now !

[jeveuxparlerjaponais]

07/04/19

Late night studying, I started going over my international relations class which is about Europe this semester.

I skipped most classes because I'm a bad student who can't get motivated without a motivating teacher. I blame myself completely but I do intend to get a good mark !!