Bright Future

Another film recommendation for those of you who enjoy unconventional (and Japanese!) cinema. I'm talking about Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Bright Future (アカルイミライ). I found this film to be fresh and interesting, but, truth be told, hard to follow at times. I think I will need another screening (or two) to work out all the symbolism etc. Well, more Japanese listening practice for me! It's a win-win! Anyway, I strongly reccomend it!

Here is a spoiler-free (I try) intro to the film: "Two young guys work in a plant that manufactures oshibori. Their weird bond is based on uncontrollable rage, something neither can articulate or control, and the strange jellyfish that they keep as a pet. A bizzare turn of events soon changes both of their lives." ~ Adapted from IMDB

University classes start tomorrow, my first ever Japanese class is Wednesday!

QOTD: How to ace Japanese 101? :) hmmm...

Learning By Listening

Recently I've been browsing through information online about learning Japanese. I found the advice of Khatzumoto - who was mentioned to me by Bahia (domo arigatoo!) especially interesting and not to mention, entertaining!

Anyway, on his website he strongly urges all "learners" to submerge themselves in the language they are studying. That is you need to LIVE your target language 24/7 (or very close to it). He even mentions sleeping while listening to Japaneses audio!!! While his method seems extreme... well, it sure payed off for the creator (Khatzumoto supposedly became fluent within 18 months!)

And thus, following Khatzumoto's advice... I got a bunch of Japanese films from Netflix and started watching them. It might sound silly, but although I don't understand a thing, I actually feel like I am getting "used to" the sounds.

The cool part is... this isn't a chore, it doesn't even feel like learning. Quick example, today I saw a very interesting film that (by the way) I strongly recommend to all fans of unconventional cinema. The title was "After Life." Here is a brief and spoiler-free summary (in case you are interested).

"After people die, they spend a week with counselors, who help them pick one memory, the only memory they can take to eternity. They describe the memory to the staff who work with a crew to film it and screen it at week's end. 22 dead arrive that week, assigned to three counselors and a trainee." ~ From IMDB

QOTD: What Japanese films would you recommend me? All I seem to find is 60's sword slashers and thrillers (isn't there more to Japanese cinema?)

Ta-Ta For Now

So, I'm slowly but surly building up my Hiragana list. I'm up to 20 letters with the addition of the T-family. Do you all think I move much too slow? The thing is I want to have these letters MASTERED before I move on to do more. When I look at a page of Japanese... well, I want to instantly think "KI!" not "Umm... I'm pretty sure...umm... that that's... kiiii(???)" And that is my explenation (in case you were wondering). I think going slow for now is a good aproach. Lots and lot of repetition. Once I master hiragana I will also go back to using Rosetta Stone (I'm kinda looking forward to that).


In other Japanese Learning related news. Thanks to awesome people online I found out about this (supposedly) great book. "Remembering the Kanji" I am wondering if parallel to Rosetta, as well as University Classes, I should invest time (and money) into this book. Ever heard of it friend?




QOTD: What's your personal experience, or the word of mouth you hear, about Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji" series?

A Small Break

I haven't really practiced in a few days and I feel kinda bad about it. I'm having a really busy week. Still working on getting the S-family of Hiragana symbols down. I need to devote more time to this. :[

On a lighter note: going to NYC on Wednesday was really enjoyable!

QOTD: How many days a week do you practice Japanese?

Hiragana Brainwash!

I found this very cool video on YouTube. It might seem like brainwashing at first, but it actually helps one to memorize Hiragana. Props to GenkiJapan!



QOTD: Do you know of any other cool Japan or Japanese-Learning related videos floating around the internet?

Textbooks

Yesterday I got 2 books I will need for learning Japanese at my Uni during the fall semester. They are called... Genki(?). Anyway, I looked them over a bit, and my initial reaction is that they seem a bit confusing. I see a lot of Japanese submersion right from the get-go and I can't really follow along much (as I don't know what the heck is written).


Are they any good? I sure hope so.

Hiragana Update: Still working on the 15 first symbols.

QOTD: Did you use Genki to study Japanese? If not, what textbooks did you use?

Enrolling: Japanese 101

First, hiragana update! The more letters/symbols I know, the more confusing it becomes. I'll try to memorize the ones I learned extremely well before moving on to new ones. I hope this will eliminate the problem. Today, I finished K’s and moved on to the S’s. Here are the letters (again, are they called letters?) that I know so far:

Charts from About.com

I went to the Dept. of Asian Languages and Cultures at my University yesterday to see if I can sign up for Japanese 101 come fall semester. Unfortunately they weren’t able to tell me one way or another. As it turns out, even with 7 sections offered, classes fill up quick. I’m guessing it must be a popular course! And so, all I got out of the present administration was: “Classes are full… blah blah blah, and so on.” Well, all I can say is - thank god for my determination to be admitted into this program. After coming home yesterday, I e-mailed the professor directly and just now she responds telling me to come see her on Day 1; she will get me in. I’m starting official Japanese on September 2^nd! Should I celebrate or start to panic? Haha… I hear it isn’t an easy class.

Before I go, BIG shout-outs to Lunar, Sam, Akihiro, and Amy for reading and responding to this very young blog… and thus supplying me with (much needed) creative fuels to write more entries. It’s nice to know someone is reading this :)

Question of the Day: Did you ever take (or plan to take) official Japanese classes?