sleepy-lilmerchild

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

中級から上級への日本語のポイント

This is a little bit of revision for me since my classes right now suck and don’t hold much merit. These are notes I find useful from my year abroad and expressions you can use in everyday life.

１・例えば〜とする suppose that

例えば、明日雨とすれば、どうする？

２・場合もある　There are cases where

患者の状況によっては薬を使えない場合もある。

３・なおさらsimilar to 逆に when sth happens it becomes all the more

試験の時に勉強すると、なおさらやる気がなくなる。

４・なりの、なりに in one’s own way

私なりに作った。

日本人なりの断るのしかた。

My teacher told me if you don’t do well on an exam and tell your teacher 私なりに頑張った。they won’t say anything bad because you tried the best you can do. 

５・めったにないrarely

コーヒを飲まない日はめったにない。

めったに出てこないチャンス。

６・にすぎない often used with figures but also in a sentence without is possible! It means only and slightly different from だけ

彼女の言うことは嘘にすぎない。

留学していたといっても、一ヶ月日本に住んでいたにすぎない。

７・はずがない

優は今東京にいるので、授業に来るはずがないでしょう。

→　こんなたくさんの資料、来週までに読めるわけがない！

speakerが「～はず」と思っていたら、「はずありません」

Speakerが「理由がない、能力がない、馬鹿げてる」と思ったら、「わけありません」

８・わけではない　（優しく断る時でも使える笑）

あの人は嫌いわけではないが、デートをしたいと思いません。

９・も〜もない neither~not

カラオケでは上手も下手もない。

好きも嫌いもない don’t like or hate it　→というわけでこんな風に使えるんだ！！

１０・かねない　（特に記事や硬いテキストで使える）意味は可能性がある時

文脈は必要！

こんな服で出��けたら、風邪をひきかねない。

１１・と言っても　→　＝でもと似てる！

納豆が食べれる。と言っても買わないけど。

１２・いかにも〜そうだ　ネガティブな感じ・皮肉として使う・

いかにもお金がありそう人。

いかにも頭が良さそうだ。

１３・つつ　（ながらと似てるけど、ちょっと違う→　主語は同じで、考えとか見えないもの）

偏見を持つのは悪いと知りつつ、考え方を変えるのは難しい。

１４・がち　（ネガティブな感じ→　よく記事で使われる）

子供の頃から病気がちだ。

１５・ざるを得ない（＝しなければならない）

仕事なので、会議に置かざるを得ないことがある。

１６・にとどまる（普段数字と使われているけど）

今や漫画は日本や若者だけにとどまら図、世界中に広がっている。

１７・込める　（気持ち・憎しみ・恨み・祈り）put into

気持ちを込めてカードを描いた。

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

読解？Reading + comprehension advice?

Reading and comprehension?

Honestly I used to suck so bad and now I’m only just barely decent at it. I struggle with reading even in my native language so I suppose it’s not exactly so much a “language” problem. But enough with my sob story and without further ado!

1. If you come across この・その・あの you should see if you know exactly what it’s referring to in the text. We did this exercise in my class in ritsumeikan and trust me it was VERY useful. It’s normally I’d say referring to the thing it was talking about before to avoid repetition of saying the actual thing. 

2. When I was still at 初級 level, since we didn’t do many reading exercises at my uni I took it upon myself to do some reading for practice. I asked my teacher for advice and she told me to read some children’s books that I could find in the language library.

3. Because I HATE reading, it really doesn’t help my case lol but I did force myself to read more even if it’s just repeating the chapters in my textbook.

4. The best thing I’d say is to find something you know you’d enjoy. Your fav celeb or whatever ??? Even if it’s short every little helps!!!

5. If you find something with Japanese subtitles lol it is a challenge on speed HAHA

6. News articles are pretty good because even if you don’t know some words they come up all the time.

7. If you don’t understand what the sentence is about sometimes and trying to translate it into your native language find the subject 主語 ( normally the はorが )of the sentence and then the 述語 (usually the verb that's at the end or there are multiple sometimes. It could also be である であった) action that’s being taken. 

Reading is and probably will be a struggle for me in the future. Work at your own pace if you will otherwise you’ll fall into an unhealthy cycle of feeling like you’re stagnating, not improving and feeling incapable just because you can’t do it nor at the same pace as other people.

...or maybe y’all are ok and not as pessimistic as I am. I hope. 😂

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

One thing I didn’t grasp?

One thing I have to say that i haven’t grasped would be writing. Honestly it shouldn’t even be a surprise to me because my writing sucks like hell in English so how can I expect it to be decent in another language? The fact that I can’t write a decent essay to save my life nor have I ever gotten a first in ANY academic essay in uni is actually so depressing and I’m already on the verge of giving up. The stupid perfectionist side of me stresses me out making me feel so dumb because ISTG like everyone I know can get an easy first on an essay. but honestly I don’t have any hope. This is the side of education that is so depressing and the reason why I want out and CANNOT WAIT to graduate. But here’s a photo of the sakura from Japan last year :3 #languagestruggles

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Things to consider during year abroad! Japanese studies

What to consider when you're in Japan!!

1. Take JLPT because depending on the exchange rate and which currency you pay, it could be cheaper to take it in Japan. Especially if you take into consideration travelling costs!

2. If you plan to work in Japan in the future, look into participating in career fairs. There’s connect job and career forum and possibly other fairs if you do some research! Although the downside is that you need formal suit wear which I did not have at the time and didn’t go to any. :( BUT!! I do believe I missed out and regretted not looking into any of them.

3. Part- time/casual eikawa teaching english - I personally didn’t do this because the ones I found or the people who emailed me did not have the same schedule or one where we could arrange a meeting. Again, there’s several websites where you can look into that. One is hello talk that my friend used and was very successful!

4. At my university, Ritsumeikan they did casual meet ups with Japanese companies at a university cafe called shiru cafe and that would have been very useful if I actually attended one. 

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Japanese study tips 中級から上級

After studying a lot of grammar and vocabulary in my first and second years, I realised that our classes were lacking in reading and comprehension. When I went on my year abroad I realised how bad my reading was and it was the time where I put all my effort into improving it and I am so glad I did. 

The first hurdle is always the hardest so once you get over that it becomes easier. I have some tips on reading if anyone out there is just as bad as I am and also don’t particularly like reading. 

1. Take it slow and don’t rush it. We were taught to skim the text but I don’t find that to be an effective way to learn before grasping comprehension to a higher level.

2. Read small short articles outside of your studies. You can do it on the train if you have nothing to do.

3. It doesn’t matter if you have to look up words, it’s ok because it helps you understand the text better than just skimming it and guessing the meaning.

4. If you find quite a lot of words you don’t understand, try to understand the context in which it is used and how to use them.

5. Find something interesting that you would want to read. For me it was my favourite figure skater’s biography.

6. Try to summarise and explain difficult sentences in simple Japanese. 

Another thing I found very helpful to my studies was that on my year abroad, they picked some vocabulary that they thought would be useful and used in everyday life and made us write our own sentences in order to understand the sentences better. In class we would all write down our sentences to see how many of us have grasped the meaning. All in all it was a great exercise in helping us understanding the meaning of vocabulary and expressions and how to use them. 

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Honestly I always just pressed like every button and eventually found the flush button lol. But here is a nice guide for y'all going to Japan or for study abroad

Ever wondered how to use a Japanese toilet, bathtub or rice cooker? These pictures are the perfect guide for you to know how to!

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

JLPT N2 study

JLPT N2

When I was in Japan I knew I wanted to take it during my year abroad. Why? Because it should be when my Japanese ability would be at its peak. ALSO if you’re from the UK you should know that to take JLPT you’d have to go to London, Edinburgh or Cardiff which is FAR. In Japan as long as you register your address the examination will take place in the city you will be in at one of the local university’s. 

My exam took place at Ryukoku University and I took it in the summer in July. It took me a while to decide whether to go for N1 or N2 but in the end I decided that since I was going to be busy in my second semester with skating and all I went for N2. There was too much content I’d have to learn then study if it was N1 :P I used a mix of kanzen and so matome for revision. My teacher recommended to buy the books! I got them from my university book shop and I worked through them from April until the exam in July. There is ALOT of content which makes it annoying to revise for TBH. 

The content is actually not that difficult in my opinion. Especially if you’re at Ritsumeikan. Honestly Ritsu is so underrated because I personally think it’s one of the better universities to study at if you want to improve your Japanese. Well compared to my other friends opinion on their year abroad. 

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Tips for Japan

1) Research where your university actually is lol

2) Don't be afraid of moving places (accommodation)

3) Know exactly what you're getting into when going for a mobile contract!

4) Take the opportunity to do something that you want because otherwise you'll regret it!!

5) It's ok if you're not having the best time of your life and feeling homesick. Take some time out and then try to make the most of your year abroad because you'll never get this time back!

6) Travel as much as your budget allows you to :3

7) Joining any university club/circle is a good experience whether good or bad

8) Don't forget to have fun alongside your studies :3

9) If you didn't buy a return ticket home think carefully about when you want to go back (whether it be early or late)

10) It's ok to have regrets but learn from them and your experience 🙂

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

4月から浪速アイススケートで貸切に入った。平池先生と杉田先生のチームのみんなはレベルが高いから、最初はめっちゃ不安があった。そのとき友達と同じ先生のチームに入るのがいいかどうか分からなかった。でも2週間経ってから、そういう不安がなくなった。ただ一つの後悔は11月からここにすれば良かったと思ってる🥺残念ながらチーム合宿も本当に行きたかったが、行けなかった。。。でも今更後悔しても無駄だ。

平池先生と杉田先生から色んなことを教えてくれてすごいいい経験になった。日本の代表の選手と同じリンクや先生から習ってるなんて思わなかった。最後に日本で後悔せずになんばで滑ることが出来て本当に本当に良かった。一生忘れない。平池先生と杉田先生に色々お世話になった、ありがとうございました。🙇🏻‍♀️🇯🇵⛸

In April I started taking lessons at Naniwa Ice skating and little did I know it would be the best decision I ever made. I regret not starting here from November but what's done is done. I'm so thankful to Hiraike sensei and Sugita sensei who have taught me so much 🙇🏻‍♀️

At first I was unsure about whether or not I made the right decision because not only was getting myself all the way to Osaka 3 times a week tiring; but also all the skaters on my coach's team is super super good. But I guess it was either go big or go home 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 I never thought I'd get the chance to train on the same ice as one of Japan's national figure skaters and with the same team coach but I did and I've learnt so much and had so much fun. I'll never forget these 5 months at Naniwa Ice rink in Namba.

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Ice rink and club rules

I didn’t know there were certain rules and things you have to do in a figure skating club or at a rink if you take lessons but there is. I wasn’t really told explicitly by my club mates and hence did not know for the longest time till around April this year. 

1) First of all in club practices you should greet the club director/coach and when I say greet I mean go up to them, bow and greet them. 

2) You should also probably greet the senpais too. I think.

3) If you take lessons with a coach at a rink, greet the coaches there when you see them (usually at the beginning when you skate on private ice) and same as mentioned above you should go up to them bow whilst greeting them. (My coach told me to greet other coaches too on the first day and I’m so glad he told me so I wouldn’t appear rude or anything just because I didn’t know)

4) It’s better to greet other university club members if you skate during public skate. In general I think it gives a better atmosphere at the rink. For the longest time I didn’t have a club jacket so I didn’t know but one time someone from Kyodai greeted me so it made me think about that too. According to my friend from Doshisha it’s not absolutely required to greet them but it’s better to!!

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Nut allergy in Japan

I have a nut allergy, as well as sesame oil and black beans. At the beginning of my year abroad I was too lazy to read the back of the packaging for allergens because I suck at reading and hate it. I just decided to not eat something if I didn’t know what it contained but as time went on I knew I couldn’t live like this hahaha so I looked up what nuts are in Japanese and also a bit of research on normal ingredients. 

Basically peanuts are on the required allergens list but not any other nuts so other than 落花生・ピーナツ peanuts

くるみ chestnuts

アーモンド almonds

キャッシュナッツ cashew nuts

へーズルナッツhazelnuts

Look for these on the back of packaging!! and you should be safe : )

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

立命館大学フィギュアスケート部

It's the end of my year abroad and I thought it would be nice to finally talk about my experience at Ritsumeikan University's figure skating club. At the beginning before heading to Japan I remember being very excited about joining this club because you know what? We don't have figure skating clubs at universities in general in the UK (they exist but very rare). So when I went to their first practice I was utterly disheartened because they weren't as welcoming as I imagined them to be and didn't really make an effort to introduce themselves or talk to me.

The kind of atmosphere there made it difficult for me to also try and approach them. I really tried making conversation with the girl who was a friend of my friend but it was as if I was talking to a wall. No offence but it was that bad lol Other than the 2 girls who made an effort to chat to me I didn’t like the atmosphere of the club much or the practices. 

1) Club practice content!

I only attended the practices from November till January because it’s held at Kyoto Aquarena and could not get to the practices at Shiga at midnight. It was usually 2hours practice where we do crossovers forwards and backwards with the music. Then moving onto 3 turns and then mohawks in a circle. Sometimes we would do edge class altogether with the music which wasn’t too bad. 

Practices in November and December were fun because I had a friend but he left in January T_T

I didn’t attend much of the practices during spring break because I was travelling quite a bit and also was in a slump with no motivation to skate. However in April I helped out with the 体験会 at Shiga which was fun chatting to first years. Then, in May we had a 2 day training camp (unfortunately not on the ice :/ and clashed with my coach’s team skate camp so I couldn’t go rip) at OIC campus. Let me tell you OIC is so much better lol. I made a new friend there who was a first year :) 

From there on I didn’t attend any practices because it was held in Shiga again at midnight :))) However, in June they had it at Nishinomiya Hyogo Ice arena but there were only 2 practices. Nishinomiya is so far but I wanted to go to the practices since they would be my last with the club. I made a friend from Doshisha university who’s super nice, I wish she was at Ritsumeikan rip. 

Ritsumeikan decided to have their summer skate camp at Hokkaido around the end of August which means I can’t go. I’m quite upset because I really wanted to experience it once, I could have gone to my coach’s skate camp but all his skaters are super good and it would be embarrassing for me and also there’s the fact that I can’t actually keep up during team edge class :)) I would definitely not be able to keep up during camp. But I am touched that my coach did ask me if I wanted to go to the one in May. I didn’t really express whether I wanted to go, maybe that’s why he didn’t ask me this time round for the camp in August. 

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

ISU JSF badge test

In July I took a skate test because my coach wanted me to take it. Initially I wasn’t going to take it because since I didn’t have a Japanese skater card thing I couldn’t apply. I had already applied for it through my club but somehow it just wasn’t ready yet. My coach then asked one of his skater’s mum to help me apply for it and so she did. I didn’t exactly want to take it but couldn’t say no. Technically I should be able to pass it easily since it’s a beginner’s level but my basic skills are very weak and I only had 20 days to prepare myself for it. July was a very stressful time since not only did I have finals, but I also had JLPT to revise for and now I had to do a skate test. Because I’ve never taken a skate test before, I was really nervous and had no confidence whatsoever, up until the results came out I was absolutely certain that I was going to fail. But, alas I passed!!

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Share House 😂

I moved again, surprise! I think at this point it's not even a surprise anymore lol basically since I pay rent monthly and I already told my landlord when I was gonna leave, I might as well find a place Osaka 🤔I also lowkey always wanted to live in Osaka and I hate Kyoyo lmao.

It took a lot of searching and frustration and stress, but alas I found a share house super close to Namba on the Yotsubashi line!!!

Utilities are all included in the rent which means I can blast my aircon in this summer heat ☺️ ✌🏻

I found this place by just searching on share houses in Japan in Osaka area. A bit of a tip for y'all is that even though some places may say they only do 3 or 6 month contracts, you might be able to do 1 month by asking the landlord directly; oh I also advise you to email in Japanese since they're more likely to reply and repsond faster :3

I have 2 house mates, Japanese girl and Korean girl. The only thing annoying is seperating the rubbish because it's a bit confusing.

Rent for this place is 35000, 12000 for utilities and 15000 for deposit but if you don't damage anything and the room's ok by the time you leave then 5000 is returned :3 which would make a total of 57000

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Finishing year abroad

Hi ! It's been an awfully long time since I last updated. Spring semester went by in a flash and before I knew it, it's already August!! I have officially finished my exchange at Ritsumeikan University!!! And we receive a certificate and graduation book to place that inside.

In general I enjoyed my time at Ritsumeikan despite many ups and downs. After hearing about my friend's experiences at their universities, classes and exchanges with other Japanese students it seems that at Ritsumeikan there are more opportunities to meet and make Japanese friends.

I didn't make an exceptional amount of Japanese friends but the ones I've met are really good friends! I've probably mentioned it before but joining a circle or club would be a good way because it's mainly Japanese students who join. I have friends who also joined Kyodo Japanese artery and Aikido club. They also seem to have enjoyed themselves a lot there.

Education content wise I didn't learn as much as I hoped to but listening and speaking was very helpful. Although, my decision to take JLPT made life a bit more difficult because it meant I had to revise for 2 things at the same time and as finals came around I already burned myself out revising for JLPT rip me.  However, we had to do a lot of reading this semester which did help me with JLPT because it is my weakest point and I don't think I could have finished the questions fast enough if not for that!! 🙏🏻

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

Guitar circle

I looked at a few circles and clubs when they began recruiting students in April because it's the start of the year in Japan.

At first I was interested in the volleyball circle (theres no women's vball team at ritsumeikan) and also a music circle. In the end I did go to the 体験会for vball but decided that it was too much a hassle getting to the sports centre since it wasn't on campus so I opted with the guitar circle!! And I have no regrets!! It has a really nice atmosphere and I've made a few good friends there.

A piece of advice from me is that: it’d be better to join clubs or circle in April!!!  But unfortunately for students from the Uk you will most likely go abroad in September I know it sucks :/ because club members are usually more welcoming in April!!!

It's also a good way to make Japanese friends because I'm usually the only foreigner there. But in the guitar circle I think there's also a Korean student. Nevertheless it's very chill and you can come and go whenever at this circle. We also had camp where we stayed at the Kinugasa seminar house for a night to just chat and have fun. (P.s the Osaka Ibaraki campus seminar house is sooo much newer and nicer lmao rip me)

We normally have circle activities on the rooftop which is really really nice since I've never really had the chance to go to the rooftop!!!

[sleepy-lilmerchild]

First hostel experience!

I've always stayed in hotels till now but recently in order to make it to morning skate practice I decided to stay at a hostel overnight in Osaka. The first hostel I stayed at "Ultra hostel" was actually a really good experience for me! I was always afraid of someone stealing my stuff whilst I was asleep and so opted for hotels instead. But since a hotel is too expensive for a night I decided to try out hostel and I must say the receptionist was so friendly and nice, even made 2 friends there too haha. The one in the photo above however, is not this hostel but another one I stayed at. It has a library with various books and in different languages. But since there was two inconsiderate tourists who didn't close the bathroom door, it was so bright I couldn't sleep too well.