All right....let's get it started
Well, it has taken some effort, but I want to thank Jeremy for helping me out getting started on this new project. I'm a little nervous about publishing my crazy thoughts on the web, but it's amusing to rant and rave to people who care to "listen."I am moving to Osaka, Japan in about a month. This is why I decided to start this blog--so you can track my adventures overseas. I'm not sure what is exactly in store for me, but I know that I'll be teaching English to "senior" high school students (ages 15-18). I have a degree in Japanese, but am not even close to fluent; in case you're wondering what the hell I'm thinking moving over there in the first place.
To clarify, yes, I am in fact crazy for doing this. I have always wanted to live abroad and I'm getting old (don't ask how old, I don't want to think about it). So, as I see it, this is probably my last opportunity to go.
At least, I do know some Japanese and have been to Osaka before. I absolutely loved it there. The food is phenomenal, the people are great, and the shopping rocks. And I finally get a chance to use my degree.
Right now, I'm still getting my paperwork together and get loose ends tied up over here. I really don't have the ambition to get a lot accomplished as I'm leaving, but I'll at least try in a half-assed kind of way.
So, stay tuned as I'm sure that this blog will become much more zany.
posted by Bex @ 6:11 AM
3 Comments:
I know that it seems pathetic that I'm not fluent, but Japanese and English are quite different. In order to be "literate," one needs to know 1942 kanji (Chinese characters). Also, those 1942 can have any where up to 10+ different readings (pronunciations). So, believe me, three years isn't enough without living there.
Okay, first I was a bit off in the number of kanji. There are 1945 "jooyoo" (basic) kanji. I have a book entitled "A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters" by Kenneth G. Henshall that does include all 1945. The preface explains the concepts behind stroke order. Before you delve into kanji, I strongly recommend learning hiragana and katakana first if you haven't done so yet.
Man, whatchya doing using my real name on here? Bad Beckteria!
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