Short update - Masaru San if you see this, I emailed you back :)

Quick Note: Masaru San, I got your email this evening. I emailed you a couple of weeks ago but I don't think you received it. If you haven't maybe my email is in your spam box? I sent back a short email this evening to confirm this. I will write you a full reply once you receive my emails properly :)

Quick Update: I have not updated in over a month now, very sorry. Due to a lot of life issues, I have been too busy to study Japanese and now I have actually forgotten a lot of grammar and will have to go back and review. I finished my two week study course, then did two weeks of work experience which was very tiring. I've started a gluten free diet because I have also been very ill with sinus problems and other problems relating to my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome :( I am feeling quite a bit better now and I've actually managed to land myself a part time job. This September I want to start an Open University course and I'm really preparing to save some money so I can travel to Japan next year, I'm so excited!!!!!!!! :D This makes it more important for me to start studying again. I have around 300 cards to review on my Anki deck >.< also I need to complete practice questions and brush up on speaking. I should start doing that by the middle of next week. My schedule is still pretty busy and I'm really going to try and find some time to fit study in with work and socialising.

Taking a break from learning Japanese

I realise that I have not updated my blog in a long time. Over the past few weeks I have been busy trying to look for work and I am currently on an employability training course which requires me to travel. On top of that, the weather has also been scorching hot all week and the heat completely drains my energy. When I get home in the evening I am always extremely tired and I can not concentrate on learning. I am really hoping that I can get a job soon and then start learning again. I feel very bad that I have stopped and I am fearful that I will lose my ability to recall anything I have learnt. An update should come within the next few weeks when I am feeling better.

Almost finished Chapter 8

I have finished all the learning points for Chapter 8 now. I am getting there slowly but surely, and now all I need to do is make yet more flashcards and complete some question exercises. I have just finished practicing the Kanji for this Chapter and my head hurts. For some odd reason, whenever I finish a particularly challenging piece of work my brain seems to swim with information, its like I can feel the hiragana readings just spinning around :S Since it is the end of Chapter 8, you can expect another Japanese writing piece in the next few days. *hooray* The picture to the left demonstrates how I usually practice Kanji, some people prefer to use the Heisig method and learn the meaning, the readings and the way the Kanji is written separately, but I am happy enough just learning all of them in one go. Total number of Kanji learned: 86. How many more to learn: 2414!!

Chapter 8 !!!!

Today I started on the grammar for Chapter 8 - a lot later than I expected, but I have been enjoying time with friends :) Chapter 8 of Genki focuses on the short (informal) forms of verbs, い adjectives and な adjectives, and nouns + です. I am so happy that I am learning the short forms because it is commonly used in speech and so I can now understand more of what certain characters are saying to friends in Japanese drama and anime, it also means that the Japanese I write from now on will sound less overly formal. I received my first passport and I am looking forward to getting a job so I can save for my first trip to Japan. I was jealous of all the people who went to the Tokyo Hanami where many of my favourite J - Vloggers from Youtube met up and had a great time. I have been enjoying the cherry blossom in my garden though, even if it is no where near as beautiful.

Less frequent updates

My updates have been less frequent because I have reached a point in my learning where I am really trying to practice all the grammar and vocabulary I have learned all together. I have around 800 flashcards on the go on Anki and some practice has involved me just writing pages and pages of sentences in Japanese. I am a slow learner but Im getting there. Tomorrow I will begin learning the vocabulary needed for Chapter 8. Chapter 8 looks very scary; there are many very long grammar points for that lesson that all look confusing to me. As the chapters have progressed they are adding more and more information so its taking a long time to complete this.

Short Self Introduction In Japanese

Almost finished Chapter 7 now. I wrote a small piece about my family and introducing myself. It is really bad (I use です so often I look like I'm really stupid). Well, anyway...here it is (mind I have not checked it yet, so I don't know if it is correct). If you know Japanese, please help me correct this.

初めまして。エリです。二十歳です。イギリスのロンドンのそばに住んでいます。父は日本の会社に勤めています。母はイギリス人で、五十八歳です。母は高校に勤めています。父は背が高くて、怖いです。父はちょっと太っています。よく食べますから。家族は犬がいます。なまえはTheoです。Theoが大好き。お姉さんが二人います。妹が一人います。

What is should say: Nice to meet you, I am Ellie. I am 20 years old. I live near London in England. My father works for a Japanese company (Olympus). My mother is English and is 58 years old. My mother works for a high school. My father is tall and scary. My dad is a little overweight, because he eats a lot. My family owns a dog. His name is Theo. I love Theo. I have two older sisters. I have one younger sister.

Sorry that my Japanese is awful and is written in a strange sounding way. I wanted to fit in as many different grammar points from Chapter 7 as I could so it doesn't flow exactly right. Haha and I hope I havent offended my dad. >.<

Quick update

Yes, I know I have almost spent an entire month on Chapter 7. Lately, my health and motivation has deteriorated. I have not given up on learning, its just going to take much longer than I predicted. I am now almost at the end of Chapter 7, a lot of grammar is piling up and I'm trying to find ways to remember it all so I keep referring back which is taking a lot of time. I am going to post in a couple of days after the chapter is finished and write something in Japanese. Hopefully it makes some sense.