2018 in review

Looking back on 2018 in games and Japanese.

1. Games
 
My recent neglect of this blog has a happy reason.

Reading practice: "If Cats Disappeared from the World"

Say you're dying. But you could extend your life by one day for each precious thing you choose to sacrifice from the world. Would you?

Translation practice: "Kappa no seikatsu zukan" (An Illustrated Guide to Kappa Life)

According to Japanese folklore, kappa are a type of supernatural creature that lures and pulls people into water. However, a library book I picked up gave a rather different depiction of kappa.

An Illustrated Guide to Kappa Life (カッパの生活図鑑), by Kunihiko Hisa, portrays kappa as generally harmless and merely fun-loving creatures.

The water-loving kappa. Literally, “river child” in Japanese.

Reading practice: "Kiki's Delivery Service" (Majo no takkyūbin)

If you've watched a Studio Ghibli movie and liked it -- for instance, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle or My Neighbor Totoro -- you might enjoy Kiki's Delivery Service, another of director Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece animations. It's one of my favorite movies!

But for this post, I'd like to introduce the children's book series it was based on. The author, Eiko Kadono, just won the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award for writing.

Reading practice: "Shōwa no kodomo seikatsu e zukan" (Illustrated Guide to Daily Life of Showa Children)

My first library book in Japan. I wanted to start with something I could finish in 2 weeks. This picture book about children's daily life in the Shōwa period was perfect.

Here's the cover of 昭和の子ども生活絵図鑑 (Shōwa no kodomo seikatsu e zukan), created by a husband-and-wife team, Harumi Nagata (illustrator) and Tatsu Okunari (writer).

My library adventure begins

The best thing that happened recently: On impulse, I joined a local library.

Build self-discipline with Skritter, the kanji app

I owe it to Skritter for starting me on the habit of studying Japanese. It's the single best thing I ever spent money on for language-learning.

JLPT N2 test-taking tips

I wouldn't have passed the JLPT without practicing test-taking skills that are specific to this exam.

Familiarity
It makes a world of difference to be familiar with JLPT-type questions.

JLPT N2 study post-mortem

The results are out: I passed the N2 with a respectable score of 161 out of 180. (Vocab/Grammar: 50, Reading: 60, Listening: 50)

Earlier, I wrote about what study materials I used to tackle each JLPT skill. This follow-up post is about lessons I learned from the final weeks of study:

• Plan for setbacks.
• Manage energy and motivation, not just time.
• Go wide instead of deep.
• The JLPT mainly tests test-taking!

Reading practice: "Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window"

Just finished reading my first "long" book, Madogiwa no Totto-chan (窓ぎわのトットちゃん).

How I prepared for the JLPT N2

Here, I'll summarize three things:

(1) Most helpful study materials
(2) How I prepared for each JLPT section
(3) My 1 year of erratic study

Introducing... JLPT N2!

A week ago, I took the N2 level of JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test).

I'd like to write several posts on the subject, by and by:

• How I prepared for the N2, over the 1 year that passed between my N3 and N2
• Post-mortem: Lessons learned from the final 10 weeks before test day
• Test-taking tips
• Review of N2 study materials or methods
• Motivation, sustaining it

Birthday milestone with "Ni no Kuni"

When my birthday drew near, a Japanese friend whose birthday is a day before mine, taught me the word "arasa" (アラサー, "around thirty"). Shortly after, I turned "sati" (サーティー, "thirty").

Two nice things happened as I entered the 30s.