Went to Japan last month to see Wrestle Kingdom 9 at the Tokyo Dome. Loved the time I spent there. I'm planning on going back once I learn the language, so I signed up for a course at school and I've been hitting the books hard in my free time. Haven't learned much in the way of words yet, because I've been focusing on how to read/write hiragana, which I've finally finished with. Moving on to katakana next. Just taking things one step at a time. The class itself is actually hella bad but I've met some people there who I work with sometimes on our own.
I went to my car this morning.... And there was a head of cabbage on the front of my car... Anyone who's lived here awhile know what the deal is with this? Is it just Japanese humor? I sent a picture to my fiance who's with her folks in Kagoshima and all she did was just laugh at me over LINE.... Any ideas?
[img]http://i.imgur.com/1XLCYxh.jpg?2[/img]
I've been thinking about enrolling in a Japanese language school in Japan, is that a good idea?
[QUOTE=Ta16;47190556]I went to my car this morning.... And there was a head of cabbage on the front of my car... Anyone who's lived here awhile know what the deal is with this? Is it just Japanese humor? I sent a picture to my fiance who's with her folks in Kagoshima and all she did was just laugh at me over LINE.... Any ideas?
[img]http://i.imgur.com/1XLCYxh.jpg?2[/img][/QUOTE]
you're fucked
[QUOTE=Heigou;47201481]I've been thinking about enrolling in a Japanese language school in Japan, is that a good idea?[/QUOTE]
what like go to japan and take classes
if you have the money sure
if its a class then you'll at least be with other people who probably speak english so you can adjust easier
やりたいなら思い切ってやれ
Yeah, been looking at it. Seems accomodation is included more often than not so that's something decent. From what I see classes can be anywhere from 6 months to 2 years, I would probably start with 6 months yet or something, wouldn't want to end up there for 2 years if I don't like it or I miss home too much or some chit, I don't know.
How much are the classes, and where did you find out about them?
Averages at about 8k$CAD for a year and 15k$CAD for 2 years. I googled for Language schools in Japan and I found a few that looked decent and they're nicely placed for the most part. I had this link to a list of all the official schools in Japan or some shit but I lost it, I'll have to find it again.
It sounds like a good way to learn and immerse yourself without having to go there as a tourist for like 3 months maximum and paying out the ass for accomodation alone. If I was to stay in something super cheap like a Capsule hotel or something @ 50/night, it would cost me like 36500$ in accomodation alone so having a 8-15k cover the classes and accomodation sounds like an amazing deal.
At least, it seemed to be like that, it kinda sounds too good to be true to have classes + accomodation for that price but then again I don't know how much student accomodation would be and the websites never really gave any price for the accomodation and it seemed to be part of the full package so here's me hoping it is.
are you sure japan would really be the right choice? do you want to go and spend 2 years there (and drop that $$$) without having been before?
why japan in particular, i mean? if you're going for an education immersing yourself in an english speaking country would be a much wiser choice. if you're going for the life experience it might be okay, but it's not something i would be comfortable doing without prior self-validation of my going there
[QUOTE=.Lain;47221084]are you sure japan would really be the right choice? do you want to go and spend 2 years there (and drop that $$$) without having been before?
why japan in particular, i mean? if you're going for an education immersing yourself in an english speaking country would be a much wiser choice. if you're going for the life experience it might be okay, but it's not something i would be comfortable doing without prior self-validation of my going there[/QUOTE]
I do believe he's saying he'd go to Japan to study Japanese, not to study some random thing at college, and where better to go to learn a language than the place it comes from?
ooh i missed the language part
why japanese though? curious
[QUOTE=.Lain;47221287]ooh i missed the language part
why japanese though? curious[/QUOTE]
Not sure how long I want to stay, I was just saying 1-2 years but there's also 6 months classes which sounds much more manageable, there's always the worry that I won't actually like being in Japan and if so, I'd rather have to go through 6 months rather than 2 years.
As to why Japanese in particular, it's hard to explain. I'm a Native French speaker and fluent in English so I felt a bit like I had the Germanic and Romance languages covered and don't have as much of an interest in these as Asian languages since I have little experience with these in comparison. I was split between Korean, Japanese and Mandarin/Cantonese for a while because of it but I ultimately went with Japanese and so far I'm not disappointed, it's a beautiful language even if a damn difficult one.
I spent more than half my life in a hospital bed because of a disease so I never got to travel or experience anything other than where I've always lived (Montreal and surroundings) And I've always had a wanderlust that I never simply couldn't sate and a love for cultures other than my own so I feel like actually going to Japan to learn Japanese could actually be a very interesting life experience.
[QUOTE=Heigou;47221967]Not sure how long I want to stay, I was just saying 1-2 years but there's also 6 months classes which sounds much more manageable, there's always the worry that I won't actually like being in Japan and if so, I'd rather have to go through 6 months rather than 2 years.
As to why Japanese in particular, it's hard to explain. I'm a Native French speaker and fluent in English so I felt a bit like I had the Germanic and Romance languages covered and don't have as much of an interest in these as Asian languages since I have little experience with these in comparison. I was split between Korean, Japanese and Mandarin/Cantonese for a while because of it but I ultimately went with Japanese and so far I'm not disappointed, it's a beautiful language even if a damn difficult one.
I spent more than half my life in a hospital bed because of a disease so I never got to travel or experience anything other than where I've always lived (Montreal and surroundings) And I've always had a wanderlust that I never simply couldn't sate and a love for cultures other than my own so I feel like actually going to Japan to learn Japanese could actually be a very interesting life experience.[/QUOTE]
Why not just try for JET? You'd get the same immersion along with a salary and a paid place to live. IMO it's not wise to drop that kind of catch for something long-term like that. Either way this is a pretty big decision that you should probably think over for a while.
any japan duders live near an arcade with bemani stuff? and is willing to maybe buy some eAmuse passes and ship them here
[QUOTE=Wealth + Taste;47225897]Why not just try for JET? You'd get the same immersion along with a salary and a paid place to live. IMO it's not wise to drop that kind of catch for something long-term like that. Either way this is a pretty big decision that you should probably think over for a while.[/QUOTE]
Elaborate please? Not sure what JET is and it's a really vague word so google didn't return a whole lot. I'm assuming I would be some sort of teacher? I don't think I can do that though as a Native French speaker. I had looked into teaching English in other countries and stuff and all I got is that since I was born French and didn't go through English school despite being perfectly fluent in English, I'm totally fucked.
Unless I would be a French teacher but I don't think these are in high demand.
[QUOTE=Heigou;47228758]Elaborate please? Not sure what JET is and it's a really vague word so google didn't return a whole lot. I'm assuming I would be some sort of teacher? I don't think I can do that though as a Native French speaker. I had looked into teaching English in other countries and stuff and all I got is that since I was born French and didn't go through English school despite being perfectly fluent in English, I'm totally fucked.
Unless I would be a French teacher but I don't think these are in high demand.[/QUOTE]
JET is basically a program where they pay for all/most of your living expenses on top of a salary in exchange for being an Assistant Language Teacher in a Japanese public school. It's a great program, but you're right, if you're not technically first-language fluent in English then you probably couldn't get in. It's a great system though, and it would probably pay to see if there's an equivalent for the French language, as it's the second most popular foreign language in Japan.
If you're out of those sort of options and are willing to take the risks and spend the money, I'm sure a language school would be really fun though. I would study as much as you can over here first though because it doesn't make sense for them to teach you the basics for such a high price.
Yeah, I was really bummed out by that. I feel that my English is good enough for it to not matter but paperwork paperwork paperwork, gotta have the papers or yer fukt. I'll look up on a French equivalent.
But yeah, I'm already going through this Genki book, it seems really good so far. I try to study a little bit everyday, took me roughly 3 days to memorize Hiragana and Katakana and now I can formulate basic sentences/questions, nothing to hold a conversation though. From what I've seen so far, Japanese seems to be simpler than French/English as far as Vocabulary and Grammar goes. The Kanji is the real killer though.
[QUOTE=Heigou;47231751]Yeah, I was really bummed out by that. I feel that my English is good enough for it to not matter but paperwork paperwork paperwork, gotta have the papers or yer fukt. I'll look up on a French equivalent.
But yeah, I'm already going through this Genki book, it seems really good so far. I try to study a little bit everyday, took me roughly 3 days to memorize Hiragana and Katakana and now I can formulate basic sentences/questions, nothing to hold a conversation though. From what I've seen so far, Japanese seems to be simpler than French/English as far as Vocabulary and Grammar goes. The Kanji is the real killer though.[/QUOTE]No.
It is not simpler, sorry to say.
Perhaps grammar, but vocabulary is a monster.
[QUOTE=Heigou;47231751]Yeah, I was really bummed out by that. I feel that my English is good enough for it to not matter but paperwork paperwork paperwork, gotta have the papers or yer fukt. I'll look up on a French equivalent.
But yeah, I'm already going through this Genki book, it seems really good so far. I try to study a little bit everyday, took me roughly 3 days to memorize Hiragana and Katakana and now I can formulate basic sentences/questions, nothing to hold a conversation though. From what I've seen so far, Japanese seems to be simpler than French/English as far as Vocabulary and Grammar goes. The Kanji is the real killer though.[/QUOTE]
Accent is what'll kill you in getting and English teaching job. If you sound even remotely French-Canadian, or basically if your English is anything other than Neutral-American or Neutral-British accented, you're never going to get a job. They want the kids to hear English "How it's supposed to sound, from native speakers," so if you have an accent, and likely even just because you're ESL, they likely won't even consider you.
As for French, I'd be concerned since you're Quebecois and not French if they'd have a problem with that too, especially since there's a number of things the Quebecois just took from English whereas the French made a new word, and there's a bit of Quebecois slang and vocab that doesn't exist in France. Though I do think that that one may be a better shot.
Also Japanese sure as shit isn't simpler than French, especially with the 3 different alphabets and how many things sound the same/similar, but mean totally different things. I'd be willing to bet that, given the 6 years of French class I took in school provided me with a base to begin from, if I'd picked up French instead of Japanese to study this last summer I'd probably be able to actually hold a conversation in it.
According to the JET website, Canada exists on the list of [URL="http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/aspiring/countries.html"]participating countries in 2014/2015[/URL].
Though I'm quite disappointed not to see Poland there (actually, I'm not sure why would anyone be insane enough to do learn Polish).
[QUOTE=Puvleek;47231909]According to the JET website, Canada exists on the list of [URL="http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/aspiring/countries.html"]participating countries in 2014/2015[/URL].
Though I'm quite disappointed not to see Poland there (actually, I'm not sure why would anyone be insane enough to do learn Polish).[/QUOTE]
Seeing nations where English is not a native language on there may yet prove me wrong. Canada being on there is no surprise, but as he's from Quebec, where French is the primary language, that was why there was concern that he may not be accepted were he to apply.
Man, never felt so inappropriate because of where I was born.
[QUOTE=Heigou;47232035]Man, never felt so inappropriate because of where I was born.[/QUOTE]
Evidently you've never been to Alberta then.
[QUOTE=DaCommie1;47231871]Accent is what'll kill you in getting and English teaching job. If you sound even remotely French-Canadian, or basically if your English is anything other than Neutral-American or Neutral-British accented, you're never going to get a job. They want the kids to hear English "How it's supposed to sound, from native speakers," so if you have an accent, and likely even just because you're ESL, they likely won't even consider you.
As for French, I'd be concerned since you're Quebecois and not French if they'd have a problem with that too, especially since there's a number of things the Quebecois just took from English whereas the French made a new word, and there's a bit of Quebecois slang and vocab that doesn't exist in France. Though I do think that that one may be a better shot.
Also Japanese sure as shit isn't simpler than French, especially with the [I][B]3 different alphabets[/B][/I] and how many things sound the same/similar, but mean totally different things. I'd be willing to bet that, given the 6 years of French class I took in school provided me with a base to begin from, if I'd picked up French instead of Japanese to study this last summer I'd probably be able to actually hold a conversation in it.[/QUOTE]
this pisses me off so much, this has absolutely nothing to do with what makes Japanese tough.
i am not japanese but japan is cool because they have the best folk tales and stories
like the bakeneko, where if you raise a cat to a certain age it will stand on its hind legs and speak a human language
[QUOTE=Wealth + Taste;47232997]this pisses me off so much, this has absolutely nothing to do with what makes Japanese tough.[/QUOTE]
Yes it does. The kana is whatever, it's like upper and lower case, but having to know 3000-ish kanji and their varied uses and readings is hard. The use of kanji is part of what makes Japanese so difficult, so their alphabets indeed have something to do with it.
[QUOTE=DaCommie1;47233486]Yes it does. The kana is whatever, it's like upper and lower case, but having to know 3000-ish kanji and their varied uses and readings is hard. The use of kanji is part of what makes Japanese so difficult, so their alphabets indeed have something to do with it.[/QUOTE]
Kana is a relatively simple syllabary that isn't difficult no matter how you look at it. Kanji is a different story of course, but the main point is that the fact that it has "3 different alphabets" is a non-issue when you consider two of them can be mastered in a week or two.
[editline]28th February 2015[/editline]
I really hope I'm not coming off as hostile. I don't mean to insult your personally, it's just that it's a pet peeve of mine.
Aye, Kanji is definitely the game changer I feel. I kind of Enjoy Kanji though. Even if it's going to make things fucking difficult, I still find it fun identifying and reading symbols as opposed to a string of letters like English or French.
I find it intimidating. Honestly, if I try and focus I can probably pick out maybe 50-100 by now, and a few words, but in general when I see a page full of Japanese it's intimidating and my mind kinda "shuts down" any form of literary comprehension I have. I feel more like I'm looking at pictures and symbols than at letters or meaningful characters. Kanji is intimidating, and looking at a page of Japanese and not understanding anything is discouraging, but I just tell myself I've still got a long way to go, especially at the relatively slow pace I'm going. I'd like to pick up that pace, but considering I'm still in school and studying engineering, which is hard as fuck, I can't sacrifice my studies for a language, and my spare time is largely spent de-stressing, studying, or doing lab reports. My daily commute is the only real time sink I have, so that's the only time I can really study Japanese, is using Anki on my hour-long commute to try and learn vocab from Genki and kanji from the kanjidamage deck.
Yeah that can be a problem. I work from 10 to 6 Monday to Friday so beside that, I've got pleeeenty of free time to study. I study about 1-2 hours every day which isn't too bad. I feel I could do more though but I get distracted really easily.
I get what you mean too, Kanjis can be really intimidating and sometimes when I load up some Japanese Newspaper just for fun even though I can't really read Kanjis except for a select few, it makes me feel like I'm reading Chinese. My biggest problem is remembering how to say certain Kanjis. I can memorize what certain Kanjis mean without too much of a problem but I can't remember how to actually say that Kanji for the life of me.
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