Back in high school, that one time I was in dance, I always had a bit of a problem in my stretching. From the beginning of the year, I had better flexibility in my right leg. But rather than redoubling my efforts and stretching my left leg more earnestly, I instead continued to devote more time to my right leg. I wasn't even trying to strive for balance, only putting in the bare minimum for my left leg.
Fast forward to my Japanese study. Early on, I got this knack for kanji (Japanese characters) study. I just enjoy the characters...I enjoy writing them, practicing them, learning new trivia about them...all very silly I know. But in the last two years, since the end of my grammar-based classes, I have focused on kanji to the detriment of my other skills.
What this all adds up to is a 167 on my JLPT 2 practice test. Maybe I should explain. The JLPT 2 is a test of Japanese vocabulary/kanji, listening, and grammar/reading comprehension. It is out of 400 points. You must get a score of 60% to pass the test. I got a 41%.
But do you know what I got on the kanji portion? Nearly 80%. Fabulous number, to be sure, but it's not going to pass the JLPT2 for me...kanji/vocab only accounts for 100 points of the score.
Oftentimes in my life I have let things fall by the wayside and focused on what I am really good at. In the context of out lives, specialization is required in order to find our careers and niches in the world, but in things like language study or stretching, balance is required. I can't get by just putting off doing those things I don't have as much skill in...it only makes the imbalances worse and harder to correct.
I could read all the kanji in the world but still have trouble understanding the meaning of a sentence if I cannot parse the grammar forms used.
Today I studied grammar for over 2 hours. Yesterday I did a pose in yoga multiple times that I have difficulty with. I am working to regain balance...but balance is difficult.
Showing posts with label life lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life lessons. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 15
Tuesday, September 30
Life Shock
Recently I would say that although I am doing well in life and having a blast travelling every which way and buying things like persimmon trees and cardigans, I am definitely in a period of extreme adjustment.
First off, the obvious, the culture shock. My culture shock has been pretty mild altogether. Even though I've only been here a few months, I had been here before. There haven't really been things about Japan bothering me. There is the difference in social manners which takes some getting used to. I don't think I'll ever get used to people brushing their teeth at their desk. And I myself still don't properly perform all table manners and social graces.
I'm working on it though. Two of the most useful phrases in Japanese are "o tsukaresama (deshita)" and "yoroshiku onegaishimasu". The first literally means "You must be tired" But is usually used as "Thank you for your hard work" Situations where you might hear someone say "otsukaresama deshita" to you:
-You leave work for the day
-You come back from an out-of-office business meeting
-You get off a bus or train or airplane
-You perform any sort of action which may benefit someone else or yourself
And "yoroshiku onegaishimasu" basically comes out to "please treat me kindly" and it follows any request or action which may cause any social disharmony whatsoever. "I am taking a day off, yoroshiku onegaishimasu" or "Would you make a worksheet? yoroshiku onegaishimasu" and the most awesome, "I'm glad to meet you, yoroshiku onegaishimasu"
Honestly, if you learned those two phrases, the basic greetings, and "shitsurei shimasu" (I am rude, used when entering or leaving rooms, homes, etc, and for saying "excuse me" to people) you would probably come across as fluent. Because sometimes it seems like that's all people really need to say!
Back to the topic, after that tangent, I am facing adjustments beyond culture shock. It's like this whole change from college to work, (work shock?) and the switch from living with people to living alone (LONELY SHOCK). Like many of my difficulties adjusting to work have less to do with the Japaneseness, and more to do with the fact that I just got out of college. And many of my lonely moods have more to do with the fact that I live alone than the fact that I live alone in Japan.
Taken as a whole picture though, I really am doing well. I'm proud of myself and I feel like every day I accomplish something for myself or someone else. I would tell myself "otsukaresama" if I was allowed to!
First off, the obvious, the culture shock. My culture shock has been pretty mild altogether. Even though I've only been here a few months, I had been here before. There haven't really been things about Japan bothering me. There is the difference in social manners which takes some getting used to. I don't think I'll ever get used to people brushing their teeth at their desk. And I myself still don't properly perform all table manners and social graces.
I'm working on it though. Two of the most useful phrases in Japanese are "o tsukaresama (deshita)" and "yoroshiku onegaishimasu". The first literally means "You must be tired" But is usually used as "Thank you for your hard work" Situations where you might hear someone say "otsukaresama deshita" to you:
-You leave work for the day
-You come back from an out-of-office business meeting
-You get off a bus or train or airplane
-You perform any sort of action which may benefit someone else or yourself
And "yoroshiku onegaishimasu" basically comes out to "please treat me kindly" and it follows any request or action which may cause any social disharmony whatsoever. "I am taking a day off, yoroshiku onegaishimasu" or "Would you make a worksheet? yoroshiku onegaishimasu" and the most awesome, "I'm glad to meet you, yoroshiku onegaishimasu"
Honestly, if you learned those two phrases, the basic greetings, and "shitsurei shimasu" (I am rude, used when entering or leaving rooms, homes, etc, and for saying "excuse me" to people) you would probably come across as fluent. Because sometimes it seems like that's all people really need to say!
Back to the topic, after that tangent, I am facing adjustments beyond culture shock. It's like this whole change from college to work, (work shock?) and the switch from living with people to living alone (LONELY SHOCK). Like many of my difficulties adjusting to work have less to do with the Japaneseness, and more to do with the fact that I just got out of college. And many of my lonely moods have more to do with the fact that I live alone than the fact that I live alone in Japan.
Taken as a whole picture though, I really am doing well. I'm proud of myself and I feel like every day I accomplish something for myself or someone else. I would tell myself "otsukaresama" if I was allowed to!
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