20 Japanese Keeps Insomnia Away

VENUE: On a noisy MRT train heading home
MOOD: People can't help but stare at owner's of foreign language story books

It takes 10 new, Japanese words to bring me into a foul mood. Learning another 10 in a day puts me to sleep. I suck at studying hard. [Yes, I know.] I break out in cold sweat thinking how I had to be in constant trauma when I was learning not one, but two languages as a child.

When I first began to have interest in the Japanese language, it was not about the language at all. I wanted to look smart and cute in the Japanese school attire. [See Picture: If you have a sharp eye, the 4 young men are laughably too old to be in school. So am I. They still look smart and cute in it. Now that is the point...pause for dramatic emphasis]


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Yet, a year and a half, and roughly 3000 Japanese vocabulary later, I am still reading the language. I have my reason to be intellectually masochistic. No, it has nothing to do with uniform. [Maybe a little still *wink*] It has to do with insurance.

When I pass the Elementary Level in Japanese, it was like paying the first premium in insurance. I was feeling good about myself and thought enthusiastically about how, one day, I will get to use it for my own benefit.

Intermediate and Advance Level came, passed and went. By now, I feel exhausted in the same way I feel spent paying for the insurance premium. I begin to realised how far away I am before I get to converse fluently with a Japanese man the same manner the matured amount in insurance can seem so far away half way through paying for it.

Still, it was intellectual suicide to stop and forfeit all the premium already paid. And so *Drum Roll!* I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 2 on 4th DEC 2005...can bet on having NO date for Christmas that I will fail it...needed to take it to give me a direction to keep working towards. If not, I'll content to watch anime on Arts Central... ...*Heart Breaker!!!!*

This is my testimony to anyone who is struggling to give up learning a third language. Being masochistic in this course of action will bring you satisfaction...not to mention cute uniform...But I'm beginning to find Korean students looking a lot cuter. Now how? *User proceed to surf for sites on Korean language*...........

If you have a tip or two on speaking chic Japanese, won't you be so kind to post it up?