Japanese studies with Toma and JOKER! XD

[chochajin]

Good evening!~ (or whatever time it is where you live ^-^; ..)

Here's just a quick (but not short) update!

As mentioned in my previous (travel) entry, I'm really busy lately.
Work has been horrible and busy, but it's also because I'm totally back into study mode!

That's right! I'm finally taking the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test)!
I'm pretty sure that most of you know about it anyways.
The level I want to take is N2 (formerly known as 2kyuu). As some of you know I already passed a 2kyuu mock test with 76% last year in September.



So, why am I not trying N1 then??
Well, one reasons is that I've never ever taken a JLPT exam before! Also, the test format has changed since last year!
Last but not least it's also a money thing. It costs around 60$ to take the test. Not to mention that you only can take it in a few huge cities, so I also have to pay a lot of money to get there (and possibly for a hotel, too!!).
The lower levels are worth nothing (as they won't help you getting a job or anything), so I never tried those. I considered this as a waste of money. No hard feelings! I know there are a lot of people who are trying those levels and that's perfectly fine!
I'm just saying that I didn't want to spend any money on them!
Now, as I've never taken the exam (and the test format is new, too) it's VERY likely that I'd fail N1 - it's the most difficult level anyways! Rather than spending money on that, I want to try N2. It's more likely that I'll pass it. You only need ridiculous 50% to pass anyways!
Depending on my scores then, I consider taking N1 in July next year (2011).

The thing I still struggle most with (I think) is the reading section. I'm using the "Kanzen Master" book for 2kyuu reading right now and it's really tough. I get about 60% right only. That's enough to pass the test and I also heard that the problems in the book are more difficult than the actual ones in the test, but I'm still worried. My biggest problem is the time management for the reading!! I never have enough time. I'm not good enough (yet) to rely on skimming, I guess :/ Need to figure out a strategy soon!
I'd appreciate some suggestions, thanks :D

Call me nerdy or a freak, but it's so much fun to study again (*__*)v
I guess I just needed a break. I haven't really studied properly in a while! :(
I'm also using my Japanese livejournal densha_onna, my Ameba blog (Ameblo), Lang-8 and mixi more often again (feat. all the same entries anyways XD)

In other news I got a package from Germany!
My brother forgot to bring the most important thing with him when he came to visit: my new credit card!
So he had to send it to me (I was worried about that which is why I wanted him to bring it in person ..), as .. kind of apology I got a whole package of goodies (*__*)v (no, unfortunately no cat! ;o; ... XD)



Gawd. I LOVE Corny!!!!! (*__*) They don't (really) have any cereal bars here in Japan ;o;



And I was also surprised at how beautiful the package itself was! At first I thought my brother used some kind of gift wrap paper, but it seems that DHL has just cute packages right now (o__O'') ...


I also bought these two little treasures recently:



I want to go and watch "Hanamizuki" this month! I hope I have time for that ;o;
That's also why I haven't really had a look into the photobook yet! Don't wanna see/read any spoilers! ;o;



Sorry, so this is the only photo you get for now ;P

Let's move on to the "Toma book"! It's awesome! I'm so glad I bought it!
It has lots of information and photos of Toma in it!!! And REALLY new photos, too!!
I don't regret buying it at all :D Haven't really read it yet, though. (no time)
Here are some photos:



And right in the beginning there's a photo of the "stage greeting" in Osaka where I went to see Toma live (*___*)v
It's so great to have a photo of it in this book, because I can say: "I WAS THERE TOO!!!!" (^^;)



There are also some photos of young Toma in it (^-^)v



It features everything: his stage plays as well as his drama and movie appearances! :D
This is from Maou, a drama he was in together with Arashi's Ohno-kun.



Toma in awesome clothes and playing drums = love³ (*_*)



Some Tomapi love is in there, too!!!

Conlusion: A MUST HAVE for every fan!!


I haven't posted any Poupée screenies latey. There are too many to actually catch up, so I chose only 3 for today:



Today's dress-up (^-^'') I has a bambi nau! ;P



Black and white vs. smexy kitty! (^-^'') - those were taken during the "pajama event" which I really enjoyed.

In other news: I finally made it into the CUTE RANKINGS with this item:


Yay!!! Thanks to everybody who voted for that item



Last but not least, some sad news: I didn't get any Arashi tickets through the fanclub (I'm not a member but one of my coworkers is and she balloted for both of us).
I REALLY wanna go to an Arashi concert at least once, though! I've been in Japan for almost 3 years now and never been to ANY concert (not only Arashi, but in general!!!)
I checked how much the tickets cost in online auctions just to find out that they're about 63.000-100.000yen (~630-1000$). If you get tickets through the fanclub directly it's only about 5000yen (50$)!!!!!
THIS is CRAZY!!!!! Only the ones for Sapporo Dome are cheaper (45.000yen), but all of the cities where the concerts will take place are far away and either way I'd have to pay another 10.000-45.000yen just to get to the concert hall!! We're talking about 1000$ just for ONE short concert!!! That's just too crazy ;o; .... Not sure yet, what I'll do.
Maybe I'll go to the concert hall closest to where I live and wait in front of the dome before the concert and just hope that somebody will sell their tickets then ...
Any other ideas? Guess not. I know there are so many fans out there who have exactly the same problem (x___X)


Funny and random facts - corner:
The other day I watched an episode of JOKER (my favorite drama this season btw. - wanna post more about dramas soon, hope I'll find some time!!) and it took me about 10 minutes to notice that I didn't have subtitles turned on yet XDDD

Well, that's all for today.
I'm going to fill out my JLPT application now and then I wanna get some more studying done before going to bed!
バイ☆⌒ヾ(^・^*)(*^・^)ノ⌒☆ナゲキッス♪

Comments

[ex-ninchu.livejournal.com]

I took 2kyuu last year, it's really not that hard, I just should've studied more.... XD (I passed anyways)
Also yay for German sweets, though the things I missed most were ... good tampons. >__<

I'll add you on Ameblo!

[kevinsensei.livejournal.com]

Hey! I'm trying for 2-kyuu too! がんばろうね！ p(^o^)q

[shunluv.livejournal.com]

awwwwwww i wish you all the best for getting Arashi ticket and hope you can go to at least one of their concert and share your experience with us who can't go<33
it would be the best memories ever of you in Japan beside meeting Toma LIVE<333
if someone like you who live in Japan having a hard time getting their ticket it would only be a dream and totally impossible things for me who live far away from Japan:(

kyaaaaaaaaaaa i also want that Toma and Hanamizuki photobook<3333333
btw have you seen Hanamizuki??is it good???????
that such a wonderful treasure<3
awww i miss Maou so much:(

[hinoai.livejournal.com]

Is there a lot of trouble getting tickets through the fanclubs? I'm just curious, but how many times/year do you get tickets in general, to something like Arashi or NEWS or KatTun?

[cle-delune.livejournal.com]

i am sure you are gonna pass the JLPT test~ kanji drives me crazy, i envy you for being dedicated enough i am just tooooo lazy >_< gambatteeee!!

[missmomoko.livejournal.com]

I wish I could help on the Arashi tickets! I've been thinking I really want to go and try see them this year too! Just planning the trip (flights e.t.c.) is just boggling...and I'm trying to not think about the money! because I've been wanting to see them for three years! If I keep thinking about it then I will never see them.)

[bf-nightingale.livejournal.com]

Nightie kriecht auch mal wieder aus ihrem Lethargie-Loch raus und wagt sich mal wieder ans Kommentieren...;>_> *schäm*

Heyho, viel Glück beim Nikyû, äh, N2!:) Gibt es da jetzt inzwischen auch Bücher dafür? Nicht, dass ich dieses Jahr den 1kyû anpacken würde, ich muss mich erst wieder in das 2kyû-Zeugs reinarbeiten, das ich inzwischen schon völlig vergessen habe. Aber nächstes Jahr vielleicht...?
Auf jeden Fall denke ich, dass du das auf jeden Fall schaffst, vor allem wenn du so weiterübst wie jetzt. Und wegen der Zeitfrage, ich glaube da kann man auch nichts anderes machen als regelmäßige Übungen mit einem Zeitlimit zu machen, auch wenn es vor allem anfangs alles anderes als leicht fällt?^^;

Und yay für das Survival-Paket aus Deutschland!:D

*cough* Ich sollte meinen Mixi-Account auch irgendwann mal wieder ausgraben und auch endlich mal benutzen. *cough cough* Was ist denn dein Benutzername dort? Chochajin, wie hier auch?

[jimjamjenny.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the JLPT! I took it a couple of years ago (although I took the old level 1), fun times.

I think the important thing with reading is to do a lot of practice (the more you read, the quicker you get and the more confident you feel), and not to get stuck on trying to remember the reading for a word or what it means exactly - if you don't understand, move on, and maybe the meaning will become clear to you later. And when you're doing practice questions, you can always just underline bits which you didn't get, and then make sure that you study them later so you'd know for next time.

If you are going to do level 1 next year, I recommend trying to read as much Japanese as you can in the meantime - I'm pretty sure that the reason that I passed with minimal studying was because of how much reading I had done beforehand.

Hanamizuki was nice (for that kind of film), I hope you can see it!

[himehikari.livejournal.com]

I love JOKER!

[ame-no-uta.livejournal.com]

Versuchs doch bei mixi wegen den Tickets?
Dort bekommt man die Tickets noch am billigsten, weils ganz normale Fans sind, die einfach die Tickets nicht nutzen können und keine Leute die nur damit Geld machen wollen...

[nfr.livejournal.com]

I've heard that the 1N exam of the JLPT is very, very difficult (even for japanese people). But seeing how well you did in the 2N mock exam I'm sure that you'll pass both exams! And also because you're a very hardworking person! ^__^v I wish you good luck! *hugs* :D

I want to see Maou! *__* I've read very good opinions of it ^__^

I've seen Toma in Hana Kimi and I loved him so much! <3 He's so handsome! *////*

It seems so difficult to get an Arashi ticket by balloting because there're too many fans! >__<;;; I hope you can get one in front of the dome before the concert and at good price! *crosses fingers* ^__^

Take care! *hugs* :)

[adasama.livejournal.com]

Some time ago I added you to my f-list, omg your entries are so cute (!) and really interesting. This year I went to Japan for the first time and it was amazing. I would love to live there just like you (^_^)!
So finally I've read your post and commented. ( always do not have much time to read them all gomene T_T)

Wow 2-kyuu... I wish I could pass it some day. Now I'm preparing myself for 3-kyuu, but it's so haaaard. Anyway gambatte!

And prices for Arashii's concert are appaling O_O I hope you will find a way to get a ticket and see them live soon! ^3^

[kamishey.livejournal.com]

i just start learning japanese so i have a looong way to go before actually thinking of taking level exams.. :/ but good luck with yours :D
and omg i totally want that toma book!!! XD ♥

[gnatinjapan.livejournal.com]

Well I know that in teaching reading in English we tell students that to speed up their reading they need to
1.) Read texts that aren't too difficult but aren't too easy. It sounds like you are using study materials for the test, which is great. You can also try reading just normal materials (newspapers, magazines, books, etc.) just for "fun" practice.
2.)Study vocabulary enough that you can recognize at least some vocabulary in an instant. We usually recommend seeing what words come up the most and then study those very extensively since words tend to come up repeatedly.
3.)Study phrases and sentence patterns enough that you can recognize them in an instant. Do the same thing as #2, see what patterns come up over and over again or which ones tend to give you trouble, and study those a lot so you can tell what it means very quickly.
4.)If you're trying to find specific information in the text, it may be useful to learn about Japanese "discourse markers" (I don't know what those would be in Japanese unfortunately... ). In English it's described as "phrases that introduce other phrases" which help focus the reader's attention on what the writer considers important in the text. Examples in English would be things like "such as, important to note, most of all, especially, a major..." There may be patterns in how the authors write the information, I know in English text you can sometimes find important information by just looking for key words or phrases.

Basically you want to have an "automatic" recognition of vocabulary and phrases. What also helps is to study in other areas like speaking, writing, and grammar. I don't know what the test format is (multiple choice, short answer, T/F, etc), so I don't know how closely you have to read the text, but knowing discourse markers may help as well depending on the situation.
While this was all advice given in my teaching English as a foreign language textbooks and classes, I can't imagine it would be much different in any other language. It sounds like you'll be fine though, you seem like a hard-working student! :) Hope this helps, good luck!

Er, and I am sorry this went so long... ^^'''

[asahifirsa.livejournal.com]

For 2kyuu I just read the questions first and then flew through the text until there was something that pertained to a question. I then read that part carefully, read the questions again, and then answered it. There's a lot of unnecessary stuff in the text, so it's always best to read the questions first. Try it, it's really easy that way and you won't run out of time.

Also I usually keep a bit more time for that part if I know I can do others quicker.

I've had good luck for sold out concerts by making a small cardboard sign that said "chiketto 1mai wo yuzutte kudasai" in Japanese script of course (don't have it installed on this computer). Just be there 3-4 hours early, choose a spot where a lot of people pass by. For B'z people were standing at the train station selling/buying tickets. For Gackt and Hyde I usually stood next to the hall at the main path from the station. It's worth a try. Prices on Yahoo auctions weren't as high as for Arashi though. If the fanclub balloting is over, shouldn't there be a regular sale as well? You might have more luck there. Or at least prices might drop when there are more tickets on the market.

[angelbott.livejournal.com]

Good luck! XD
Oh I love package look so beautiful. ;A;
Aww I never go to these concert in my life. :/

[evilblueberry.livejournal.com]

good luck on the jlpt! I'm sure you'll be ok :)

Makes me wonder how overseas get tickets to arashi and kattun shows.. cuz I have seen posts. I wish I knew on where to direct you on the details.

when I saw ur package I immediately went "ooo! gummies!!" lol XD

[hesaki.livejournal.com]

das Care Paket ist ja lieb ;-)
Ich drück Dir die Daumen mit den Karten. Ich hoffe, es klappt noch!!!

[kanefunnn.livejournal.com]

前のpostでも書かれていましたが、日本語能力試験を12月に受けるんですよね。
私も12月に医療系の資格を受けます。それはとても難しくて、受験者の30％しか合格できません(・ω-｀；)でも頑張りますd(ゝ∀・*)！

Let's keep up studying each other. I wish we both are going well. ＾＿＾
If I can be your assistance, please do no hesitate to contact me!! XDD I hope I can be of some help to you.


生田君カッコイイ～～～o(*>▽<*)o！！！1回でもいいから彼の舞台見てみたいなぁ❤


嵐のチケットは特別なコネクションがないと手に入らないと噂で聞きました(´д｀；)ファンクラブに入っている人でさえも、たいていの人はチケットを取れないそうです(´；ω；｀)（泣）

[jrock-nightmare.livejournal.com]

Good luck on the test!!! I am sure you'll do fine! =]
The "Toma book" makes me just drool lol XD He is just so darn cute!! >.<

$630-1000!?!?!?!? O.O;
That is so much money for concert tickets! >3 I can see maybe $200...but sheesh lol
I say if you want to see them that badly then def take a trip to one of the other cities to see the concert. Just check out the prices of transport and hotels first to have an accurate idea of how much it will really cost. =] Plus you should treat yourself! You deserve it & it's not everyday you get to go to a concert. >.

[kitsune-no-ame.livejournal.com]

Good luck with N2! (I have no confidence in succeeding N2, so I'll be taking N3 first^^;; I must not forget the application date OTL)
N1 really scares me, but with a lot of studying, I'm sure you can do it. You get a lot of daily practice at least!

[mtassarion.livejournal.com]

in the old JLPT lvl1 and lvl 2 were almost the same, the only difference was that you had to score higher on the lvl 1 test to pass 70% instead of 60% or something. Is that still the case?

Have you tried a mock N1 test btw?

[wing-goddessxxx.livejournal.com]

some friends that i went to Japan with would show up 2-3 hours before the concert and look for scalpers. I don't know if it was just luck or that's just how it is in Japan, but there were people just selling tickets for the same price they purchased them (usually $75).

I was too much of a wuss and bought stupid expensive tickets before the concert dates because I was worried I wouldn't get a ticket T__T

try searching LJ Arashi communities if you have the chance. every now and then people sell tickets :)

PS- NEEDS MORE TOMA