Japanese Update

So roughly after 4 weeks I started my Japanese language class, I see lots of improvement in me.

It's amazing that I now can read 80% of Japanese letters now after mastering hiragana & katakana, which I'm delighted with it. With this new source of knowledge, I can venture into many places that I previously had limited access to.

But the problem is, I can read, but that doesn't mean that I'm good in the understanding part lol. I can read out from the lines, but whether I know the whole meaning of it is another story lol.... I'm still yet to learn the art of the language itself.

But anyway, to have the kanas kept in my mind, I should progress further into the language. :)

For the Japanese, 1st of January is a big day for them. It's the most important celebration of all in a year, the beginning of the new year.
Contra to the rest of East Asian countries, the Japanese celebrate their new year following the Gregorian Calendar instead of the traditional lunar calendar as used by the Chinese & Vietnamese. I heard this is due to the changes made during the Meiji Restoration era (明治維新) around the 19th century.

Had been having some mini test for the weeks. I think it's good to had ourselves prepared for the test, even if it's just a simple one.
I for one, take the test seriously as I wanna test myself how far I can go for now.

It's the end of the year, and soon 2009 arrives tomorrow. I just realised that I've 4 months to go before departing to Tokyo. Am excited but nervous at the same time. So far I'll just live the life for another day. Hopefully I can attend more gatherings to come before I leave. :)

Today after the class ends, I went into the office to look around and saw the NHK channel is broadcasting Joe Hisaishi's concert in Budokan (久石讓 武道館 2008)!!
It's near the end of the show so I only managed to catch a glimpse of the concert.
The last song performed was "Tonari no Totoro" (My Neighbour Totoro) and was presented a bouquet of flower by Hayao Miyazaki himself. Both of them are great combinations!

Here's the video I found on Youtube.


Was very excited and happy to be able to catch this concert as I've yet to watch a live performance by Joe Hisaishi other than on Youtube. But well, too bad they don't have a replay so I'll have to wait for my chance again next time. 殘念です....

Next time I'm going to get all of Joe Hisaishi's live performance DVD!!! Oh yeah!