pass the JLPT 2 test

I think 2009 is my Year of Aborted Plans.

I aborted moving to Japan because the economy went kaput and I was offered a 12 month extension on my employment contract. Planning to do it in 2010.

I aborted the pen pal thing because I simply lack the time.

And now I’m aborting JLPT2 (despite having coughed up the $70 application fee) because my dad goes into surgery for prostate cancer tomorrow. He and my aunt both got hit out of the blue with cancer diagnoses in the second half of this year, and it kinda distracted me from my other goals (not completely – I’m still progressing with my Jap, just not at the speed I wanted).

Another 12 months before I can have a crack at it, and it’ll be harder with the changes due in 2010 – マジでむかつく :(

I’ve found myself ‘drifting’ in my Japanese self-study of late – not reading as much as I say I will, getting distracted by internet time wasters (blogs in English, fanfic… also in English, youtube, shopping sites), watching Japanese TV but not actually listening to what they’re saying… Anyway, the point is, despite my pooh-poohing of standardised tests, JLPT gives me a quantifiable goal, and I need that right now.

I’ve only been studying Japanese for 6 months, so it’ll be just over a year by the time the test comes around. Might be a big ask. I might fail. But JLPT 3 sounds like a waste of time, and isn’t it good to aim high? With Anki, textbooks and a world of online resources at my disposal, it’s worth a try! :D