こんーこんーこんーこんにちは。 日本語勉強

I’ve been taking a lot of Japanese classes since I came to Japan.

I had that one community class with just me and the talking-so-fast-I-couldn’t-understand-a-word teacher from August to December 2010.

Then I started the private tutoring class once a week to prepare for the JLPT.

Then I got a different teacher at the community class and things went better.

And I was doing the mail-in JET course as well.

So in case you were wondering why my Japanese is so breathtakingly good (冗談！), that’s why.

I took the JLPT Level 3 on December 4, and I am fairly certain I failed miserably. I ran out of time on the reading section, guessed my way through the kanji part, but maybe have a fighting chance on grammar. Mmmm, so maybe it’s not so breathtakingly good after all . . .

On top of all these classes, I started a new one in Tamamura on December 2^nd. Unlike my other classes—which basically consisted of one or two students per teacher—this is an actual class class, taught by certified JSOL (Japanese ESOL?) teachers and with enough students to fill up a decent-sized classroom, about 15. Every student except one is female, and together we represent the U.S., Peru, the Philippines, and China. This class, unlike the others I’ve attended, facilitates guided conversation. The teacher gives us handouts on different topics, then we talk about them in groups and as a class. So far, I’m really enjoying it, especially because the main teacher is a hoot. She’s Korean, tall, beautiful, and stylish, and speaks Japanese like a pro. Plus she has a sneaky habit of making fun of us students when we can’t speak correctly. I’ve been the butt of several of her jokes. I’m sure she’s laughing with me when I make a mistake . . . right?

However good the class, though, it’s still a pain to get to. I’m going with two other girls from Maebashi, and all of us have to jump through several hoops to get to the south side of Takasaki. One girl has to ride her bike half an hour to Maebashi Station then take the train one stop away to Shin Maebashi Station, where I pick her and the other girl up. The other girl takes the train, too, but the bike ride is shorter. We all ride together to Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, where the class is, then I take them back to Maebashi Station before driving back to my house. I always knew I hated driving—working at the CNNC did it to me—but I doubly hate it in Japan. Why can’t there be more convenient trains in Gunma?! But since there’s no ginger, we just suck up and bear it.

To make my life a little less stressful, though, I’ve dropped out of my other two Japanese classes. I now have my Monday and Thursday nights free again. And I’m biking to school every single non-rainy day, too, which is making me a much happier person.

After this class finishes in February, I’ll probably start up my other classes again. I just want to use the winter to relax a little bit before life speeds up again in the spring.