Level 41, farewell Hell!
Slow and (un)steady progress continues! Level 40 took a while as I adjusted some of my Japanese habits, but I like the place I am in now. I discovered Tsurukame, which has been great to use during work lunch breaks to get some reviews in, as well as am pairing it with Bunpro. I ended up returning to Bunpro over JPDB because I really could not get behind the interface, but I am focusing on vocabulary from reading mainly right now to add to my reviews.
In the Japanese enjoyment department:
- I finished Look Back with the beginner book club! And have started reading the Pokemon manga with them as well.
- I have also been (slowly) reading ć¾ććåć夢ćč¦ć¦ććā¦ 20 pages in and I try to get a page in a day when I have time. I tried reading it last year, but I think I have a better base to tackle it now! The learning curve is still there, but I figure I will be able to power through! According to JPDB, which has a word list I have been using, I have already seen 1/4 of the words in the book in the first 20 pagesā¦ of 300ā¦ I donāt know if thatās a good or bad thing, but we will see how difficult (or easy!) it gets!
Outside of Japanese, I have been embracing my living location and life in the Northeastā¦ hanging out with the coworkers in my unique job, exploring nearby cities, nature, and foodā¦ just trying to enjoy the time I have here and not worry about the decision I have to make in the fall. No matter what happens though, at least Japanese isnāt going anywhere!
Until level 42, as I let myself enjoy Paradise!
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Level 42, is this the answer?
No! Thereās still more kanji to be learned.
My Japanese consumption outside of Wanikani and Bunpro has been minimal, but I have been keeping up with the Pokemon beginner book club and almost finished the first chapter of ć¾ććåć夢ćč¦ć¦ćć! Work, intermural volleyball and softball, fitness, meal prepping, social life, maintaining my old friendships, girlfriend, exploration of my area for the year I haveā¦ all good things but does not leave a ton of relaxation time!
Walked around Yaleās campus this past weekend (it was beautiful and I wish I had appliedā¦ but where I did got me where am I so I canāt complain much) and it was graduation weekend so the library was open. Got to check out the Japanese section but was with friends so didnāt get to do a deep dive, but was cool to see some of the prefecture-specific historical books they had!
No matter, maybe the answer is to be so busy that I donāt have time to overthink after allā¦ only one way to find out! Regardless, I know my niche passion for learning kanji will not falter at this point. Even if there is no bigger point, I know I have fun doing itā¦ so there is a point after all!
Until level 43, onward I enjoy!
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Level 43, looks like there is more to be found!
Japanese has continued to be minimalā¦ just continuing Wanikani, Bunpro, and doing the Pokemon book club since my last level up (although Iām behind!). Looks like I need to do what my name saysā¦
At least in lieu of Japanese, the weather has been better and there has been more exploration done! Iāve gotten to see Rhode Island, Boston (had to stop by the Japanese section in the libraryāif I lived there I would definitely go grind there), and have a great time with my new friends in the Northeast. Japanese isnāt going anywhere, but my time here is limited to this year (unless my next job is here), so I am okay prioritizing that right now.
Until Level 44, balance is key!
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Level 44, am I really doing this?
The grind continues, and despite lots of life obligations, I have held on to my Wanikani progress! Listening has gone out the window, but I also managed to finish the first volume of the Pokemon Special manga with the Wanikani book club!
Not to much else to update on, other than Iām going to keep going. Even if I have to start from zero with listening practice, Japanese as a language is not going anywhere luckily. The more I learn about my career options after my job this year, it seems like Japan might be a pipedreamā¦ but I donāt want to give up on it just yet. At the same time, I donāt want to regret never trying or exploring that option. Regardless, I will keep studying as a hobby since I do enjoy everything else that comes with it, but it would be nice if there was this quintessential thing I was working towardā¦
Even if nothing else in my personal life touches Japanese, that doesnāt mean that it canāt be a part of the life I choose, and for now, Iām going to try and be content with that (until I start recruiting in a couple months 
).
Until Level 45, pushing the long-term aside!
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Pipedreams have a way to circle and get back in your face after a few years ! The more youāll be ready to catch that opportunity at that time the better chance itāll actually happen.
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Youāre rightāno better way to be prepared for when that happens than to be better at Japanese!
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Level 45, and over 1,500 kanji guruād!
16 levels remain, but I still am only capable of reading and speaking like a child I got used to my busier schedule with activitiesā¦ so adding back in a once a week language lesson. I finished volume 10 of Yotsuba just casually reading, and am going to try to grind some more listening practice with Satori Reader. Donāt want to set any daily āhave toāsā since my day is work and social dependentā¦ but I feel I have capability for some more.
Other than that Iāve been watching Summer Pockets as my åØÆę„½/trashy seasonal anime, but itās definitely brought me back to my childhood watching adaptions of key visual novels.
Outside of Japanese, the weather is great here in the Northeast (typing from inside a local library)! I have big decisions coming up as always, but there is always a peace to be found in my Wanikani reviews.
Until Level 46, the 3/4 of the way done point!
P.S. I am always impressed by how much @GolyBidoof manages to accomplish dailyā¦ itās honestly inspiring and I hope to build up that kind of energy tolerance to expel daily!
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really grateful for the shoutout, iām always feeling warmer and my cheeks always flush when i see that other people also join me for my adventures ^^
OOH COO-
ā¦I just barely missed the sale didnāt I
The trailer looks pretty cool though, interesting to see how the Key artstyle evolved over the years 
let us know if itās any fun! does it have any cozy bits or warm scenes? does it make you feel summer? ^^
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I actually havenāt played the visual novel, but Iām watching the anime adaption right now and itās pretty good! Each route is pretty cozy (with some typical anime cliche moments). Definitely not the greatest writing by far, but thereās plenty of cicada noises to make it feel like summer!
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