Week 6 Japanese Progress

 It's been quite a tough week for me battling alignments and lots of testing. I did poorly on a few tests which has put me in poor spirits, however, I've taken it as motivation to refocus and ensure I'm doing all I can to do well in my classes, most especially Japanese! まいにちじゅういちじはんごろにMidnight Dinerをみます。(I still watch Midnight Diner everyday around 11:30). 

Daily Routine (With verbs :0)

Preface: This is mostly a monotonous description of all my classes...

わたしはまちゃどです。Notre Dameのだいがくのいちねんせいです。せんこうはせうぶつがくです。まいにちはちじはんごろおきます。ぜんぜんあさごはんをたべません。それからがっこうにいきます。まいにちくじはんごろにほんごのくらすにいきます。げつようびとすいようびときんようびにじゅうじはんにPsychologyのくらすにいきます。それからじゅういちじはんにChemistryのくらすにいきます。それからごごいちじにせえぶつがくのくらすにいきます。それからすいようびにごごにじにせいぶつがくLabにいきます。それからときどきしょくどうでひるごはんをたべます。かようびともくようびにじゅういちじにTheologyのくらすにいきます。かようびにじゅうにじはんにChemistry Labのくらすにいきます。げつようびとかようびとすいようびともくようびにごごろくじはんにじむですいえいをします。それからはちじにばんごはんをたべます。まいにちごぜんじゅうにはんごろねます。しゅうまつふぉうとばるのげいむをみます。しゅうまつとしょかんでべんきょうとしゅくだいをします。まいにちいそがしいです。

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Translation:

My name is Aidan Machado. I am a freshman at Notre Dame. My major is biology. I wake up around 8:30 everyday. I never eat breakfast. After I wake up I go to school. I go to Japanese class around 9:30 everyday. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I go to Psychology class next at 10:30. After that I go to Chemistry class at 11:30. After that I go to Biology class at 1pm. After that on Wednesdays I have Biology Lab. After that I will sometimes eat lunch at the dining hall. On Tuesday and Thursday I go to Theology class at 11:30. After that on Tuesday I go to Chemistry lab at 1:00. Monday-Thursday I go to swim practice at 6:30pm. After that I have dinner at the dining hall at 8pm. Everyday I go to bed around 12:30am. On the weekend I watch the football game. I also study and do homework at the library. I'm busy everyday!

Midnight Diner

    In my quest to further my experience of the Japanese culture I started watching a Japanese show called "Midnight Diner". It features a chef who's diner in Shinjuku, Tokyo is only open from midnight to 7 am. With each episode you explore the life of a new character, with each episode centered around a commentary on life. It has helped me to experience more casual Japanese customs and what life can be like in Tokyo. わたしは Midnight Dinerが　だいすきです。(I love Midnight Diner!)

Japanese Book Club!

I had an amazing time this past Monday at the Japanese Book Club. I certainly couldn't understand all, or even most of the words, but I believe it was great practice for reading Hiragana. It was very exciting when I got to words I did know and only reinforced how much progress I've made!

Daily Activities

 わたしははちじはんごろにおきます。

じゅうにじはんごろにれます。

よるにあにめとええがをみます。

としょかんでべんきょおします。

まんががよみますすきです。

Translation:

I wake up around 8:30

I got to bed around 12:30

I watch anime and movies at night

I study at the library

I like to read manga

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Progress Update and Week four events

 This week was very, very long. Multiple tests and many long nights, however, the one thing I can say I felt I did well this week was my Japanese. I did well on my test and hiragana quizzes and its kept me motivated with my Japanese studies.

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On Thursday I had the unique opportunity to converse with fellow Japanese students of all levels at the Japanese conversation table. I was able to talk with students who have gone through the study abroad program and learn about all the in's and out's of the program. It was extremely helpful and got me excited to study abroad, shown below are some Japanese treats from the meeting:

Week three of Japanese Learning

More Biographical Info 

こんばんわ　

わたしのしゅみはすいえいとおんがくとあにめです。にほんおおんがくがすきです。あにめがだいすきです。

わたしのしゅっしんわAmerikaのCaliforniaのNapa Valleyです。

Translation:

Good Evening

My hobbies are swim, music and anime. I love watching anime.

I am from America, specifically Napa Valley California.

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Aside from adding a little more info about myself I'd also like to share how week three has gone:

Week three went by too quickly, we had two vocabulary quizzes this week which I studies relentlessly for. I am happy to say I got full credit on both of the quizzes, which is certainly a relief since I spent quite a while memorizing all 70 terms!

I also learned about the Japanese artist Fujii Kaze who does excellent work, he has a very soothing and melodic voice and I'll definitely be adding his music to my playlist. わたしはにほんごのおんがくがだいすきです。ー I love Japanese music!

Progress Update

こんばんわ

I am very excited to share that I've been making great progress in my Japanese Learning.

For homework we had to read some paragraphs written introducing different characters and attributes about them. I was amazed at how well I could not only read the hiragana but also understand it.

 On the top are the paragraphs in Hiragana and on the bottom is my best interpretation into romaji then English:

Although my translations aren't perfect, and I had to look up a few hiragana and romanji phrases hear and there, I am excited at my progress and look forward to progressing even more!

My Japanese Experience Outside of the Classroom

    Everyday after classes I will typically spend an hour or two watching anime on my phone to wind down after a long day. It's a way to destress from all the hard work I did during the day, and to have a little fun. Recently I have been shocked at the amount of progress I have made with my Japanese. With only two weeks experience under my belt I can already understand bits and pieces of what characters in my shows are saying. I also recognize different Japanese social customs that we've discussed in class such as, mannerisms, social etiquette, behaviors, etc. 

I just finished "That time I got reincarnated as a slime" and I'm currently watching "Mushoku Tensei":

Last week I also scheduled a tutoring session outside of class time to practice before our first quiz. Colin who is also a fellow Stedsman -- the undisputedly best dorm -- helped by testing me on the vocab and pointing me in the direction of a very helpful Hiragana video lesson which I watched later. He also shared his experience with Japanese, and got me even more excited to learn the language!

にほん じこしょかい － Japanese Introduction

はじめまして 

わたし　は　Machado Aidan です

だいがくせい　です

いちねんせい　です

アメリカ人　です

じゅうはっさい　です

の　せんこう　は　いがく　です

どうぞ　よろしく　おねがい　します

English Translation:

Nice to meet you!

My name is Aidan Machado

I'm a university student

I'm a first year student

I'm American

I'm eighteen years old

I'm a medicine major

Please treat me nicely!