.... and I Will Be Flying On a Broomstick

Youtube channels: http://www.youtube.com/user/Gimmeaflakeman http://www.youtube.com/user/japaneseformorons - These channels have some very interesting videos about Japanese culture as well as language lessons. Personally, I like the J-news videos where Victor (he's the sensei) gives English explanations and teaches you news vocabulary. I don't like every single one of the videos. But still, there are lots of his videos which I find very useful. On the "Japanese for morons" channel, I recommend the lessons with Tomoko (she's Japanese/ and assists Victor in teaching). http://www.youtube.com/user/japanesepod101 - If you are an intermediate learner, some of the videos here will be very easy. But you should definitely check out these playlists: Learn Japanese through culture Learn Japanese with a Japanese Drama - iLove Japanese word origins (which are very interesting!)  Free dramas and animes: http://www.dramacrazy.net/most-popular/...

I've been trying to improve my Japanese (which sucks, by the way) these days. You know, so that I could suck better at it. When it comes to this language, I am not that bad at reading, writing or listening. During conversations with natives, I can catch most of what the other party is saying. My final exam scores for my Japanese class were also not bad  either. My Achille's heel is the speaking part. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I don't practice that much. Sure, I am living in Japan and studying at a Japanese University. But the thing is that my university is one in which around 50% of the student body are international students. So, I can always conveniently fall back to English.  I know that I should try to use Japanese every chance I get. But I must confess. I am scared. I am scared of making mistakes. I am scared of showing my weakness. I am scared to be in the wrong. All the while, I refused to acknowledge that I was making a very big mistake...

Here I am. Having a two-month holiday before the next semester. We call it "Spring Break". Personally, it doesn't feel like spring at all though it sure is a nice break from school. Why doesn't it feel like spring? Because the weather at APU is chilly and windy as usual with a little bit of fog and rain thrown in for good measure. If the wind here were to have a personality, it could be described as biting, cold-hearted with an attitude and a deep-harbored resentment against humankind. Maybe, my judgment is clouded by the fact that it broke my umbrella two days ago. But anyway, I'll leave the weather topic for another time. I'm just saying hi with this first post. And erm, about the blog title... I wanted to give my blog some cool and awesome title. You know, the kind that would make people go "ooh" and "ah".. Keke.. But my creative juices seem to have dried up. So, I had to look for inspiration elsewhere. And bingo! The book I...