The Battle to Study Rages On

Tokyo Tower

I've got a little over a month left until my next round with the JLPT Level One begins. I think I'm starting to go a little bit crazy studying, too.

Currently, I'm studying 559 words, and that number dramatically increases with each passing week. Add to that the 80+ grammar points I need to know like the back of my hand and the fact that only studying 559 words isn't going to anywhere near cut it, and I would dare say I am doomed yet again.

I should also be listening to more news in Japanese and reading fascinating essays that range from one person's views on traffic control in Japan to the ways in which Japanese people have communicated over the centuries.

I think I'm starting to annoy anyone near me who speaks Japanese.

The minute they say a word I'm studying or utter a grammar point, I will politely trample over their speaking to declare, "Hey, I'm studying that right now!" This is initially met with shock and a slow nod of the head, but as time passes and I continue to interject with this meaningless comment, the nods become more pronounced, as if I'm a kid who's just spotted an airplane flying overhead.

I'm tired of studying. For the past two years I've been studying. I'd like to stop and take a break.

Instead, I'm about to look up what 墓地 means in English and add that to my list of 559 vocabulary words. That, and about 30 other words.