I know Japanese!

Sure, anybody can say that they know Japanese, but I have proof!

Last December I took the highest level of the Japanese Proficiency Test and the result finally came in the mail . . . I passed!!!! Woo-hoo!!!!

To tell the truth there was a pretty good chance of me failing, considering I haven't studied for the last few years and have only been picking up spoken Japanese. And this showed on the test . . . the Listening Section turned out fantastic. Reading/Grammar was so-so. Writing/Vocabulary absolutely sucked. I'm surprised they didn't fail me for having such a low score on that part.

The test is only given once a year, and at specified locations throughout Japan. On this entire island (southern island of Kyushu) only two cities were designated, and one of them happened to be Beppu (population 123,003 in December 2005). In fact the test site was so close to my house that I walked there in the morning. Lucky me!

Valentine's Day is for me!

Today is Valentine's Day! And in Japan that means girls give chocolate to boys. I got lots of yummy chocolates! And not just any chocolate. For this one week a year, you can find the good stuff in department stores. Note to self: next year have a party on Valentine's Day, and invite all the girls I know.

Must pace myself. At this rate I'll be diabetic by morning.