Hi! I'm Rino.
I want lean British English!!!
My English is too bad.
would you like talk with me???
If you want,I teach Japanese for you.
o(^▽^)o~♪

I'm tempted to respond now.

Concerning British English, aside from the small spelling and lexical changes - I can't think in how its different in some way and how I would be able to teach this, in an environment where American English is so dominant. I can just image me in some shitty eikaiwa in Japan, trying to teach people some correct usages of British English. NO ITS '-OUR' NOT '-OR' YOU DUMB JAPANESE PRICK! SHUT THE FUCK UP AND START SPEAKING CORRECTLY.

I am so gonna get myself a Japanese girlfriend, just so I can subconsciously make her speak British English with a bizarre Yorkshire accent.

Well here's my haiku response to Rino-san.

I seemed to have stumbled on this link whilst looking for Japanese related stuff.

Amazing. It gives a nice overview of the hell I have to go through. At Sheffield we started with around 60 and thus we expect an average of 15 to return based on previous results. Needless to say I am bricking it, a small portion of me is fearful, the other is spurring me on to prove myself. I am totally committed to this thing, but you just can't help questioning your own sanity sometimes.

Leeds also have a seemingly brutal dropout rates. And its these dropout rates which is concerning the government as less and less people are both considering doing degrees in Japanese and more importantly completing them.

I am now deprived of sleep, and need to crack on with these verbs (I am temped to leave the 600 or so and focus on the more important ones) and of course, the dreaded な adjectives (which I've done about 75% of so far.) Oh shit. I forgot about those kanji compounds as well.

Oh Japanese you foul mistress you! The only thing motivating me now to learn such an obscene amount of stuff in the remaining 6 weeks I have, is that I do not wish to fall behind and want to gain a head start over the rest when I get back. My brain is forgetting all kinds of crap now. Like how does this form end, and how do you form causative passive etc (させられた？) what are the nuances to remember, what is the Japanese word for spinach? Arggggh! My head is going to explode.

Thankfully, my chats with Japanese people over the web is keeping my need to remember Japanese primed and ready. Perhaps, I am using it everyday now - which can only be a good thing. But, like I say I am learning more than I need to know and am even attempting some complex stuff that will piss sensei off...

I stopped reading after the first few sentences... I really lament what will happen if I ever do my masters degree.

Dear All,

My name is XXXX; I am a post graduate student in the Department of
Information Studies at The University of Sheffield. I am doing my dissertation
project under supervision of Dr. XXXXX. I am interested in finding out
people's normal photo management practices and importance of location in these
activities.

I am writing to you to ask you to complete my questionnaire. It will take about
10-15 minutes and contains questions about your normal photo management
habits.

I would be extremely grateful if you could take the time out from your busy
schedules to do this.The research has been granted ethical approval from the
department and all information that you provide will be strictly confidential.
If you need more information about my dissertation please find the attached
Information Sheet. Should you encounter any problems or have any queries please
do not hesitate to contact me.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Information sheet

(1) Research Project Title:

Investigating use of GPS logs in people's photo management practices.

You're being invited to take part in a research project. Before you decide it
is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what it
will involve. Please take time to read the following information carefully and
discuss it with others if you wish. Email me if there is anything that is not
clear or if you would like more information. Take time to decide whether or not
you wish to take part. Thank you for reading this.

(2) What is the purpose of the project?

Managing personal information is being researched for many years. Various tools
have also been developed for the same. Managing personal photographs is one of
the main areas of research. With the emergence of digital cameras, it is now
very easy and affordable to take photographs of almost every event in life and
store them. These photos are often enjoyed by sharing them, story-telling about
the events occurred at specific time and place. GPS track logs collected along
with the photographs and other personal audio-visual multimedia can provide the
context such as location and time. This research is mainly focused on
investigating the use of location logs (which could be generated using GPS
devices) in people?s photo management activities.

The purpose of this study is to understand the use of digital trails generated
by GPS track logs in re-telling the trips for the domestic users. The project
would investigate people?s normal photograph management practices and use of
contextual information such as location and date time of the photograph in
these activities. The project also aims to identify issues regarding existing
technology and tools and to provide suggestions to improve the same on the
basis of user experiences.


(3) Why have I been chosen?

If we are to better understand the use of new technology, we need to what are
the people's habits and how could the technology be used to improve them. So
your contribution matters a lot.

(4) Do I have to take part?

It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to take
part you will be given this information sheet to keep and you can still withdraw
at any time without it affecting any benefits that you are entitled to
in any way. You do not have to give a reason.


(5) What will happen to me if I take part?

You just need to fill the questionnaire. It will take around 10 -15 minutes to
complete.

(6) What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?

None

(7) What are the possible benefits of taking part?

Whilst there are no immediate benefits for those people participating in the
project, it is hoped that the outcome of this study would identify limitations
of existing technology and would provide suggestion to improve the same which
in turn simulate future research on the topic.

(8) Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential?

All the information that we collect about you during the course of the research
will be kept strictly confidential. You will not be able to be identified in
any reports or publications.

(9) What will happen to the results of the research project?

The results of the research will be published in my dissertation.

(10) Who has ethically reviewed the project?

This project has been ethically approved via Information Studies Department
ethics review procedure. The University?s Research Ethics Committee monitors
the application and delivery of the University?s Ethics Review Procedure across
the University.

Don't get me wrong, I love the postgrads. I deleted the names in case I get sued or something.

Nothing much to report from Castle Greyskull recently...

Revision update; what I need to do by Sunday...

Adverbs - Time
Adverbs - Quantity
Adverbs - Negative
Adverbs - Pos and Neg
Adverbs - Random

Adjectives - な

New verbs - around 600 (!!!)

Kanji compounds - Maybe 350 or so.

Its a lot, but hopefully if I get everything typed up I can start my 6 weeks of revision. Getting everything typed up saves time not just for now, but also for term time. Hopefully this may reduce the stuff I need to learn during the first few weeks. Its unbelievable amount of stuff to type up, but I'm confident I can do it. I have also managed to figure out to turn j-memorise files into rtf files. Complete life-saver!

I also have to revise grammar, although this should take less time to do than kanji and vocab. I just want to get all the boring stuff out the way first.

Funny things always seem to happen to me on the way to the gym. First I saw Tony Chang smoking outside of Tesco. The Chinese legend who runs my local Chinese restaurant and whose daughter I fancied at one point. Secondly I saw two dogs having sex. Erm, yeah. But its not like I see this very often. It was just very random. Thirdly. Its sunny! OMG! What is wrong with the UK right now?

I spoke to my friend Aya recently. She is off to Birmingham, the same time I am off to Japan. Lol. Just my luck eh? She is also seriously doubting her confidence to get the grades required to study abroad in the UK, depite the fact her English is fantastic. I honestly think some Japanese lack confidence sometimes and its often the people who are most ashamed or embarrassed about their English who are the best speakers of it. The people who randomnly approach gaijin for free 英会話 are usually awful English speakers and they struggle to understand you, even if you omit all known words and just grunt. Perhaps its just a case of classic Japanese humility.

I suppose for her, she is in a catch 22 of sorts. Because living in England for a year would no doubt increase her confidence and level of English to an extremely high standard. However she needs the high grades in English in order to do that.

Meanwhile at El Tropico del Middlesbrough, yours truly is donning his Rafa Nadal pirate pants and sunglasses and enjoying the weather whilst it lasts.

じゃね☆

Ah, wonderful. Its like a daze. Like a quixotic blend of the insane and the beautiful dancing on the shores of Rimini in a perfect setting. I awoke this morning at Darlington train station to be greeted with glorious sunshine that would dip in and out amongst the clouds in schizophrenic fashion. It would have been nice to admire, had I not been;

a) hungover from Stevie’s birthday
b) shattered beyond belief
c) recovering from a stomach bug, in which I had made a Jackson Pollock over the ceramic bowl of life not being able to sleep at all during the journey – despite my tiredness

Crazy feelings.

Things are still dull right now and I opine for Sheffield. I would take Arai-sensei’s kanji class at 9am, some midsemester tests and a listening dictation all back to back rather than be stuck here with nothing to do and no-one to see. 8 weeks to go and I’m chomping at the bit to have some form of sanity again. Although Sheffield is far from sane.

I have managed to type up the 50 or so Japanese onomatopoeia – my favourite so far, being ピンピン – something I’ve not felt recently due to a lack of any physical movement or time management. Along with some adverbs, I hope to have all my new words done and dusted by the end of the week, so I can relax and just skim learn the stuff I need to know. Right now it’s a case of having my study aides in place, so I can focus more on my true weakness. My listening skills.

Because I will be doing 20 credits next year in Japanese, but presumably the same intensive workload – I’ll have to forge ahead and start reading ahead for Lexicology. The wonderful thing about this is, is that I am reading for the sake of reading and using the time to get a good overview of what I’ll be doing. Anything to combat this boredom.

This module is very strange. There are two to three lectures a week, no workshop exercises and I am assessed on a 2hr exam and 3,000 word essay in which I’ll have to write about the development of the English lexicon. So basically we look at slang, neologisms, foreign loanwords and slang/dialect.

Given my last essay result, I feel a bit hesitant about my essay writing skills. I normally can write about the most absurd things and make them seem plausible – however I have a habit of trailing off and missing the point. This year I am going to bother the head of the module incessantly with help!

Perhaps I should just write about increasing my Japanese lexicon!

Actually this is something I genuinely do find interesting and is probably one of the few linguistics modules I’ll look forward to taking at Sheffield. Last year despite my illness and utter contempt for the Varieties of English module, I enjoyed Professor Beal’s discussion on the background of dialect words and phrases. Cockney rhyming slang developing as criminal code in London’s backstreets for example.

Let’s hope Amazon can deliver them soon. Incidentally my mammoth green book of Sociolinguistics is gathering dust now. Although, I’ll probably use it in the fourth year when my module choices become more taxing and I’ll need to remember the stuff I forgot in the first year.

A sad fact of the matter, is that for duals like myself Linguistics is very much a side order to the main dish of Japanese. Sadly I’m competing alongside people who do this subject as a major and therefore are used to the teaching methods, assessment and above all practical knowledge of the subject. I really disliked most of the linguistics last year and I spent zero effort on it. This year, now that those modules count towards my degree classification I am going to have work my ass off.

Before I left this morning, I logged into Mole, which is the most annoying slowest thing we have at the university (aside from me of course.) I still have all my first year module choices listed, which is kind of annoying considering I just want to banish them to dustbin. I want to see the second year stuff, to show that I’ve truly made it and survived the horrors of fresherdom.

Also recently I seem to have taken a bizarre fancy towards Konno Asami of former J-pop Morning Musume fame.

Curious. Not that I should be creeped out by that of course. She is extremely cute and intelligent and reminds me of a girl I used to date, or maybe it was a girl I want to date but got scared away due to my insufferable bowl movements and kanji fetish. Also internet girlfriends are a waste of space. Looking at you Yukari! Right, off to the gym to think about me being ムラムラ towards Miss Konno and 101 reasons why she will never go out with a loser like me.

じゃね☆

I haven't taken many pictures recently so here's one of my giant belly;



キモイ！However after going on the scales, it seems I've lost a kilo in a week!

This is quite a feat considering I've done nothing but arse about all week. Although my diet has changed considerably and I'm definitely not eating as much as I used, maybe thanks in part to sitting on my arse all day. I still need to lose a hell of a lot more weight however. Maybe another 15 kilos. Its very possible and an obtainable target before Christmas at the very least.

In other news, I have to learn 850 verbs before the start of term and make sure I clean my room because everything is not where it is supposed to be and it looks a mess. To prove how hard we work at Sheffield here are the first year kanji. Sadly, my brain can't remember any of them now - so its off the gym and library on Monday and I don't care if I don't feel up to it.



I don't know what's worse. A picture of those kanji or my hairy beer belly (or should that be whiskey belly?) This blog should carry a governmental health warning. Well to ligthen the mood here are some photos that I found of the first night I met Tomo and we went back to my Chinese friend's flat. In the end we left at 4am after rice and green-tea. It was taken in January iirc...

Its really nice to speak with my Japanese's friends through MSN recently. Although Yukari is really upsetting me with her tales of woe, it was nice to chat with my friend Saori from Nara the other day. Even though she told me she wants a mixed raced baby （日本語で：合い子）　in Canada, it was nice to hear her sounding so happy about her prospects. Thankfully, this is a stark contrast to Yukari whose boyfriend woes are becoming tiresome.

Speaking of female acquaintances in Japan, its been a long time since Miki and I exchanged e-mails, although recently we did find each other lurking about MSN one day before she went to uni. Internet forums and MSN have to be used liberally in this sense and obviously common touches do have to be applied. Some people are out to get a boyfriend or girlfriend (which is sadly 95% of the male population that trawl these sites) and some are misleading in their true intentions.

I don't believe much in things such as internet romance, as you really have to meet the person first and build up a slow rapport. I think if everyone could get a girlfriend that quick over the web, everyone would be doing it. But certainly making the first contact on the web is no mean thing.

The amount of weird Australian and Chinese people who have emailed me in the past month has been truly bizarre, although I must say my slew of activity has decreased this week.

I really do want to maintain friendships I forge with people on online, but sometimes its difficult, given the level of you have to put into it. In 3 months of messing about for online Japanese friends, I've made about 3 or 4 decent relationships which I will definitely hope to follow up once I'm out there.

Recently I feel a tad underwhelmed considering I won't be in Japan for another 14 months, so maybe I should have increased my 'circle' a few months before I was intending to leave the UK. Don't get me wrong, its nice to practice my Japanese, but you can't help but think I should be doing that in the more tangible world. Roll on Sheffield next year please. These 8 weeks of boredom are going to kill me.

Does Omodaka get any better? Of course it fucking does! This is Kokirko Bushi...





Also, is it me or is Annie Mac really annoying? Finally to round off tonight's Japanese chiptune collection this is　Fortunate 1 Mark...

午前３時の日本不思議。





すごいね。　エアーマンが倒せないって歌で、ジャンラは同人音楽だ。ほんまに僕はアニメが好きじゃないのに、そんなに日本の音楽はよく聞くようになったよ。小さいのときに、エアーマンのゲームをしないけど、ソニックずきだったよ。残念にソニックについての歌を見つけられない。:-(

If you speak German you'll love this song. If you don't you can enjoy the video and killer beat...




Although my German is now scheisse. I love the song, plus the video. The lyrics are very powerful. It talks about war it the midst of people just going about an ordinary day. The title of the song roughly means "On days such as this"

I should also add that unlike most people studying Japanese, I don't have the same passion for it as I do German, Russian and Cold War history. I'm weird in that I prefer these cultures and histories than that of Japan. The history of the Cold War is so much more interesting than the Tokugawa shogunate.

Guess I should start becoming one of the regular folk now I'm doing Japanese eh?

This is inspired by a rather random episode last night as I was going to bed and attempting to finish up the vocabulary for ii keyoishi. My friend Yukari normally says hello to me, but today seemed very sad and decided to open to me about her ex. I've known about this for sometime and it hasn't bothered me - but now she seemed very worked up over it.

I found it bizarre that she decided to open to me at such a weird time. Straight after waking up. Just very odd that her mood should change like that. From someone who has been in long distant relationships, they take time, effort, patience and persistence. I think anyone who can handle them are much stronger. I'm sure she'll be stronger for it, because she really needs to learn how to deal with them.

Given the high level of people I know who are dating Japanese boys and gals, LDR's are sometimes extremely hard to deal with. Last year I almost semi-consciously decided not to get a g/f because it just messes things up. I also couldn't handle such long spells apart, so in that sense I understood my friend's pain.

My ex lived in Dubai and that was a nightmare sometimes. So what I'm saying is this.

That person may be far away, but you shouldn't see it as a challenge if you generally love someone. Be that 10 miles down the road or 10,000 miles.

Oh what beautiful sentiment for a Friday morning eh?

Finally, me and Mizuho are not an item, despite us making plans to go to Fuji Rock together next summer.

はい、まだ独身だなぁ。。。

じゃまたね　☆

Recently once people find out that I study Japanese at Sheffield, they are keen to know what's it like and do you have any tips?

Apparently at Sheff we have the highest dropout rate of any course at the university and around 25% of the people who started in September are expected to graduate four years later. I think 14 graduated from about 50 something last year and a few years ago, only 8 people passed. Its really fun to look into some people’s eyes and even your own and think to yourself, “I wonder who’ll be next.” I honestly expect about 28, next year with a few people dropping out after a few weeks into the second term. You can sort of guess who is going to drop out. Harsh but true. Even in the fourth year people dropout or have to resit the year.

It’s a shame, because its very hard to convey the intensive nature of the course on the prospectus. I think many people drop out due to the sheer workload and the fact that you can’t really glide by without doing any revision.

I think Manchester have the best advice of any potential Japanese studies candidates on their website. Incidentally, Manchester was my first choice when applying, as I really like the city. Strange as gun crime may be of course.

Sometimes people develop a habit of lacking confidence and just give up at the first hurdle. Languages are a struggle and you will find that it takes years and years maybe even a lifetime to ever truly reach any sense of native competency. Failing in French and Russian has taught me harsh things about language learning, that to your average Japanophile may not be too obvious. There are days when I wake up and think “I don’t know this, the world is going to collapse” and then may end it in a barrage of “hey, I know this, let’s learn them kanji.” As long as there is some fire in the belly I’ll be here until I either die or sensei kills me with a pointed stare.

If someone were to ask me what were the reasons why people drop out I would probably suggest the following. Bare in mind, this is my own perspective on the matter;

1. Learning Japanese is not learning about Japan. People may think that Japanese is zany, wacky and off the wall. Its anything but. Its highly organised and the language reflects that. Unless you have a systematic brain that can handle grammatical concepts and memorising characters your intimate knowledge of InuYasha and Deathnote won’t come in handy. That said some expressions from manga and anime are quite useful to know. I say *some*
2. Class sizes – this one gripe I had, especially on really cold and grey November mornings that I had issues with. Although I love all the sensei at Sheffield, sometimes the sizes of the classes can be off putting at first. Some thrive on these environments, I for one. Don’t. I like smaller groups where is there more interaction both with sensei and your classmates. During one class, right before our final mid semester, only 8 people turned up after everyone else decided to skip in order to throw up in the toilets or something. However, despite this, I felt I learnt more being able to have more speaking time and more crucially more time that sensei could assess us and add comments etc. At first, the 20+ sizes of the classes are very off-putting and only gets better when people drop out or get sick I guess
3. Confidence. As above. You have to have some confidence in yourself to be able to study a foreign language.
   
4. Just generally not academic or cut out for it. Language degrees on the whole are not for everyone. Being able to speak Japanese takes considerably more hardwork than other languages (such as Italian or French) therefore you really have to know how to manage your time effectively and know how to study a foreign language (some of the international students we have, are therefore very good on our course.) This is something I’m shit at. Sometimes people will see from afar me saying something in Japanese to a Japanese person and think that its cool and they want to do that. Sadly, even to reach that very basic standard takes months and even years of hard-work. People are guilty of seeing the end product without the hard work that went into it. Anyone who thinks language degrees are easy because they have a B and an A at the beginning should try it for a second.
   
5. Duals. Some people also underestimate the complexity of some dual-degrees. Politics is fiendish for example. Luckily because I do an Arts based subject (linguistics) there is probably no difference between myself and maybe the people who do full Japanese Studies. This year I will be doing 40 credits in Linguistics, 40 in SEAS and 40 in Japanese. Even then the 40 in Seas are about the Japanese language. According to some of my friends at SOAS, the dual degrees are amazingly hard.
   
6. Uni/City/Job/Money – all the other major reason why people drop out be it for Japanese or Bioengineering.

I know a few dropouts but I’ve never really asked them t explain why they dropped out. I guess it could be a touchy subject coming from a person who has managed to brave ¼ of it so far.

That’s not to say that studying Japanese at Sheffield entails getting tied down and having zero fun whilst kanji radicals burst your eyeballs.

There are some positives though;

1. City. Sheffield is a vibrant student friendly city. Plus its cheap and the locals are a right laugh.
   
2. University. I love my uni. Just an amazing student union.
   
3. Teaching – all the sensei have their unusual quirks and sense of humour which you will come to love instantly. Because SEAS is a very small department, everyone is very relaxed and approachable. Its not like some departments where two or three heads have hundreds of students to deal with. Sensei will also make time for you if you need it.
   
4. Environment – It’s a mix of the Japanophile, the otaku and the “how the hell did I end up here?” crowd. Nearly all the people who study Japanese at Sheffield are very friendly and given the small numbers who study it, you’ll soon know everyone and come to get eyebrows raised at house parties when you tell people what you study. There is a good mix amongst senpai and kouhai and people are always willing to help each other out.

Overall I would say the social side of things often works in harmonising some of the negative things about the course (such as the ridiculous work load every week.) I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to study here – and unlike some people on some other courses I want to make the most of that. Being a relative old fart of 23, I cherish these chances because I’ve experienced being rejected and told that I’m not good enough on many occasions.

So would I have any advice for any potential people who are thinking of coming to Sheffield to study Japanese in the future? Possibly…

1. respect your sensei – it really did piss me off how many people did not appreciate the time and effort they put in running this course. Being polite, apologising for missing lessons (something I was guilty of at times) and being late, as well as listening to what they teach you will come in handy. Once they are gone, I know I will miss them a lot. Make the most of the three years or so you have with them. N-sensei has the final say on whether or not you pass the course. Even if you get bad grades but make a good impression that shows you are working hard, it will stand you in good stead.
   
2. Speak as much Japanese as possible – and if so with Japanese people. These guys are the judges of how good your Japanese is. You are studying Japanese because you obviously want to speak Japanese. The main people who speak this are, strangely enough, the Japanese.
   
3. A-levels mean nothing. You’ll soon find that the people who sat back through all the easy stuff, start to feel the burn once the real stuff kicks in, basically the things that are not on the A-level syllabus. Speaking to my old sensei, she was dismayed at how poor some components of the Japanese A-levels have become. They seem to be less functional and practical now. Don’t come with the attitude that you know it all, you probably don’t.
   
4. Don’t underestimate yourself or others. Some people who appeared amazing in the first few weeks have either dropped out or changed courses and the people who seemed poor in week one, now seem really confident and at ease with Japanese.
   
5. Speak with the senpai. Because we know all the tricks of the trade. Also, make sure you speak to the 4^thyears, because they’ll know the best of what to do during the YA.
   
6. Enjoy your time and be productive. Don’t go to the pub every night but then again don’t sit at home looking at kanji flashcards over and over again. You’ll get bored and you won’t make any cool friends to get drunk in Japan with.

Above all, have fun, work hard and enjoy your time here! I should be looking really hungover on the intro thing for new Japanese students at freshers with sensei (because its after my birthday - did someone say Rhino's and shots?)

Hopefully I will look so bad that people will already think how intensive the course is! :-D

Given the number of utter crap I get sent in my mail box, I could probably document an entire series of these. They are thin on the ground so far thanks to uni being shut for the summer.

Here's the first in what I hope could be a long series;

CAN YOU HELP OUR RESEARCH?

WE ARE LOOKING FOR HEALTHY FEMALE VOLUNTEERS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 20 - 39

We are conducting a healthy volunteer study to investigate the effects of
calcium fortified ice-cream on bone health. The study will require you to
eat one ice-cream each day for 28 days. The ice-cream you will eat will be
one of four ice-creams with different calcium contents.
There is an inconvenience payment for participation in this research.

The study will involve 5 visits to the clinical trials unit each lasting ½
to 1 hour for blood and urine sample collection.

This study does not involve any medications.

If you think you would like to help with this research, or if you would like
more information please contact the research nurse:

Linda Kersh or Jenny Cliffe
On
0114 xxxxxx /xxxx

Please Quote: ICE-CREAM study

I did giggle when I saw that. In an age where looks are now everything and women are content with looking their best. What better than to pay them money to stuff their faces with ice-cream all in aid of medical research. One ice cream for 28 days, you can't go wrong really.

There have been a few pluses and minuses this week. Last Friday I turned on my laptop only to discover it didn't work. After taking it to the computer shop, I neglected not to inform John (we are on first name terms now, on account of my computer ineptitude) that during one night of watching internet porn, I spilt Pepsi and whiskey over it. Thankfully due to some data backup, I have a brand new laptop with a build in webcam and an extra hard-drive. Sadly I am now out of pocket by 350 quid unless the insurance comes through.

Its what I get for being a clumsy bastard.

I managed to meet my ex-girlfriend (well my ex-ex-girlfriend) in the local pub the other day. Its always difficult because I haven't spoken to her in a year and although we are still good friends it was slightly uncomfortable... However after a few drinks, it was a generally pleasant experience. She has moved house closer to my parents now and is still studying to become a primary school teacher. Yes, I am still single. Tragic isn't it? Since I've returned, the Rudds Arms across the road from me has undergone a swanky new image and looks very chic from the departed decor and crap food it used to serve. "Brand new concept" is basically marketing speech for "its not shit anymore, honest!" It was about year since I went there and I remember getting up at 6am to watch England lose to Brazil in the World Cup. Try the Buttered Chicken if you do go. Its beautiful.

Finally a few of us French narcs have managed to blag ourselves into the big time in the middle of Picardy at the end of August. The company who let out villas, overbooked us - so we are now going to be staying in a rather quaint 7 bedroom, two-up house overlooking the vast plains of former WWI battlefields. Nice. This will be the fourth trip to and from France I will have made during the summer. Zut alors! Luckily my student card and my nous of the French transport system is a lifesaver.

For many people who don't know me. I normally shave once in every solar eclipse. To prove my 男らしい over the course of last year, I shaved the grand total of 3 times throughout the year. Shaving becomes an almost cathartic experience in which I remember the occasions like having sex, seeing as they are so few and far between. Sadly since July 3rd, 12:47 am I have been without my prized possession for sometime and am counting down the days that it can return. With a beard I look like a homeless person but without it I look like a creepy child molester. I'd rather look homeless than look like a damn pervert tbh.

For a few of my classmates, they are off to Japan this summer whereas yours truly is stuck middling amongst doing odd jobs and sods in the UK and France chatting to Japanese people over MSN until 6am every night. I really am counting down the days that I can return to Sheffield, although when I get there I will probably be sat in the IC, wondering when I can return home. Grrr.

If I was to look back on my first year in Sheffield I would say its been a mostly positive experience.

• I didn't drop out (more on that later) and managed to even obtain some decentish grades
• I met some wonderful friends from all around the UK and the world
• And I feel more confident about myself.

However, I had some quite negative experiences and certain cases of "should try harder." I really need to stay fit, because I've put on a lot of weight since last summer and even more so since the amount of kilos I lost sweating out my shirts in Malaysia in 2006. So, I need to keep more active physically and socially. Hopefully this where the gym, Badminton, Ju Jitsu and Japan Soc will help. :-)

I also need to study a bit harder. Granted my effort has deteriorated since I moved houses right before my exams and more so since I developed a nasty virus the week after Easter.

The only thing keeping me sane right now, is learning Japanese (so I don't forget everything!), chatting with Yukari on MSN (the Anglophonic, wants-a-boyfriend-fancies me-but doesn't-want-to-openly-say it Nagoya girl) and my diet and exercise regime (which although has improved since last week is still not perfect.)

Yes, it truly is a summer of boredom until the football season kicks off and I have something else to worry about. I have about 8 weeks or so until I return to Shef, so I need to start revising. Keeping in touch with my japanese friends is allowing me to maintain my level of grammar and now its just a case of attempting some more listening and kanji practice as well increasing my vocab. I can only seem to remember アイスクリームのように溶かす。And sadly given the current weather in the UK, won't come in handy anytime soon. However time is very much on my side, and being able to memorise this vocab, kanji and grammar should be beneficial given the very fast paced of my Japanese course.

This summer I was intending to go to Japan but pulled out at the last minute. I had a job offer to work the summer in Okinawa, but this fell through as they couldn't guarantee me to be back in the UK by the start of the 2nd year. The money I did save up, probably isn't enough and I am looking to spend it on travelling across SE Asia next summer. I'm intending to jump ship in July, visit my relatives in Thailand and work my way across Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and China, going all the way down to Hong Kong and then fly across to some country called Japan.

Let's hope in the meantime my beard returns, and with it some increased knowledge of the Japanese language and the complexity that it is women.

First post, so its probably a big HELLO to anyone who is sad enough to read this. My name is Richard, I am 23 years old going on 13 and am currently studying Japanese at the University of Sheffield.

Sadly despite my nerdish appearance (most of which is remembering information about world football) I still struggle to understand how you turn my PS3 off let alone messing about with a blog. I hope to write in both Japanese and English (if I can!)

じゃね。☆