Ha, I can’t remember clearly what new year resolutions I made last year. But I think it’s something along the lines of working harder for more money, and take up a part-time degree course.
I did work harder than I was in 2010. But I never got around to getting that degree because I was given a chance to work overseas for a year and I was keen on taking up that offer.
Then I got approached with a job offer, with same pay but much better working environment, more challenging work.
Maybe in a year or 2 after things are stable with this new job, I will look into studying part-time again.
With freelance work and a new job taking up most of my time, I doubt I have enough spare time to pursue other things.
So this year, I shall focus on my Japanese language skills.
I took the N2 JLPT test on 2011 Dec. The results won’t be out till a few months later. If I pass, I might try for N1 this year.
The problem I’m concerned is even if I can get an N1 certification, it only means that I can understand Japanese well.
I know very well I can’t make up sentences in conversations well enough yet.
Also in my Japan trip in 2010, when I met up with my Japanese friends there, I had a hard time understanding what they are trying to say when they speak among themselves.
Native speakers speak very fast and are very different from what you hear on Japanese dramas and animes. From what I’ve heard, people who appear on TV and voice actors have undergone training in their speaking.
Hopefully the current SGD – JPY exchange rate recovers back to what it was 4 years ago. Currently it’s 1 SGD – 59 JPY.
Seeing photos of my friend’s trip there makes me want to go back there again.
Hmmm… It’s there where the real JLPT is.