Jade's International

Having one of those days where Japanese just seems so difficult. Maybe not so difficult....just, way too much to remember! My brain hurts!! plain, polite, -te form for verbs, -te form for adjectives, negative -te forms.....

But I keep telling myself....I really want to be fluent in another language. And, now, it must be Japanese since I've already been studying it for so long, and I only live in Japan, for goodness sake...

I'll get there....
...I'll just sound like a 2 year old for a long time to come. :P

Well, I made it to Japan!

I'm living in Osaka, and while everything has been a little difficult to get used to (especially living alone and not being able to speak the language), I'm enjoying it anyway.

Right now, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom in Osaka, though not for long.
Just today, the park was "snowing" cherry blossoms petals, even in a little breeze.

Tomorrow, I will go to Kyoto to enjoy the cherry blossoms there before the season is over.
This is my first time being in Japan for cherry blossoms, so it's very exciting! I'm enjoying being here for this much-hyped season!

I thought I would post this week's mini-achievement.  Yesterday, I learned my 500th(!!!!!!) kanji character! I've been studying Japanese since February (though, truth be told, I didn't study much during 5 of those months while backpacking India, Southeast Asia and Japan...) Somehow, part of me is surprised that I haven't given up...BUT- I've always wanted to learn a second language, and it this point in my life, it has to be Japanese. It's a lot of work, but I'm excited and motivated!
So, for this milestone, I bring you the 500th kanji that I learned, meaning "healthy, sound":

It's a rainy day outside, but somehow - I want to go have an adventure. I don't seem to be leaving for Japan soon enough (still waiting!), so I need to find adventure in my own backyard for a while....

Because I'm new(ish) here, I thought I should link to my travel blog. This is a short record of all my travels, though I didn't update it as frequently through Asia as I had hoped. One day I'll finish it out with the last 2 thirds of that trip. Can I use the excuse that I'm still adjusting to being back home? The excitement and schedule of traveling proved to be too much to keep a blog alive at the same time, so new entries will have to be retrospective. Anyway, I'm rambling. Here is my travel journal, full of my favorite photos from each place (18 countries represented in the blog so far.) Enjoy :)

http://jadeinternational.blogspot.…

So-I am newish to LiveJournal and decided this is a good place to ramble off my thoughts.

I've been back from my Asian Adventure for over 4 months now. That's practically how long I was gone for.
I know you are unaware, so to let you in: I backpacked with my best friend through Asia from February to July. We started in India, then made our way to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand (again), Vietnam and Japan. Simply put, it was the most amazing experience of my life. I learned and grew so much through every frustrating situation, every beautiful smile and every long, sketchy bus ride. I saw amazing things - every day - things that people only ever hear about or see in books. That was my every day life. I didn't take it for granted, but to get to the point where seeing 3 amazing Indonesian temples was no big deal (yet still awesome) - to be seeking the unknown and figuring out how to function in third world countries or countries that speak a different language; that was exciting. I loved that lifestyle. I wish I could have kept going. If only traveling didn't cost money.

But, I recently got accepted for a teaching position in Japan and am completely excited to start a new way of life. I've always wanted to live abroad and now is my opportunity. Being a girl that's quit 3 languages already, I hope to stick with Japanese! It's been almost a year since I started learning Japanese, and I feel like I don't know a whole lot yet. (Granted, I was traveling for 5 of those 10 months) - but I'm confident I will get there.

I wish obtaining a work visa didn't take so long. I'm terrified, yet ready and excited to leave California behind and set my sails toward Japan!

The day before Thanksgiving. Me, my stepdad and best friend decided to venture back to Diamond Jamboree for a new food excursion after seeing Lincoln in theaters (very good, by the way!).
I have heard of Shabu Shabu just from being in Japan, but had never tried it. So, tonight was the night! We had our waitress help us out since this we were shabu virgins. We picked a sukiyaki broth and standard shabu shabu broth, along with 3 meats - beef, pork and salmon. Along with a huge plate of veggies, we had a great time dipping all the meats and veggies in the different broths and trying different combinations. I can't believe I'd never tried this before! The broths and sauces were so delicious, as were the meats. If ever you get a chance - try some shabu shabu!

So.....I guess I am on a quest to taste all the delicious Asian (mostly Japanese) cuisine that I can. I recently found this little gem (no pun intended..) of a center on Jamboree and Alton, in Irvine, California. It's called Diamond Jamboree and there are so many kinds of restaurants here! Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, etc. The first place I tried was Ajisen Ramen. Oh my goodness......I haven't had ramen this good since Ippudo, Fukuoka! (And that's some tasty ramen!) I got a fairly simple ramen with pork, corn and egg - but there are so many varieties! I can't wait to go here again!

Seriously - who knew you could get tasty Japanese food, besides sushi, that actually tastes like some of the stuff I had in Japan? As a newbie to Japanese cuisine, not me! For my birthday celebration, me and some friends went to Little Tokyo, Los Angeles and ate at Haru Ulala ( http://www.yelp.com/biz/izakaya-ha… ). We had okonomiyaki (tasted just like the one I had in Osaka!), karage, miso short ribs, sushi (of course) and delicious mushrooms! It was so very tasty, and now I kind of want to try every restaurant in the Little Tokyo area (and there are quite a few!).