Language Study: The Quest for Japanese Fluency

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I am studying for the highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), level N1 (formerly 1-kyu).  The JLPT is a four-hour exam on a Sunday afternoon (three hours of actual testing) consisting of three sections: kanji (Chinese characters) and vocabulary, reading and grammar, and listening.  While any language test that leaves out a speaking section may not be considered an accurate assessment of one’s fluency, this test is the most widely used and recognized test of one’s Japanese ability.  I am determined to pass the test this coming July 4th and here’s why:

I first took the exam back in December 2009 and failed it pretty badly.  I was ill-prepared and lacked the study time I needed.  I have vowed not to let this happen again, because in the words of P.Diddy, “Can’t nobody hold me down.”  How am I doing this?  I am taking Continue reading →

'Katsudon', i.e. 'The Best Japanese Food'

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katsudon

A delicious bowl of katsudon

What is this ‘katsudon‘ thing that I speak of?  For those of you unfamiliar, katsudon is a fried pork cutlet, covered with egg and put on top of a bowl of rice.  It’s hot, crisp, and juicy- what else could you want?  It is by far one of the best (and lesser known) foods you could eat in Japan (assuming you are of the carnivore variety).  The following is a brief tale of my path in discovering this unique delight.

I must say, the first time I had katsudon I was rather unimpressed.  It was after I first arrived in Japan in August of 2007, in a bento (Japanese lunchbox) purchased from the local grocery store.  It had been made for the lunch crowd as something to pick up on the go.  That was about eight hours before I bought it and reheated it in the microwave.  I wouldn’t say that it was bad, but it wasn’t something that I was trying to buy again tomorrow either.  Needless to say, given the circumstances in which I first had it (cooked almost half a day earlier, sitting out all day, reheated), it left the katsudon without much of a fighting chance to impress anyone’s tastebuds.  Not many foods would under those conditions.

A few weeks later, I had the ‘real’ katsudon- the one which made me love this food.  It was Continue reading →