There will be bragging. You have been warned. I don’t do that much of it do I? Bear with me. : )

Today was a very busy day. Almost overslept again, had a full day of classes, and a full deck of participants for my study timeslots today.

On top of it, had a Japanese oral test that I was very ambivalent about. On one hand, seemed really easy, but on the other, I always freak when I feel like things are easy, because I am very aware of what just thinking things are easy can do. :< Typical stuff of fables. So I was somewhere between giggling and hyperventilating to death, but managed to calm down enough to go do the test. As far as I was concerned in the end, I killed that test. (Got results back right away, 10/10 yay.)

But what my Japanese prof said to me afterwards, kind of made my day.

(Actually, the fact that I had made the whole class and the prof laugh earlier that day kinda half-made that day. We were learning  Te form conjugation, and the related phrase “wa ikemasen” which when put together more or less forms a prohibition statement, i.e. “You may not…”. Prof asked us to think of what we CANNOT do in a park. After a few moments of silence, I offered up the only new vocabulary we knew that I felt was relevant: the verb “to take a shower”.

It was hilarious in context, and something I would have never ever done 10 yrs ago, 5 yrs ago, heck, maybe even last year. Regardless of how comfortable the classroom context is. Recently I have been participating (–probably because it’s required in class–but at this point I don’t think it’s out of need)willingly and it makes me so happy. : ))

Anywho…aside from that…aside.

Essentially Eri-sensei said after my oral test “How do you study Japanese? You’re AMAZING.” (o___o At that point I was a little stupefied…because I didn’t expect that, especially since I was trying to run over the last 5 minutes of the oral test through in my head. This would qualify my response:)

Me: “I don’t know…”

Prof: “Do you have prior experience, or interest?…blah blah other possibilities How do you practice?”

Me: “I’m not sure…I watch anime but it doesn’t help…because their grammar is bad.*scrambling to look like I actually put effort into this* I practice it. And then I guess, I just pick up languages quickly? (My thoughts when she asked me this actually blanked because I have no idea how I practice either…I practice. I write things down and repeat them before tests? But otherwise I really don’t invest too much time in it. I don’t know what it is but I don’t find it impossibly difficult. Languages are fun? :/)

We ended off with her encouraging me to take 102. But I was still kind of walking on air from her praise. It is unequivocally amazing for one’s self-esteem when progress is so directly and wholeheartedly acknowledged.

Today was a good day. : )