The Test of DOOM! :-)

Yesterday I took the Japanese Proficiency test. Paul and I left for the train station at 5:55 to catch a 6:40 train to Kyoto. It was raining as we drove, but cleared up by the time we got to the station and parked. As our train approached Kyoto, the sun rose, and the view was beautiful as the train passes Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. We got to Kyoto and grabbed some coffee (we needed to be perked up quite a bit), and then stood in line for about 45 minutes just to catch a bus to the test site, at Kyoto University. It seemed that everyone was at the station trying to get on the bus to take the test. There were people from all over Asia, and a few westerners. (I was actually surprised how outnumbered the westerners were.) When we finally got on a bus and got to the test site, we made it just in time for the 9:45 start time.

The test went well for Paul. I think it went well for me too, but I’m not sure if I passed. It was entirely in Japanese, including all the directions, and it the first Japanese test I’ve ever taken. I think my best section was the listening section, since I listen every day. Second was the kanji/vocabulary test. The most difficult for me was grammar, since I haven’t studied much grammar yet. There were many times when I had to guess, because I didn’t know the words being used or hadn’t studied a grammar point yet. I think an increased vocabulary would help me immensely, but there are only so many words you can learn in four months! (Besides, many of the words I learned that are useful for my daily life, like the word for “self introduction,” weren’t on the test).

So, I’m not sure how I did but it was a good experience. Afterward, Paul and I were gonna enjoy Kyoto but we felt really tired so after awhile we decided to go eat and then take a train home. We went to this restaurant we had been to before, although last time it had had a set menu. This time it was a little more pricey but we decided to eat there anyway (why not treat ourselves after all the hard work right?). So we sat down, and waited... and waited... and waited. The waitress never came, and we were hungry and wanted to go home. We waited about 15-20 minutes and finally decided to leave! The only other place we saw was a McDonalds so ate there! So much for sushi haha.

Well, gotta go now. More to come later.

-Lisa