Hey you kids, get off my WLAN!

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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: August 14th, 2024

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  • Both are possible. I got to N2 in one year as a full-time student in Japan by studying (school + at home) around 6-8 hours per day. People outside of Japan don’t get as many chances to actually use the language, so the same amount of study of course might yield less in that case.

    Most westerners take 2-3 years (3-4 hours per day) to get to N2, which is reasonable. So my hours are about the same, just I crammed two years into one (because I really needed to).

    Whereas many Chinese speakers tend to pass it in less than a year of getting to Japan because they already have a huge head start on kanji knowledge.

    The relationship with languages you already know changes things a lot. The proximity and opportunities to use it are really important too, I think.

    Practically every European I’ve met has pretty good English, I’ve noticed that. But most people in Japan I’ve met don’t. Many, if not, most of them studied it in school. They also get tested on it as part of university entrance exams. But most of them don’t need it much outside of those contexts, so I don’t blame them for not being able to speak English either.











  • I live in Japan, and of course there are formal ways to say everything, but in formal and polite situations, people actually try to avoid saying ‘you’ (anata, 貴方) as much as possible. Because even that can feel too personal. I only see it in writing that addresses the reader indirectly, like in surveys.

    If you do address or refer to them, you typically use their title/position (e.g., ‘sensei’ for doctors and teachers, ‘Mr. President’), or name and appropriate honorific (i.e. Tanaka-san).

    P.S., a lot of what might’ve been archaically formal and polite ways to say ‘you’ have become ironically rude and/or condescending. Like, ‘KISAMA!’ (貴様), kimi (君) (sovereign/lord), onushi (お主) (lord).


  • I wholeheartedly agree with this guide.

    When I was in college, I reached a point where I was wishing I was dead. I couldn’t even remember what it felt like to be happy. What was the point of living? What was I suffering for? But I remembered there are things I really want to do in life. So what was keeping me from doing them?

    I decided, if I’m going to die, why don’t I just go ahead and do the things I truly want to do in life.

    Even if I fail and want to die again, I can wait until after trying all the things I want to do in life first.

    Today, I’m feeling great. Ever since that time, I’ve gotten to do more and more of the things I wanted, accomplished goals that would’ve felt impossible for me back then. Because I figured out what was important to me and decided to keep moving forward.

    So don’t stop! Don’t be afraid to fail horribly. Just keep moving. Life is too short to always be worrying about all that stuff all the time. Figure out what you want to do and do it!




  • As border tensions intensified, the sight of soldiers and journalists carrying heavy field gear underscored the harsh terrain and long deployments at the frontier. For those in such unpredictable conditions, reliable equipment becomes essential.

    Like the 5.11 Tactical Backpack, Rush 72 2.0, designed for military and field operations with multiple compartments for carrying essentials.

    The sudden shift to advertising gear in the middle of article caught me off guard, lmao