Nihongo benkyou o shiteimasu!

So, as I mentioned in yesterday's post - I'm learning Japanese. I decided that my goal of eventually visiting and living in Japan for a short period of time would be pretty difficult if I didn't have at least a basic understanding of the language.

So, I did a search online for free courses on the Japanese languge, and stumbled upon a great resource. It's called YesJapan, and so far has impressed me with all that it has to offer. Given - I'm only on the third lesson (of 9?) in the first course (of 9), so I probably haven't run into anything difficult enough to give me an adequate measurement of it's true quality. That said, I'm confident in the structure they have, which slowly incorporates the written languages of Japan (Kiragana, Katakana, and Kanji) into your lessons - so that you gradually pick up reading and writing along with your conversational skills.

Okay, so this is turning into a shameless promotion now - I might as well provide the URL.
http://www.yesjapan.com/

Why Japanese? Well, as I mentioned above, I'm interested in living there at some point. This probably stems from an experience I had in High School - In a biotechnology course, of all places. My classes' teacher had taught ESL courses in a rural community of Japan prior to returning to the US to resume her post as the biotech teacher a my school. Along with some delicious treats, she provided us with some great information about Japanese culture. Something she said must have sparked my curiosity, because from that point on I have been determined to find a way to Japan.

Maybe it's just the media's portrayal of Japanese life, but it seems like a stimulating mix of tradition and western culture that I want to experience first hand. Though - to be honest, I'm okay with passing on the whole Hello Kitty craze.

On the other hand, I'm blown away by the keirin racing they do over there. Seriously - this stuff is nuts. Check out this clip. Look at those guys - they're animals!

Anyway, I currently find myself at one of my favorite State St. coffee shops, taking a break from studying Japanese by blogging about it - which in turn has gotten me all excited to study it again. So I'm going to hit the books again. Sayounara!

The Number 3

I'm going to start this all off with my thoughts on finally achieving something that I've been looking to do for a while - getting my USAC upgrade to category 3. Seriously - I'm pretty stoked about it, simply because I took a year off and wondered whether or not I'd be able to get back in shape in time, and score enough points to earn the 3's status.

So, I got the email from USA cycling a few days ago informing me that my upgrade went through, and that I'd finally be able to leave the sketchtastic world of category 4/5 racing. Sweet - I'm glad to get out of that risky group of riders.

Really. It's like swimming in shark infested waters in that 4/5's field...

Actually, to make the simile complete - make that "swimming in shark infested waters along with 30 other dudes - 4 of which are bleeding profusely, 10 who are sporting shiny jewelry, and at least 5 others who don't know how to swim, yet insist upon splashing and weaving around like fat, injured seals. "


Somebody is going to get bitten. Case in point...


The sad reality is that this happened in at least three-quarters of the races I took part in this year. I somehow came out unscathed, and with enough points to move up a bit in the cycling world. I'm looking forward to a great collegiate season, hopefully with some wins in the B's field, and potentially representing my team in the category A races as the season progresses.

For now, I'm enjoying the remainder of the summer, looking out for opportunities to ride with some people that I haven't seen in a while, and getting ready for another semester of Biochemistry education. Oh yeah, and I'm starting to learn Japanese - who knew?

Stovetop