準備をしなくちゃ。。。

And there's the word of the day!

準備 (じゅんび, junbi)
Definition: Preparation
Example sentence: 準備をしなくちゃ。。。 (Junbi wo shina ku cha...)
Translation: I need to prepare. (Lit., "If I don't prepare...")
(Note: "cha" is a contraction. I would never use it in conversation 'cause it wouldn't sound natural, thus making me sound like a poser & a wanna be. I'll werk my textbook knowledge Japanese first, thx.)

******

My Japanese got so rusty last summer. I desperately tried to relearn my kanji but alas, I had even forgotten basic things from 10A. :( It's still that way. Hahaha. I bet that out of all the kanji that I've learned, I only remember 1/3 of it. Which is a shame. I hope that I know how to read at least 200 characters... somehow, I doubt it. @_@;;

Anyway, to keep Japanese fresh on my mind, I'm planning on reading manga in Japanese this summer. I bought two volumes and I'm slowly getting through the first one. I have post-its on each page where I define a word or a character that I'm unfamiliar with. The great thing is that I've heard these words in anime and in songs so it makes learning the words so much easier. :)

I also plan on watching J-dramas if I get the chance. ... Without subtitles. I'm trying to slowly ween myself off of subtitles for anime but it gets kind of difficult 'cause depending on the genre, there's a whole different set of jargon to learn (e.g., Vampire Knight, I have to know a bunch of random words pertainin to vampires and blood and stuff but I do not. D:)

All in all, the biggest thing that I want from studying abroad in Japan is improving my Japanese! I try to speak to my lecturer in Japanese in all circumstances but when I find myself, I just start to blurt it out in English. Haha. Sadness. I need to start reading the Bible in Japanese too. The Japanese Bible's online too! Haha. I was planning on reading my QT passage in English then in Japanese but I always forget to read it in Japanese so... >_>;;

Btw, I sent my paperwork in this week. Hopefully, the certificate of eligibility will come in soon so that I can get my student visa. It would be super stressful if it came in a week before my time of departure... @_@;

That is all. Bye.