I took the level 8 Kanji exam a few weeks ago, and today I found out that I passed. It’s not a lot, since it’s what the grade 3 kids take to prove they know their kanji; however, I’m now certified to read and write 440 kanji. Whee! The next step is to take the level 7 exam, which then certifies me for 660 Kanji. While I can actually read about 1200 Chinese Characters(Kanji in Japanese) now I’ve forced myself to learn how to write them as well. Happy days! The highest level is level 1, which tests the your knowledge on 6000 characters. I’m not quite ready for the one yet, but who knows. The sky’s the limit.
Archive for November, 2004
I’ve been away from my blog for the last little while. No problems; though, I have discovered something a little peculiar. Since I came to Japan, I’ve notice that my hair is thinning at the top and that my teeth are shifting around. At first I though this was just me. Before I left Japan, I had a wisdom tooth pulled. That would explain the shifting. And the fact that I’m 28 might explain the hair loss. I mean, it’s happens, right? Getting older is something that we all do and we should get used to it. So I though it was finally time to admit that I was giving into nature’s cruel agenda.
Then, out of the blue, while speaking with some friends here, I noticed that I wasn’t alone. Others had the same issue, but here’s the kicker. It wasn’t just the men I knew. My girl friends were also losing some hair and had noted the tops of their heads also getting thinner. And their teeth had been shifting around as well. And it wasn’t just in Iwate. No! It was all over the country. I was floored. What the heck could be going on here to describe this phenomenon? Nutrition issues? Magnetic fields? I have no clue, but I’ve set out to discover what the hell is going on to my body is this strange land I like to call, “Japan.” Stay tuned for more information as I figure out what is going on here.
