A pretty mellow week. It’s Easter. I took a couple of shorter bike rides to stay healthy. I finished a manga page. And I’ve started to edit!
I keep being focused on Japanese. Mainly by learning kanji through the Heisig method, which works amazingly well and fast so far. (As I wrote the word “mellow” above, I automatically thought of the mnemonic to that word: A tall and a fat child being grilled over the fire until their bodies get mellow = 熟.) I also dug through another double chapter of the Try N2 book, which I bought in Japan in October 2019. Buying is easy, actually sitting down with the books and putting in hour after hour of learning is harder. At least it’s clear to me what my strong and weak points are. In the Try N2 book I score well on grammar but have severe problems with reading and listening. In the cute little 新にほんご500問 N2 book, which I bought last month, I score very well on kanji readings but very bad on both grammar and vocabulary.
I wonder if I should give JLPT N2 a try in December. It was in December 2014 (!) that I failed it with a weighted score of 67/180 (vocabulary/grammar 22/60, reading 15/60, listening 30/60). Now that I was going to check out the application deadline I realise that the test center in Berlin has disappeared! I also note that they have added one in Stockholm.
I made a new acquaintance in my field and chatted a lot with him on Line. He gave me a very valuable perspective (from the West!) on my research, as well as inside knowledge.
I dug into the Japanese concept of “yankee” or “bad boy” manga together with K.
Next week our “in-house” classes will begin, which will take place online.
Japanese
- Try N2: Chapter 6.1 and 6.2 (pp. 86–102), review: 12/16.
- Remembering the kanji (James Heisig): Kanji 246–445.
Book chapter
- Robin DiAngelo (2018): White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
- 1: The Challenges of talking to white people about racism
Stories
- Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World, edited by Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro.
- Antonio Luiz M. C. Costa: “Once Upon a Time in a World”, pp. 83–117.
Podcast
- The Intercept: Somebody, ep. 2: The Nurse
Articles
- CNN Philippines/Chuck Smith: Why Philippine TV doesn’t have ‘Boys’ Love’ shows like ‘2gether: The Series’
- Africa is a Country: The virus of whiteness
- The Intercept: It’s a Scandal That We Don’t Know Who Supported the Coronavirus Bailout. Help Us Find Out.
- Tagesspiegel: Neuer Radweg zugeparkt – Polizei sieht “keine Gefahr”
Film
Arsenal 3
- The Mermaids, or Aiden in Wonderland (Elizabeth Povinelli/Karrabing Film Collective, Australia, 2018, 27 min)
Leave a Reply