じゅうにげつ じゅうしちにち

みなさん、

きょう、私は　プリストンから　サンフランシスコまで　ひこうきで　ろくじかんくらい　かかりました。　たいへんでしたね。
私は　タイのレストランに　いきました。チキンサテと パドセイウを　たべました。タイのアイスティーをのみました。　チキンサテが　大好きですよ。

パドセイウ / Pad See You

 タイのアイスティー / Thai Iced Tea

　チキンサテ / Chicken Sate

Hi everybody,

Today, I flew from Princeton to San Francisco. It took me about 6 hours. I went to Thai restaurant. I had Chicken Sate and Pad See You. I also drank Thai Iced Tea. I like Chicken Sate a lot.

じゅうにげつ にじゅうにち

みなさん、

きのう、　私は　バスで　ゴールデンゲートに　いって、じてんしゃで　あぞんで、アイホップ (iHop) にいって、　ブランチを　たべました。たのしかったです。ソーセージとハッシュ·ブラウンは　とてもおいしかったです。

ゴールデンゲート　／　Golden Gate

ブランチ　／　Brunch

きょう、私は　ジャパンタウンに　いって、日本のたべものたべました。にくうどんとカレーをたべました。それから、チャイナタウンに　いって、ホットポットを　たべました。

 にくうどんとカレー / Niku Udon and Curry

Kinokuniya

Peace Pagoda

 チャイナタウン / Chinatown

ホットポット / Hotpot

Hi everybody,

Yesterday, I went to Golden Gate and I biked across it. It was really fun. Then, I went to iHop to have brunch. It was really delicious.

Today, I went to Japantown. I had Niku Udon and curry rice. Then, I went to Chinatown to have hotpot.

じゅうにげつ じゅうごにち

まなさん、

今週は　シークレットサンタイベントが　ふたつ　ありましたよ。バイヤー（私のりょう）のとタサ（TASA: Taiwanese American Student Association）のです。私は　スノーグローブを　うけとりました。私は　スノーグローブが　たくさんほうしいので、うれしかったです。スノーグローブの中に　私のしゃしんが　あります！

スノーグローブ / Snow globe

Hello everybody,

This week I had 2 secret santa events: Buyers's (my dorm) one and TASA's (Taiwanese American Student Association) one. I got 2 snow globes. I really wanted a snow globe so I was really happy. One of them has a picture of me inside also!

じゅうにげつ じゅうさんにち

Hello everybody, 

This is my letter to my imaginary host family. I do not know how to type vertically, so I needed to scan as post my letter as a picture instead.

ワンサヌワット

じゅうにげつ じゅうににち

こんいちは、

今週は、Secret Santa が　ありますよ。私は　ナッソーストリートで　プレゼントを　かいました。

プレゼント / Present

Hello everyone,

This week, I have Secret Santa events. So I went to Nassau Street and bought them.

じゅうにげつ ここのか

みなさん、

昨日、ともだちと私は　じゅうじはんごろから　じゅうにちごろまで　プリンストン大学のバかーリンクに　アイススケートをするに　いきました。　たのしいでしたよ。

私とともだち　／　My friends and I

Hello everybody, 

Yesterday, my friends and I went to Baker Rink to play ice skate from about 10:30 PM to midnight. It was fun.

じゅうにげつ むいか

みなさん、

きのうは　たいへんでした。

私はくじに　日本語のじゅぎょがありました。かんじ小さいテストが　ありました。
じゅうには　Mathの小さいテストが　ありました。テストが　むずかしかったので、私は　かなしかったです。
それから、Writing Seminarに　いって、Whitman ダイニングホールでひるごはんをたべました。
いちじはんに、　CBE のpop quizが　あって、たいへんでしたね。

みなさんは、きのう　どうでしたか。

Hi everybody,

Yesterday was tough.
At 9, I went to Japanese class and have kanji quiz. Then at 10, I had math quiz. Because the quiz was hard, I was sad. Then, I had writing seminar and ate lunch at Whitman dining hall.
At 1:30, I had CBE pop quiz. Tough isn't it?

How was everyone's yesterday?
　

じゅういちげつ にじゅうくにち

みなさん、こんばんは
先週の水曜日は カリグラフィーのクラスがありました。
カリグラフィーは　むずかしかったですよ。でも、私は　 カリグラフィーをかきました。

きれいなえですね。私は　このえがとてもすきです。

Hello everybody,

Last Wednesday, we had a calligraphy class. It was hard, but I did write one of them. Isn't it pretty? I like it a lot. 

  

じゅういちげつ にじゅうに日 サンクスギビングの休みの日

みなさんこんばんは、

私は　サンクスギビングの休みの日に　コロンビア大学に　ともだちと　いきました。
私のともだちは　コロンビア大学の学生とジョンズ·ホプキンス大学の学生とウェスリアン大学の学生ですよ。

ともだちと私は　中国のレストランに　いきました。たべものはやすくてよくがったです。

Good afternoon everybody,

This Thank's giving break, I went to Columbia University to meet my friends. My friends are from Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University and Wesleyan University. My friends and I went to Chinese restaurant. The food there was cheap and good. 

中国のたべもの

ともだちと私

スナック

じゅういちげつ　にじゅうに日のばん　ともだちと私は　コリアタウンに　かんこくに　いきました。かんこくのたべものは　とてもおいしかったです。

 On 23rd's evening, my friends and I went to Korean Town to eat Korean food it was really delicious.

ポークカルビ

ビビンバ

それから、　ともだちと私は　セントラル·パークに　かいものにいって、りょうに　いって、ねました。
Then, we went shopping at Central Park then we went back dorm and went to sleep.

じゅういちにち とおか PE2 evaluation/PE3 goals and activities

こんにちは、

It has been another three weeks and my PE2 cycle is over. So, we will start PE3 for another three weeks. I need to evaluate my PE2 and then set a goal for PE3.

My PE2 Activities
1. Listen audio files and keep repeating after (any random words/sounds regardless of meaning and useful expressions in the textbook) 10minutes a day.
2. Practice the short conversation practices online. 10minutes a day.
3. Listen to Japanese songs and sing along. 10minutes a day. 
4. Attend language table as much as possible. Hopefully once every week.

Reflection
1. I have not done so well for this one. Most days, I was able to do this activities but some days I was really busy and I usually do the PE activities last because I have to do homework that is due the next day before. I might need to find a solution for this.
2. I fail miserably in the second one. I do it some days but not a lot. I need to practice more.
3. I have done this activities pretty well. I have done it almost everyday and usually about ten minutes. And I usually get new vocabularies by looking the words in the songs up as well (I tend to forget all of them though!)
4. I have attended all of Japanese table this cycle. Success!

PE3: Goal
I need quite a long time to come up with the sentences (with the correct grammar) that I want to say. So I usually have a long gap between my sentences. And my listening skill needs improvement also. These makes my communication in Japanese do not turn out well as I want to.
So I want to improve my speed when I speak and my listening skills along with the pitch.  

PE3: Activities
1. Repeat vocabularies in each chapter in the textbook after the audio files. 5 minutes a day. [improve pitch, review vocabs]
2. Practice the short conversation practices online. 5-10minutes a day. (make it more feasible) [pitch,speed]
3. Listen to Japanese songs and sing along and look up a few vocabularies per song. 5-10minutes a day. [pitch, speed, vocabs]
4. Attend language table every week and engage in the conversation more. Try to initiate the questions and conversation during the language table.[communication]
Goals, activities, how long are the practices a day are subject to change. 

Oct 27th, 2012 じゅうがつ にじゅうしちにち

こんにちは、

きょう、じゅうがつ　にじゅうしちにち どようびです。あきやすみ　わたしは　かようび　ニューヨークに　いきます。コロンビア大学に　いきます。わたしは　たべもの（food）をたべます。タイのたべもの、にほんのたべもの、ちゅうごくのたべもの、かんこくのたべものです。タイのたべものとにほんのたべものは　とてもいいです。じゅういちがつ　よっか　にちようびに　プリンストン大学のキャンパス　かえります。



Good evening,

Today is Saturday October 27th. 　This fall break, I will go to Columbia University, New York, on Tuesday. I go there because of food, Thai food, Japanese food, Chinese food and Korean food. Thai and Japanese food are really good. I will be back on campus on Sunday November 4th.

コロンビア大学 / Columbia University

ちゅうごくのたべもの / Chinese food

 にほんのたべもの / Japanese food

タイのたべもの / Thai food

かんこくのたべもの / Korean food

I'm so hungry. ロキのロキのダイニングホールでばんごはんをたべます。

Notes Because of the Sandy hurricane, NYC is flooded so I couldn't go to NYC and needed to stay on campus instead. Hanging out with friends and enjoying food on Nassau street are not bad at all. Besides, I can go to NYC basically anytime anyway.

もくようびに　わたしは　ポンヨをみました。／　I watched Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ) on Thursday.
It was pretty fun. Japanese anime is the best!

Ponyo

Oct 19th 2012 じゅうがつ じゅうくにち

こんにちは。きょうはきんうびです。
せんばん　わたしは　さんじごろねました。
はちじごろおきました。
ロッキーダイニングホールで　あさごはんあさごはんをたべました。
シリアルをたべました。いいです。
ドーナツをたべませんでした。
わたしは　いつも　ロッキーダイニングホールで　あさごはんあさごはんをたべます。
じゅうまつ　ファイアストンとしょかんで　べんきょうします。
こんどようび　ごごしちじはんに　アレクサンダー·ホールのリチャードソンオーディトリアムで　オーケストラコンサートがあります。
さよおなら。

Good afternoon. Today is Friday.
Last night, I went to sleep at 3 o'clock.
This morning I woke up at 8 o'clock.
I ate my breakfast at Rocky dining hall.
I ate cereal this morning. It was good.
I did not eat donut today.
I always go to eat breakfast at Rocky dining hall.
This weekend, I will go to Firestone library to study.
This saturday, there is an orchestra concert at Richardson auditorium in Alexander hall at 7:30 PM.
See you later.

Oct 13th, 2012 じゅかつ じゅさんいち

I just watched My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) during TASA movie night at 10 PM. It was really fun and Mei was just too cute! I actually watched this anime once last year but at that time I didn't know any Japanese words or phrases yet. Although all the time I relied on Eng subtitles, I did recognize some words like おねえさん。I think watching this on Friday night is perfect for enjoying the film and "practicing" Japanese at the same time.

Oct 12th, 2012 じゅうがつ じゅうににち PE1:Reflection PE2:Goal

It has been three weeks since my PE1 has started. So, we will start a new PE, PE2, for another three weeks. I need to evaluate my PE1 and then set a "new" goal for PE2.

My PE1
Activities
- 1. Listen audio files and keep repeating after (any random words/sounds regardless of meaning and useful expressions in the textbook) 10minutes a day.
- 2. "Shadow" a Japanese character. For me, shadowing means I watch Japanese series/animes and then follow one character. Whatever he says, I will repeat after, so I will eventually have native prosody. 10 minutes a day. (If the series are too enjoyable, I might end up watching the whole episode)
- 3. Listen to Japanese songs and sing along. Sato sensei played うえをもいてあるこう(上を向いて歩こう^?) literal meaning "(I) will walk looking up" also know as "sukiyaki" 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wp0YIr6j7Lc&list=PL89550DAE1FCD4B5C to us in class and inspired me to think about listening to Japanese song. 10minutes a day. 
- 4. Attend language table as much as possible (need to find more information about it though)

Reflection
- 1. I have been doing pretty well on the first one. I kept listening and repeating then listened again and repeated again and I have to admit that I did not know what I have been saying whatsoever (haha). Also, I usually do this everyday for 10 minutes but someday I am too busy to work on this. Hopefully next round I would be more disciplined.
- 2. I fail miserably in the second one. I cannot really hear what Chiaki is saying at all; he speaks too fast for me. So, I cannot really tell what he's saying so I cannot mimic him. Satanoka is better because he speaks more slowly but his voice is pretty soft so sometimes I can't really hear. To sum up, this is too hard for me right now. Good news, there are some conversation practices available with scripts! usually very very short ones which is good. I will try those first and then after a while I will comeback to Chiaki and Satanoka. 
- 3. I did this with Disney songs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0kz6C8Hai0 One of the examples is When Will My Life Begin from Tangled. I ended up listening to them (while I was doing something else, just to be exposed to Japanese) only not singing along so I will assign a specific time just to sing a song! Isn't life sweet!
- 4. I missed the first Japanese table (にほんごテーブル)　because I had to go to Jeff's (our residential college's master) house but I did attend the second one. I will try to attend everyday. 

PE2: Goal
I need to speed up my speaking, practice the pitch pattern and pronounce し、ち　つ、す sounds correctly.
I want to be able to distinguish the long vowels from short ones and also "g" and "k" sounds like in か、が　こ、ご.

PE2: Activities

1. Listen audio files and keep repeating after (any random words/sounds regardless of meaning and useful expressions in the textbook) 10minutes a day.
2. Practice the short conversation practices online. 10minutes a day.
3. Listen to Japanese songs and sing along. 10minutes a day. 
4. Attend language table as much as possible. Hopefully once every week.

Goals, activities, how long are the practices a day are subject to change. 




Ps. By now, I have already learned how to tell month, date and time. And also quite a few verbs like eat　たべます、 go　いきます, comeきます, watchみます, drink　のみます, readよみますand do　します.

October 6th 2012 じゅうがつむいか

Self-introduction video filmed in my dorm bedroom

September 22nd, 2012

My PE (not Physical Exercise but Pronunciation Exercise) to "perfect" Japanese pronunciation

I have learning English since I was young but I have actually been speaking English in everyday's life since last year. I do have a slight accent (judged by my roommate), indicating that I am not a native English speaker (I am glad that it's just "slight.") So, it is impossible for me who has been exposed to Japanese for less than 2 weeks to out of the blue speak Japanese as if I were a native Japanese speaker. I need to practice, practice and practice.

Right now, though I am getting better, I have difficulty differentiating (not in Math) the ち "chi" and し"shi" sounds, す "su" and and つ "tsu" sounds because if I were to write those two pairs sounds in Thai, the first ones I would write down "ชิ" and the second ones "ซู" so they are the same in Thai. However, after I've been listening to the audio multiple times (and visited Shibata sensei office once), I start to be able to tell them apart yet not always accurate. 

Goals on pronunciation
- I need to improve my accuracy on the pitch and the rhythmic patterns because if I pronounce the pitch wrong, listeners will misunderstand what I'm trying to say. It's very crucial.
- Right now my speaking speed is really slow, I need to improve that.
- Also, because I can't even tell those two pairs apart yet, I can't pronounce them also. I need to work on that as well.

How??? Activities!
- Listen audio files and keep repeating after (any random words/sounds regardless of meaning and useful expressions in the textbook) 10minutes a day.
- "Shadow" a Japanese character. For me, shadowing means I watch Japanese series/animes and then follow one character. Whatever he says, I will repeat after, so I will eventually have native prosody. 10 minutes a day. (If the series are too enjoyable, I might end up watching the whole episode)
- Listen to Japanese songs and sing along. Sato sensei played うえをもいてあるこう(上を向いて歩こう^?) literal meaning "(I) will walk looking up" also know as "sukiyaki" 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wp0YIr6j7Lc&list=PL89550DAE1FCD4B5C to us in class and inspired me to think about listening to Japanese song. 10minutes a day. 
- Attend language table as much as possible (need to find more information about it though)

Goals, activities, how long are the practices a day are subject to change. 

The characters I'm considering are Shinichi Chiaki, from Nodame Cantabile (のだめカンタービレ) and Satonaka Kensuke from Haken no Hinkaku (ハケンの品格) 

    

Shinichi Chiaki, from Nodame Cantabile

Satonaka Kensuke from Haken no Hinkaku 

September 21st, 2012

はじめまして。ワンサヌワトです。
Bangkokからきました。わたしはいちねんせいです。Princetonだいがくです。こうがくです。
どうぞよろしく。

Confused?
Translation: How do you do. I am Chatarin Wangsanuwat from Bangkok. I am a freshman at Princeton University. I am majoring in Engineering. 

See you later!
Note Red indicates Katakana; most foreign names are written in Katakana.
 いちねんせい means freshman.
if you are not a freshman;
sophomore: にねんせい
junior:　さんねんせい
senior:　よねんせい
graduate student:　だいがくいんせい

September 17th, 2012

Why did you decide to study Japanese?
My professor, Sato sensee, asked me this question on the very first day of class. Unprepared, I answered what came first to my mind. "Japanese is pretty big in Thailand after Thai, English and Chinese. And I tried Chinese once when I was very young and it did not turn out well. Besides, I've watched some of Japanese series and I like them a lot so I hope that one day I would be able to watch the whole series without subtitles." My answer was okay cause if I were to answer it again I would probably say the same thing.

We basically have classes everyday Mon-Fri at 9 to 9:50 so we've already had three classes. I am excited about that exotic-sound sentences Sato sensee projects. He has to tell us what they mean every time and I am excited that soon enough I will be able to speak that exotic-sound sentences as well.

Right now, I can introduce myself in Japanese and some greetings.
What I said when I was introducing myself were
ハじめまして   Hajimemashite
ワンサヌワトです Wangsanuwat (my last name (in Japanese Last name=first name weird right?)) de su
どうぞよろしくDoozo yoroshiku
Meaning: How do you do. My name is Wangsanuwat (I wish I had shorter last name.) Nice to meet you.
You can introduce yourself also using these sentences.

Of course there are some difficulties happen in the first three classes. Not only because JPN 101 is indeed the first class in my Princeton career but also the first language class I've ever taken officially besides Thai and English. I am taking my third language (Japanese) in my second language (English) so that should be challenging. I'm still doing fine though.

So... That's it for today. See you later!