Japanese test-taking strategies.

1. (Which I remembered) If the kanji section includes something you don't recall, either a word or a radical, check the rest of the test--it may be there. In fact, the test may be clearly labeled with the kanji for 'test', right at the top of the page, conveniently covering up the fact that you forgot the right-hand section of the second kanji.

2. (Which I unfortunately did not) When you don't know a verb, katakana + suru. Especially when it's something like "leave a message".

3. (Which I just learned) Guessing the questions will be of limited utility. "What is [an answering machine] called? Explain in Japanese." was never going to be something you could have anticipated.

4. Pray that your answers are graded on accuracy of Japanese rather than on whether or not your explanation of an answering machine would actually explain one.

*sobs bitter tears*

(no subject)

One of those days (n):

...And then the fire alarm went off.

And then when I opened my door to go, "Argh fire drill", it actually smelled like smoke.

And then the fire trucks showed up.

So now I'm sitting outside with my backpack and all the electronics I could shove into it in thirty seconds, hoping that the dorm is not actually on fire, because that would be vexing.

Apparently it's in someone's room, and her clothing is on fire. And it's her birthday.

Ahh, schadenfreude: the fact that it's someone else's birthday and her stuff is on fire makes me feel better about the day, even though I don't blame her or anything.

ETA: Apparenty, she eft her scarf on her lamp (a standard table amp, with lampshade and all), and it caught fire. Because it would annoy us. They ventilated the room for a while, and then let us back in.

Now the hallway smells of smoke, and I have the hiccups.

This = Week of Fail

Dear Japanese professor,

Thanks so much for graciously agreeing to let me make up the dialogue presentation, even though you usually don't allow anyone to make anything up ever. I am so honored that you'd make an exception. But, you know, the guilt trip may be a little excessive. Yes, I should have emailed you that morning, but you shouldn't guilt-trip me about my absence, because when I woke up yesterday morning? I could not speak. You did not want me to come to class, and I would not have been capable of speaking Japanese--or any other language--if I had. It's not like I skipped class for a lark. I was sick, as you may have noticed by me coughing through class this past week. I guarantee, I was the one made most miserable, by whole orders of magnitude, by this situation.

So, y'know, telling me about what an inconvenience it was for my partner? Not really necessary.

Yrs,
Cygna