Failed Goals

Despite all of my intentions of maintaining a regularly updated blog, I didn’t quite succeed with that in 2014. On the bright side, I was able to find some time this past Fall to start updating my blog/website to a better format/design. I also have numerous topics which I want to write about, some of which I have already started as drafts, that I just need to start finalizing. Although I always seem to fail with this goal, hopefully I can do a better job with this in 2015!

First Semester of Teaching Complete

A few weeks ago I wrapped up my first semester of teaching at Lindenwood University. Overall, I was very satisfied with all of my classes, especially with some of the work that was produced by my students for their final projects. I learned a lot during this semester, and luckily was invited back to teach again this upcoming January-term and following Spring semester so I will have opportunities to apply what I have learned and continue to gain new experiences with teaching.

Crazy Holiday Travels

This holiday season I have been all over the place. Went from St. Louis to Cincinnatti, to Washington D.C., to NYC, to Boston, and then back to Detroit to be with family. Felt like I needed to get a classic American road trip out of the way because I will soon be……

Moving to Japan

While I was in Japan this past summer, I interviewed for a job at my alma mater, Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, and this past Fall I was offered a full-time teaching position, which I have accepted. So, in a few short months, I will be moving back to Japan! One of the major changes for me in 2014 was reigniting my passion for studying Japanese. After returning to the US after my study abroad in 2011, I became too busy with work and other responsibilities that I was unable and unmotivated to continue my Japanese studies. Thankfully, during my last semester of grad school, I was able reclaim that passion and motivation.

For the past few months, I have been studying with every available opportunity (which I partially blame for my lack of blogging). One of my main goals for 2015 is to pass the 2nd highest level (out of 5 levels) of the Japanese JLPT Proficiency Test (JLPT N2 / 日本語能力試験二級). Because of this, I have created a strict studying schedule for the next few months until my departure to learn as much kanji/grammar as I possibly can.

Because of this strict studying schedule, I doubt I will be blogging very much over the next few months. However, I am planning on blogging regularly about my experiences once I am back over in Japan and have more interesting things to write about.

Anyway, cheers to a great 2014 and cheers to a new year!