self-intro

こんにちわ。はじめまして。やんです。どうぞよろしく。

わたしはプリンストンだいがくのだいがくいんせいです。せんこうはしんかせいぶつがくです。

わたしはちゅうごくのチャンチュンからきました。わたしのたんじょびはしちがつじゅうさんにちです。

わたしはまいあさごぜんはちじにおきます。ごぜんくじににほんごのじゅぎょうがあります。

Timetable

After learning some verbs, I think I can write some simple dairies. For example below was what I did on last Friday:

7:00am      seckilling clothes
8:00am      doing homework
9:00am      taking Japanese class
10:00am    preparing the materials for Japanese visa
11:00am    journal club
12:00pm    going back home to pick up my car
1:00pm      taking the train to NYC
2:00pm      walking to the consolate-general of Japan
3:00pm      applying for the Japanese visa
4:00pm      going to Kiwa, a Japanese salon in Manhattan to perm my hair
7:00pm      having dinner in Korean town
8:00pm      getting on the train back to Princeton
9:00pm      back to home

いま、日本語に翻訳します

午前7時、私は服にseckillました。 フアッションウォーカー通販が80%OFFセール です。私は二日本のブランドの三ニットに買いますた。me&me couture（ミーアンドミークテヨール）どGreen international（グリーンインターナショナル ）です。

午前8時、私は日本語の宿題をしました。

午前9時、私はクラスに来ました。

午前10時、私は日本のビザの材料を準備しました。

午前11時、JCがありました。

午後12時、私はうさにかえりました。

午後1時、私はニューヨーク行きの列車に乗りました。

午後2時、私は日本の領事館に歩きました。私は日本語の単語の幾つかお理解することができます。例えば、木曜日。

午後3時、私は日本のビザを申請しました。

午後4時、私はKiwaにはしりました。Kiwaはマンハッタンのサロンです。

午後7時、私はマンハッタンの韓国町でばんごはんたべました。豚肉のバベキュはとてもスパイしました。

午後8時、私はプリストンに行きの列車に乗りました。

午後9時、私はうさに帰りました。


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In the end I have to say I feel so worried about next Monday's test!

Goals and emmi

First, the goals. After seeing other students' goals I understand what to post here...

I'll have my third trip to Japan this winter and will have many others to come in the future, so I'd better know how to speak Japanese to facilitate my traveling in Japan.

In the long run maybe I will want to know how to present my research in Japanese, because I'm also considering doing some summer research in Japan, or maybe being a fellow there as well. Umm, but that's a little bit far.

These days are busy. Usually I only sleep 5 hours every day. So frequently I'll feel sleepy in the afternoon. What will you do to keep the mind clear? A cup of coffee? How about exercising in the gym for half an hour? It works!

I like doing exercises, but the problem is most of the sports clothes are either too large or not good-looking. Does anyone has the same problem with me ;)
Here I'm to introduce a Japanese sports/casual brand. I have already put several items in my wish list XXXD.

----------------------------------------------------- usagi | emmi ----------------------------------------------------

I like the soft colors >v<

They also have a more casual collection.

Here's the link to emmi's official webstore: http://usagi-online.com/brand/emmi/?link=brand_navi
There are many other good brands there worthing a look.

Have to say bye. Still a lot to do at the time of 1:30am. Ahhh.....

20151001 for PE

こんばんわ。

Just finished PE 2. It's really useful and I think I should have practiced through it everyday, instead of finishing all of them (not all of) on one night.

The anime shadowing is extremely hard. It's still hard to shadow English even if I have learned it for a long time. The characters speak so fast that I can't even match what they say with the subtitle T T. Also there are tons of words I don't know that I have to type into translate.google.com to get an idea. Well, typing got practice though. What's more, I'm not a fan of anime or manga, which makes it even harder for me to watch and shadow them. Ahh, in short I came to break down when I tried my best but still couldn't successfully shadow the anime...

The good part is this process has inspired me about how to improve my English. I shadowed a one-minute TED talk and it worked well.

Probably a self-evaluation/ goal post shouldn't be like this? But how could a language-learning goal be achieved in one week? How small should that be? Yeah but I'm still confused about what to do.

Anyway, looking forward to learning Katakana tomorrow.

Best,
Ling

Practice and EATME

こにちわ。
はじめまして。やんです。どうぞよろしく。
私はプリンストン大学の大学院生です。せんこうは進化生物学です。
私は中国のチャンチュンかれきました。
私の誕生日は7月13日です。

This is what we have leaned by far. I took pictures of my Japanese handwriting and sent to my family and friends. It's really exciting to be able to write and speak, although only a tiny bit.

It is after I came to the U.S. that I knew how good my Chinese is, and it is after I learnt Japanese that I knew how good my English is. Understanding how a sentence is structured doesn't mean you can say it. It needs practice and takes time.

I must spend one or two hours today to practice these sentences today. It's so embarrassing to think for a few seconds before thinking of how to say a word or turn to the vocabulary sheet for help, especially when practicing with partners in class. 

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Today I want to introduce a brand call EATME。

このブランドの名前はイートミーです。(This brand's name is EATME.)

It's founded in 2014 by 益若翼 (Masuwaka Tsubasa), a Japanese super model. Although it's kind of new, EATME has become popular vary quickly. Usually Japanese clothes are cute, but EATME is a mix of British, Gothic and Harajuku. I like it very much.

こちれは益若つばさです。The above pictures were taken in the EATME store in Harajuku. 

Their model (below) for this season is also cute. 

Is there anything you like? Maybe we can buy together and save the shipping fee!

Official website (online store): http://runway-webstore.com/eatme/

Instagram: @eatme_japan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EATME_tweet

Hiragana and UNIQLO

みなさん、こにちわ。

We have learned 30 hiragana characters by far. It reminds me of learning to write Chinese characters in elementary school. Every day we handed in our handwriting and I continuously received B for a whole year. One day I went back home happily and told my mom that I thought today I wrote very well and could definitely get an A! However I still got a B. This made me really sad so that mom had to send me to some after-school class to learn how to write neatly. 

I have always felt my Chinese is good, but I didn't realize that these "good" are not natural, but all evolved from "bad" until I restarted to learn these Japanese characters last week. It took us almost ten years to finally command our native language, and it may take even longer if we want to express ourselves more decently. 

Maybe by the end of the two semesters we still can't fluenty speak Japanese, can't fully understand a Japanese article, but it's not because we are stupid, we are not hardworking. It's not that easy by nature. Probably this is why a language class has to be intense. Anyway, starting a day with a Japanese class is wonderful by far :)

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Since I'm a big fan of Japanese fashion, I decide to introduce a Japanese fashion brand now and then. 

UNIQLO (ユニクロ) might be the most well-known Japanese fashion brand in the U.S. Similar to Zara, H&M, and GAP, UNIQLO is a FMCG company focusing on comfortable and affordable products. However, this Autumn/ Winter collection UNIQLO has ventured to something beyond their basic items by collaborating with French model and "It" Girl Ines de la Fressange, "who has been known for her impeccable taste since her days as the face of Chanel in the '80s."

 

Here's the link of the official online store for UNIQLO × IDLF collection: 

http://www.uniqlo.com/us/special/ines/

It's said that seven more collaboration collection will come out for this A/W. You can find a more detailed news report by clicking this link:

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Arts&Leisure&title=uniqlo-offers-more-elegant-fare-in-designer-collaboration&id=114761

Restart

Hello everyone!

I'm Ling, a second-year graduate student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Princeton University. I work with butterflies, fireflies and many other cool insects! Here's my academic website if you're interested: www.luyangevolution.com

It has been a while since I wanted to open a blog. Actually I had one from middle school to freshmen year. Somehow later I felt putting all the thoughts down was kind of childish. Apparently this is not true. It's always good to have something to record the growth, no matter if it's sweet or bitter. Thank JPN 101 to give me this opportunity to finally restart, to share what I like and to practice written English and Japanese at the same time.

I have been to Japan twice and considering the third trip this winter. It was really fun and I think I will write them out later. Besides, I'm a big fan of Japanese fashion, which might be the biggest motivation to learn Japanese. I also worked as a part-time photographer and graphic designer in college. So feel free to get in touch about science, graduate school, fashion or photography!

みなさん、おはようございます。

やんです。

はじめまして。

(The head picture: Okayama, Japan. Jan 2013. It was my first picture about Japan, right outside my apartment. There was a fresh sweet smell in the air, even though it was almost the harshest month of the year. Would feel grateful and peaceful every time I recall this scene. )

by Ling