Stay tuned

          I have something that I am currently working on that I will be revealing in the next month so stay tuned!

Language Studies Updates

          Originally this was going to be a whole different post, but since the item, I wanted to review has not arrived yet, and the album I wanted to review has not dropped yet, you are getting a language study update...SORRY!

          As you all know I'm studying both Korean and Chinese. I started with Korean on and off, then this year more seriously, and then around 2 months ago I added Chinese to my study schedule. Today I'm going to talk about the difference between studying something because you want too and actually studying something with a more focused thought in mind. 

          Around the end of last month, I decided that what I was doing with Korean and Chinese just was not really working in the way I thought. Where Korean is concerned I had a lot of grammar swimming away in my brain but no real concept of how to use it. I do okay with short sentences but not so great with long ones and while I talk to myself a lot in Korean when my teacher actually talks to me, I draw a blank as to how to answer. I understand what he says...I just can't answer. Chinese is a little better but my ability to recognize the characters that I am studying in Hanja is...lacking. So I thought about it and talked to my teachers about my problems, here is the new plan.

KOREAN:

1. My teacher and I have gone back to the beginning. I'm actually glad about that. I am going slowly at a pace that is just right. Even when I tell my teacher to move on he doesn't unless he tests me and is sure I got the concept down correctly. 

2. I'm continuing my studies in Talk To Me in Korean to continue to get my grammatical concepts however, it is no longer the one I really focus on.

3. I'm in Book 2 of Vitamin Korean and I'm working through it slooooowly because it explains small things that have escaped me the first time around and now I ask my teacher about every little thing that looks weird to me. Just because I understand it because of context it doesn't mean that I understand it, it just means I know what it means vaguely.

4. I'm on Book 1 of Practical Korean and like Vitamin Korean I'm taking it slooooow, rinse and repeat. 

5. WRITE! I'm writing more, in my journal, or even paragraphs to send to my teacher to correct. I need to get used to writing hence also reading.

6. Finally, My teacher told me to work towards a goal, and my goal is that in November 2021 I want to take TOPIK 1 Level 2 at least if not TOPIK 2 Level 3.

CHINESE:

1. My iTalki class is amazing and the book my teacher uses is very easy so I'm studying that as we take classes, after every 5 classes I take a week off to look over my notes and study and review the previous chapters to see if my grammatical concepts are improving.

2. I am working through HSK 1 course from ZeroToHero Chinese online and enjoying the class.

3. I am writing and asking my teacher questions as I go along even if I have to ask the same question 10 times, I'm lucky my teacher is patient. 

4. Like Korean I'm working towards a goal, I want to take the HSK exam in October of 2021, not sure yet at what level I want to take yet but let us say at least HSK level 1 though my teacher says I can go higher.

OBSERVATIONS:

I'm not sure if it is because I studied Korean first but I find that Chinese is very easy for me so far. Certainly much easier than Korean. Though I have to admit I love Korean more. Of course, writing, recognizing, and reading Hangeul is much easier than Hanja...

STAY TUNED: 

I have a thing going on and when it is done I will let you know all about it... so stay tuned!

Zenpop.JP 2 Box Review

It has been a long time since I’ve reviewed product boxes so today I’m giving you 2 reviews from the same company just because they arrived one after the other. 

The company is Zenopop.jp, and they have a subscription box for Japanese stationery. I’m not going to review them in the order they arrived but in the order they should have arrived in, but didn’t (not the company’s fault blame it on COVID 19 and the delays it has caused in the post office.)

JULY 2020 STATIONERY PACK: UNICORN PARTY

The box at first glance really does look like a Unicorn Party. Everything looked really cute but it was time to really dig into what is in the box.

I thought it was weird to have a nail polish bottle in a stationery pack but I was surprised to find out that it was actually a highlighter! There are two choices either mint or neon pink and I got the neon pink as you can see. 

Here is how it looks as a highlight but I have not tried it with a fountain pen yet 🤣. 

This cute thing is an eraser. I could have gotten either a white one or a pink one, I got the pink. I’m not sure how well it erases since I have not been able to bring myself to use it. 

I love washi tapes and as washi tapes go these are awesome. The one on top is watercolor washi tape by Tomomi Kokubu and the one on the bottom is Unicorn washi tape designed by Miki Takei.

This is a Unicorn memo pad. There are two patterns and I got the colorful one as you can see.

I love this thing. It is a Midori cleanup car. It cleans all the eraser rubbings and small dirt particles on the desk or paper.

This is a Kokuyo Beetle dual-tip highlighter. Honestly, I’ve been using it to underline important concepts in my studies. Since it gives you two lines at the same time.

This mechanical pencil is awesome. Mine broke the other day and I decided to try this one out and I love it. It is really smooth and easy on my arthritic hands.

3D stickers are something that I love using but I rarely find something I like. These ones I love. I love fishes.

This is a Unicorn letter set. It has 12 sheets and 6 envelopes. I love writing letters to add to gifts to make them more personal so these will come in handy.

And this wraps up the first box. 

AUGUST 2020 STATIONERY PACK - SUMMER FESTIVAL

This box was interesting. I loved the fan theme throughout it. So let’s take a look.

At first glance, I did not know what half the stuff in the box was and had to dig in the find out. 

I found this picture card really cute and funny. 

I thought this was a page flag but it turns out that this was a washi tape cutter. I have not tried it yet but I know from previous experience with something similar that they are very useful. 

I was not sure what this was either but it turns out to be a stand with sticky notes. 

These are going to be useful. I have a ton of short pencils because I like to use pencils to the last bit and these will make them last even longer than usual 🤣. 

This was obviously a greeting card. I love the whole polar bear eating watermelon thing. In case you don’t know in the summer most Asian and Middle Eastern counties will eat watermelons to cool down.

I love this washi tape because it looks so summery. The flowers are beautiful.

This is a Pentel brush pen. I love the way it writes. I can make thin lines as well as thick ones. The ink flows beautifully too. 

This fan is really pretty and it works really well. I’ve used it a couple of times so far and I love how small it but also how well it does its job.

These stickers are pretty versions of the already pretty fan. I’m looking forward to using them soon.

Look at those cute Jinbesan stickers! I love the silly smile on that shark whale’s face.

This is a pencil, I will be using it at some point.

And that is it for the second box.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: 

I liked all the stuff in the boxes. But...I’m not sure they are worth what I paid for them (37 dollars per box including shipping) I’ve had boxes that have had much more substantial stationery items and they cost much less than this. Now it could be that it is because these items are expensive in Japan 🤷🏽‍♀️.  I’ve already stopped my subscription to this box because while the items are really cute and the themes are interesting I don’t really feel like I am getting my money’s worth. Also, it takes too long to get the boxes, I know it is not the seller’s fault but I found it a little stressful trying to figure out if the box was lost or just late.

Monthly Update - September 2020

           This would be the first month I try my new set up for my bullet journal. But first, let us look in on last month. The power sheet calendar had a few of my finished goals and ones that I didn't know I would finish in red.

Also, my tracker sheets in the power sheets and my journal were semi-complete too. I did a lot of work this month especially at the end of the month.

          The next thing I did was look at the goals I had in my power sheets combined with my power sheets calendar last month so that I could do the Month in Review page in my journal.

It was interesting how I was really enjoying answering the questions I put for myself as opposed to the ones in the power sheets, which are standard and for everyone. The purple pen I used for the title actually bled through to the back so I glued this page to the one below it to cover the bleeding.

          Next, I worked on the cover page for September. I decided to finally try using watercolor in my journal which is supposed to be watercolor friendly...It was and it wasn't. The paper did crinkle but once it dried and I put a book on top of it and it flattened out a lot then I glued it to the next page and it was fine. So next time I will probably use this method.

  

Next, I added some stickers and just wrote in September 2020. I like simple things I guess.

          The next page after the cover page was the calendar. It was easy to put together thanks to my doing all the planning and counting previously last month. I like how it turned out.

I added my dates and all my bills and I was set. If I need to add anything else after that I can just add it in.

          Monthly goals came next and I decided to just divide them into three sections which correspond to my three main goals. and add in my mini-goals.

          This page gave birth to my tracker page which was divided into pretty much the same thing plus a few extra tasks that I do daily and want to track. I also put in my weekly and monthly trackers on the same page. And of course some stickers to pretty up the empty spaces.

          Finally, I added my "Blog Ideas and Books Read" page. This page is a staple of my monthly setup and the easiest to deal with...unless I didn't have ideas for my blog...then it is hard.

Book Review: Korean From Zero! 1

Full Title: Korean From Zero! 1: Proven Methods to Learn Korean with an Integrated Workbook.

Authors: George Trombley, Reed Bullen, Sunhee Bong

Published: first published March 20th 2014, This book was published on May 1st, 2014

Publisher: Korean From Zero

ISBN: 9780989654524

Pages: 360 including bilingual glossaries and the answer key.

Extra Information: You can download MP3 files for the book online.

Synopsis: Korean From Zero! is a fun, innovative, and integrated approach to learning Korean created by professional interpreter George Trombley, Korean linguist Reed Bullen, Professor Myunghee Ham, and Sunhee Bong. Using up-to-date and easy-to-grasp grammar, Korean From Zero! is the perfect course for current students of Korean as well as absolute beginners.

Features of the book:

* Integrated Workbook with Answer Key
* MP3 Audio * Online Support
* Over 600 New Words and Expressions
* Learn to Read and Write Hangul
* Extensive Grammar
* 90 Adjectives and Verbs Detailed
* Bilingual Glossaries with Hangul and English ...and much more!

Review: I seriously don't know how to review this book. I've seen a lot of good reviews of this book and I wanted to share my own experience with this book since it was different.

Let me start by saying that I wanted to study this book as a way to review the basics of the Korean language since I was getting into the intermediate territory but still feel a little shakey with the basics. I was studying it alongside Talk to Me in Korean Level 3 (reviewing it) and 비타민 한국어 1. 

So let me tell you what I liked first. I liked the 한글 section because it had some good explanations of how letters can be pronounced when combined together and I think this comes from the fact that most of the people who wrote this book are actually foreigners and had to learn these things like we do. In some of the chapters, there are formulas that you can follow when dealing with certain concepts or verbs or verb conjugations. I liked that they grouped vocabulary words into themes like body, office, sports...etc, and then used them in the chapter. I liked that at the beginning of each chapter you knew what you needed to review and know before going on to this new chapter and the grammar concepts that are coming up.

What I didn't like was that the "Integrated Workbook" was just a few pages of exercises at the end of each chapter. I noticed when I did the exercises that there were mistakes in the answer key or that they didn't acknowledge there was a different possible answer. I didn't like the way they explained the conjugation of verbs. I found it confusing and I had already learned how to conjugate before! Now think how a newbie would feel about that if they were like me. My brain just did not compute the way they explained conjugation. In fact, in all the classes I took and the books I read about conjugation I've never seen an explanation like the one in that book.

The book has levels 2 and 3; I have both books and I'm not sure whether I will go on to study them or not. I have a few days before the beginning of September to think about it. I don't know if I am just going to write off these books or "read" them to get some formulas and maybe some vocabulary and just not seriously study them. 

Because I have read reviews where people loved this book my advice for you would be go to the website associated with the book and download the pdf versions of these books for free, check them out and if you still want to own the physical copies go ahead and buy the books from amazon.

Their Website: Korean From Zero