Darlo's World

Living with no internet, or that is to say, very limited access to the internet is a real P.I.T.A (pain in the arse). Though I have been lucky in that the Uni’s Wi-Fi just reaches my house (sometimes, that is) it’s speed has been lacking a lot of lustre and not to mention there are some websites that are blocked from accessing on that connection. We’re looking into getting our own connection, just a matter of finding a decent provider at a decent price.

I managed to submit my ‘Year Abroad Report’ on time last week, and though I won’t put it up online for you all to view (mainly because if you look back through my blog you’ll be able to see everything anyway), the 2500 word limit meant I had to cut a lot of what I wanted to discuss from the report. Looking back over all the things I’d done (despite an even longer list of things I wanted to do) and all the people I’d met made me feel really nostalgic. This was especially hit home when I stared blu-tacking some of my photos on to the wall and chatting to a Japanese friend on Skype. It made me realise how I’d made Japan my home, and how, for the first time in my life, I was homesick.

So now I don’t (technically speaking) have to do anything until September (though I am re-studying what I balls’d up on for my re-test), I’ve been on the look out for a part time job. In the news there’s been a lot of information about graduates struggling to get into jobs, but what hasn’t been covered is the current students who are struggling to find part time jobs in order to stay alive during their time at Uni.

Seriously, last week I printed off 50 CVs and went into town. I only saw one place actively hiring anyone (a gents hairdresser looking for a full timer), but what really shocked me was the number of places that wouldn’t even take a copy of my CV. These shops told me they had either just taken on people, or had no intention of hiring in the foreseeable future. But come on, taking the CV gives me a glimmer of hope. Even though there’re no signs in the window and you could just as easilly bin it the moment I leave the store, giving a straight up ‘no’ is just irritating.

So I guess it’s down to pasta and meatballs and minimal pubbage so I don’t exhaust my penny jar before my next student loan payment … in September!

私の日本人友達によると、私は日本語でこのブログを書いていません。それでは、始めましょう！
(watashi no nihonjin tomodachi ni yoruto, watashi wa nihongo de kono burogu o kaiteimasen. Sore dewa, hajimemashou!)
(According to my Japanese friends, I don’t write this blog in Japanese. Well then, let’s begin!)

今私はアジサイ・ルームにいます。たくさん人がいないので、皆は自分のものを勉強しています。私、このブログを書きながら、漢字を勉強しています。
(ima watashi wa ajisai ru-mu ni imasu. takusan hito ga nai no de, minna wa jibun no mono o benkyoushite imasu. watashi, kono burogu o kaki nagara, kanji o benkyoushite imasu.)
(Now I’m in the Ajisai Room. Because there aren’t a lot of people, everyone is studying their own things. Me, while I’m writing this blog, I’m studying kanji.)

今日リーズ大学の冬休み前作文の採点をもらいました。パッスしたけど、採点をまた知りません。
(kyou ri-zu daigaku no fuyu yasumi mae sakubun no saiten o moraimashita. passushita kedo, saiten o mata shirimasen.)
(Today I received my result for the essay we had before the Winter holiday. I passed, but I still don’t know the mark.)

日本語の授業の後で、先生は私にチューターをしてくれました。いつも面白くて、私の日本語が上手になるために、違うことを話しました。例えば、今日の昼怖い話を読んだり、私の新しい漢字を書いたり、週末にした事を話しました。
(nihongo no jugyou no ato de, sensei wa watashi ni chu-ta- o shite kuremashita. itsumo omoshirokute, watashi no nihongo ga jouzu ni naru tameni, chigau koto o hanashimasu. tatoeba, kyou no hiru kowai hanashi o yondari, watashi no atarashii kanji o kaitari, shuumatsu ni shita koto o hanashimashita.)
After Japanese class, my teacher gave me some tutoring. It’s always interesting, and in order to improve my Japanese, we talk about different things. For example, we did things like read scary stories, write my new kanji and talk about things I did at the weekend.)

日本語ですから、この日記はとても短くて、すみません。
(nihongo desu kara, kono nikki wa totemo mijikakute, sumimasen.)
(Because it’s in Japanese, this journal is really small, so sorry (my bad ^_^).)