THE TEST!

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test is a very tough exam taken by non-Japanese who need to enter a Japanese university or are studying the Japanese language. Non-Japanese students who aim to enter a Japanese university have to pass at least the second highest level, or LEVEL 2 (obvious as it is!). I took that exam like 6 years ago and I failed. It was that time when I was undergoing a very low point in my life here in Japan. Already living in a different country, with a different culture, with an altogether different language -- for a little over a year since arrival -- it was getting the little patience left in me. That was the time when I dreaded to see any kanji, or refused to hear any Japanese word. That was the time when I also suffered to realize the fact that being Salesian in Japan was quite far from what I have learned in the Philippines, and it gave me frustrations, too. That was the time when I was undergoing a review course for the LEVEL 2 exams... and, honestly, I was not even half-heartedly doing it. I really did not aim to pass. But, seriously, who would want to have one's exam become a failure?



So, after I got the results, I resolved not to do anything I would just half-heartedly do. I didn't like the guilt feeling that comes with it, anyway!



Earlier in 2008, I just had the silly thought of taking the test again... this time, the higher level of LEVEL 1. Well, after 8 years in Japan, I just wanted to prove to myself that I still have more to learn. So, by July, I bought the 3 books for review (kanji-vocabulary, listening, and grammar patterns) and settled to study bit-by-bit in the months that followed. I enjoyed studying under the trees or on benches at the park nearby, or even at the city cafe beside a live piano entertainment. I actually thought I was crazy doing this review. I thought to myself, "Would this be worth the Sunday off to take the test, even without a formal review course in a Japanese language school?" So, off I went to Shizuoka University (the test site!) for the Level 1 Exams on December 7, 2008, bringing me with the thought that I was doing this for myself, for all that was learned, for all the 8 years that have passed. I never even had any longing to pass this test. I just needed to show to myself that I can still take a tough test like this, despite my age... and moments of neglect.



I got the results today. Let the attached photo speak for itself.



P.S. Here's the Wikipedia link to the Japanese Language Proficiency Test

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Language_Proficiency_Test