Revolving stars

Signed up for Italki's Feb 2018 language challenge despite knowing the Feb is probably one of the busiest month this year! (but I should be able to spare 12 hours for the online classes, I think :P) This challenge is to take 12 hours' worth of Italki's classes (3 times a week for 4 weeks) and I have been keeping up so far. It is easier to slot in 1/2 hr or 1 hr in my busy schedule than to travel to town to take a 3hr class every week. Or maybe it's just that I'm lazy. I have been brushing up on my language skills quite a fair bit on my own too! Resources that I have been using: Japanese: Nihongonomori youtube channel:  JLPT N1、N2　音の言葉、、動きの言葉 Korean: Listening to Hwayugi  (I watched the episodes on netflix on my way to work though) I hope these will be enough to last the week :D,

I have been using Italki since the start of the year; new year resolution :P and it seems to be working quite well for me. Till date, I have started on 2 packages and the teachers are pretty good. I think it pays to look through the reviews and get somebody that you think you would be comfortable with. The only drawback is that the skype connection is sometimes bad and eats into the lesson time, but it's a technical issue that can't be easily solved. But so far I have no complaints. So, my resolution for this year for language learning is: 1) to sustain the korean lessons for 1/2 hr each week 2) to sustain the japanese lessons for 1hr each week Hopefully by the end of the year, I would be able to pass my N1 (I totally know that I have been dragging this since forever!) and TOPIK 2. I am so contemplating if I should take up the Russian classes too, since it is not as expensive as taking it in Singapore, but I shall KIV till I have more spare time. Time is a luxury...

bad news - I was informed by KLC (SKIS) that there are not enough students for a class they will be refunding me my fees. Because of this, I have to search for alternatives and with my hectic schedule, there are really not too many options. While surfing the net trying to look for a suitable class, I chanced upon italki that seems to have pretty good reviews. The gist of this platform is that it is a marketplace that links foreign language teachers and learners up and payment is through the website's platform. To round up the pros and cons, now that I have used it: Pros - Pay per lesson (which is good for people with irregular schedule) - different types of teachers (you can choose a teacher that you have chemistry with and they have trial lessons!) - cheap! My lessons are about SGD13 per hour, which is cheaper than normal tuition fees for common subjects in Singapore - 1 on 1 tuition which means that I can focus on the areas that I am weak at instead of being bored at ...

For those who had regularly kept themselves updated with my posts (as boring as they are), you would know that I have signed up for Korean classes. Before I went for the trial class, I tried searching online for some clues and tips about the class and there was nothing! (I thought KLC was a pretty decent school but nopes, there was not much online presence). Anyway, so I shall blog abit about my experience at the trial class. (I went for the noob aka beginner class) I registered via their FB link and I liked the follow up where they sent me the bus schedule, together with the pictures of the location where I am supposed to wait for the bus. It is very helpful for people like me who would have gotten lost without it. It was a pretty awkward journey as everyone doesn't seem to know each other on the bus and it was a silent ride all the way. And the place is OMG ulu. The bus passed by so much landed property that I thought we were out in JB or something. When we reached the sc...

Recently, I have a new obsession - to re-learn korean. For those who didn't know my background, I took 1 special sem of Korean language back in NUS year 1 and nearly died. I had no idea why I wanted to condemn my grades by trying to compete with those self-proclaimed non-noobs. Basically I was trashed by those who pretended to not know Korean but could speak fluently by the 2nd week in class. Seriously -.- I was randomly surfing the net and hangukdrama appeared in my search when I was looking up for some JLPT blogs by Singaporeans. I was inspired by her consistency in language learning and it became a source of motivation for me. We are kind of similar yet not similar. I started with learning Japanese back in...2005? and slowly progressed from there. I guess she is a more hardworking person since she managed to pass her TOPIK 6 within a few years (which is pretty fast track) while I'm still trying to pass my N1 >.< Well, we all progress at our own pace and to push m...

I realised that it has been months since I have updated this platform. These few months were a torture. The family trip had been better than expected despite the unsanitary condition of their toilets and I felt the warmth of family. I think as our parents grow older, my brother and I become more aware of the fragility of life and we try to spend more time with them. Marriage life on the other hand was a roller coaster. The highlight of moving into our own place was marred by PL going for SSEAYP and flying off on my birthday. Honestly, I was more than upset by it. To this very day, I am ambivalent about this whole matter. I can’t believe that he chose SSEAYP over me. Anyway, nothing can be changed now and I shall try not to think about it anymore. I went on a solo London trip (thanks to SSEAYP), survived and came back, all without the husband. London was pretty but it was more expensive than I expected. I guess to a certain extent, I am pretty sick of travelling overseas. I kind...