Boy howdy, a lot has happened in the time since my last post. I suppose I’ll start chronologically with finishing my application to the JET Program. I actually submitted it about three weeks early but I had to run around getting forms signed by my doctor clearing me for the possibility of moving to Japan for an extended period of time. I also had to get people to write reference letters for me which wasn’t hard but I’m really really bad at asking people for help. I tend to keep everything close to the chest and not let anyone in on what I’m up to. Unfortunately the JET Program is kind of centered around being a part of a community sooooo there’s that.

Related to the JET Program in a tangential way is that I got a couple of my photos into some art shows which was a big surprise. If I’m honest I only applied to them to help bolster my JET application, the irony being that I got into them after I had already submitted and there’s no way to amend afterwards. One of them is actually at a pretty serious gallery that solely handles photographic work. They also put my photo on the promotional copy which was super neat. I didn’t win any of the prize money but as every grandmother has said before, “I’m just happy to be included”.

Here’s a link to the show if anyone is interested: https://iphf.org/exhibitions/fall_2022_photo_contest/

After that mess was the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or JLPT. It was cancelled in Portland the last two years so this was my first chance to try it since I started learning the language. It’s a pretty gnarly 3-4 hour test that includes a bunch of reading in Japanese as well as a listening component. A lot of Japanese learners kind of use it as a benchmark to see where their comprehension level is, though it’s not a be all end all kind of thing. There’s no speaking component and the grammar they use on the earlier tests is pretty unnatural and sounds like it’s from a textbook, but it’s still useful. There are five levels with N5 being the lowest and N1 being the highest and what is considered “near native fluency”, whatever that means. I took the N4 which is pretty basic in comparison to the later tests but is still a challenge when you’ve only been learning the language for a couple years and you’ve basically been teaching yourself. I’m not super confident that I passed but it was still a good experience and I’m glad I did it. I honestly felt pretty bad when I got there and realized that a good number of my compatriots had luggage with them which means they flew in for the day, rented a hotel room, and then went in to PSU to take the test. All I had to do was wake up a little early and drive downtown. If I’m completely honest I also didn’t really study for it because I wanted to see what my raw performance would be, so seeing these people who were taking it much more seriously was kind of…humbling? I’m not sure that’s the right word. I was basically there for a goof and I kind of felt like maybe I should be treating it with more severity. That being said I don’t actually believe that and I think everyone has their own reasons and motivations when it comes to testing themselves, mine just happen to be kind of silly and incomprehensible.

I’ve still been going out every Sunday even if it’s super gross and wet. I actually enjoy those days the most as I may have said before. There’s something weirdly primal about stumbling around in the dark until your eyes adjust while rain pours down on you and your hands freeze. The river has been consistently low enough that I can walk out to Elk Rock Island which is rather harrowing in total darkness. A couple weeks ago I came upon a recently extinguished camp fire and could hear people rustling around in the trees which was a new experience. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to describe the way I feel when I’m alone and like I’m standing on the edge of something vast. It’s like catching a small sliver of the feeling you have when you see the ocean for the first time and come face to face with something truly unfathomable. I think there’s a universality to that feeling and yet it is unique in how it manifests in us. For me it makes me want to see corners of the world that are like fringes on the edge of a vast tapestry. When I was younger I used to long deeply to share those experiences with someone (usually someone specific) and would feel cheated that I was alone, but now I appreciate that they are there for me and me alone. Anyway, I’ll stop rambling about my infantile revelatory moments in the woods and post some neat night shots on the river.