Messy Student

I don't think I speak much of spanish anymore, but in the nursing school training period I did there, I did manage to get by with making weird Tarzan sentences. I got a nosebleed at some point and startled another nurse. Not knowing the words "humidity" or "stress", I managed to string together: "This is ok. It is hot, it is cold, I have a bad day, I am sad, I have blood. This is normal for me." And she understood.

And sometimes you just say things weird, but it's better than not saying it. One time, I was stuck in a narrow hallway behind someone walking really slowly with a walker, and he apologised for being in the way. I was not in any hurry, but didn't know the spanish word for "hurry", but I did know enough words to try to circumvent it by borrowing the english "I have all the time in the world."

Did I share this already? Doesn't hurt to share this again hehe but oh my goodness me! 😖💗 Huge huge list of free certificates you can look at and see ones you want to do!

Certificates from Google, LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft, Harvard, Standford, Open University, FreeCodeCamp, Digital Marketing and FutureLearn and more! [LINK]

I have restructured the folders to make them easier to use and managed to add almost all languages requested and then some

We gotchu, baby! Here's our guide on writing a cover letter that strikes the right balance:

I wrote an detailed article about what reactions a person who is perceived as female by others may receive using the commonly male-designated personal pronoun, 僕 (boku) in Japanese!

CONTENT WARNING: This blog includes mentions of potential transphobic and/or queerphobic reactions. Please be careful while reading this blog and stop reading at any time if needed.

Article link: https://ko-fi.com/post/What-happens-when-someone-who-is-perceived-as-fema-O4O4CKTU4

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If you’re not familiar with Japanese personal pronouns & how they relate to gender expressions, check out my video here ↓ 

https://ko-fi.com/post/PERSONAL-PRONOUNS-GENDER-EXPRESSIONS-IN-JAPANESE-J3J55SPHE

 I’m a bilingual queer nonbinary Japanese native & I talk about how personal pronouns effect trans & nonbinary people in this video!

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It took me about 5 hours to write this article today and I’d appreciate it a lot if anyone (who is able) could donate to my gender-affirming care fund if you find my online posts helpful, useful, or entertaining! Thank you! (；ω；)

Restaurants in Japan can be intimidating if you are unsure of your Japanese ability or how to navigate them. Here are some easy phrases to help you navigate common situations. (For more restaurant vocabulary & phrases, check my post HERE).

1. すみません　sumimasen　Excuse me

Usually wait staff will greet you at the entrance and guide you to a table, but if no one is there, you don't have to stand and wait forever. Using sumimasen will help to get their attention politely.

You can also use this to get the wait staff's attention. Raising your hand and calling out sumimasen will let them know you'd like them to come over.

If you don't understand something they are saying, you can also use this phrase as a question: sumimasen? They will repeat what they said or try to communicate it differently for you.

2. 二人です　ふたりです　futari desu　For two

This phrase tells the staff that you have two people in your party. Usually they will ask you before seating you (何名様ですか？ nan mei sama desu ka?) and you can use your fingers to indicate, or say one of the following:

一人です　ひとりです　hitori desu　one person

二人です　ふたりです　futari desu　two people

三人です　さんにんです　san nin desu　three people

四人です　よんにんです　yon nin desu　four people

3. おすすめは何ですか？　おすすめはなんですか？　osusume wa nan desu ka?　What do you recommend?

Use this to get suggestions from the staff, especially if you are overwhelmed by the menu.

4. これは何ですか？　これはなんですか？　kore wa nan desu ka?　What is this?

If you don't know what something is, ask! It beats trying to figure it out on your own as you get hungrier and hungrier.

5. これ、お願いします　これ、おねがいします　kore, onegai shimasu　This one, please

Use this to point to something you would like, such as a photo or sample. You can also use これください (kore kudasai) which has the same meaning.

6. ベジタリアンメニューはありますか？　Bejitarian menyu wa arimasu ka?　Do you have a vegetarian menu?

You can use ～はありますか？ (～ wa arimasu ka) to ask for various things.

7. たまごぬき、できますか？　tamago nuki, dekimasu ka?　Can you make it without egg?

If you have food restrictions, you can ask for menu items without certain ingredients by using ～ぬき、できますか？ (～ nuki, dekimasu ka?). In my experience, often smaller restaurants won't let you change the ingredients, but you can always ask. If they can't make it without something, you can ask if they have a menu item without the ingredient by using ～ぬきのメニューはありますか？ (～ nuki no menyu wa arimasu ka?) or "Do you have anything without ～?"

If you'd like to explain that you can't eat a particular ingredient, you can say ～が食べれません (～ ga taberemasen) which means "I can't eat ～."

If you have an allergy, be careful when ordering in a restaurant that serves food with your allergen. In Japanese, food allergy is 食物アレルギー (shokumotsu arerugii).

8. 持ち帰りにできますか？　もちかえりにできますか？　mochi kaeri ni dekimasu ka?　Can I get this to go?

In most Japanese restaurants, they will not do to-go after you have started eating the meal for hygiene reasons, but you can always try asking.

9. 別々にできますか？　べつべつにできますか？　betsu betsu ni dekimasu ka?　Can we pay separately?

Most izakaya (pubs) won't allow you to pay separately, but you can always ask.

10. ごちそうさまでした　gochisou sama deshita　Thank you for the meal

Click here for the full post with links!

(Not in any particular order)

- Busuu: My personal fav, great for learners who like structure, full courses, and stats // Free and paid

- italki: One of the most popular language resources for a reason! Great for learners who want personalized training and speaking practice // Paid (though the community features are free!)

- LingoDeer: Similar to Busuu. Great for Asian language learners, in particular, and those who like structure // Free and paid (mostly paid)

- Pimsleur: 30 minute audio lessons you can take on the go. Great for learners with busy lives or those who prefer audio lessons // Paid

- LingQ: Learning through context and reading. Great for learners who prefer naturally and intuitively learning, rather than strict and structured plans // Free and paid

- Babbel: Similar to Busuu and ideal for learners of one language who like structured plans (each language costs extra!!) // Paid

- Memrise: Started as just a flashcard app and now has proper courses with video and audio! Best for those who like to actively learn lots of vocab // Free with some (unnecessary) paid features

- Language Transfer: Audio lessons with the goal of achieving a deep understanding of the language first and foremost. Best for learners who like intuitive, audio learning // Completely free!!

- Duolingo: You already know this one, I’m sure! Fun, gamified learning, ideal for learners of European languages (not quite comprehensive enough for „complex“ languages compared to English -> eg Chinese, Japanese, etc) // Free! With some paid features, if desired

- Mango: Structured course that is great for beginners! Tons of languages offered (70+!) // Paid

- Speechling: This app focuses on perfecting pronunciation. Ideal for learners of a language with difficult pronunciation in particular // Free and paid

- Beelinguapp: Similar to LingQ. This app focuses on learning with context via reading // Free for one language, paid for 2+ languages and extra features

- HelloTalk: A language exchange app that connects learners of a language with native speakers, all with the goal of helping you teach and learn via their chat // Free, but a paid VIP membership is offered

- Innovative Language Learning: This is the company that created all of the Pod101 and Class101 resources! A very substantial resource with thousands of podcast episodes and videos // Free and paid

- Drops: A vocab learning app with a cute and simple layout // Mostly free with some paid features

+ A bonus (not necessarily language learning specific) app: Google Lens! Great to scan a book you’re reading, or a menu, or a poem, etc. You can then listen to it in your TL or native language and see a translation (per sentence, not word!) // Free!

! click on website name to be redirected !

all websites can be used for free and without subscribtion (thats why japanese101 isnt included)

-> apps for japanese learners (soon)

1. JLPT Sensei

study guides (N5-N1)

includes grammar, kanji, vocabular, adjective, verb and other lists for orientation when studying

free JLPT practice tests

2. Japanese Verb Conjugator

automatic verb conjugator

verb database

kanji database & kanji tester

over 180,000 example sentences with sound

3. Tanoshii Japanese

japanese-english dictionary (with stroke order!)

pratice games & interactive lessons (Kanji Mahjong etc.)

learning resources (japanese novel, textbook, magazine, movie recommendations)

4. Jisho

fast and smart japanese-english dictionary

draw and radical function apart from keyboard search

searching by topic and categories by adding #[topic/category]

JLPT levels, sentences, particles, counters, names included

5. Map Quiz

world map quiz in japanese

divided into continents and north, east, south and west

6. Japanesetests4you

free JLPT N5-N1 reading and listening tests

free JLPT N5-N1 vocabulary, kanji and grammar lists + tests

7. Shiritori Online

Shiritori (しりとり) is a popular japanese word game and is ideal to exercise vocabulary for japanese learners. 2 or more players take turns saying a word that starts with the last kana of the previous word. The game ends when someone answers with a word ending with -n (ん) because there are no words starting with ん.

it is up to the players whether all forms of a hiragana (kana and its diacritics; は,ば and ぱ etc.) are allowed or not (e.g やぎ -> きよう).

• Lyrics Training - Lyric fill in game

• Radio Garden - Listen to the radio anywhere in the world

• Language Reactor - Browser extension to learn with Netflix, YouTube, etc

• BaBaDum - Fun vocab games

• Linguno - Listening, vocab, and conjugation exercises, plus 10 daily crosswords in each language

• Bilinguis - Read a small selection of classic, older books in a bilingual side-by-side style. Some have audio reading as well!

• Lyrik Line - Read and listen to poetry in your target language!! Huge selection

• Top 40 Charts - Top 40 music hits in countries around the world.

• Kiosko - Daily newspaper covers all over the world. Clicking on one takes you to the news website to read more

• Lexicity - For all of you ancient language obsessed people!! Amazing and thorough resource for many ancient languages

-> Click on the link below to get links to all those sites + more information about them!

Here we have an English version with one made with Instagram for the Japanese version.

Finally this one is an advertisement for Maritozzo.

When I have time I'll make a version of this and share it.

Struggling with the Condizionale Passato in Italian?🥊 

Like… if you open a coffee shop and run it for a while and it makes you happy but then stuff gets too expensive and stressful and you want to do something else so you close it, it’s a “failed” business. If you write a book or two, then decide that you don’t actually want to keep doing that, you’re a “failed” writer. If you marry someone, and that marriage is good for a while, and then stops working and you get divorced, it’s a “failed” marriage.

The only acceptable “win condition” is “you keep doing that thing forever”. A friendship that lasts for a few years but then its time is done and you move on is considered less valuable or not a “real” friendship. A hobby that you do for a while and then are done with is a “phase” - or, alternatively, a “pity” that you don’t do that thing any more. A fandom is “dying” because people have had a lot of fun with it but are now moving on to other things.