Savage Sirens

With a severe case of wanderlust, learning to live again. Want to know more? CURRENTLY READING - The Explorers Guild Vol. 1, by Jon Baird & Kevin Costner - Strong Looks Better Naked, by Khloé Kardashian TRAVELING TO - California - Wyoming

[princessesfanarts]

You Know Who You Are by Gwendolynn13

[theartistandthephotographer]

[meanwhilepoetry]

You wear your heartbreak like your body is a world at war; and every time a soldier dies within it he whispers one last word, and always, it is your name.

Nikita Gill (via meanwhilepoetry)

[cine-mexicano]

Eco de la montaña (Nicolás Echevarría, 2014)

[obsidiana-pura]

No digas nada, sólo abrázame, no vaya a ser que tu voz despierte al sol, ahora que la noche nos cobija.

“Mi Nausi” Poesía huichola. (via obsidiana-pura)

[stone-paper-scissor]

WATCH AND LEARN

HUICHOLES: THE LAST PEYOTE GUARDIANS is a story about the mystical Wixárika People, one of the last pre-Hispanic alive cultures in Latin America, and their ongoing struggle against the mexican government and multinational mining corporations to preserve Wirikuta, their most sacred territory and home of the famous peyote cactus. Since 2010, Canadian mining projects received the concessions to prospect the whole area, rich in silver and other valuable minerals. The company promises to create thousand of jobs for the needy villagers of the region, without contamination.  Nevertheless, the mining activities are seen by the Wixárika and their supporters as a great menace for the delicate biodiversity of this unique ecosystem, listed by the UNESCO as World Cultural and Natural Heritage. An unequal and controversial fight from today that triggers the global debate between ancient cultural values, the exploitation of nature and the inevitable development of the peoples. For more info check: www.huicholesfilm.com

[quotemadness]

I want to write a novel about silence. The things people don’t say.

Virginia Woolf (via quotemadness)

[paperbackcastles]

“I feel as if someone had uprooted my heart to see how it was growing.”

These letters were heartbreaking.

[savagesirensx-blog]

person: compliments me

me, fighting through 25 layers of self hatred: .........thank....you......

[savagesirensx-blog]

So . . . I haven’t really posted pictures of me minus my avatar thing, I think. Anyway, picture(s) from today! 

[owlmybooks]

I finished rearranging my room and my bookshelves! shelves look pretty damn good if I do say so myself 😙

[savagesirensx-blog]

I just found a whole bunch of books to read

And I literally could not be more excited to get my hands on everything in my reading list. First gotta get through my current book though ORZ . . . so many pages, but totally worth it.

[fuckstudy]

Studying Japanese: Resources! 

In lieu of a ‘how to study’ Japanese post, here’s a few online resources which have helped me with studying Japanese throughout the years. 

The resources listed below;

Range from beginner’s level to advanced level

Are appropriate for studying for the JLPT (N4- N1)  

Are appropriate for self study

Most are free, or come with a free trial period! (excluding textbooks. but trust me, i’ve got your back)

Essential Websites and Extensions

IN RIKAIKUN WE TRUST

Rikaikun:The one-stop shop for all your browsing needs. Hover over any kanji compound and this app will do all the translating for you. I found this incredibly useful for reading practice (esp. on news articles etc.).

Jisho.org: One of the best dictionaries out there. Sorts most kanji according to JLPT level.

Tofugu: A good general starting place to find resources and read interesting articles about Japanese culture, ex-pats working in Japan and Studying in Japan. They also have a special series on applying for the JET Program! 

Grammar

Particles? Verbs? Subjects? Conjugations? 

JGram: All grammar is sorted by JLPT Levels. A good overview of common grammar structures. 

Tanos: Also JLPT sorted  

Introduction to Japanese Syntax, Grammar and Language: a comprehensive overview for beginners

NHK World: Lessons from the Japanese Public Broadcaster NHK. Largely Beginner’s Level.

Dictionary of Japanese Grammar (beginners) (advanced)

Handbook of Japanese Verbs: Beginners guide. Very handy pocket size so great for revision for the beginner-intermediate level.

How to Tell the Difference between Japanese Particles: Comparisons and Exercises: something to help with those pesky particles! 

Writing (Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji)

Learn your alphabet(s) gdi! 

Japanese Lesson

@ryohkei is a Japanese calligrapher who handwrites beautiful characters + stroke order and definitions. Very informative, given that handwritten kanji may differ from their typed counterparts. 

@kanji-a-day​

Practice Writing Sheets  

Charts (hiragana, katakana)

Networks

Get you in touch with other native learners!

Lang-8 

Hi Native 

RhinoSpike 

Forvo 

Renshuu.org 

Textbooks

Genki: perfect for beginners

Sou Matome: easy daily lessons and weekly review. All levels (sorted by JPLT level)   

Kanzen Master 

Tobira: highly recommended for those who are in the awkward intermediate - advanced plateau! Traditional Textbook format. 

Tanki Master 

500 Essential Japanese Expressions: A Guide to Correct Usage of Key Sentence Patterns: really useful for revision and to bridge the intermediate-advanced gap. 

This blogspot: Lifesaver. Just, trust me on this. Please. 

Multimedia (Youtube, Podcasts)

…because heck, learning a language is more than memorising charts and structures! 

Bilingual Chika! One of my favourites. She recently published her own textbook!

 Japanese Podcast 101

Watch Japanese TV at Jpopsuki

More?

A masterlist of free resources by @nihongogogo

This resource post by @study-ings

A list of N2 resources by @learningkakumei

This beginner’s resource post by @solarstudy​​

Stay tuned for later parts to this series incl. going on exchange, studying japanese, “wtf this kanji looks like a scribble”

All the best! 

- fuckstudy 

Masterposts are posted every other Sunday (asia pacific)/ Saturday (everywhere else). See previous masterposts here. Feel free to request topics here. 

Previous topic: dealing with failure 

[leviosastudies]

cutefy ur notes, friends  \｡◕‿◕｡/ (click for full view)

[jujujujujuuu]

This is so cute I could cry

[picapicae]

He climbed back into his bed and closed his eyes, hands balled to his chest, scented with mist and with moss. When he closed his eyes, Cabeswater was still waiting for him.

(h/t iwillbeyourhands for inspiration, thank you!)

[atejapan]

How I Study Japanese Texts

Right now I’m mainly reading Level 1 books of the Japanese Graded Readers series (which I talk a little about in this post). It’s fairly easy for me to understand, so rather than just reading it, I go through a few more steps to learn from what I read. 

Read without looking up words. The first time I read a book, I avoid the dictionary and just try to get the gist of what it’s saying through what I already know and the pictures provided, if there are any. This is a good way of measuring your level. 

Transcribe the text line by line while looking up words you don’t know and looking out for grammar points. On the second read, I write down a line of text after I read it. I’m not too nitpicky about my stroke order because it’s not too hard to guess a kanji’s stroke order. I bought a notebook with squared boxes for this since I believe it helps with handwriting and spacing, but regular notebooks are fine. After writing down a line, I look up words I don’t know from that line, if any. I write the reading and definition on the side. For grammar, I take note on grammar points I’m currently studying by circling it. If there are any particle usages that I don’t understand, I look it up and jot down the usage on the side. 

Write a translation. After I finish transcribing the entire book, I write a little summary of translation on the bottom. It isn’t really necessary, but it’s helpful for me to write out exact translations rather than just having it in my head.

Have a space to practice kanji characters. I always pick out ten or so kanji characters or compound words to practice my writing. It helps with memorizing the vocabulary as well as what exactly the kanji looks like so I have better recall when I reencounter it.

Read the book a third time, out loud. This time, I know pretty much exactly what every line is saying, so it’s just a final review. Reading it out loud is just helpful for speaking.

I hope this was helpful! I feel like I’m getting a lot more out of these books through this process. What do you do when you read a Japanese book? 

[savagesirensx-blog]

Starting Over.

Currently Listening: “Everything Zen” , Bush

Starting over with this blog after doing some thinking. Hunni inspired me after he had a realization today that you can’t please everyone, nor can you prove yourself to everyone. It’s time to start focusing on the things that matter to me and seeing what happens from there. I did make an ‘about me’ page, however. Will post again soon. In the meantime, info on the picture:

Taken on a boat leaving Isla Janitzio in Michoacán, México. Shot with iPod 5th Generation.