Thank you! ３級！

１０月、韓国から戻ってきたら体調が悪くなって１週間ぐらい仕事を休んだ。まぁ行ったり休んだりしてたけどかなり同僚に迷惑かけたと思う。（申し訳ありませんでした！）そして、１０月３０日に行われた漢字検定を受験することができなかった。と思ったらプチ奇跡が起こりました。月曜日に仕事に戻ったら漢検の担当の先生に「今日中にやったら大丈夫。まだ送ってないよ」と言われた。嬉しかったけど２週間ぐらい（病気＆研究会イン韓国）勉強してなくて、受けても落ちると思った。

今日、その結果が来た。２００点中１６３点取れた！合格ラインより２３点高かった！うわー、すごい！嬉しい！これは神様のお陰だ！感謝します！去年、４級受けたけど学校側でミスがあって無効になった。４級にもう一度挑戦するより、一生懸命勉強して３級に挑戦することにした。。。次の目標は、日本語能力試験、１級！たぶん６月にそのテストがあるので、その時までにまた努力して合格できるようにがんばるぜ！皆さん、応援＆お祈りください！

The results are in: somehow, I managed to pass the Kanji Proficiency Test, Level 3! (This is the equivalent of knowing 1,608 Chinese characters.) Who'd have ever thought that this country boy from Manitoba would ever even take an interest in writing a foreign language, let alone memorize all these mysterious symbols? I'll say this: God has given me a passion to learn... not just kanji, but all sorts of things! I am so thankful that He has given me a curious spirit, and the ability to remember things like this! All praise and glory to Him!

Some interesting stats about this test: it covers 1,608 kanji (though not all of them are actually on the test - there are 284 "new" ones not covered on the Level 4 test, and not even all of those are covered on this test... it's like a cumulative test, so they randomly choose), and last year only 52.8% of those who took the test passed it. I scored 163 out of a possible 200 points, which put me 23 above the pass-fail line. The test consists of ten parts, which are hard to explain to someone who doesn't understand Japanese. I scored above average on 9 of the 10 sections - and the only one I didn't score higher on, I scored .3 (out of 10) lower than average. The next level - pre-2nd - covers an extra 337 characters, and the highest level - 1st - covers a total of 6,000 kanji! Only 13.5% of those who take that test pass it. Oh, these tests are not designed for foreigners, though of course they can take them if they want. They're designed for the Japanese.

So what does this mean? And what's next? It means nothing, really... I suppose it's something cool to add to my resume. It definitely impresses people. (But who's trying?) As for the next challenge, there is a test which is designed for foreigners, called the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. I have never taken it before, but there are five levels, I think. The highest is Level 1, and should you pass it, it is said that you could become a student at a Japanese university. It's required at most universities if you are a foreigner and you want to get in (not as an exchange student). Well, this test is administered twice a year, and yesterday was the 2nd one for 2009. So I'm hoping to take Level 1 in July of next year. I have to hit the books pretty hard, but with God on my side, I can do all things! Please pray for me and cheer me on!!!