JLPT

It's the first sunday in december. Yes, boys and girls — it's time for 日本語能力試験 (nihongo nōryoku shiken), or the "Japanese language proficiency test".

I'm taking level 1. Like I did last year. And the year before. And the year before that. And I expect to fail this year too. I do suspect I'll be decently close; If I am, I may try it for real next summer and study for the test over spring.

I don't really need the test right now, but it would be good to have it done and over with. It's kind of like Pokemon — you want to collect all the levels. And there's a proposal to let a passing JLPT grade improve your chances to get a working visa here; if that proposal is enacted the test becomes fairly important.