Up
My Life
Personal Statement
CV
My Schedule
My Goals
Mike's Adventure

The Japanese have a verb: 'Ganbarru' which doesn't exist in English.  It means 'to go for it'.  I think if there was such a verb in English, people would achieve much more.  People encourage each other by saying 'Ganbatte'.  This is my list of things I will go for, most of it was decided before I came to Japan, but it has been revised and updated as my expectations change of what I want to achieve from my time here.  Ganbarimasu.

My goals are here to remind me why I am here, and to see how I am progressing during my time here.  If you think I should add more, please give me suggestions.

Learn Japanese

Achieve San-quy in the National Japanese Language proficiency test by December 2003.  This is the hardest goal to achieve, but the one that will give me the most rewards.  I'm doing ok, I pick up Japanese faster than most people and am taking lessons once a month in Nagasaki to get me ready for the test.

Martial Arts

I have joined the Fukue Karate Dojo.  It is a style similar to the TaeKwonDo I learnt at University, in that it is full contact.  Karate is hard, but I am learning a lot, and enjoying myself in the process.

Save Money

This is going well.  I shouldn't owe anybody anything by the end of my first year, apart from the student loans.  I can save the rest, or blow it while I'm in Japan.

Buy Presents

This is a weird one, but I think its important to show people you care by giving thoughtful presents.  I've been doing very well with this one, I think I have surprised some people.

Exercise

Learn How to Cook

I am much better at cooking Indian and Japanese food.  I can surprise people with my cooking, they enjoy it and I can live comfortably on a healthy diet.  I just need to keep it up and keep practising.

Read

I'm not doing as well as I should be on this one.  I read a lot when I first got here, but now my free time goes into studying, or watching TV.  When I do read, it's usually just the Guardian weekly from cover to cover.  Maybe you can suggest some books I should read, and I can make a list on this site to share?

Miscellaneous

I have many other goals, like to climb mount Fuji, to land a job that I want after the Jet programme, to be more creative, to learn and to keep a Diary.  These are all things that I simply have to do.  The diary helps me to evaluate how I am doing against these goals, as does this website.