I am doing well. I am studying Japanese on my own again. I thought a teacher would help, but I realize I used to study Japanese by myself and am not used to depending on a teacher. I also don't have much money to spend on a teacher. My Japanese is fair at best for now but I'm trying to memorize patterns to help me to learn. I have a problem with grammar but know this is due to lack of knowledge. I am used to listening to Japanese now because I listen to the news and other programs. But, my speaking ability has much room for improvement due to lack of vocabulary and grammar patterns. I also don't speak as much as I can when I have the opportunity. I still speak English here in Japan. I have to change this. For now I am happy and will hire a teacher once I gain back the knowledge I previously had. I passed the test for the most advanced level of Japanese. But, I don't put much weight on it because I am not fluent. My goal this time is to be able to use Japanese when I need it. Studying for exams is not too hard for me. But, studying to gain practical knowledge from a language is a big challenge. I don't want to forget English while I am studying Japanese either. This is another problem I had before. It is funny because I started learning Japanese only eight years ago and studied it for only five years before I arrived here. My native language is English, but I would completely blank out when people asked me about difficult vocabulary even though I knew it previously. It shows my brain can only take so much information. I have to use both as much as possible to remain fluent in my native language. I do love learning Japanese and find it a fascinating language. However, it is a extremely difficult language to learn. With my brain, it is even more difficult. I am not bragging but stating reality. My brain is broken and memorization is difficult. I have to continually repeat what I have learned to retain it in my memory. It is a monumental task but I've always liked challenges. I hope to be fluent in a year. I'm at the point where I can completely regress or with much effort progress to fluency. It helps I'm in Japan; however, some people here have lived here a long time and not learned Japanese fluently. I hope not to be in this situation. I can't imagine being in America and not speaking English well. Thus, I am motivated to learn Japanese well because I am in Japan. I have the time now anyways and don't want to fritter it away.