Japanese Days

Sometimes you just have to go with the what you body and mind are telling you. Despite my long learning wish list the only thing I am doing with any regularity is studying Japanese. Watching television, reading novels, listening to music, all of these things are taking second place to my interest in Japanese. The reality of how much I need to learn even to operate at a basic level in Japan was brought home on my trip to Tokyo a couple of weeks back. Although I could say plenty of words I am still nowhere near a basic conversational level for the simple reason that understanding even basic Japanese demands a knowledge of both how things are being said and what is not being said. Japanese is an ultra-efficient language that leaves out many things which are already implied. To follow a conversation you often need to have understood what has already been said to get the next sentence.
Personally this period of Japanese learning has been a revelation in the learning approach I have taken. As I have mentioned previously the web provides so many supplemental materials that I can just switch from one approach to another whenever I get bored. Every day I listen to podcasts, watch videos and read my text books. Undoubtedly I am forgetting 90% of what I am reading or hearing but I am relying on the 10% factor being good enough because I have got so much exposure to Japanese that I do not have to try hard, I can just relax and take things as they come.
My trips to Japan and my increasing knowledge of the language and culture has opened a new chapter in my life. Part of me is sad that I cannot really make more of this interest and actually go to Japan for a few years, it would probably be possibility to do an exchange within my company. At the same time my unswerving belief is that children need stability and so we are committed to staying in Holland until the kids are grown up. Although a period in Japan might be a great experience for children I don't think it weighs up against the happiness and security of living in one place for your childhood before going out into the world later.