Monday, April 21, 2008

Asian language classes with a live instructor

I've lived in this town for quite some time now and things have really changed. There are now lots of opportunities to learn Asian languages in Jacksonville.

University of North Florida offers Japanese I and II and Beginning Chinese I and II and Intermediate Chinese I and II. Beginning Russian I and II and Intermediate Russian I and II are also offered. Students may minor in these languages. However, http://www.unf.edu/coas/world-languages/

Spring 2008

CHI1121 Beginning Chinese II Jan 07 - May 02 Monday Wednesday 12:00PM - 01:40PM Professor: Liu
CHI2201 Intermediate Chinese II Jan 07 - May 02 Monday Wednesday 03:00PM 04:15PM Professor: Liu
JPN1121 Beginning Japanese II Jan 07 - May 02 Monday Wednesday 02:00PM 03:40PM Professor: Gentry

Fall 2008

CHI1120 Beginning Chinese I Aug-25 - Dec-12 Monday Wednesday 12:00PM 01:40PM
CHI1120 Beginning Chinese I Aug-25 - Dec-12 Tuesday Thursday 03:50PM 05:30PM
CHI2200 Intermediate Chinese I Aug-25 - Dec-12 Monday Wednesday 03:00PM 04:15PM


The department [of world languages] offers the B.A. in Spanish and minors in both French and Spanish, as well as other languages such as German, Chinese, Latin, Russian, Portuguese and Japanese.

________________________________________

Also, Florida Community College at Jacksonville Kent Campus offers Chinese.

Spring 2008

KENT CAMPUS 5:30PM to 7:10PM Tuesdays and Thursdays 1/7/2008 - 5/2/2008 Professor CHIANG,ARTHUR Y

Fall 2008

KENT CAMPUS 5:30PM to 7:15PM Tuesdays and Thursdays 8/25/2008 - 12/12/2008 Professor CHIANG, ARTHUR Y

________________________________________

For those not yet in college, Fletcher High School offers Conversational Japanese and Japanese Writing classes through the Community Education program.

http://www.duvalschools.org/static/ourschools/studentinfo/communityprograms/subject_list.asp

________________________________________

And finally, for those really ambitious parents, Petite Ambassadors offers Japanese classes for very young children.

Japanese Camp

June 9-Aug 8
9am-12pm for preschoolers, 1pm-4pm for Elementary Students.

Ages 3-10. Learn Japanese this summer. Weekly themes like Food, Culture, Sports, and Getting Around. Campers should bring a snack.

Cost: $135 per child per week.

Petite Ambassadors Language School / 904-641-2077 / 11555 Central Pkwy Ste 501 / http://www.petiteambassadors.com/

Learn an Asian language in the car - for FREE!

I was really happy to find out that the local libraries offer audio books in digital audio format.

Which means: virtually an unlimited amount of people can check out the same audio at the same time.

And it also means: saving money! It's all for FREE. You just need a library card and a PIN.

Some titles are burnable. The titles I checked out were Instant Immersion Japanese and Learn In Your Car Japanese Levels 1-3. These were all burnable and I'm going to have a great time trying to polish my rusty nihongo from 7 years ago. =)

Aside from foreign language audio files ranging from French to Russian, they also offer other books in audio format, such as "The Power of Now," "The 4 Hour Workweek," and other popular titles.


Directions:

Go to http://jpl.lib.overdrive.com/
Browse for the titles you want (limited to 10)
Use your library card and PIN to get access to the titles.
Download the software.
Enjoy!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Circle Japan - Southside near UNF

!CID__1107071246b.jpg!CID__1107071246.jpg!CID__1205071502.jpg

Pictures from http://tomo5.seesaa.net/

Circle Japan
12192 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246
(904) 642-7799


This store may be small in size, but there is a lot of culture inside.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:30 a.m, they feature Japanese baked goods. Plenty of local Japanese culture enthusiasts show up and sample the various foods. On Fridays, customers can sample sake tasting and learn a bit about the different types of sake.

As for merchandise, they sell various Japanese foods, from frozen goods like daifuku mochi and Japanese ice cream, to things an otaku would enjoy, such as the Dragon Ball, Pokemon and One Piece candies.

For those who want to expand beyond food, they also sell Japanese video tapes, cookbooks, magazines, and children's books.

For now, their hours are pretty limited, but if you enjoy Japanese culture, foods, or just want to brush up on your speaking skills, give this place a try.

Hours are Monday to Thursday 10-5, Friday 10-8, Saturday 12-5, and closed on Sundays.

Click here to view map

Monday, April 7, 2008

World Food Market - St. Nicholas Area



World Food Market
5161 Beach Blvd.
(904) 398-5989


They have a variety of Asian foods from Korea and other Asian countries.


View Larger Map