I was meaning to post an update sooner but, you know, December is always the busiest month, and it didn't help that my mental state has been pretty messed up for the past few weeks. My mother has been requiring more help due to her age, and my daily routine has changed. I was struggling to adapt to the new routine, and I lost my motivation for learning languages along the way. I've been a bit depressed, probably. That's why I've been off the radar.

So, I've done a poor job of studying languages in the past month, and the only thing I did consistently was read. Well, reading is my favorite hobby as well as my coping mechanism, so I was reading an unhealthy (for my poor aging eyes, I mean) amount of time for comfort, refusing to engage in other important tasks like a responsible adult. I should confess that I've purchased a new Kindle😍: 2023 11th generation. Not the most popular model, Paperwhite, but the basic model, which is smaller with a teeny bit fewer functions but cheaper. And I LOVE it. I'll tell you more later, otherwise I'd end up talking your ears off, geeking out about my obsession with Kindle. I will mercifully leave that to another occasion.

I feel more stable since the most demanding family obligations for Christmas and New Year are finally behind me. But, really, terrible news from Japan for two days in a row didn't help at all.

For those who don't know, there was a very powerful earthquake in the central Japan, more precisely, Ishikawa Prefecture on the west coast. It's located approximately 500km from Tokyo. Can you believe it happened on New Year's Day? There were tsunamis (albeit not as disastrous as in 2011) and there's been considerable infrastructure damages to the northern part of the prefecture. The latest death toll I've seen is 73, and that is definitely going to increase over the coming days. It could have been thousands or tens of thousands of casualties if it has happened in another country. It was that powerful.

The following day, a terrible accident happened at Haneda Airport. A Japan Coast Guard plane that was heading for the quake-affected area collided with a Japan Airline plane on land. Both aircraft burst into flames upon impact. The Coast Guard plane was a smaller aircraft with six members aboard, and the JAL plane had 379 people in total. Thanks to the spectacular evacuation protocol of the crew, combined with the unbelievable cooperation of the passengers in such a critical situation, all 379 managed to survive. On the other hand, all members of the Coast Guard aboard that plane, died except one.

We can't wait to see what will happen next, really.🙃

Happy New Year, everyone!

✔Corrected