vocabulary list of doooom

After considering the benefits of teaching abroad in Japan, I realized that I'm extremely lucky to be going back to Japan. Last time, I may have squandered much of the opportunities I had to really expand my language skills. Yes, I talked to my host family in Japanese (some of the time), and I tried to talk to Japanese people (except when I was hanging out with my English speaking friends), but I didnt improve as much as I could have.

I realized I didn't really have any motivation to improve my language skills. Personal gain and pride in myself is great, but it helps to have a tangible goal. So I made a goal. I will pass the nikyu (second level) Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). At some point. As a result I've started studying with help from what I've termed the vocabulary list of doom. There are 4966 words on this list. Out of the first 178 words, I know 82. 56.395% !!! If this trend continues, I will have a pile of 2287 little flashcards. woohoo!