As I learn Japanese, I often find myself in the bliss of small moments of enlightment where things suddenly become clear or easy, when a sudden jump in fluency occurs or when I find myself understanding a lot more all of a sudden. I suppose my brain has made the right connections and the current finally goes through ;)

I’d be interested in hearing other students’ similar experiences.

I’m not sure how I could put this into words or cite specific times but, I learned enough to translate the “Slayers” novels that TokyoPop localized and sold (with sub-standard marketing that did not help, I might add with regret)…. I had lots and lots of those little moments. They’re not always pure moments, either, because something that I think might correspond to such-and-such (as a translator), that’s a hypothesis. I have to test my theory a while before I can have real confidence that’s really “it” and I can rely on a certain reading.

But yes. Lots and lots of those since, well, I wasn’t issued with a road map for learning all this stuff.