Dead-set

After my trip to Japan over the holidays to visit relatives, I've returned with one unshakable omiyage: I've gotta move back.

It's something inside me that just won't be happy living in any other country. There is something in the water in Japan that I need.

So I'm dead-set on taking the Level 2 Proficiency test this year and passing. With that landmark achievement, I'll be prepared to get a job working in the IT industry at any number of larger Japanese corporations, or, if I can swing it, land myself a job at a hot little start-up or branch office in the area of VoIP or Network Engineering in general.

The Level 2 test is no joke. It's playing in the Major Leagues compared to Level 3's AAA farm club. Passing the Level 3 exam didn't seem possible before the event, but I suppose nothing seems possible before you've done it the first time.

The grammar section presents all kinds of new and interesting elements mine eyes have not touched before.

Take the following for example:

痛さのあまり、涙が出て来た。

Because of too much pain, a tear fell (from my eye).

The way that I learned to say this runs more along the lines of:

痛すぎたから、涙が出て来た。

They say essentially the same thing. It looks like 'のあまり’ appears more often in literature than in spoken conversation.

Just one more thing to commit to memory.

I'm going to pass this test, and I'm going to return to Japan. Wish me luck.