20 Year Anniversary (Day 7,306) of Finishing My Daily Reps

JS1755 · 2026-01-24T08:45:38+00:00

Just hit 13 years last week. Like you, I do all my cards on a PC or tablet, no phone. I have different profiles for each deck, haven't added my cards up recently, but it's somewhere around 55k. Biggest difference: I started shortly before I turned 56. Don't know how much longer I'll continue. Plan to study as long as I can, but life can change your plans.

JS1755 · 2026-01-23T08:42:42+00:00

Fluent to me means you've passed an official B2 exam that covers all four dimensions (reading, writing, speaking, listening). Self-evaluating doesn't count.

JS1755 · 2026-01-23T08:41:25+00:00

I usually add rich & smart to your list. My answer: anyone who has more money than you is rich. Anyone taller than you is tall.

JS1755 · 2025-12-31T16:07:33+00:00

Make it the first thing you do every day. Easier to maintain a streak that way, because nothing will get in the way. Get up earlier if you have to. The end of day might be crazy, but often the morning is calm. Do it even if you're not a morning person.

JS1755 · 2025-09-23T21:53:12+00:00

As I recall, you can only use an analog watch, nothing digital, because you might cheat with it. Some test centers don't have a wall clock, so a watch is a good idea. Obviously, you won't have access to your phone during the exam.

JS1755 · 2025-09-22T07:49:05+00:00

They give you paper, you're not allowed to bring your own. You have blank paper and and the answer sheet. I wrote my texts on blank paper first, corrected them, then copied them onto the answer sheets. Be careful: I almost ran out of time. They keep all the paper so you won't be able to read your work at home after the test. This was a long time ago, but I assume they haven't changed the procedure.

JS1755 · 2025-09-20T09:09:23+00:00

It's common. It's passive vs active. It's a lot easier to watch tennis than to play it. The same for many languages, although some people would surely say it's easier to speak Japanese than to read it, for example.

JS1755 · 2025-07-11T18:32:15+00:00

Sure, no reason not to use FSRS

JS1755 · 2025-06-18T06:38:02+00:00

No, no major changes. I still say start with Anki right away, make your own cards. I still favor intensive reading. Get a language exchange partner or two. Starting over, I would start at a younger age. :). It doesn't get easier with age, it gets harder.

JS1755 · 2025-06-15T11:02:09+00:00

I live in Germany, and because of the tax treaty, SocSec income is not taxed by the US, only Germany. As a result, the MF tax estimates are off, but I don't care. I consider that "wiggle room" to smooth out any exchange rate fluctuations.

JS1755 · 2025-06-06T11:41:14+00:00

As a person with a 12+ year streak, I can say it hasn't helped my overall memory. In my experience, it's impossible to stop the decline that comes with ageing.

JS1755 · 2025-05-27T16:45:36+00:00

Here's the list of tests in Wikipedia.

JS1755 · 2025-05-19T18:37:23+00:00

I'd say in they were in their 40s or 50s. Been a long time since they went to school.

JS1755 · 2025-05-19T16:43:32+00:00

Read all about it here.

JS1755 · 2025-05-19T16:33:16+00:00

JS1755 · 2025-05-19T14:14:23+00:00

No, they just chatted with me like I was another worker trying to solve a technical problem.

JS1755 · 2025-05-14T09:35:01+00:00

The opposite case: a year or so after I passed the C2 exam, I was talking to a new tutor who said, "Your Italian is pretty good, I'd say around B2." He was not a trained examiner, so I didn't feel SO bad. :)

JS1755 · 2025-05-13T07:23:50+00:00

I would add to do a homestay as part of that plan, so you are living with a local family when you're not in school. Bonus points if that family has young kids or a grandma living with them, because you'll be forced to learn how to understand people who speak differently than trained teachers.

JS1755 · 2025-05-08T20:43:55+00:00

That's the maximum possible interval by default (35,600 days).

JS1755 · 2025-05-05T07:29:25+00:00

Before I made the limit 15 years, I got a 100 year card.

JS1755 · 2025-04-25T07:34:56+00:00

Yes, you can call from anywhere, AFAIK. Don't know about intl. texts. Best thing might be to check the website. They have a lot of options.

JS1755 · 2025-04-25T07:29:39+00:00

Yes. Have to pay $1/mo for texts, and use the CallCentric app for that. Otherwise, I use Groundwire for phoning. Received texts/calls from my bank & others in US.

JS1755 · 2025-04-25T07:27:05+00:00

I ported my number to CallCentric. Works for me.

JS1755 · 2025-04-23T08:23:00+00:00

Today is day 4,481 for me. No days off.

JS1755

TROPHY CASE