I've been thinking today about our trip last year to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. Asides from being a brilliant day out, and a great zoo with well looked-after animals, it also holds a special place in my memory because it was the first time I successfully ordered something in Japanese without relying on pointing, gesturing, and speaking English. I'm sure my grammar was poor, and pronunciation a bit off, but I got what I wanted without flailing about or speaking in that irritating slloooww, LOOUUD English that English people think makes foreigners understand them.

Another big milestone for me came some time later - I was at home, watching something (probably The Simpsons!) on Channel 4, when their Tokyo-set ident came on. For the past few weeks I had been trying to drum Hiragana into my thick skull and thought I was getting nowhere, when I suddenly realised I could read one of the signs! There, on the right, in big bold Hiragana and clear as day - Tonkatsu!

It's great to have moments like these two; they really show you you're on the right track. I doubt either one is particularly impressive in the grand scheme of things, but they demonstrate that inspiration, and motivation, can come up on you from nowhere.