You know you've come far when...

[Cyborg Ninja]

I was starting up Heisig and came across 明. I haven't studied that word in forever, maybe even two years, and yet "あか・・・あかるい？" came out of my mouth. I looked it up, and sure enough that's the right word for bright. I'm amazed at how many words I know now.

[tōkai devotee]

I haven't studied that word in forever, maybe even two years

There's a fair difference between forever and two years !!

But well done! Sometimes our brains retain things even if we don't think so, if we studied properly in the beginning.
Keep up the good work

[furrykef]

I wish Japanese vocabulary were like that for me! Well, maybe the words I have down pat are like that, but I still have to fight for every word I learn if it wasn't borrowed from English or something.

I did have that experience with Spanish, though. Realizing I could still understand bits of Spanish I encountered on the internets (despite it being a few years since I studied it in high school... and I never learned it well then) was what caused me to pick it back up. Now I can understand written Spanish pretty well.

[Snowflake]

Cyborg, isn't it fun and exciting when knowledge/retention sneaks up on you out of nowhere? Makes you feel good, doesn't it? Congratulations!

I had a similar experience a few days ago. I was driving and my son was my passenger. He knows I'm studying, but we were NOT talking about Japanese at the moment, so it's not as if I had Japanese on the brain (tip of the hat to NileCat ). We were discussing video games, and of course, my major focus was driving the car. Out of the blue, he asked "What's the Japanese word for 'sky'?" And, without missing a beat, "そら" slipped out of my mouth. Just as natural as could be. I didn't have to think about it; it just fell out on its own.

It was only after a second or so that I realized what had happened and we were both pretty impressed. It's a small step, a baby step really, but it made me so happy! Progress, yes!

[The Lady Ashuko]

That same feeling happens to me a lot actually. I don't study for a while and think, "Man I bet I'm gonna be really rusty when I start up again." Then I'll be working on something in Japanese and the words just come to me--words I forgot I even knew! Or I'll type up a journal entry just as plain as can be, then reread it later and amaze myself at how much I didn't forget just because I'm not thinking about it.

[Cyborg Ninja]

"There's a fair difference between forever and two years !!"
I'm only 25! Two years really is forever for me

Lots of great stories here, guys. It's good to know that our brains can handle a new language and retain words for so long.

[tōkai devotee]

"There's a fair difference between forever and two years !!"
I'm only 25! Two years really is forever for me

Oh no! That makes me feel old!

[furrykef]

Don't worry, tokai. You just are.

[becki_kanou]

"There's a fair difference between forever and two years !!"
I'm only 25! Two years really is forever for me

Oh no! That makes me feel old!

I thought the exact same thing when I read that!

[Snowflake]

For a 25-year-old, 2 years is forever. For an old-fogey like me (who, me ???), it's a blink-of-the-eye /sigh

[Cyborg Ninja]

皆wwww~ I just remembered, I bow all the time when I talk, even in English. It's just a nod bow but I wonder if anybody else has noticed me do that. It must be all those Japanese dramas I watch.

[phreadom]

皆wwww~ I just remembered, I bow all the time when I talk, even in English. It's just a nod bow but I wonder if anybody else has noticed me do that. It must be all those Japanese dramas I watch.

haha.... I do that all the time now too... the only time I really notice I'm doing it though is when I say thank you at the Asian Buffet (Chinese food) and feel like I might be insulting them by implying that they're Japanese. (I'm not aware of the Chinese bowing in the same way, at least not that I've seen.)

[The Lady Ashuko]

皆wwww~ I just remembered, I bow all the time when I talk, even in English. It's just a nod bow but I wonder if anybody else has noticed me do that. It must be all those Japanese dramas I watch.

I'm guilty of that too

[CajunCoder]

Hmmm -

It usually works the opposite with me. I am constantly reminded how little I've progressed over the years =P

Just the other day, I was racking my head trying to recall the word 販売機. I finally had to give in and look it up. That happens with me more than I'd like to admit - I am constantly forgetting even simple vocabulary that I have used countless times (especially in the context of active vocabulary).

Edit: Just to clarify, I was trying to actively recall the word for "Vending Machine" in Japanese. I would really have a memory problem if I couldn't read 販売機 at this point
By far, maintaining my active vocabulary is the most difficult area for me. But then again, I forget words even in English all of the time, so perhaps I am just inherently "scatter brained"

[furrykef]

CajunCoder - have you considered using an SRS such as Anki?