I couldn't help but utter Hiro Nakamura's catchphrase the instant I read the text message from a colleague informing me that I passed the exam I took exactly three months ago today in De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila. I nailed the Nihongo Nōryoku Shiken, a.k.a. Japanese Language Proficiency Test a.k.a. JLPT!

Yatta! indeed. One of the perks (others see it as more of an imposition) of working for a Japanese company is you get to study Nihongo for free. I and a number of colleagues began preparing for the exam sometime in April last year. For almost eight months, we attended Nihongo classes, which I should say were unexpectedly nigiyaka (lively) and omoshiroi (interesting). You could tell I picked up quite a lot of words along the way.

The official results were to come tucked inside a very official-looking envelope. I was told though that it hasn't arrived in the company mailbox yet. What brought the good news was a list, The List, secured by our department sensei (mentor). Until I receive the letter from the good folks over at the Japan Foundation, who administer the test each year, exactly how well or poorly I performed remains shrouded in misuteri (mystery).

Way before I took the test, I learned that "Yatta!" literally means "I did it!" I consulted the Japanese dictionary app on my iPhone just now and found out several other meanings: hooray, whee, hot dog!, you beaut, whacko, yowzer!, whoopee! and yes!. If you ask me though, I'd say Yatta! in English is none other than the phenomenal w00t!

エンジョイライフ！