(De)motivational filler

I've been here for almost five months. It doesn't feel like it at all. As far as I'm concerned it might as well have been two weeks, except the seasons changed twice in between.

However, I feel I've also come a long way. I can now lead a conversation in Japanese without suffering a heart attack and I'm learning new vocabulary at a rate of at least a hundred a week. I also feel that I'm slowly forming ties to the local people and feel less like a deer in the headlight at work. I'm kinda proud of all that. At the same time, I feel that nobody around me really seems to notice or even agree with what has been said above. I wonder when people will start taking me seriously... Especially at work, people tend to think I'm a lot more stupid than I actually am (or think I am). Perhaps I have a dumb look on my face whenever I concentrate or don't pay attention? If so, I shall be wearing one of those Japanese face masks from now on. If not, I wonder what I can do to make more progress in this respect...