Good luck on the JLPT 2! I hope to try that next year (still need to pass JLPT3 this year). As for listening, I have a few Japaense movies I tried watching wihtout subtitles (when I hda the time), and found that because I knew the story already, it kind of skewed my ability to listen because I could anticipate to some degree.

With the daily podcasts, it’s different content everyday, so it’s harder to anticipate, and forces you to exercise listening more. Or so I believe. Also, I can listen at work while getting thigns done, so as the yojijukugo says: ikkyo ryōtoku (一挙両得, “best of both worlds, killing two birds with one stone”)

As for the iTunes card, that’s a great idea. I avoid using credit cards online these days, so I prefer buying gift cards with cash and then using those online (I do that with Amazon and ITunes for example), so I will pick up a Japanese iTunes card if I can. Very cool, thanks!

As another way to practice listening, lately I’ve been watching Japanese movies I know well without subtitles, to see how much of the content I can catch, or how detailed I can understand. I’m taking the JLPT level 2 next month, so I need listening help too!