Growing up in industrial Northern England and then going on to learn Japanese is not what one might call following the beaten path. Both countries are island nations separated from the continental mainland... and thats about the only similarity they have!
Since arriving in New York and after being immersed in the multitude of cultures it has to offer I eventually found that my curiosity toward 日本, her culture and her people was not something I could ignore. Of course it would be easy to simply watch Japanese movies, anime and such and continue to harbour an external interest, hands-off, but, with a little indirect persuasion from a close friend I decided to dive into the belly of the beast itself. Hopefully learning to read, write, speak and understand Japanese will help me come closer to a better understanding of the people, the culture and history I am coming to appreciate and respect so much.
After two weeks of learning I have come to understand Hiragana. Being able to write a short, simple passage about myself in Hiragana is extremely satisfying, especially as the prospect of learning it in the first place was so daunting. My next goal is to overcome the Katakana which shouldn't be too hard. The size of the task ahead no longer seems so scary although I know it will require a lot of effort. Learning Japanese is turning out to be more exciting and fun than it ever promised to be. Well, except for the 1945 Kanji characters.
-ラフィエル
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4 comments:
I am sure you will understand Japanese people and culture better as you improve your Japanese. Good luck!
BTW, do you have soccer games in NYC?
the 1945 Kanji characters will be fun to learn as well even though it requires more effort. But do you know how many English words you need to memorize to be able to use English as your daily language? Certainly more than that. By the way, I am Chinese. It isn't easy for me to learn English when I first started.It takes time and effort.But we will get there.
Hi! I always think that it's a daunting task to learn something that departs so greatly from your native language and culture and I admire you greatly for attempting it. ^_^
That sounds very similar to why I am in the class. I began to love the culture of Japan, and after sitting back and simply watching anime, listening to J-Pop, and reading about Japan, I was eager to "dive into the belly of the beast," as you so greatly put it, when I was presented the chance. This class is my most time consuming class, yet the most enjoyable and gratifying.
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