My mother had a Japanese friend, who served us traditional tea. And while I found the green tea bitter, I loved the ceremony of the whole experience. Soon I wanted to know how to properly use hashi (chopsticks) and to learn meal etiquette.
The love for Asian culture stayed with me, even throughout my teens. I gravitated toward all things Japanese, but then with the introduction of Asian studies in college, that included Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Indian, etc, I broadened my interests.
For as far back as I can remember, I wanted to learn Japanese. Neither my high school, nor my college offered courses. My college did offer Mandarin, but to my deepest regret, I did not take up that class. I was just so focused on Japanese. Silly, I know.
I also love language period. I love to study the origins of words and phrases. I even taught my friends and myself runic in high school, so we could pass notes without the fear that someone could stumble upon our secrets. This is a skill I retain to this day, however useless it may seem. Who knows when it will one day come in handy? ;)
My friend Kelly's family hosted exchange students for years. Callie taught me basic German pleasantries and Maria taught me all the naughty things to say in Spanish. I also used to love to listen to my friend Seth, who's mother was Russian, read passages from Tolstoy or Dostoevsky to me in Russian, for hours. This only cemented my love of languages and my desire to learn them.
Throughout the years, I have basically inhaled Japanese films, literature, music, manga, anime, but I'm not a weeaboo by any means. My love for Japan goes beyond pop culture. I have studied, in depth, it's history, philosophy and culture. It has always been my #1 dream travel destination. Learning Japanese is just a natural progression in my life long study of this wonderful, rich, and complex, culture.
Even though I started learning Japanese a year ago, up until a few months ago, the progress was kind of slow. I was told that it was imperative that I first learn the Japanese 'alphabet' system, Kana. The Japanese language system differs from English. Where we have characters representing consonants and vowels, the Japanese 'alphabet' has characters representing syllables. (Hiragana: Japanese syllables, Katakana: syllables for foreign words, and Kanji: Chinese characters, incorporated in the Japanese language.)
I tried to practice my Kana at least five times a week, but there are sooo many characters, that this became a stalling point in my learning.
When I discussed this issue with a polyglot friend, he suggested that I keep on with my studies of Kana, but to start learning useful words and conversational phrases in Japanese, to keep up the excitement and the feeling that I was actually moving forward. He also suggested I get a bunch of colorful post its, so I could label everything in my home in English/Japanese/Kana. I was to use these words daily, while also familiarizing myself with the Kana for those words. He calls this "mini home immersion".
The above picture is just a small taste of all the post its that decorate my home. As you can see, I also have useful phrases on some of them and try to incorporate them into my daily speech. I think this has helped me the most. I find myself saying things in Japanese to my cat all the time now and the other day I said "domo" to my neighbor, when she brought me over some fruit. *Luckily she knows I'm learning Japanese and responded with an amused smile.*
I do subscribe to a couple of sites, where I am taking lessons. I use two, because one suits my needs for comprehension, the other is a better fit to improve my pronunciation. I won't list them at this time, because there is a third I am contemplating on trying out that should fit all my needs. At a later date I will post a link to the one(s) I think work best. I also have apps on the phone for useful words of the day, as well as one I can practice writing Kana, while I'm at the hairstylist or out on errands where I have to sit and wait. All are helpful in their own way.
I'm not quite to the level, where I can converse comfortably with an online tutor, but it will not be long before I'm dipping my toe into those waters. That's the part I'm most excited about! I just need a few more weeks to improve my comfort level. I hope to take classes at a local university this fall, as well as participate in local language exchange meet ups.
My most exciting news is, last night, I dreamed in Japanese! I already dream in Korean occasionally, but that's because my listening comprehension of Korean is far more advanced, due to the copious amounts of Korean dramas I watch. I'm not actively learning Korean, so everything I have learned has been basically through osmosis. Although my listening comprehension is fairly good, my pronunciation of Korean is crap! I also watch a lot of Japanese shows and anime. In the last few months I've noticed that my listening comprehension has increased greatly, but this is the first time that I have actually dreamed in Japanese. I am over the moon about this, because studies show that those who dream in a foreign language earlier tend to learn that language quicker. *crossing fingers*
I really hope this is the case. I would love to become at least comfortable in conversational Japanese, before I visit. Communication is key to a great travel experience. I never want to be perceived as one of those "'loud, rude Americans" who expect everyone to speak to them in English and fail to respect cultural differences.
I aspire to become a polyglot. Not for bragging rights, although that would be awesome, but so that I can converse freely as I travel. After conquering Japanese, I would love to finish Spanish and then start Mandarin. With my listening comprehension of Korean gaining speed in leaps and bounds, I'm certain that will be in the mix also. Then maybe Italian, Hindi, or even Arabic?
When I think about all the time I wasted, when I could have been learning languages, I could kick myself. But, then I remind myself, that I still have plenty of time, so I'll just brave the journey one step at a time.
Namaste
