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| My かわいい mom and me! ^__^ |
Aloha all,
Erin here! I chose to study Japanese at Columbia because I spent some of my high school years studying it and remember how in love with the language and culture I was. I'm able to revisit fun memories I had of one of very few subjects I enjoyed, and I'm looking forward to re-learning it with a renewed focus and passion!
My mother had many international work assignments and as a result I had the opportunity to live in Suzhou, China for one high school year. During that time I took a special spring break trip to Tokyo with my mom. It's been many years, but I can still remember how at home I felt in a country in which I should've felt extremely out of place. I hadn't been in my Japanese class that school year so my language skills were rusty, but as soon as I attempted to communicate I could feel the language coming back to me, and I was able to successfully navigate us throughout our activities in Tokyo for the week! That sense of comfort in a language and country foreign to you is difficult to come by, and I've felt a special bond to Japan ever since.
The joy of discovering that a skill or knowledge you thought lost to you is, in fact, only buried beneath time and figurative dust, is the reason I'm taking this class. I hope to be able to share my interest in the language and the culture with everyone, and I'm looking forward to dusting off my Japanese and strengthening it with all of you!
Warm wishes,
コーヒー
Very cool! I second your sentiment in the last paragraph in wanting to share an interest in Japanese culture with the entire class - it's truly an amazing culture!
ReplyDeleteはい、とてもおもしろいですよ！そして、たのしいです。I hope the class is enjoying it so far. :)
DeleteOh hey! A trip to Japan with my mom is also what made me want to learn Japanese! I'm so excited we get to learn together :)
ReplyDeleteすごいですね！わたしはりょこうがだいすきです。ははもだいすきです！とてもたのしいです。I'm excited we get to learn Japanese together too! Looking forward to the rest of the semester. ^__^
Deletesemper fi marine! thank you for helping me through this course!
ReplyDeleteどういたしまして！がんばってね！Oohrah!!! :D
Deleteimho this course is designed to make you into a fluent Japanese speaker. It goes beyond what most college students learn in the Genki textbooks. I hope that you can return to Japan with a much more robust vocabulary. Let me know if you have any questions!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to be learning Japanese again and really looking forward to the breadth of knowledge available throughout the Japanese courses here at Columbia. I know I'll have much better fluency by the end of these classes! ありがとうございました！
Deleteはじめまして。TAのこばやし です。らいねん、とうきょうオリンピックが ありますよ。また にほんへ いって ください！ コーヒーさんの おかあさんは かわいい ですね。 ではまた。
ReplyDeleteはじめまして。とうきょうオリンピックはとてもおもしろいです！らいねんのなつ、わたしはにほんでべんきょうします。(I hope!!!!) はははちいさいですよ。ではまた。
DeleteI think your reason for taking Japanese at Columbia is great! Furthermore, it's awesome that you were able to have such a wonderful experience in Japan. And clearly, you still remember a lot from high school lol.
ReplyDelete- And of course, thank you for your service, Marine!
Thank you! I loved Japanese in high school and fortunately the same is true now. :) Thank you for your service as well! Oohrah! :D
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