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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
