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Hello all–
My name is Zach and I just bought my lifetime membership. After going through a lesson or two, I decided this was the place for me to start my journey (and I’m not an easy sell, I’ve been trying to find the “right” learning tool for over a year!).
Anyhoo, I’ve been to Japan twice and loved it. My boyfriend is half-Japanese and I’d love to be able to talk to his mom in Japanese (I think she’d really appreciate it!) and get a better understanding of the part of him that’s culturally Japanese. I started a blog to document what I learn and my challenges as I go through this. So far it’s just an answer the question “Why am I learning Japanese?” I figure if I keep this sort of thing public it keeps pressure on me to update it and keep it going.
I look forward to talking with everyone more in the future! Wish me luck :).
Welcome. What bits of Japan have you been to? =)
I’ve visited Chicago myself, though wasn’t there long enough to form any opinion on it. =P
Thanks! I’ve been to mainly touristy places. The first time, we were there 10 days and went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Himeji, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kamakura, Hakone, and Yokohama. The second time David and I took my mom and his good friend who haven’t been able to travel much and took the same route without Himeji, Miyajima, Kamakura or Yokohama.
And if you come back to Chicago (which I, of course, recommend), be sure to come during the summer–summer in Chicago is absolutely amazing. There’s a ton to do!
Hey Zach, great to have you here! It’s great that you’ve started a blog, make sure you keep up with it. Good luck with your studies!
Hello and welcome!!
That’s awesome that you set up a blog, I considered doing one myself to keep track of my progress but I guess I thought it would feel kinda odd talking to myself….i mean, who would want to read my nonsense anyway right?? lol.
Are you new to learning Japanese or do you already know a little bit? just curious ;)
Also, Chicago truly is an amazing city! I’ve visited once years ago and had a blast; I’ve wanted to go back ever since :)
Anyways, I look forward to more updates from your blog!!
Thanks Hashi and Carlie!
And Carlie, I’m pretty new, but I have an understanding of pronunciation (except how to actually make “r” sounds) and a fuzzy, almost working knowledge of hiragana. I know plenty of food words (of course), a few greetings, and the most important word of all–sumimasen. So I’m pretty much a beginner but not starting from total scratch.
hahah yes, sumimasen is very important….then i usually follow it with wakarimasen lol. I too have a hard time with the ‘r’ sounds, but Koichi wrote a really simple way to help pronounce the ‘r’…..now it’s just a matter of motor memory skills.
I’m a beginner too, still learning Hiragana….got 30 of them down so far, woot! So if you already sorta know Hiragana, way to go!!, you’re less of a beginner than me!! ;)
Hopefully your boyfriend will help you and keep you motivated as well. If there’s anything I can be of help with (which I realize probably is not a whole lot lol), feel free to ask!
Along with sumimasen, I’d suggest the other two multi-use catch-all words: doumo and douzo. It’s possible to have a whole conversation using just those two words. =)
Anyway, sounds like you’ve seen some nice places. I’ve been to a few of those as well.
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