I have wanted to learn to read, speak, and understand Japanese for a long time. I love to read and I have always thought it would be wonderful to read books in the language the author wrote the book. Some of my interests are classics. But, my daughter has gotten me interested in the animated movies of Hayao Miyazaki. I wish I could crawl inside his animated world and be part of the movie. Also, I would also like to be able to translate Japanese manga into English as a job someday. As much as I would love to travel and experience Japan first hand, I am disabled. I don’t know if my wheelchair would take me where I would want to go. I also want to learn about Japanese culture so that I will be a polite visitor if I am able to go to Japan. My biggest reason to learn how to speak and write Japanese is that I want to learn how to eat a Japanese diet to improve my health and would like to be able to read recipe cook books in the original Japanese. I am excited to get started.

Pleased to meet you!