Why I am studying Japanese

I chose to study Japanese because I love the culture there and would love to learn more! Even though I have been to Japan 5 times, I know there is still a lot that I don’t know about Japan. I always felt like this is because my inability to properly speak and read Japanese was a big barrier for me to get to know Japan better. For example, I never really knew how to greet different types of people in Japan and always felt rude for not knowing. Also, if I had known how to read Japanese, ordering food would be so much easier (especially since a lot of amazing traditional sushi/sashimi restaurants don’t include pictures in their menus)! Furthermore, I love スタジオ•ジブリ’s movies and would love to be able to watch them for once without subtitles!

Reflecting back on the first four weeks of class, I feel like I have already learned so much! From writing in romaji to hiragana and now beginning to learn Katakana? I have tried to self-learn Japanese in past summers but I had never learned as much as I did in this class. Although all the different elements of Japanese is difficult to grasp in one go, I love going to class because Eguchi せんせいあ and my classmates are all very supportive and make class intersting! 

Overall, I am excited to learn more Japanese as I think learning it would help me learn to appreciate Japanese culture and allow me to have a great time when I go to Japan next time!