(no subject)
I was a little annoyed during my last Japanese class. My teacher is absolutely amazing, she takes the time to help me pronounce everything correctly and makes sure I understand every little point. But I was getting frustrated in my lack of knowledge. It made me realize how much more I had to learn.
What made me realize I had a long way to go?
We were practicing my conversation skills and she told me to describe the origin and purpose of Halloween. I managed to do it, it just took a while. I had to consult my hand held and electronic dictionary for a couple of words. But... I did manage to do it. I felt so angry at myself during it, I couldn`t believe I couldn`t do something as simple as that! When I was in Japan, I never had to hold a conversation on something historical or religious, they usually asked me questions about myself or my family.
She was very proud of me, told me that my Japanese was very good, praising me for trying instead of just giving up. At that point. I didn`t want to believe her, but she kept insisting that considering I only spent a year there, and that my first three months had been wasted, I spoke amazingly well.
I told her that my Japanese wasn`t as good as the lady who`d come in and was interviewed.
She shook her head, told me that the woman had lived in Japan for 8 years and that of course her Japanese was better than mine. I only had a year under my belt, and that with more practice I would be fluent.
I felt slightly better, knowing that she was going to help me as much as she could. She then told me a story. About how she had gotten an exchange student from Korea. Her daughter had many Japanese manga so all the exchange student did was read them. And within a year she was fluent, not in english, but in Japanese.
Did I mention the entire conversation was held in Japanese? Oh yeah. Awesomeness. Aeris FTW.
During our break, we were trading stories, and I told her how I dressed up as a Maiko when I went to Kyoto. She looked at me for a moment, then she asked me if I believed in reincarnation. I told her that I was a little agnostic on the subject. She smiled and told me that she thought I must have been Japanese in a past life. I laughed, finding it hilarious. She then insisted saying that I must have been a Japanese Geiko or something.
:3
What made me realize I had a long way to go?
We were practicing my conversation skills and she told me to describe the origin and purpose of Halloween. I managed to do it, it just took a while. I had to consult my hand held and electronic dictionary for a couple of words. But... I did manage to do it. I felt so angry at myself during it, I couldn`t believe I couldn`t do something as simple as that! When I was in Japan, I never had to hold a conversation on something historical or religious, they usually asked me questions about myself or my family.
She was very proud of me, told me that my Japanese was very good, praising me for trying instead of just giving up. At that point. I didn`t want to believe her, but she kept insisting that considering I only spent a year there, and that my first three months had been wasted, I spoke amazingly well.
I told her that my Japanese wasn`t as good as the lady who`d come in and was interviewed.
She shook her head, told me that the woman had lived in Japan for 8 years and that of course her Japanese was better than mine. I only had a year under my belt, and that with more practice I would be fluent.
I felt slightly better, knowing that she was going to help me as much as she could. She then told me a story. About how she had gotten an exchange student from Korea. Her daughter had many Japanese manga so all the exchange student did was read them. And within a year she was fluent, not in english, but in Japanese.
Did I mention the entire conversation was held in Japanese? Oh yeah. Awesomeness. Aeris FTW.
During our break, we were trading stories, and I told her how I dressed up as a Maiko when I went to Kyoto. She looked at me for a moment, then she asked me if I believed in reincarnation. I told her that I was a little agnostic on the subject. She smiled and told me that she thought I must have been Japanese in a past life. I laughed, finding it hilarious. She then insisted saying that I must have been a Japanese Geiko or something.
:3