[Goal #1] Learn Japanese!
Last night, I called up AiAi grocery store to chat with some of my best friends in Hirono. Unfortunately, my Japanese has degraded to the point that I started sounding as incomprehensible as Pauly Shore.
Take for example my conversation with the boss' daughter. She told me that Kana, this girl who worked in AiAi that I liked, recently married the boss' son (who's like 15 years older! o_O) and gave birth to twins in May. Of course, the first word out of my mouth was SHOKKU. Now my next line was supposed to be: "Wait, at my farewell party, I confessed to liking Kana and you told me that she already had a boyfriend, but you never told me it was your brother!"
But back in reality, what I said in Japanese was: "Last year, I like Kana. I am shocked! Congratulations!" *cringes*
And then I actually got to speak to Kana, and I wanted to ask her if she got married around the time I left Japan. Instead, I spat out: "Last year, I come to Canada. Last year, you marry?" 100% Encino Man. >_<
So after I hung up the phone, I was left with an aftershock of frustration and disappointment in myself. I've been watching all these jdramas partly to improve my vocabulary, but I guess it isn't working.
I don't get it, I spoke Japanese daily for two years and yet on my last day in Japan, I still couldn't speak fluently. There are JETs who went to Japan without knowing *any* Japanese and still knew more than me in half the time. And even worse, as I tried to learn Japanese, my English degenerated and nowadays I use "interesting" and "______ very much" a little too often. :P
All this is starting to remind me of how I studied French for 11 years in school and never managed to speak it well, and after every summer break, I'd forget all the vocab I had memorized. I really do want to be bilingual, but I seem to lack the ability to become bilingual.
Still, I want to give it one more try. I love this language, and I'm tired of being anchored by subtitles and dictionaries. One day, I want to speak to my friends at AiAi again and convey my thoughts effortlessly. That's my dream, my motivation, and Goal #1.
Take for example my conversation with the boss' daughter. She told me that Kana, this girl who worked in AiAi that I liked, recently married the boss' son (who's like 15 years older! o_O) and gave birth to twins in May. Of course, the first word out of my mouth was SHOKKU. Now my next line was supposed to be: "Wait, at my farewell party, I confessed to liking Kana and you told me that she already had a boyfriend, but you never told me it was your brother!"
But back in reality, what I said in Japanese was: "Last year, I like Kana. I am shocked! Congratulations!" *cringes*
And then I actually got to speak to Kana, and I wanted to ask her if she got married around the time I left Japan. Instead, I spat out: "Last year, I come to Canada. Last year, you marry?" 100% Encino Man. >_<
So after I hung up the phone, I was left with an aftershock of frustration and disappointment in myself. I've been watching all these jdramas partly to improve my vocabulary, but I guess it isn't working.
I don't get it, I spoke Japanese daily for two years and yet on my last day in Japan, I still couldn't speak fluently. There are JETs who went to Japan without knowing *any* Japanese and still knew more than me in half the time. And even worse, as I tried to learn Japanese, my English degenerated and nowadays I use "interesting" and "______ very much" a little too often. :P
All this is starting to remind me of how I studied French for 11 years in school and never managed to speak it well, and after every summer break, I'd forget all the vocab I had memorized. I really do want to be bilingual, but I seem to lack the ability to become bilingual.
Still, I want to give it one more try. I love this language, and I'm tired of being anchored by subtitles and dictionaries. One day, I want to speak to my friends at AiAi again and convey my thoughts effortlessly. That's my dream, my motivation, and Goal #1.