Why I'm Studying Japanese
In a completely unoriginal way I was introduced to Japanese language and culture through anime and manga in elementary school (I don't keep up with anime anymore but I gotta be honest about my roots). I grew a deep appreciation for the food, music (ask me for J-rock recs), environment, art history, and social culture of Japan. It inspired me to start taking Japanese in middle school with a weekly tutor, but I wasn't able to keep up with it. Japanese wasn't offered at my high school so I took French instead, which I hated. I found its grammar and pronunciation rules ridiculous and didn't care enough to actually learn it. I would always compare it to Japanese and how the language was so much more interesting to learn. I actually find that writing in hiragana makes homework more fun! I also really appreciate the sound, simplicity of the grammar, and the contextual nature of the language. It's essentially the antithesis of French.I have been lucky enough to travel to Japan twice with my family. Each visit was magical and I would love to go back with a greater understanding of the language and culture. I am studying astrophysics and there are great research programs in Japan so I hope to one day study or pursue a fellowship there. I just started kendo with the Columbia University Kendo Club and am having a lot of fun! It's different from anything I've ever done but I find it to be a good way to discipline and relax my mind and body (my posture has gotten much better). I'm looking forward to the next couple years of Japanese and possibly a future there!
こんにちは。私はりつめいかん大学１回生の香南（かな）です。私は大学でよさこいとバレーボールをしています。そしてスターバックスではたらいています。
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that you are interested in Japan so much. Do you know Wanima, Berry GoodMan, One Ok Rock, and HY? These are my favorite Japanese rock band. Also, I like stars, so plese let me know about it.
こにちわ香南さん。かんじをわかりません。いちねんせいのにほんごです。わたしはすこしにほんごでかきます。わたしはちゅがっこでバレーボールをしました。コロンビアのとしょかんではたらきます。
ReplyDeleteI love One Ok Rock! I will have to check out the other bands. I really like the Oral Cigarettes and Asian Kung-Fu Generation. Here is a star fun fact: really hot stars are blue and cooler stars are red or even brown!
Well I was going to ask for recommendations, but it seems y'all have already given me some extra homework! Astrophysics is really cool, and is always pushing into new territory. There was even recently that image of a Black Hole which it is absolutely insane how they were able to get that image. Last year I attended a talk by a professor candidate who studied the atmospheres of planets and was trying to catalog them so that she could make an AI that could search out a livable planet for humans; absolutely crazy, astrophysics is amazing.
ReplyDeleteWoah that sounds like such a cool talk! どなたですか。なまえはなんですか。
DeleteHi Kate! Your blog aesthetic is 👌. Reminds me of the kirakira+ app! I took a year of Japanese in high school, but for some reason that I'm now regretting, decided to switch to French, so I can totally relate to what you wrote about Japanese having more interesting linguistic traits. I also think that writing in hiragana makes homework more fun. The process and order of writing each character kind of has a meditative quality to it that I really enjoy. Anyway, I hope you achieve your goal of pursuing a fellowship in Japan! See you in class!
ReplyDeleteIt's very meditative! There was an immersion k-12 school in my town for Japanese but I didn't know about it until middle school/didn't live on that side of town. じゃあまた！
Deleteスタイナーさんのブログは素敵です！My roommate is also in the Kendo Club, and he also told me it's very relaxing (though I still doubt it lol). Maybe I'll try it someday.
ReplyDeleteありがとうございます！ルームメイトのなまえはなんですか。
Deleteわかりました。これからがんばっていきましょう！Which is your favorite position of volleyball? I want to know more. Also, I like reading, so to work for the library sounds great. Oh! you like One Ok Rock, don't you? I'm so excited! Let's discuss more.
ReplyDeleteI loved spiking! I wasn't very good and I didn't play for very long but it was fun. ロックミュージックがだいすき! I listened to Wanima and really liked them! Do you listen to American/English rock music? Coldplay, My Chemical Romance, The Killers, and David Bowie are some of my favorites!
DeleteMe too!I like spiking very much. I'm so happy to hear that you like Wanima! I used to listen it when I wanted to be encouraged. I like Avicii and don't know your favorites, so I will listen to it.
DeleteI used to listen to Avicii a lot while running! It's very energetic music. こんしゅうにほんごはどうですか。あついですか。さむいですか。ニューヨークはすこしさむいです。Are you celebrating Halloween? It's my favorite time of year! I love spooky things and horror movies. わたしのたんじょうびはじゅうがつにじゅうはちにちです！I always have Halloween themed birthdays.
DeleteYou've got quite a range of interests! I'm glad you found a foreign language you enjoy studying, and it's always good to be active in sports. Have fun in the kendo club! I didn't even know we had one...
ReplyDeleteLol I've never liked sports but kendo is cool because it has a history and is similar to fencing (which I briefly tried) and chess (which I play...sometimes) in that it involves mental focus and tactics. Always open to new members if you want to join...
DeleteYeah, his songs are so energetic. I also listen them while doing core training. This week, it is a little cold, but it's comfortable. I just eat pumpkin dishes. I love pumpkin. i will remember your birthday.
ReplyDeleteかぼちゃはかわいいです。そしておいしいですね！What's your favorite pumpkin dish? わたしはりょうりがすきです。Maybe I will try to cook it!
DeleteHi Kate! It's interesting how most people in America were introduced to Japanese studies through anime/manga, and even if we don't keep up with it, it's still led us on this path and into a more developed understanding of the culture and all of the nuances that aren't covered in anime/manga. :-) I don't know if you've ever listened to them, but I really got into Dir en Grey during my middle school years (they even came to Atlanta) around the same time that I actually started seriously reading manga (Junji Ito haha), and I still keep up with them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Japanese wasn't offered at my high school and was very limited at my undergraduate institution, so I definitely got on that French train too, haha. I definitely find Japanese to be more interesting to learn than the other languages I've studied -- it feels like a puzzle in a way, but, a puzzle that makes a lot more sense than French, which has really arbitrary rules. :-)
Oh yeah I've listened to some Dir en Grey! It's been a while so I might revisit them. I was doing research on Galileo Galilei recently and I remembered there's also a j-rock band called "Galileo Galilei" that I used to listen to lolol. I've always liked puzzles, so maybe that's why i like Japanese!
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