I am now the proud owner of Genki I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese. Buying this book was probably my best expenditure of money this semester. Considering I purchased a textbook, a work book, and an introductory Japanese dictionary, I found my payment of $75.00 to be very reasonable. It was, in fact, my smallest payment for any textbook package this semester. What do I say to that? すごい！！I realize that there's probably a better vocabulary word than "wow" to describe my purchase, but I haven't yet read beyond "greetings."
I've become accustomed to listening to discussions in Japanese. My goal is to pick out as many recognizable words as possible, and then, by my understanding of the context of the discussion--more often than not, it's an educated guess--try to make sense of what's being said. So far, I've had little success. I am, however, now able to recognize the sounds being produced, which helps me recognize full words (even if I cannot understanding their meanings).
I'm happy with my progress. I have developed a strong will to learn the Japanese language. To me, it's like cracking a code. I'm continuing to practice hiragana and katakana, and I'm learning how to combine the characters and sounds to make new words. It certainly isn't easy, but it's a lot of fun! From my experience, nothing worth doing is ever easy, but everything worth doing is always enjoyable.
Not only do I have a few new tools to help me learn Nihongo, but I have quite a support-team behind me. It's hard for me to express my gratitude towards everyone who's helping me study, but I feel very confident in my future progress as a result. Since I know that some of you read my blog, thank you for your help. My appreciation for each one of you continues to grow.
My love for Japan continues to grow stronger everyday. When I entered UAlbany as a freshman last year, I never dreamed that I'd be in this position one year later. It's hard for me to picture what one more year will bring, but I can imagine that many great things lay ahead. For everything that I've already gained, I look forward to being able to give back someday.
