It all started with sushi...

Hi Everyone,

     I am from San Francisco, where there is a renown Japantown. During the summers and basically during my free time, you can find me hanging out there with my friends. Among my favorite things to do in Japantown is to try out all the sushi in different restaurants. I would always stare at native Japanese people when they order food because they often bow, which demonstrate politeness. In Chinese restaurants, customers often demand the waiters. My high school did not offer Japanese and when I first came to college, languages did not fit into my schedule so I was not able to take Japanese.

     Recently I started exploring the East Asian Studies track and after consulting an advisor, she said that learning Japanese would complement my Chinese (I am fluent in Chinese). With her encouragement, I enrolled in First-Year Japanese and realized that I still have a long way to go before I can order sushi in Japanese.

     Even though Hiragana is confusing, I am hopeful that it will make more sense in the next few weeks. I am so excited for Kanji because it is actually something I am more familiar with. Furthermore, my boyfriend minored in Japanese so he has been gracious to tutor me daily so I do not fall too far behind. My biggest worry is speaking Japanese because I am ok with listening, but Japanese does not flow naturally out of my mouth. I will keep you posted and hopefully I will have pictures from class for you soon.

Best,

Anni