That's right. . . after 18 hours of Japanese classes over two weekends, I am now fluent! Haha. . . if only. I can make perfectly useless statements like Biji-san wa doyobi ni tomodachi to restoran de chiso pizza o ni-mai tabemachita (Mr. Biji ate two small pizzas in a restaurant with his friend on Saturday). . . I am hopeful, though, that the ability to compose such a sentence will be useful--maybe I will write a childrens' book on the Adventures of Biji-san!
And I am in the process of imparting all my Japanese wisdom to Weds, who will be flying off to Tokyo all by his big-boy-self in less than two weeks to join Okia. I am a firm believer in the notion that practice makes perfect-- so all our conversations now are strictly in Japanese. I think he's picking it up quite quickly too--I can tell by his responses that he really does have a knack for languages. His meowing sounds distinctly Japanese.
So am I going to miss my little substitute for human companionship (as Nev has taken to calling him)? Yes. Am I going to forget that he's left and go peeking under my couch and behind my bed when he doesn't answer my call? I'm afraid so. Am I going to be sad when he doesn't come trotting in, meowing seriously and insistently at me when I turn off the shower every morning? Very much so. But let's not go there yet. Let's focus instead on my efforts to making him bi-lingual!
*Hello! How do you do? Thank you very much for stopping by my blog.
Weds at two months old, about a month after Okia, my roommate then, brought him home
Weds a few months ago
Weds and me! (yes, he does sit and sleep like a human being)
8 comments:
Ichi, ni, san, shi. That's the extent of my Japanese. And it probably took more than 18 hours to learn it. Actually, I remember that from the old Kraftwerk song called Numbers. I always wished I had an aptitude for learning languages, but I think reading a Spanish comic book is about as far as my lazy mind is going to go. But Japanese is quite an accomplishment. WTG!
Moshi-moshi. Nanio shimass-ka? (That’s intended to say, “Hello, what are you going to do?”)
Are you sending that poor kitten off to Japan alone? Where’s the rest of the story? My curiosity is driving me insane. [Don’t worry; curiosity didn’t really kill the cat, and I’m not going insane, it’s my permanent residence.]
Seriously, Japan is amazing! I once stayed in Tokyo overnight (en route to the Philippines) and then visited Osaka and its neighboring towns for four days. I loved it so much I wish I could have stayed.
oh, I just adore that second pic, all stretched out. what loveliness.
Does hajime mashite mean mashed potatoes? Just wondering. :)
I thought I was the mad one!
Perhaps you are as mad as a box of frogs too!
Chotto matte kudesai!
I think that means "just a minute please". I am very impressed with your ambition to learn Japanese, it must be so difficult to get your tongue around those hard to pronounce sounds. And please tell us more about Weds and his trip to the homeland!
Good Luck and Sayonara!
Cyberoutlaw: If you ever decide you want to go beyond ichi, ni, san, shi, I highly recommend the Japan Society. The teachers are absolutely fabulous. Plus, the teacher I had on the second weekend had us in stitches, so it makes the 4.5 hours each day go quicker.
Craver, I am sending him off alone. I have palpitations, thinking about it. But vaat to do, na? The story is that my grad school roommate (who's from Japan, and who's gone back) adopted him, but because of strict quarantine requirements, couldn't take him with her. So, now that the required time is up, he's going to join her. I will be going there soon too, but more on that later.
Thanks LL! I think you'd really love the little guy if you actually met him!
Gary, Hajime Mashite means How do you do:) hehe, when I find out how to say mashed potatoes, I'll let you know.
Martin, what? you? mad? Of course not!! :P
Awesome picture and Great efforts to describe about Japanese lessons--for me and Weds.
Japanese lessons London
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