Half Way
The arrival of March marks my halfway point through my Year-Long stay in Japan. In the past six months I have made more language discoveries than I am even aware of. Japanese, Thai, and Korean have started sneaking their way into my dreams at night and are invading my thoughts throughout the day. It's a transformation that I didn't consiously make but one that comes with the nature of being in this language rich environment I call home.
In the past 6 months I have had countless opportunities to meet people from all over the world and all over Japan. Recently I gave a presentation at an elementary school where students from Thailand, Korea, and England participated in our activity. At the end of the school visit, the guy from Korea came up to me and asked "nan nen gurai nihon ni imasuka?" "how many years have you lived in Japan?" Although it is a fairly simple question, I was thrilled at the way it was worded. At the time he asked me that, I had been in Japan for only 5 months and the shock on his face after I told him was priceless. It came as a huge sense of accomplishment but at the same time, made me honestly think about the current state of my Japanese skills.
Of course, Japanese doesn't come out of my mouth nearly as fast as English does. There are some days when I want to speak, the words just don't come out and on other days the frustration of having no choice but to communicate in Japanese keeps me from speaking. But just like the vibrations of sound, the use of language also has its own turbulent waves that are most dramatically experienced when placed in a new language environment. However, I am so lucky to have a truly wonderful support system of people of all ages and backgrounds who help me out everyday. Even when I can't make full sentences correctly or pronounce something completely wrong, the people around me continue to encourage me not by correcting my mistakes, but by nurturing discoveries. After all, the ability to speak a language does not come from one’s inner efforts alone, but mostly from the constant interaction with the people around us.
In the past 6 months I have had countless opportunities to meet people from all over the world and all over Japan. Recently I gave a presentation at an elementary school where students from Thailand, Korea, and England participated in our activity. At the end of the school visit, the guy from Korea came up to me and asked "nan nen gurai nihon ni imasuka?" "how many years have you lived in Japan?" Although it is a fairly simple question, I was thrilled at the way it was worded. At the time he asked me that, I had been in Japan for only 5 months and the shock on his face after I told him was priceless. It came as a huge sense of accomplishment but at the same time, made me honestly think about the current state of my Japanese skills.
Of course, Japanese doesn't come out of my mouth nearly as fast as English does. There are some days when I want to speak, the words just don't come out and on other days the frustration of having no choice but to communicate in Japanese keeps me from speaking. But just like the vibrations of sound, the use of language also has its own turbulent waves that are most dramatically experienced when placed in a new language environment. However, I am so lucky to have a truly wonderful support system of people of all ages and backgrounds who help me out everyday. Even when I can't make full sentences correctly or pronounce something completely wrong, the people around me continue to encourage me not by correcting my mistakes, but by nurturing discoveries. After all, the ability to speak a language does not come from one’s inner efforts alone, but mostly from the constant interaction with the people around us.
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