Why Japanese

Konbanwa! Learning Japanese has been really fun, but I guess the hardest part right now is surprisingly counting--when to use shi/yon, kyuu/ku, or shichi/nana and then all the different ways to count objects. But I'm really happy to be able to say some Japanese phrases and even whenever I listen to Japanese songs or see a Japanese phrase, I'm always excited if I can pinpoint one character or word!

I guess I wanted to learn Japanese because I love everything Japanese and a lot of my family knows Japanese. My grandma grew up in Taiwan when it was still occupied by Japan, so she learned under the Japanese education system. When my mom was growing up, she decided to take Japanese lessons in high school. Therefore, I grew up really exposed to Japanese things. For example, ever since I was little, I always went to Mitsuwa Supermarket which is a Japanese supermarket right across the Hudson from Columbia University! I still love going there and buying Japanese fashion magazines and snacks!!!

When I was little, I also watched a lot of Japanese manga. My favorite were Sailor Moon and Chibi Maruko Chan








And when I was little, I would watch Japanese doramas with my mom. My favorite are Long Vacation and Nodame Cantabile:

So ever since I was little, I was exposed to many things Japanese! And I hope to continue learning more about Japanese culture and language!

Sayonara!