Japanese Lessons
I finally started with my Japanese lectures at Wits Language School. “Watashi wa gakusei desu” (“kana” to follow at some point… or not). I found the lecture incredibly interesting and fortunately the teacher is Japanese.
Some of you, but not many, might have thought that I am already affluent in the language. Hopefully it would reconfirm the risks involved in trusting assumptions.
I believe that this is a huge personal project and I truly hope I’ll finish it. Don’t get me wrong, I hardly ever quit… I just lose interest. Even though that statement alone could provoke a slippery slope natured argument, to me there is quite a distinction and it is important.
So far I have been to Japan twice. The two journeys were incredibly inspiring experiences and I am planning to visit the country again next year. To me, Japan is special because of its nature: The people treat each other and mostly foreigners with respect and they all have an innate sense of honour.
I do not disregard the possibility of idealism in my perceptions, but it does not change what I have experienced. My view of things and even philosophy on life was changed fundamentally because of my visitations and I believe there is plenty more room for personal growth induced by experiencing more of the Japanese culture.
October 15th, 2005 at 9:54 pm
Is the Japanese teacher a Ch!ck?
Glad to c u started!!
I hope to gain a similar insight that you received, by going to Thailand next year…
Yours Truly
Superman
August 4th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Ohayo!!
do you know of any language institutes In pretoria, that give japanese lessons??
am really eager to learn this language. i am obsessed with Japanese culture.
would appreciate any help..thanx
August 7th, 2006 at 8:37 am
Ohayou gozaimasu
Unfortunately I don’t know of any language schools in Pretoria that offer Japanese, but what I did is scour the yellow pages and internet for schools in my area. Wits Language School turned out to be the best (and first) option as it was relatively cheaper and had more reasonable course times. What you might want to consider in the meantime is self-study. You can find nice workbooks in book stores and online. Of course this doesn’t replace having a real Japanese teacher but can help a great deal. Books I found useful in my studies are Essential Japanese by Berlitz and Teach yourself: Beginner’s Japanese Script by Helen Gilhooly. I found these locally and both books have exercises at the end of each lesson and review sections. I would also like to recommend Kodansha’s Kanji Essential Kanji Dictionary by Kodansha International. This is a great kanji dictionary as they have made it very easy to find kanji. Unfortunately I bought it in Japan, but you should be able to order a copy from Amazon.
Good luck and let me know if you find anything.
October 26th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
[…] Related post: Japanese Lessons […]