Introduction

Konnichiwa!

こんにちは

Nicholson desu, hajimemashite,

ニコルソンです、はじめまして。

I’ve always enjoyed Japanese culture but I didn’t really realize how much until recently. I especially love films by Hayao Miyazaki, woodblock prints, novels by Haruki Murakami, and Japanese food, just to name a few things. The film Lost in Translation (which I’m sure many of you have seen- if you haven’t you ought to) came out when I was nine and from that age I knew I had to visit Japan.

I finally went this summer when I stayed in Japan for 7 weeks through the Princeton Global Seminar in 京都 Kyoto, visiting 東京 Tokyo afterwards. Kyoto is very historic and traditional while Tokyo is more modern and international. One thing I love about Kyoto is that they love sweets and fancy European desserts. I went to temples nearly every day and never became bored, while I discovered that most of the cuisine is not only difficult to find in the US but also delicious far more than I had known. I highly recommend おこのみやき (okonomiyaki) and any kind of どんぶり (donburi). Tokyo, on another note, is the most beautifully modern city and I loved every moment I was there. I learned quite a bit of Japanese and it made me realize how this interest I’ve had for a long time is really worth studying.

Even though I already have basic Japanese skills I know this class will soon become difficult, especially since I know very little Kanji. Learning Kanji is probably what I’m most excited about, because without it, understanding written Japanese is very difficult. In general, I look forward to being better able to express myself in an East Asian language. Of course I already know things like ありがとうございます（arigatou gozaimasu), おはよお(ohayoo), and こんばんは(konbanwa), but I forgot about many other phrases we received on the handout like しつれえします(shitsuree shimasu). I think the hardest part about this class will be disciplining myself to properly study Japanese every day.