Our Japanese classes start on April 2nd. Four hours a day, five days a week. I expect there will be homework as well, we'll find out soon. Dodo is starting in the absolute beginner class, though she is a bit more advanced than that. She has been practicing reading and writing the two Japanese alphabets every day. I will find out what class I'm in once I arrive on the day. We're using the same books that I've been using with my private teacher. I am a quarter of the way into the second book and they think they'll be placing me in a class that starts near the end of the 1st book, which is fine by me. It will give me a chance to review. We went to Shinjuku to see where our class is going to be. It's in a small commercial building.
It's right next to an old temple, you walk down the temple alley and then take a right to arrive at class. Very nice, old style Tokyo. While in Shinjuku we did a bit of shopping and ate lunch. The visit confirmed our choice to live in the boonies. In downtown Tokyo, all the salespeople speak English, there are lots of foreigners walking around - it's just not the same. I'm trying to speak zero English while here. I'd rather struggle in Japanese to communicate with someone who speaks no English. This is what you need to get better. Try, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes.
Our landlady, Hotaka, speaks some English and when she and I talk it's a mix of mostly English and a bit of Japanese. When we write to each other, we write in Japanese. This is a shot of my phone where we're chatting back and forth.
Another example is an email exchange I had with the owner of a restaurant. I made a reservation via the web and she emailed me in a bit of a panic. She told me she didn't speak a word of English and she was worried and wanted to know if I knew Japanese. It's a clue to the culture - she is apologizing and worried about not knowing English. It is I who should be apologizing for not knowing Japanese well. We went to eat there and it worked out just fine. I'm much stronger in reading and writing than in listening and speaking. Those are always the last to come. I remember struggling with this in Spanish and having to just plug along. One day out of the blue it popped and I was jabbering away in Spanish, just like that. I expect the same will happen with Japanese if I keep trying. You have to keep the faith.
In the meantime, before our class starts, we study at home every day. I'm revising by re-doing the first Japanese book. I re-read the chapter, do all the exercises and focus especially on the listening exercises. Then, more importantly, every outing is a chance to learn. There is not a single day when I've gone out and not learned something. First, all the signs are in Japanese. You can focus on a sign, let's say one on the train, and try to figure it out. I take a photo, look up the kanji, try to decipher it. It helps that some of them have a picture our a bit of English for context.
The most important thing is to put yourself in a position of having to talk, every day. We eat lunch out every day and that is a constant test. The menus in this part of Japan have no English and nobody speaks any English. This is where our Japanese is the best - we can enter, tell them how many people we are, sit, ask for a menu, read some of the menu, order, compliment the chef and ask to take the leftovers home in a doggy bag. The doggy bag part I had to look up on my phone on the spot. Since I had to use the phrase in a real situation, I haven't forgotten it and probably never will. A typical menu looks like this. I can read most of this, not all. Sometimes I order something that I cannot read just to find out what it is.
One time I left my bag at a restaurant and had to go back to retrieve it. I studied all the words and phrases I would have to know to do that. I managed to say "I was here yesterday eating lunch. I lost my bag, a white plastic bag. Do you have it?" Other times, I plan a scenario ahead of time. I had to get a haircut so I studied about that and went in and managed to tell the hairdresser what I wanted. She said a few things that I had no idea about and just hoped for the best. The haircut was fine. I have already noticed a difference in listening comprehension since being here. The sounds are starting to slow down and I am beginning to hear things better. As far as speaking goes, I have my moments. There is a long way to go but I am really enjoying it.
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