Language Journal: March 1st 2019
Yesterday I started my Japanese weekly journal. Over a month ahead of schedule. It is simplistic language, to say the least. But, it is challenging and educational and just a little bit fun.
I think I'm starting this again at the right time in my journey. I had a journal app on my phone a while ago and I wrote a few entries, but I wasn't even far enough to guess at sentences or play around with them well enough. I needed to look up too many words to write anything useful. Had I spent that same amount of time that I had spent yesterday trying to say the same things, I would have finished just a fraction of it, or let Google Translate write it all for me.
This time around though, that post was all me. I used Jisho.org to help find the right words on occasion and I would validate sentences here and there in Google Translate, but I never dropped an English sentence into Google and plopped it back into my post. Which is how I remember it being the last time.
It is a very different experience from last time. But, as I start to seriously consider planning a trip to Japan, I've decided that it really is important to also do what I can to improve my speaking and my confidence in speaking. I also need to boost my listening skills, which I'm working on in other ways.
Part of it stems from an idea I had; As a family, taking turns choosing an exotic foreign destination every 5 years. Learning enough of the language to escape the tourist traps ahead of time. And having a plan to enjoy the world in that way.
Growing up, my family never really took vacations. We would take a day or two off here and there, we might make a trip somewhere in the province. But, it wasn't until most of us were moved out that my parents started taking destination vacations. And, a big part of it was that they got into a habit of not doing big trips. It wasn't until they actually tried that they realized that could have been doing it.
I don't want to, can't afford and can't justify doing it all the time or even as infrequent as annually. But, every 3-5 years would be regular enough I hope that we enjoy it, don't feel like they are once in a lifetime things and don't bankrupt us.
I think we can plan around that. If I take 2021 (skipping 2020 due to Olympics in Japan), then we'll do that trip when our daughter is 7. My wife decides the next one, and then by the time the 3rd trip comes up, our daughter will be old enough to choose a destination.
4 years might be the sweet spot. If I've learned this much of a language like Japanese in 2 years. Then 4 years should be a cinch. 3 years is probably more than enough time to learn the language well enough to get by (especially if I can get my wife and daughter onboard), but I'm not sure financially how sane that target is. 4-5 years seems a lot more forgiving on the bank account. But, as I thought about my daughter's age at every 5 years... it feels too far apart.
Partly, this also goes back to a desire to visit places like France and Italy. I've had friends and family visit, and most them have been robbed. But, not knowing the language they were stuck in densely packed tourist traps. They were easy pickings for thieves. While I'm not worried about crime as much in Japan as I am in France, the general idea is, the more you know, the less you look like a vulnerable tourist and the more you can experience.
Even in Tokyo, from what I've read, there are armies of shops that cater to English speaking tourists. But, you can get the same experiences, or even more authentic ones at a cheaper price if you simply go to a shop run by locals who don't speak English.
I don't really expect any other country which is a popular tourist destination where English isn't an official language to be any different. Tourists are there to spend money, and speaking their language is a marketable skill which makes what you do more valuable to them than the person who does the same thing, but can't speak their language.
Also, I really enjoy the motivation to learn even more languages. My plan to fend off Alzheimer's and dementia as long as possible is to keep on pushing myself to learn new languages and cultures as long as I can.
And, I don't want my Japan fascination to monopolize my family's dream vacations either.
I think I'm starting this again at the right time in my journey. I had a journal app on my phone a while ago and I wrote a few entries, but I wasn't even far enough to guess at sentences or play around with them well enough. I needed to look up too many words to write anything useful. Had I spent that same amount of time that I had spent yesterday trying to say the same things, I would have finished just a fraction of it, or let Google Translate write it all for me.
This time around though, that post was all me. I used Jisho.org to help find the right words on occasion and I would validate sentences here and there in Google Translate, but I never dropped an English sentence into Google and plopped it back into my post. Which is how I remember it being the last time.
It is a very different experience from last time. But, as I start to seriously consider planning a trip to Japan, I've decided that it really is important to also do what I can to improve my speaking and my confidence in speaking. I also need to boost my listening skills, which I'm working on in other ways.
Part of it stems from an idea I had; As a family, taking turns choosing an exotic foreign destination every 5 years. Learning enough of the language to escape the tourist traps ahead of time. And having a plan to enjoy the world in that way.
Growing up, my family never really took vacations. We would take a day or two off here and there, we might make a trip somewhere in the province. But, it wasn't until most of us were moved out that my parents started taking destination vacations. And, a big part of it was that they got into a habit of not doing big trips. It wasn't until they actually tried that they realized that could have been doing it.
I don't want to, can't afford and can't justify doing it all the time or even as infrequent as annually. But, every 3-5 years would be regular enough I hope that we enjoy it, don't feel like they are once in a lifetime things and don't bankrupt us.
I think we can plan around that. If I take 2021 (skipping 2020 due to Olympics in Japan), then we'll do that trip when our daughter is 7. My wife decides the next one, and then by the time the 3rd trip comes up, our daughter will be old enough to choose a destination.
4 years might be the sweet spot. If I've learned this much of a language like Japanese in 2 years. Then 4 years should be a cinch. 3 years is probably more than enough time to learn the language well enough to get by (especially if I can get my wife and daughter onboard), but I'm not sure financially how sane that target is. 4-5 years seems a lot more forgiving on the bank account. But, as I thought about my daughter's age at every 5 years... it feels too far apart.
Partly, this also goes back to a desire to visit places like France and Italy. I've had friends and family visit, and most them have been robbed. But, not knowing the language they were stuck in densely packed tourist traps. They were easy pickings for thieves. While I'm not worried about crime as much in Japan as I am in France, the general idea is, the more you know, the less you look like a vulnerable tourist and the more you can experience.
Even in Tokyo, from what I've read, there are armies of shops that cater to English speaking tourists. But, you can get the same experiences, or even more authentic ones at a cheaper price if you simply go to a shop run by locals who don't speak English.
I don't really expect any other country which is a popular tourist destination where English isn't an official language to be any different. Tourists are there to spend money, and speaking their language is a marketable skill which makes what you do more valuable to them than the person who does the same thing, but can't speak their language.
Also, I really enjoy the motivation to learn even more languages. My plan to fend off Alzheimer's and dementia as long as possible is to keep on pushing myself to learn new languages and cultures as long as I can.
And, I don't want my Japan fascination to monopolize my family's dream vacations either.
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