My class has three teachers; the main guy teaches 3 days/week, and then we have women on each of the other two days. That's how it's been since I started at the school. Also, even if it took me a while to warm up to the teachers, I ended up really liking all of them. Until now.

Well, my experiment was to see how much Japanese I could learn in a year. I have been in school for 12 months at ARC Academy, a private language school. Ironically, today is the first day that I missed, because my throat is raw with a cold or strep or something. I am looking back to see what worked and what didn't, and what I can do better in the future. I am here for six more months.

When I was playing in bands, I was around many intelligent people who were not what would be called "textbook smart". They had no knowledge of economics or calculus but could create music, discuss art and film, and held strong ideological and sociological beliefs.

I moved from the artistic world into the business world,  largely, because it was depressing to be poor, and I was tired of making 200 bucks a week as a waiter while supporting my lifestyle. On top of that, I had come to Chicago from Atlanta and I felt really out of place as a newcomer in the Chicago music scene.

Speaking on the phone in a foreign language is scary.

If you are thinking, it's hard to convey this, thus small pauses become eternities. I tried this a month ago and was hung up on while making a reservation; they probably thought I was drunk. Plus in Japan, the telephone conversation patterns are really different. I have made reservations lately and I still don't really know how to end the call. It kind of trails of in a volley of "Hai"'s and "Arigatou"'s. I need to learn the appropriate ending protocol. But I did it, and I'm happy.

Q: I live in Japan, but my Japanese sucks. How should I proceed?

Mr. Real Person
Tokyo, Japan

Prior to coming to Japan, once a week for 10 weeks, I took a basic Japanese class. We used Japanese For Busy People, which uses some kana, although in class we used the romaji portions. Right before coming to Japan, I spent the boring moments at my second job (bartending) learning hiragana and katakana, to prepare for school.

Yesterday I went to an Italian Cafe with 3 other Korean classmates. My friend since my first day of school came, while she waited for her husband who is in the afternoon class. Her Japanese is a little better than mine, but we are used to each other, so we understand each other well. Or, I understand her, at least.

A new girl came out, whose Japanese is pretty amazing, maybe the most fluid in the school, but doesn't feel comfortable at a higher level. I can't imagine her being in my level next semester. If she becomes 10% more confident, she could jump 2 levels.