読むのにどれくらい時間がかかるか:
All right folks – time for my post IN Japanese.
I actually wrote this post about a week ago and I never posted it. I kept wanting to have time to sort through photos. So – many – photoes. Well, photos will have to wait. I am on the long plane ride home now and it’s a policy to get my language post out within 24 hours of leaving the country. So, photos of my time in Japan, of which there are a ridiculous amount…will have to wait.
Much like my first post in German, this post is going to read pretty simple, but, hey…it’s in Japanese! And I wrote it! That is an absolute triumph. Any Japanese person that reads this will easily be able to see that I have a LONG way to go with Japanese. But I have come far enough that I can write this post. I have come far enough that I can navigate various scenarios in Japanese. I have come far enough that I can get the message of what my tour guides are saying to each other before they settle on what they want to say to us in English. Not even close to everything, but enough to say there is some.
A special shout out to the wonderful Kaito-san, one of the helpers on our Japan swim trip that did me the great honor of editing the post below. I was pleased to see that he only had to clean up a few wrong kanji, change a few particles, fix the tense of a few verbs and that was about it. For the most part, it made sense! Woohoo! I did need to use google for one or two sentences and to look up a couple of pieces of vocabulary, but, hey, I wrote something in Japanese. I’m happy for that. If you are reading this and you are a Japanese speaker, here it is! For English speakers, the translation is at the bottom. Many, many thanks to all of the people that have helped me come this far. I have oh so very far to go! As they say in Japanese, though, 頑張りましょう！(loosely translated to, “Let’s do it!” or “We can do it!” or “Let’s give it our best!”)
今松崎にいって、ろく主観に日本でいました。 たくさん日本語を習いて、たくさん経験を敷いて、たくさん話がありますが。
日本語で話を入るのが難しですけどしてみます。
六種館米中国から日本にひこきで日本語を勉強しに来ました。
東京につきて、新幹線で京都へ行きました。
着く時日本語を話すのが下手です。 六年米日本語を勉強するのが始めましたけど三年米から今まで全然勉強しません。 日本に着くから少し日本語を知れましたが着く時のが沢山を忘れました。 ここに着きました時のが少ししか話せる。
まだ少ししか話せませんが、昨日の水泳の遠足の際、ボートの上で日本人の男性と話をしました！しっかり会話ができたんですよ！
もし彼の言っていることが理解できていたら――彼は自分は仙台出身だと言ったのだ。彼は私に仙台の地震をと言いました。私は彼にその地震いつだったと聞きました。彼は私に、多くの家が海に崩れ落ちたと話した。彼は彼の友達の一人亡くなったと言いました。
誰かが亡くなったとき、英語では「I’m so sorry」と言いますが、日本語でこの状況において「ごめんなさい」と言うことはできません。
「ごめんなさい」の意味は”I’m very sorry”でも意味は違います。この言葉は、謝罪する時にのみ使われます。
日本語でどう返事をすればいいのか分かりませんでした。
私は彼にこの助おこ日本語で何を言いなければいけませんと聞きました。
彼は私に「哀悼」と教えていました。
私は彼に哀悼と言いました。
まだ沢山日本語を鳴らなければいけませんけど少し日本語で話すができるから嬉です。
実際に会話ができる程度には話せます。私にとっては、それだけで祝うに値することです。
彼も少しフランス語を話せるから少しフランス語で話しました！
これは一つの物語に過ぎません。
私には素晴らしい先生が沢山いて、新しすごい友達を会いって、これまで、多くの素晴らしい日本人の方々と、素晴らしい会話を重ねてきまして、きれな日本の文化を習えて、素晴らしい日本語について多くのことを学び、ここ日本で本当に素晴らしい経験をしました。
In English….
I came to Japan from China to study the language. I have learned a lot of Japanese, gained plenty of experience, and have many stories to tell.
It is difficult for me to express myself in Japanese, but I will give it a try.
I flew from China to Japan to study the language.
After arriving in Tokyo, I took the Shinkansen to Kyoto.
My Japanese wasn’t very good when I arrived. I had started studying it six years ago, but I hadn’t studied at all for the three years leading up to my arrival. Although I knew a little Japanese, I had forgotten a lot of it by the time I got here; I could only speak a little bit when I first arrived.
I still can’t speak much, but during a swimming excursion yesterday (now a week ago), I talked to a Japanese man on the boat! We were actually able to hold a proper conversation!
I understood what he was saying—he told me he was from Sendai. He spoke to me about the earthquake in Sendai. I asked him when it happened. He told me that many houses had collapsed into the sea. He said that one of his friends had died.
In English, we say “I’m so sorry” when someone passes away, but in Japanese, you cannot use “Gomen-nasai” in this situation.
Even though “Gomen-nasai” translates to “I’m very sorry,” the nuance is different; it is used only when apologizing.
I didn’t know how to reply in Japanese.
I asked him what I should say in Japanese.
He taught me the word “aitou” (condolences).
So, I said “aitou” to him.
I still have a lot of Japanese left to learn, but I’m happy that I can speak a little bit.
I can speak well enough to actually hold a conversation. For me, that alone is something worth celebrating.
He speaks a little French too, so we chatted a bit in French!
This is just one story.
I have had wonderful teachers, met amazing new friends, and shared wonderful conversations with so many great Japanese people; I’ve learned about beautiful Japanese culture and the Japanese language, and I’ve had truly wonderful experiences here in Japan.
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