As of now, I’m happy to say that we have successfully learned both Hiragana and Katakana (2/3 of the languages used here in Japan). Compared to the level at was at when I first arrived to Japan (no prior experience learning Japanese), I feel that I have come such a long way. It is so nice and rewarding to finally be able to read and understand things like street signs, restaurant menus, and grocery items a little better; although I admit I have not necessarily “mastered” the two alphabets yet.
We begin learning Kanji, which is also used in China (yet still different in certain ways), this coming week. I am a little apprehensive because I have heard that this alphabet has the most characters out of the three, and the characters that I have seen so far seem very complex. Class here is taught at a much faster pace than what I am used to in America (since I am only studying here for four months), and it can be stressful at times learning so much information in such little time. I feel that I am able to reinforce the knowledge I learn in class when I travel around the area and to neighboring towns with my friends, so I anticipate that it will help me in my studies as well. Overall, my experience with learning Japanese has been very pleasant thus far, and I am excited to see what new things I have yet to learn.