Learn Japanese

It can be really hard to find an opportunity to practice Japanese outside of Japan. That’s not surprising. But, I’ve found some native speakers online that are interested in language exchange, and I’ve even spoken to a few of them via Skype. Each conversation has been great; there’s the experimentation with using Skype and the giggles that follow, my surprise at their good Swedish pronunciation, and some general talking.

However, I haven’t had a second conversation, and I think it’s my fault. Sure, I’ve been very busy lately, since I started a new job. But even when one of my language friends are online and I want to talk, I can’t bring myself to ask if they want to talk to me. I don’t want to intrude. I tell myself that maybe they’re busy, maybe they don’t want to talk to me, maybe they’ll think I’m annoying if I ask again.

This is connected to two of my other goals: “be more social” and “think less and do more”.

Even when expressing basic ideas in Japanese, I am completely dependent on dictionaries. I simply don’t know enough words, and even the words I do know I need to double-check with a dictionary. Since my exposure to Japanese is mostly in writing (correspodence course, penpals, chatting), I obviously can’t speak it well. I know basic grammar and even understand some spoken Japanese, but forming my own sentences is very hard. I need practice, that’s all there is to it.