ryan the wired

I’m going to Japan! The interview to study abroad went really well. I introduced myself in Japanese (a surefire way to impress the panel) and got a lot of good advice. Primarily, be open to new experiences and take advantage of all the resources available to me both at Sozosha (Soh.zoh.sha) and my home school. Also, another student, Tara, who’s an illustrator, is going as well. We’ve form a small band of language learners and speakers, working with a tutor, Rio Sensei, and one of my Japanese obsessed instructors, on the side.

For Japan, I’m planning on going out at the beginning of March, Spend about a month in Tokyo so I can adjust to the culture, and take a language class to really immerse myself in the language to prepare myself for school. I’m going to stay with a host family, rather that trying to navigate a month in hostiles and the like. It will also give me time to scope out the Japanese creative scene. One of my instructors has a connection in Tokyo at a design and animation studio called Tokyo Lab. They don’t specifically do what I do but the founders were both educated at American design schools and work bilingually. They’ll be a good insight into what its like to be a creative in Japan and help me know who I need to know.

Then I’ll head out to Osaka at the beginning of April to start my design classes at Sozosha. There, I’ll also be staying with a host family, who will be indispensable in navigating my way through my time there. Let me tell ya, I’m looking forward to some good Japanese eats. I’m going to approach it with an open mind and try as much as possible. A vegetarian open to new things; a flexitarian. Our group went to a Japanese restaurant, the most delicious in town, and Rio taught us manners. I had what is called a Donburi. They vary in ingredients, but mine consisted of a bowl with a bottom layer of rice, with tempura vegetables piled on top. Osaka is known to be the place for food and the place for the arts; a perfect combination. Classes at Sozosha go until August. Then I’ll fly back to home and start up classes again at the very end of August.

Hard work is paying off; cant wait to jetset to the other side of the globe.

Today in Japanese class our sensei introduced us to a handy phrase, giving us the ability to ask how to say something, that we don’t already know, in Japanese.

__ は にほんご で なん と いいます か。
__ wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka?
How do I say __ in Japanese?

Q:
Glassesはにほんごでなんといいますか。
Glasses wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka?
How do you say Glasses in Japanese?

A:
めがねいいます。
megane iimasu.
You say megane.

This phrase is handy, especially when talking to a teacher, because they are able to take your english request and parse it into Japanese.

When in Japan, I know I will be using this phrase all the time, but my Japanese host family probably wont understand English. Thus this helpful modification is appropriate:

Q:
これはにほんごでなんといいますか。
kore wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka?
What is this called in Japanese?

A:
それはほんです。
sore wa hon desu.
That’s a book.

The next time you’re not sure how to say a word in Japanese, don’t be afraid to ask. Just us this valuable phrase.

To read more about my journey to learn Japanese, check my blog: Wired in Japan

Tomorrow marks the first day of my institutionally structured journey to better understand the Japanese language. I will be taking Elementary Japanese 101 at a local liberal arts college, in addition to my current education at design school. The course is a requirement in order to study abroad, yet one that I am looking forward to.

We will be using the Nakama Japanese textbook and workbook. Together, they were over $100 used at the bookstore. Hello Amazon.

In my self guided study, as well as working with my Japanese tutor, we worked with the Genki textbook. Genki was accessible and tried to make learning the language fun, overall a good textbook. Solely judging by the cover of Nakama, it looks strictly business. Hopefully as we progress, it will open up a bit.

Looking forward to meeting my fellow classmates and studying hard.

As usual, がんばります！(I’ll do my best!)

Read more on my blog: Wired in Japan