I’ve got another story I’d like to share with all of you. 🙂 It’s a story about my success as a student of the Japanese Language and I`m honored to share this with all of you. To those who already speak fluently and those who have just picked it up. After just about 9 months of studying I had the opprotunity to use all that I had learned in a brief conversation that left both parties happy, and laughing.

 While I was in a supermarket I was looking for my favorite salad dressing that I use to make a pasta salad dish I love to make….and eat. 🙂 When I arrived at the salad dressing section a Japanese couple was also standing there, mulling over which one to choose. Then they started speaking to each other, not in English, but in Japanese. I could make out parts of what they were saying. Then I decided to push my fear of speaking aside and walked up and said “I recommend this one” Of course I said it in Japanese and she turned to me and asked simply in Japanese, “It taste good?” to which I replied with a solid “yes”(Hai) and gave her thumbs up. 🙂 Her husband looked at me and smiled and we parted ways.

 I would again run into this same couple in line at the register, and their faces lit up as they saw me. Instantly I became worried that they would break out in a full-on Japanese conversation leaving me stuttering. To my surprise they spoke English as well and they asked if I remembered them and then thanked me for the suggestion.  We then carried on in a mild banter in both English and Japanese. The woman would later reveal to me that she was actually a Japanese Language teacher in Japan and was impressed with my pronunciation, tone and pitch. Inside I was bursting with joy. I wanted to hug both of them. Often times I had always felt like I was struggling in my growth to speak, but it was great to have this confirmation. Since then my courage has definitely raised and I approach Japanese people whenever it seems it would be most comfortable to engage in a conversation.

Thank you for reading. and to those of you who study with me, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to jump out of your shells and give it a go. You’re probably better than you know. 🙂 And for those of you who are fluent I hope we have the chance to speak someday. 🙂