Today I was much more focused. I started the lesson writing a new story that Michiko will eventually translate into Japanese for me. Then we reviewed some of the basic questions, focusing on my intonation and length of each sound. Today I learned a new word しゅっしん or 出身. It means “where from”. We reviewed the first and last paragraph of my self-portrait and then began to work on the 2nd paragraph. I am slowly understanding sentence structure. I am able to recognize particles and beginning to become more familiar with specific hiragana characters.