Some weekend brain exercise

This morning, I went to the first class in my new Japanese course at City Lit. I’m heading back to Tokyo in July and really want to be able to use more Japanese while I’m there. The little snatches I’ve picked up along the way over the last four years aren’t really enough to get by…plus, learning languages is fun!

It was a bit of a shock to the system, if I’m honest. It was, despite my little experience, billed as being for absolute beginners. But over the three hours, we covered a ton of verbal practice, started learning hirigana and katagana, watched a few short videos and even started writing.

Today was about introducing yourself, saying where you’re from and learning greetings appropriate for the time of day. We started to learn some basic grammar, pronunciation and a bit about Japanese culture. The first 45mins was conducted entirely in Japanese, which was great – if a little bit surprising. 

The class was fun and friendly, but it was definitely a stretch for my brain at 10am on a Saturday morning. I was a task slow on the uptake at several points, which was quite frustrating. 

Next week, I’m going to get up earlier, get more coffee into me and walk there from Waterloo. The stroll from the station should help to get the blood pumping. 

I’ll need it to get through another three hours of intensive Japanese!

And now to have a look at all the homework that was assigned…