watashi wa eigo no sensei desu

Today I had my first official Japanese lesson with Benni-sensei. Up to this point, my Japanese education was limited to watching "as much TV as possible" and tracing hiragana to practice learning it. My Japanese handwriting sucks but at least I'm getting the hang of recognizing the kana.

I mentioned that I bought a Japanese textbook a few weeks ago, and this was our first chance to use it. My first lesson was on introductions - how to ask someone's name ("Namae wa nandesuka?") and how to respond ("Sara desu."), followed by how to ask about someone's job ("Shigoto wa nandesuka?") and how to respond ("Watashi wa eigo no sensei desu.") Also got an intro to meeting people ("hajimemashite" ~ "how do you do" and "doozo yoroshiku" ~ "it's nice to meet you"). It's not much, but it's more Japanese than I could understand and say this morning! It's a start.

Also, she's having me practice writing my name in katakana, which is both important and not overly easy for me. As I said, my Japanese handwriting sucks wholly and completely (at least, I think so) because it takes a certain finesse to make it look "right." Japanese writing is almost like a form of art, with precise strokes that blend together so nicely. My penmanship looks like geometry, which I would definitely NOT consider art, but maybe that's just me.

Anyway, after my lesson, Benni-sensei had me practice on Hitomi-san, which is incredibly fun because she's always thrilled, no matter what. But then, Japanese people tend to be impressed when non-natives put any kind of attempt into understanding/learning/practicing anything to do with Japanese culture. It's a nice change from Americans, who expect everyone to adapt and adopt as quickly as possible (this is, of course, a gross generalization, but it seems to me to be the attitude of the majority). It's like how Hitomi-san was so excited when she found out I liked Japanese food or how gleeful they can be when I try something new and like it. And they don't treat me with contempt if I don't understand or don't like it. Granted, they treat me a little like a silly gaijin, but that's what I am, so it's okay. It's way better than frowning and acting like I'm less than them.

But, yeah, I got mad praise for my pronunciation and my memorization, so I'm not a complete failure when it comes to Japanese. Actually, pronunciation is fairly straightforward, as it's a lot like Spanish, in that everything's pronounced pretty much as it's written. It's not tricky the way English is. As for memorization . . . yeah, that's to be expected too, because even I'll admit I've got a mind that retains way too much information. There's a reason I'm good at Trivial Pursuit. Hopefully that will continue to serve me well.