Konnichiwa

If you're wondering about the title of the post, it's Japanese for "hello". As a personal hobby and in an effort to broaden my mind I have recently decided to try and learn Japanese. I know, those of you who know me or who have read my profile are thinking "He lives in the eastern part of Kentucky, why Japanese?" Well, there are many reasons for me choosing this particular language. First off, I think it's a beautiful sounding language. Next, I've always been interested in the culture of Japan; the tea ceremony, the food, the legends, etc. Also, I've recently became hooked on some Japanese anime and manga, and I would enjoy being able to read them the way they were wrote, not relying upon a translation I wasn't sure about. Finally, my mom lived in Japan when she was a child and my grandpa was stationed at the Air Force base there, and the stories they've told have piqued my interest.

So, thanks to a trip to Barnes and Noble a few days ago I picked up a book on beginner's Japanese and have been going over it when it's quiet on the night shift here at work. It's been very informative and seems to be a great resource, the only problem is I'm not totally sure of my pronunciations. That's one downside to teaching one's self a language, there's not a live person there to correct you when you mispronounce something or conjugate it wrong or whatever. Another thing I've figured out is that the hours between 5AM and 7AM aren't really conductive for learning anything! Knowledge just seems to slip into the vacuum of mild sleep deprivation. Hopefully I'll be able to overcome these obstacles and continue in my pursuit of knowledge, only time will tell. Until then, sayonara (goodbye).