Closer and closer I'm closing in on the final pages of Minna no Nihongo (Everyone's Japanese), my first Japanese textbook. I'm not sure what happens after this. Maybe a fairy comes to me in my sleep and I wake up speaking Japanese. I'm just afraid I won't understand her instructions on how to get there. I'm on the brink of knowing–but it's a very large brink, and maybe filled with crocodiles (friendly ones, though).
I really enjoy studying Japanese. I don't understand it, or speak it, but I enjoy the act of studying it and experiencing it. And Minna no Nihongo has also taught me a lot about Japanese culture. I'm not sure how reliable it is–textbooks can be a bit misleading as to the way a living language and culture actually work. (I remember a non-native English speaker's disappointment when she learned that we don't really say, "It's raining cats and dogs." It's not that we don't , but, really we don't. Unfortunately.)
But here are a few that stood out to me from the text. Different ideas, or things unique to Japan.
"Air conditioning isn't good for the body." "Because you have a fever, please do not take a bath." "Dieting is bad for the body." "When my wife is sick, I stay home from work."
"Even if it's raining, I'll do the laundry." (To anyone living in Japan, these are completely related. Others may may wonder at the washing valor.)
I think I still have a very long way to go.....
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